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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2005 University of Calgary Offers Course on Spam, Spyware Survey Predicts Slide in Higher Ed IT Spending Microsoft to Acquire Antivirus Maker UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY OFFERS COURSE ON SPAM, SPYWARE The University of Calgary, which gained attention in 2003 when it began offering a course on writing viruses, has now introduced a course devoted to writing spyware and spam. Although the virus-writing course prompted strong criticism, response to the new offering has been warmer. Some members of the computer-security community noted that such a course could give students a strong understanding of how to combat malicious computer code in practice. "If we're looking for an engineer to [fight] spam, then we'd rather have somebody who has already been taught about these things and who knows how they work," said Steve Purdham, CEO of SurfControl. Mark Murtagh of Websense echoed those comments. He compared computer security to a game of chess, saying, "You need to be completely up to date on what's available to ensure you understand your opponent's potential next move." Pete Simpson, ThreatLab manager at Clearswift, disagreed, however, saying that such arguments "really [fall] flat for spamming tools." He said the course will tempt students to put their skills to harmful use. Students who do so risk failing grades and prosecution, according to the university. Silicon.com, 8 February 2005 http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39127703,00.htm SURVEY PREDICTS SLIDE IN HIGHER ED IT SPENDING A recent Market Data Retrieval survey of IT officials at more than 1,400 two- and four-year colleges and universities suggests a decline of 4 percent in IT spending this year compared to last year, itself a decline over the previous year. Analysts at the research firm said the decline is likely a result not only of tight budgets overall but also of increased performance of hardware, allowing lower costs for some investments. The overall drop of 4 percent is the net of a 13 percent slide in investments at public institutions and a 28 percent increase at private institutions. Private institutions continue to significantly outpace their public counterparts on IT spending per student, spending an average of $553 per student versus $203 at publics. The survey also found slightly lower rates of distance education offerings, down from 67 percent to 64 percent, and an increase in wireless networks, rising from 70 percent last year to 79 percent this year. Chronicle of Higher Education, 9 February 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/02/2005020903n.htm MICROSOFT TO ACQUIRE ANTIVIRUS MAKER Microsoft has announced plans to acquire privately held Sybari Software, maker of software that protects against viruses, worms, and other threats. Microsoft has purchased other companies as part of its efforts to increase security, including a Romanian antivirus company, GeCAD Software, in 2003 and antispyware maker Giant Software Company in December of last year. Mike Nash, corporate vice president in Microsoft's security business and technology unit, said that with the latest purchase, Microsoft will begin offering stand-alone antivirus products. He said the company would soon offer a product based on Sybari technology and geared toward business customers. Other products designed to protect PCs from Web-based attacks will follow, though Nash did not provide a time frame for those applications. New York Times, 8 February 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/09/technology/09soft.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 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] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2005, EDUCAUSE
