***************************************************** 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, JANUARY 27, 2006 Tech Companies Pony Up $10 Billion for Itanium ChoicePoint Settles with FTC Spam Penalties Accrue Lawsuits Target Maker of Bogus Sypware Tools Ameriprise Laptop with Personal Data Stolen TECH COMPANIES PONY UP $10 BILLION FOR ITANIUM A group of technology companies has pledged $10 billion between now and 2010 to encourage adoption of Intel's Itanium processor, a high-end unit that has failed to meet expectations that it would capture a large portion of the server market. The companies that will contribute to the effort are Intel, HP, Unisys, Silicon Graphics Inc., NEC, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, and Groupe Bull. All are members of a group called the Itanium Solutions Alliance, which counts other companies including Microsoft, Red Hat, Novell, and Oracle as members. The money pledged will go toward research and development, marketing, and other efforts to help software companies develop applications that take advantage of the Itanium processor. Tom Kilroy, general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, said the money will be well spent, noting that there is "a $140 billion opportunity on hardware," which itself is "dwarfed by the opportunity in software and services." CNET, 26 January 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1006_3-6031773.html CHOICEPOINT SETTLES WITH FTC Data broker ChoicePoint has reached a $15 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following the company's disclosure a year ago that it had turned over sensitive personal data for about 150,000 people to bogus customers. The FTC alleged that ChoicePoint did not have adequate procedures in place to prevent such fraud and that the company ignored what should have been red flags about the identity of the customers requesting data, including credit reports. ChoicePoint, which has over the past year taken steps to address the problems that led to the incident, said it disagrees with some of the FTC's findings but supports the settlement. The settlement covers a $10 million fine, the largest ever meted out by the FTC, and $5 million that will be held in an account and used to reimburse consumers who can demonstrate losses due to the ChoicePoint incident. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who introduced tough legislation to regulate the data-brokerage industry after the ChoicePoint scandal, said he thinks the fine was too low and will encourage others to see such penalties as "just the cost of doing business." New York Times, 27 January 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/business/27choice.html SPAM PENALTIES ACCRUE A federal judge has issued a summary judgment in favor of AOL in its lawsuit against a man AOL describes as "the poster child for the CAN-SPAM Act." Christopher William Smith was accused of sending billions of e-mail messages in violation of the federal statute. Smith's attorneys withdrew from the case several months after it was filed, and U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton said that Smith "refused to participate in this case, willfully disregarding...discovery obligations and failing to comply with multiple court orders." In light of Smith's behavior, Hilton issued a $5.3 million judgment against Smith, to be paid to AOL, as well as ordering him to pay $287,000 in legal fees for the ISP. Smith is currently in custody in Minnesota, waiting to be tried for criminal drug charges stemming from his operating an online pharmacy. Wired News, 26 January 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70098-0.html LAWSUITS TARGET MAKER OF BOGUS SYPWARE TOOLS The State of Washington and Microsoft have filed separate lawsuits against Secure Computer, a company they accuse of running a bogus antispyware racket. According to the complaints, Secure Computer used pop-up ads and other tools to tell computer users that their computers were infected with spyware and to offer a service, Spyware Cleaner, that would remove the unwanted software for $49.95. Microsoft and Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said that the scan that supposedly revealed spyware was bogus and that the removal service in fact left computers more vulnerable to spyware. Moreover, the complaints contend that Secure Computer's messages implied that the service was in some way connected to or endorsed by Microsoft. The lawsuits allege that Secure Computer violated a recently enacted Washington Computer Spyware Act and three other laws. An attorney representing Secure Computer said the company was shocked at the legal action and would respond shortly. ZDNet, 25 January 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6031108.html AMERIPRISE LAPTOP WITH PERSONAL DATA STOLEN A laptop containing information on 230,000 individuals was stolen from the car of an employee of Ameriprise Financial in December, according to the company. The computer included names and Social Security numbers for more than 70,000 financial advisors, and names and Ameriprise account numbers for 158,000 customers of the firm, which was spun off of American Express last year. Andy MacMillan, a spokesperson from the company, said that although access to the data is protected by a password, the data were not encrypted, which is a violation of written company policies. MacMillan said the company does not believe that the thief knew about the information contained on the laptop and thinks that it is unlikely any of the information will be accessed or used fraudulently. New York Times, 25 January 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25cnd-data.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) 2006, EDUCAUSE
