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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 04, 2006 *** Conference Break *** Software to Monitor Foreign Opinions of United States Literacy Project Portal Launched Draft Report from NIST Details RFID Risks Windows Vista Antipiracy Technology Locks PCs Nokia's Wibree Challenges Bluetooth Russian Hackers Sentenced to Eight Years in Jail *** Conference Break *** Publication of Edupage will be suspended for the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, October 9 to October 12. The next issue of Edupage will be sent Friday, October 13. For news and community resources, including blogs and podcasts from the conference, visit http://connect.educause.edu/. SOFTWARE TO MONITOR FOREIGN OPINIONS OF UNITED STATES Funded by a $2.4 million grant over three years from the Department of Homeland Security, a group of major universities including Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Utah is developing software to monitor negative opinions of the United States or its leaders in foreign news media. Researchers plan to test the system on a database of articles from 2001 and 2002. The new software will automate existing services for monitoring global news. New York Times, 4 October 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/04monitor.html LITERACY PROJECT PORTAL LAUNCHED The Literacy Project, a portal to connect literacy organizations around the world, was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. It was created in a collaboration among Google, the Frankfurt Book Fair literacy campaign, and UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning. Google's new online service lets teachers, organizations, and people interested in literacy use the Internet to search for and share relevant information through blogs, videos, and groups. Searchers can also locate literacy organizations using a zoomable world map. BBC, 4 October 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5403456.stm DRAFT REPORT FROM NIST DETAILS RFID RISKS A draft report from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) covers some of the security and privacy risks of using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Agencies must decide how much information to include on the RFID tags and how to protect it. If the tag is tied to a back-end database, for example, an intruder could use an RFID reader as a back door to the database unless it has been properly secured with access controls, password protection, and cryptography. According to the report, "When practitioners adhere to sound security engineering principles, RFID technology can help a wide range of organizations and individuals realize substantial productivity gains and efficiencies." The report's guidance is intended to help current and future RFID users understand the risks and the best-known safeguards. Federal Computer Week, 3 October 2006 http://www.fcw.com/article96300-10-03-06-Web WINDOWS VISTA ANTIPIRACY TECHNOLOGY LOCKS PCS Microsoft has embedded antipiracy technology in Windows Vista that locks a PC if the operating system isn't activated using a legitimate product registration key within 30 days of installation. The system will run with reduced functionality until activated. The technology is part of Microsoft's new Software Protection Platform and will be part of future versions of all Microsoft products, said Cori Hartje, director of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Software Initiative. Scheduled for wide availability in January, Vista is the successor to Windows XP. ZDNet, 4 October 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6122462.html NOKIA'S WIBREE CHALLENGES BLUETOOTH Finnish cell-phone maker Nokia has introduced Wibree technology, which ties low-power devices such as sensors into a personal network that also includes Bluetooth-connected devices such as cell phones. According to Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, "Wibree consists of a small extension to a standard Bluetooth radio." Nokia, however, insists that Wibree is not offered as an extension to Bluetooth but as a separate technology designed to prompt demand in areas such as personal fitness and toys where low-power devices monitor things such as heart rate or the movement of a toy car. Red Herring, 4 October 2006 http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=18946&hed=Nokia+Stakes+Short-Range+Claims RUSSIAN HACKERS SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN JAIL Three Russian hackers who extorted up to $4 million from online bookmakers and casinos in the United Kingdom alone, with 54 similar attacks across 30 countries during six months, have each been sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $3,700. The trio were arrested following a joint investigation by the U.K.'s National High Tech Crime Unit, Interpol, the FBI, and Russia's Interior Ministry and Prosecutor General's office. The attacks involved planting spyware onto the systems of targeted gambling firms, which then faced paying off the hackers or dealing with a denial-of-service attack against their Web sites. The Register, 4 October 2006 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/04/russian_bookmaker_hackers_jailed/ ***************************************************** 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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