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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2006 Creators of MP3 Develop Tool to Combat Piracy EFF Raises Concerns over Google Desktop TSA Calls for Audit of Secure Flight Program Group Says Yahoo Aided Chinese Authorities CREATORS OF MP3 DEVELOP TOOL TO COMBAT PIRACY A German research group that developed the MP3 format in the late 1980s has developed a watermarking technology that it says will help curb illegal file sharing. Officials from the Fraunhofer Institute said that their technology is better than digital rights management (DRM) tools in that it does not require special hardware to play protected files and is less susceptible to hacking. Instead, the institute has developed a method of watermarking MP3 files and software to track those files. The result is that rather than identifying individuals who download protected files, the application tracks who has uploaded files that have been marked. According to Michael Kip, a spokesperson for the institute, "If, for instance, you purchase and download a CD, burn a copy, and give it to a friend, and that person puts it on a file sharing network, our system will trace that music back to you." That scenario, said Kip, could result in legal action against the person who originally bought the CD, depending on that person's country of residence and applicable copyright laws. PCWorld, 9 February 2006 http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124676,00.asp EFF RAISES CONCERNS OVER GOOGLE DESKTOP The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is warning users about what it says are privacy concerns with Google's new Desktop Search application. The tool indexes files from a computer, allowing users to search that content from other machines. According to the EFF, this process poses significant risks to personal privacy, particularly in light of recent government demands for access to usage logs from Google and other companies. EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston said, "Unless you configure Google Desktop very carefully, and few people will, Google will have copies of...whatever...text-based documents the desktop software can index." If federal authorities obtain Google's records, he said, they would have access to all of those files. Officials from Google conceded that the new tool does represent a trade-off of some measure of privacy, but said such a compromise is one that many users will be willing to make. The company also said it would encrypt those files, would place strong limits on who can access the information, and would not store it for more than 30 days. BBC, 10 February 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4700002.stm TSA CALLS FOR AUDIT OF SECURE FLIGHT PROGRAM The federal government's Secure Flight program has suffered another setback, this time from Kip Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Hawley told Congress that he has ordered a "comprehensive audit" of the program, though he did not say what prompted his decision. The program is intended to increase airline security by checking the names of all passengers against watch lists, a task currently carried out by airlines. Under the Secure Flight program, the federal government would assume that responsibility. Critics of the program point to its cost--$200 million over four years--noting that even last month Hawley said the TSA still was not entirely sure how it would work. They also have complained about privacy concerns of the program and routine mistakes that airlines reportedly make in checking passenger names against watch lists. Wired News, 9 February 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70198-0.html GROUP SAYS YAHOO AIDED CHINESE AUTHORITIES For the second time recently, Yahoo has been accused of helping the Chinese government identify and prosecute individuals accused of political crimes. In 2005, Yahoo was criticized for providing information that helped Chinese authorities prosecute journalist Shi Tao, who was convicted of revealing state secrets. Reporters Without Borders said that another case has surfaced in which the ISP provided information to the Chinese government that led to the conviction of Li Zhi. According to the group, Li was found guilty of "inciting subversion" after he posted comments online critical of local officials and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Mary Osaka, a spokesperson from Yahoo, said that at the time the company was unaware of the nature of the investigation. In addition, she reiterated the company's position that it is better for Yahoo to have a presence in the country, "providing services we know benefit China's citizens," even if that requires compliance with local laws that run counter to U.S. beliefs and values. Internet News, 9 February 2006 http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/3584191 ***************************************************** 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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