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Issue no. 8, 2001 Published: Oct 05, 2001
Intelligence data pulled from websites
EU to allow law officers access to electronic personal data
EU states agree to pass anti-spam law
FBI names 20 most-wanted security flaws
W3C considers controversial proposal
Data signal Germany's transformation to IT society
World becoming more connected
Survey: Anger at Microsoft's new licensing
First 3G mobiles launched in Japan
Teleportation technology beams in
US chases domain name schemer
Sharks 'innocent' of web cable attack

Intelligence data pulled from websites
Sensitive documents and reports have been pulled from websites across the Internet following the 11 September attacks due to fears the information could be useful to terrorists. Several US Government sites have removed information about hazardous chemicals and maps out of concern the data could prove useful to people planning further attacks. Even private websites have taken down details about military bases and intelligence offices. But government watchdogs warn that national security could be used as a pretext to keep information from the public. ''While security may improve, the spirit of civil society is lost. We cannot let that happen here,'' said Gary Bass of OMB Watch, a US group that campaigns for freedom of information.
BBC News Oct 05, 2001	back to top

EU to allow law officers access to electronic personal data
Following the US terrorist attacks on September 11, the European Union has ordered the European Commission to draft a law allowing law enforcement professionals access to electronic personal data, which before was protected from the prying eyes of the law. The new law will allow European law enforcement teams ''to investigate criminal acts involving the use of electronic communications systems and to take legal measures against their perpetrators''. Ministers have mulled various measures in response to the tragedies. Though the law will in effect open up electronic personal data, a council communiqué stated that a particular effort would be made ''to strike a balance between the protection of personal data and the law enforcement authorities' need to gain access to data for the purpose of criminal investigations''.
Europemedia.net Oct 05, 2001	back to top

EU states agree to pass anti-spam law
The 15 member states of the EU agreed on Monday to pass a new law banning the use of unsolicited e-mail in promoting financial services. The directive allows member states to use one of two options for curbing the use of spam. Countries could choose the ''opt-in'' approach - whereby financial services companies would be banned from spamming Netizens without first obtaining their permission. Under the second ''opt-out'' option, companies would be prohibited from spamming only if the consumer has signalled his or her objection by entering his name on a national registry set up for that purpose. The directive must now go before a second reading before the European Parliament. Any proposed changes would still need to be worked out in conference. Once adopted, member states will be given 12 to 18 months to ratify the new law.
Newsbytes Oct 02, 2001	back to top

FBI names 20 most-wanted security flaws
The Systems Administration, Networking and Security (SANS) Institute unveiled a list of 20 software flaws this week that the group, along with the FBI, recommends be given special attention by corporate data managers. The list includes seven security problems that affect all systems, six vulnerabilities specific to Microsoft servers, and seven flaws that affect various flavours of Unix, including Linux and Solaris. Along with many esoteric vulnerabilities--such as the ISAPI flaw that allowed Code Red to spread--the list also includes many common-sense steps that system administrators can take to secure their networks. For example, the list highlights the fact that most default installations of software are not secure, that many organisations do not perform regular backups and that weak or no passwords are frequently used.
ZDNet Oct 05, 2001	back to top

W3C considers controversial proposal
A new and controversial proposal under consideration by the World Wide Web Consortium could open the way for companies to claim patent rights - and demand royalties - on standards authorised by that body. The W3C works with developers, software makers and others to come up with standards for the Web, which can then be used by just about anyone to build Web software, free of charge. To date, either those standards have not been based on patented technology, or the holders of patents have chosen to not enforce patents in order that the standards be widely adopted. But a new proposal may open a few cracks in that wall, allowing companies to enforce patents based on those technologies and to potentially charge a royalty fee to developers who use them.
ZDNet Oct 02, 2001	back to top

Data signal Germany's transformation to IT society
Germany is turning rapidly into a ''knowledge-based society'', according to statistics published by the federal statistics authority. The number of companies in the information and communication sector jumped by 25 per cent between 1994 and 1999, compared with an increase of 8 per cent for company registrations as a whole. The proportion of households that have a PC rose from 21 to 47 per cent between 1993 and 2000, while 52 per cent of all employees use a computer at work. The turnover of companies in the information and communication sector increased 59 per cent to E467m between 1994 and 1999, compared with an increase of only 16.5 per cent for the whole economy. Later statistics, covering the downturn in the new economy, were not available. Labour shortages remain an acute problem, however, with the number of students obtaining university degrees in information technology and in electronics falling in the late 1990s. Germany produced 7,900 electronics graduates in 2000, compared with 14,100 in 1995.
Financial Times Oct 05, 2001	back to top

World becoming more connected
The worldwide growth of the Internet continues at a staggering rate, according to a new study by TeleGeography, an international telecom statistics and analysis firm. It said international cross-border Internet links grew 174 per cent from July 2000 to July 2001. Latin America had the biggest jump of any region in terms of total capacity, which increased from 2.7 Gbps (gigabits per second) to 16.1 Gbps, a leap of 479.2 per cent. Two carriers built new submarine cable systems from South America to the US, which accounted for the bulk of the increase, the study said. Europe had the second-highest percentage increase, growing from 232.3 Gbps capacity to 675.6, or 190.8 per cent. The combined US and Canada market grew 144.3 per cent, from 112.2 Gbps to 274.2 Gbps, while the Asian market increased 129.3 per cent from 22.9 Gbps to 52.7 Gbps. More information on TeleGeography is available at http://www.telegeography.com
Newsbytes Oct 03, 2001	back to top

Survey: Anger at Microsoft's new licensing
Most corporate customers are unhappy with looming changes in Microsoft software-licensing programs, and many would consider switching to competitors' products, according to a survey released Thursday. The survey of 4,550 technology professionals found that 80 per cent expected to pay more for Microsoft software under the new programs. The survey also found that 36 per cent said they would consider alternative products. The high number of potential defectors is likely an emotional reaction, said analysts, but it is a further indication that Microsoft may have blundered when it enacted new licensing provisions October 1. Under the new licensing program, customers are placed in a program that commits them to upgrading every two years. According to market researcher Gartner, the program will raise prices anywhere from 33 per cent to 100 per cent.
New York Times / CNET Oct 05, 2001	back to top

First 3G mobiles launched in Japan
Japan's leading mobile telecoms operator, NTT DoCoMo, has launched the world's first third generation (3G) mobile phone service. Users of this revolutionary phone will be able to surf the Internet and see pictures of the people they are talking to, and eventually they will be able to watch movies and listen to music on their handsets. NTT DoCoMo hopes to conquer the markets in Europe and America, and snap up 6 million domestic subscribers by March 2004. The service, named ''freedom of mobile multi-media access'', or Foma, will initially be limited to a 30km radius around the centre of Tokyo. NTT says it plans to introduce the service to the Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya areas by December, and to the rest of Japan by spring 2002.
BBC News Oct 01, 2001	back to top

Teleportation technology beams in
Danish researchers have made a breakthrough that will bring Star Trek style teleportation and super-fast quantum computing closer. Eugene Polzik and his colleagues at the University of Aarhus have made two samples of several trillion atoms interact at a distance. Quantum entanglement, or the art of entwining two or more particles without physical contact, was known by Einstein who called it ''spooky action at a distance''. The work follows developments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where scientists are working on a secret US Army-funded project to develop the world's first quantum Internet. Entanglement will be used to create, store and distribute quantum data. It could pave the way to make super-fast quantum computers and link them into a quantum Internet. Quantum computing would also be able to crack the strongest encrypted codes in use, which explains why the army have taken such a strong interest.
VNUnet UK Oct 01, 2001	back to top

US chases domain name schemer
US legal authorities are appealing for help in tracking down John Zuccarini who they say is making more than a million dollars a year from a collection of mis-spelled domain names. Mr Zuccarini is accused of using misnamed domain names to divert browsers to sites that bombard web surfers with pop-up adverts for gambling and porn, practising a new variation of cybersquatting. Following a seven-month investigation, the Federal Trade Commission has won a court order against Mr Zuccarini. It wants him to cease trading and return the reputed $1m a year he is earning from his activities. However, the FTC is having trouble finding Mr Zuccarini and so far the court order has not been served on him. The FTC said anyone who has been a victim of the pop-up trick or has information as to his whereabouts should contact them.
BBC News Oct 03, 2001	back to top

Sharks 'innocent' of web cable attack
Sharks have been let off the hook for September's huge Internet outage in China. Marine experts initially thought that a shark dining on the main trans-Pacific cable linking China to the US was responsible for the break. However, in the absence of reliable witnesses China Telecom has decided that a more likely suspect is a Shanghai Xinhai Air Shipping Company (SXASC) vessel. China Telecom is now suing SXASC for more than E32m. It is believed that a ship's anchor cut the two undersea fibre-optic cables, which are underneath a shipping lane operated by the SXASC. But the company maintained that other ships were in the area and that it was not its vessel that cut the cable. This was the third time that the cable was cut, the first being in February, and shark attacks have not been ruled out in those cases. ''We have known sharks to eat tyres before,'' said marine biologist Dr Brenda Kemp. ''We think it is because they confuse them with small seals.''
VNUnet UK Oct 03, 2001	back to top