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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2005 Georgia Uncovers Misuse of Online Portfolios FCC Allows Bells to Bundle DSL Tech Companies Coordinate Efforts to Fight Hackers GEORGIA UNCOVERS MISUSE OF ONLINE PORTFOLIOS After discovering files containing personal information on its e-portfolio system, officials at the University of Georgia are reviewing the institution's policies for online portfolios. A student in the university's New Media Institute--part of the school's journalism program--had used the e-portfolio system to store a list of names and credit card numbers on a university-owned server. Officials at the school are not sure how the student obtained the list, which came from a North Carolina company that sells pharmaceutical products online, or what the student intended to do with it. The server where the file resided was immediately taken down, and officials are now combing through the rest of the files before re-posting them, looking for any other inappropriate information. According to Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute, the incident has raised questions about how long and under what terms the university will offer online portfolio services to its students. Shamp, who expressed support for online portfolios, pointed to the possibility of third-party options to address concerns over liability for the institution. Chronicle of Higher Education, 1 April 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i30/30a04102.htm FCC ALLOWS BELLS TO BUNDLE DSL The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that local phone companies cannot be compelled to offer stand-alone DSL service to customers who purchase phone service from other providers. Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Kentucky had sought to force BellSouth to unbundle its DSL service from its phone service and sell the high-speed data service to individuals who bought phone service from other local providers or from cell-phone companies. BellSouth filed a petition with the FCC, which narrowly granted the petition on a vote of 3-2. Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, the two Democrats on the FCC, filed a dissenting statement expressing their concern that the ruling would limit consumer choice. "If it is permissible to deny consumers DSL if they do not also order analog voice service," they wrote, "what stops a carrier from denying broadband service to an end-user who has cut the cord and uses only a wireless phone?" Wall Street Journal, 28 March 2005 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111196508520290459,00.html TECH COMPANIES COORDINATE EFFORTS TO FIGHT HACKERS A group of leading technology companies has formed the Fingerprint Sharing Alliance to coordinate efforts to fight hackers. Members of the alliance include British Telecommunications, Cisco Systems, EarthLink, MCI, NTT Communications, and the University of Pennsylvania. When any member of the alliance experiences an attack by a hacker or notices evidence that would suggest an attack, all other members are notified, increasing the odds of limiting damage from the attack. Jim Slaby, senior analyst with the Yankee Group, expressed support for the new alliance and the kind of intercompany communication on which it is based. "Service providers that are cooperating by sharing attack fingerprints are helping mitigate these threats more quickly and closer to the source," he said, "thus making the Internet a more secure place." CNET, 28 March 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5642840.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
