***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 06, 2004 Feds Cancel E-Voting Recording Industry Raids Sharman Networks Microsoft Proposes New Strategies to Limit Spam FEDS CANCEL E-VOTING The Department of Defense has decided not to allow Americans outside the country to use an experimental online voting system in this fall's election, citing security concerns. Developed by Accenture, the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment system was to be made available to as many as 100,000 Americans this year, but a spokesperson from the department said the test will not take place due to the "inability to ensure legitimacy of votes." Government officials have been working to develop an electronic voting system for the approximately six million registered voters overseas, many of whom are members of the military or their families. Such systems have come under intense scrutiny lately, however, for security weaknesses that could allow hackers unauthorized access. Online voting has also been criticized because it offers no paper trail to verify accuracy of votes after they are cast. New York Times, 6 February 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/06/politics/campaign/06VOTE.html RECORDING INDUSTRY RAIDS SHARMAN NETWORKS Representatives of the Australian recording industry on Friday conducted a raid against Sharman Networks, the owner of the Kazaa file-sharing application, seeking evidence of copyright infringement. The raid, which was approved by the country's Federal Court, targeted Sharman Networks offices, the homes of two of its executives, three universities, and Internet service providers. Michael Speck, general manager of the Music Industry Piracy Investigations, said civil lawsuits would be filed next week against Kazaa. Officials from Sharman Networks called the raid a "waste of time, money, and resources," noting that courts in the United States and Holland have ruled that developers of file-sharing applications cannot be held responsible for the illegal actions of individuals who use those applications. Wall Street Journal, 6 February 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107606242299822911,00.html MICROSOFT PROPOSES NEW STRATEGIES TO LIMIT SPAM Software giant Microsoft, which has lately announced its intention to help stem the flow of spam, is working on programs designed to place a significant burden on those who want to send vast amounts of unsolicited e-mail. Under an initiative called "Penny Black," computers that send e-mail would be required to spend several seconds solving a complex math problem. Such a scenario would cause virtually no slowdown for average users, but spammers trying to send millions of e-mails would be faced with an enormous computational demand. Officials from Microsoft noted that the company is working on several other anti-spam programs and does not consider the Penny Black program to be a "silver bullet." For any solution to be effective, said Microsoft's George Webb, it must have "broad-based deployment across the e-mail system." Washington Post, 5 February 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16272-2004Feb5.html ***************************************************** 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. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2004, EDUCAUSE
