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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005 IBM to Provide Open Source Resources to Higher Education FTC Fighting Zombies Spreading Spyware through an Affiliate Program House Takes Two Steps Against Spyware FBI Tries Again to Replace Computer Systems IBM TO PROVIDE OPEN SOURCE RESOURCES TO HIGHER EDUCATION Long a backer of open source technologies, IBM has announced several initiatives to promote open source in higher education. The company will expand its partnership with Linux reseller Red Hat to help higher education develop job skills on Linux as well as IBM products. According to IBM, the program involves institutions ranging from research universities to vocational schools. Separately, IBM will provide open source training and curriculum resources worth $7 million to the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. That program is renewable for up to four years at a value of $1.2 million per year. IBM also said it will offer a course to institutions in its Academic Initiative program, which focuses on teaching open-standards technology skills. The course, called Services Sciences, Management, and Engineering, addresses skills needed for a service-based economy. ZDNet, 24 May 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5718616.html FTC FIGHTING ZOMBIES The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will appeal to 3,000 Internet service providers (ISPs) worldwide to help identify and cut off service to hijacked computers. Such "zombies," as they are commonly called, are used by spammers to send millions of unsolicited e-mails. By some accounts, zombie machines send 50 to 80 percent of all spam. Though not requirements, the FTC's recommendations include monitoring subscriber accounts for large amounts of e-mail coming from a particular machine and helping those customers with hijacked computers clean their systems. The FTC said that 25 other countries are participating in the effort, though China--the country believed to be the source of a large percentage of the world's spam--is not one of them. Dave McClure, president of the U.S. Internet Industry Association, said that most U.S. ISPs already do most or all of the things recommended by the FTC. He noted that ISPs are forbidden by law from reading subscriber e-mails, saying that it can be difficult to distinguish between "spam coming across your network and your local charitable organization sending out its monthly newsletter." Reuters, 24 May 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8592338 SPREADING SPYWARE THROUGH AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM A business based in Russia is adopting the affiliate-program approach to spreading spyware around the globe. Called iframeDOLLARS, the company is offering Web site operators 6.1 cents for every computer on which the Web site installs code that exploits vulnerabilities in Windows and Internet Explorer. Microsoft has issued patches for the weaknesses, but unpatched computers remain at risk. The malicious code includes backdoors, Trojans, spyware, and adware. Operators of the iframeDOLLARS site claim to have paid out nearly $12,000 last week alone, which would translate to nearly 200,000 infected computers. Although spyware expert Richard Stiennon called the tactic "brazen" and said iframeDOLLARS might be making quite a bit of money from its scheme, Dan Hubbard, the head of security at Websense, gave iframeDOLLARS less credit. He noted that the company has been around for a while, trying various methods to install malicious code, and he said a number of others have tried similar affiliate programs to accomplish the same thing. TechWeb, 24 May 2005 http://www.techweb.com/wire/security/163700705 HOUSE TAKES TWO STEPS AGAINST SPYWARE The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed two separate bills this week designed to address the growing problem of spyware. HR 29, introduced by Mary Bono (R-Calif.), would impose stiff fines on anyone found guilty of distributing computer code that results in browser hijacking, modifying bookmarks, collecting personal information without permission, and disabling security mechanisms. Violators can be fined as much as $3 million per incident. One of only four Representatives who voted against Bono's bill, Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) had introduced another bill, HR 744, that also prohibits installing spyware. Lofgren's bill, which passed 395 to 1, would impose fines and jail time to anyone found guilty. Both bills now go to the Senate, which failed to act on a spyware bill sent by the House last year. Senators have said they will not allow a similar situation this year. CNET, 23 May 2005 http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5717658.html FBI TRIES AGAIN TO REPLACE COMPUTER SYSTEMS After spending several years and $170 million on a failed computer system, the FBI said it now has a new system in the works, the first part of which will be operational by the end of 2006. After September 11, 2001, federal officials identified a need for a computer system that would allow various agencies to share information efficiently to help prevent similar attacks in the future. The FBI's Virtual Case File, designed to meet that need, was riddled with problems and ultimately was not viable. At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee meeting, FBI Director Robert Mueller conceded that Virtual Case File would not be implemented and expressed his regret that so much time and money were wasted on it. The new electronic information management system will be called Sentinel. Reuters, 24 May 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8593132 ***************************************************** 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. 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