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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 Anti-Spam Law Working in South Korea Paying Off the Spammers Research Says Movie Piracy Starts with Insiders Yoran to Lead U.S. Cyber Security ANTI-SPAM LAW WORKING IN SOUTH KOREA Toughened anti-spam legislation in South Korea is credited with a drop in that country's incidence of unwanted e-mail. The law was strengthened in December, raising the limit for monetary damages and instituting criminal penalties for spammers. The law also forbids automatic generation of e-mail addresses, harvesting addresses from Web sites, and circumventing spam blockers with technical measures. According to data from surveys conducted by the Korea Information Security Agency, users in March of this year reported that more than 90 percent of commercial e-mail was unsolicited. By July, that number had fallen to about 70 percent. The survey indicated that in July, each South Korean user received an average of 41 spam e-mails per day, of which 35 are considered illegal and 23 are obscene. These numbers represented decreases of 18 percent, 20 percent, and 27 percent, respectively, compared to data from March. InfoWorld, 15 September 2003 http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/09/15/HNkoreaspam_1.html PAYING OFF THE SPAMMERS Founders of San Antonio, Texas-based Global Removal believe that the way to end spam is to offer spammers an economic incentive not to send unwanted messages. The company offers a subscription service by which consumers who pay Global Removal $5 will be removed from the mailing lists of all of the company's partnering organizations, which include around 100 spammers and legitimate e-mail marketers alike. Partnering organizations can earn $1 for each new subscriber they draw to the service. Tom Jackson, CEO of Global Removal, argues that senders of commercial e-mail would prefer to know who on their lists is not interested. "They can make more money for less effort through our program," he said. Critics of Global Removal's approach said it is flawed because it does not guarantee effectiveness and has no way to enforce the agreement. Julian Haight of SpamCop.net compared it to "curing the disease by killing the patient," and Denise Howell, an intellectual property lawyer, said it was like "paying protection money to mob bosses." Wired News, 15 September 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,60431,00.html RESEARCH SAYS MOVIE PIRACY STARTS WITH INSIDERS Data from researchers at AT&T Laboratories and the University of Pennsylvania indicate that more than three-quarters of all movies available on peer-to-peer networks come from movie-industry leaks. The finding runs counter to the popular notion that most pirated movies come from unauthorized home reproduction or from in-cinema taping. The researchers developed software that examined a number of features of the electronic files, features that can indicate the source of the file, such as editing, pre- or post-production, or review copies of the movie. Many pirated movies appear on peer-to-peer networks before they are released in theaters, and online trading of movies is estimated to cost the industry as much as $3 billion a year. Pirated VHS and DVD copies of movies cost the industry an estimated $30 billion annually. New Scientist, 15 September 2003 http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994166 YORAN TO LEAD U.S. CYBER SECURITY The Department of Homeland Security has announced that Amit Yoran will head the recently created National Cyber Security Division. Yoran currently serves as vice president of managed security services at Symantec Corp. The National Cyber Security Division comprises the Federal Computer Incident Response Center, the National Infrastructure Protection Center, and the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office. It is responsible for awareness of and preparation for cybersecurity, including coordinating warnings and responses to cyber threats. The division, which was created in June, has been working on such issues since its inception. A spokesperson from the division said that having someone in charge will allow the division to pursue projects included in the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. Federal Computer Week, 15 September 2003 http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0915/web-cyber-09-15-03.asp ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. 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