***************************************************** 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 MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 2006 Google Enters Software Market Judge Sentences Computer Attacker to Prison Verizon Mistakenly E-Mails Customer Data GOOGLE ENTERS SOFTWARE MARKET Search engine Google has begun offering a range of hosted applications. The model for the new Google Apps for Your Domain program is Google's own Gmail for Your Domain, which the company debuted in February. With that service, customers can offer a version of Google's Gmail service that uses the organization's domain name rather than "gmail.com." According to Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager of enterprise business at Google, the Gmail for Your Domain service currently serves hundreds of thousands of users through tens of thousands of domains, including domains at several hundred universities. Google Apps for Your Domain offers free, hosted services of applications including Google Calendar, Google Talk (chat), and Page Creator (to create Web pages). Organizations that use the service will be able to customize the interface to reflect particular names, colors, and logos. Later this year, a premium version will be offered for a fee. ZDNet, 27 August 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6109823.html JUDGE SENTENCES COMPUTER ATTACKER TO PRISON A California man has been sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for launching botnet attacks that damaged thousands of computers. Christopher Maxwell pleaded guilty to conspiring with two juveniles to orchestrate the attacks, which used hijacked computers to install advertising software. Victims included the U.S. Defense Department, Seattle's Northwest Hospital, and Colton Unified School District in California. The attacks, which took place in 2004 and 2005, netted the defendants about $100,000. Although Maxwell's attorney had sought a sentence that did not include prison, noting that the defendant did not have a criminal record and did not intend for his attack to spread as widely as it did, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman disagreed. Commenting on the "incredible self-centeredness" of Maxwell's actions, Pechman said that a prison term in this case is necessary to deter "all those youth out there who are squirreled away in their basements hacking." Wired News, 26 August 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71669-0.html VERIZON MISTAKENLY E-MAILS CUSTOMER DATA Verizon Wireless mistakenly e-mailed an Excel spreadsheet containing information on more than 5,200 subscribers to about 1,800 customers of the company. The e-mail was supposed to include an electronic order form for a Bluetooth wireless headset as part of a promotional offer. The Excel file did not contain highly sensitive information such as credit card or Social Security numbers, but it did include names, e-mail addresses, and cell phone models and numbers. Even with such relatively benign information, identity thieves have a head start on committing fraud, according to security experts. James Van Dyke, the principal analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research, noted that a skilled con artist could use the information in the spreadsheet to contact someone on the list, posing as a representative of Verizon, and possibly obtain more sensitive information. A spokesperson from Verizon said the company takes seriously its obligation to protect consumer data and has implemented new measures to prevent a recurrence of this kind of incident. The company also encouraged customers to add passwords to their accounts. CNET, 25 August 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6109883.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
