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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2004 E-Rate Funding on Hold Survey Shows U.S. Computer Users Unaware of Security Risks New Group Targets Compatibility of Antipiracy Technologies No More Copy-Protected CDs from Sony E-RATE FUNDING ON HOLD A suspension of payments under the federal E-Rate program has put many public schools and libraries around the country in a financial squeeze to pay ongoing costs of technology projects. Payments were halted two months ago, without warning, as a result of changes made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designed to limit fraud and waste in the program. Critics have said that abuse and fraud are rampant in the E-Rate program, which provides $2.25 billion annually to the nation's schools and libraries for technology services. Michael K. Powell, chairman of the FCC, called the program "vital for America" but said it must comply "strictly with the highest government accounting and auditing standards." No word has been given, however, on how long the moratorium will last. In the meantime, many state agencies are trying to figure out how they will pay the bills. Curt Wolfe, CIO for North Dakota, said his state is short about $1.7 million from the program and that the problem will become very serious if not resolved this month. Robert Boucher, of a Wisconsin education agency, said his state has not received $22 million promised under the program, money that is used to fund Internet and phone service for 426 school districts and 387 public libraries. New York Times, 4 October 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/04/business/media/04fcc.html SURVEY SHOWS U.S. COMPUTER USERS UNAWARE OF SECURITY RISKS A survey commissioned by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) shows significant gaps of understanding among U.S. computer users about the actual threat posed by computer security problems. According to the survey, 30 percent of Americans believe they are more likely to be hit by lightning, to be audited by the IRS, or to win the lottery than be the victim of a computer security problem; among users under the age of 25, the rate of those who believe this rises to 40 percent. In truth, cybersecurity threats, including viruses, phishing scams, and hacking, affect about 70 percent of computer users, while the odds of being hit by lightning are 0.0000102 percent, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. The survey also found that 90 percent of computer users remember Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl, but only 60 percent remember when the security software on their PCs was last updated. Ken Watson, chairman of the NCSA, said that 91 percent of PCs are infected with some variant of spyware. The NCSA has declared October to be National Cyber Security Awareness month in the United States and is sponsoring educational efforts to teach users about the real risks of ignoring cybersecurity. BBC, 3 October 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3708260.stm NEW GROUP TARGETS COMPATIBILITY OF ANTIPIRACY TECHNOLOGIES Leading technology and media companies have joined forces to ensure compatibility of various forms of antipiracy technology. Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Philips, Matsushita, Samsung, InterTrust Technologies, and Twentieth Century Fox are members of the new group, called Coral, whose goal is to avoid potential conflicts among different types of digital rights management (DRM) technologies. According to Ruud Peters, head of Philips's intellectual property rights unit, "Consumers want to play their content anywhere on any device and should be able to move content from one device to another." Coral hopes to develop specifications that will allow various vendors' DRM tools to communicate, allowing consumers the freedom Peters described. Missing from the group, however, are Apple Computer, whose popular iPod device only plays songs from Apple's iTunes online music service, and Microsoft, whose media formats are not compatible with Apple devices. Wall Street Journal, 4 October 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109683695728134651,00.html NO MORE COPY-PROTECTED CDS FROM SONY Sony Music Entertainment, the music arm of Sony Corporation, will stop using copy protections that debuted on its CDs two years ago. The copy protections allowed consumers to make one copy of a CD on a personal computer. Users who wanted to make additional copies had to pay to do so. A company spokesperson said evidence suggests that its educational efforts aimed at reducing illegally sharing copyrighted songs online have been successful. According to Sony, only a small minority of users make illegal copies of CDs. Sony also said that its portable music players will soon be able to play all MP3 files. Currently, users who want to play MP3 files on Sony devices first must convert them to Sony's format. San Jose Mercury News, 4 October 2004 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9832592.htm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/ 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/ ***************************************************** 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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