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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2003 P2P Group Offers Code of Conduct DHS Announces Plans for Visa-Tracking System TSA Threatens Data-Sharing Mandate Musicmatch Enters the Fray Second Teen Arrested for Blaster Attack P2P GROUP OFFERS CODE OF CONDUCT A trade group representing six makers of peer-to-peer technology say they will abide by a code of conduct governing how their networks are used. Members of P2P United--Lime Wire, Grokster, Blubster, BearShare, Morpheus, and eDonkey 2000--pledged to encourage users to understand copyright laws, cooperate with law enforcement to track down people who trade child pornography, and work with the recording industry to find appropriate means to compensate artists for files copied by P2P users. The code of conduct also prohibits installing any software on computers without users' informed consent. Notably absent from the group is Kazaa, the most widely used P2P network. The Recording Industry Association of America, which said it has reached copyright settlements with 64 individuals since it filed lawsuits against 261 alleged violators, offered a guarded response. In a statement, the group said P2P United's actions were "refreshing" but that "they need to do a whole lot more before they can claim to be legitimate businesses." Reuters, 29 September 2003 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3526706 DHS ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR VISA-TRACKING SYSTEM Officials from the Department of Homeland Security have announced a project to build a massive system to photograph, fingerprint, and track all foreigners as they enter and leave the United States with visas. Called U.S. Visitor and Status Indication Technology, U.S. VISIT, the system would attempt to keep tabs on the millions of non-U.S. citizens who enter the country each year on visas, including providing records of when those visa holders leave the country--something the existing system does not do. Details of the system are expected in November, when contractors will submit bids on the project, which analysts expect to cost between $3 billion and $10 billion. The program has drawn criticism from civil rights groups, who expressed concern over privacy issues, and from others who said the system cannot be effective without procedures for deporting those who pose a threat. Others noted that only 20 percent of the visitors to the United States each year have visas because the rest come from countries deemed not to present a security risk. James A. Lewis, director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, "The problem we're fixing may not be the al Qaeda problem" because such groups could send people to the United States who have clean records or who travel from countries that do not require visas. Washington Post, 29 September 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14287-2003Sep28.html TSA THREATENS DATA-SHARING MANDATE Criticism of government programs to increase airline security has left many airlines reluctant to participate in test programs, prompting the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to raise the possibility of requiring airlines to participate. Delta Airlines had previously agreed to be part of testing for the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II), which requires passengers to provide certain pieces of personal information then used to screen passengers for their probability of being terrorists. After a strong public outcry at the proposal, Delta withdrew. JetBlue Airways is facing similar consumer backlash after it acknowledged releasing passenger information to a defense contractor, though the airline claimed it was not part of the CAPPS II program. TSA Chief Administrator James Loy said that if no airlines are willing to participate, the agency may issue a mandate that all airlines must participate. Internet News, 29 September 2003 http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/3084711 MUSICMATCH ENTERS THE FRAY Musicmatch has announced plans to begin selling songs online, using its own Musicmatch Jukebox software. Rumors of Dell's involvement in the program remain unsubstantiated. Musicmatch will charge 99 cents per song or $9.99 for most albums. Musicmatch songs, which will be in Windows Media format, can be played on PCs or portable music players. Songs can be written to CDs a maximum of five times. The company said it will have 200,000 songs available initially and expects to have 500,000 by the end of the year. Other companies, including Sony, RealNetworks, and Amazon.com, are expected to join in the market for legal music downloads, a market that some see as the inevitable outcome of ongoing copyright enforcement. CNET, 29 September 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5083282.html SECOND TEEN ARRESTED FOR BLASTER ATTACK A second teen has been arrested in connection with the Blaster worm that recently circulated on the Internet, causing significant damage. The first person arrested, Jeffrey Lee Parson of Minnesota, has been charged with distributing a variant of the Blaster worm and faces 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The identity of the second person arrested is not being revealed; the second suspect is also charged with distributing a variant of the worm. Authorities said the second suspect created the RPCSDBOT variant, which tried to launch a denial-of-service attack against Microsoft. Microsoft avoided the attack by changing the URL targeted by the worm. John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, said that whether they are juveniles or adults, "computer hackers need to understand that they will be pursued and held accountable for malicious activity." Reuters, 29 September 2003 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3516937 ***************************************************** 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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