Clips December 6, 2002

[Lillie Coney <lillie.coney@xxxxxxx>]

Clips December 6, 2002

ARTICLES

Tower Records site exposes data
Homeland Security Won't Have Diet of Raw Intelligence
Utah CIO Windley resigns
High-Speed Wireless Internet Network Is Planned
Sen. Shelby To Press Consumer Protections
Calif. Trial Told No Proof of eBook Piracy Found
Iowa governor dismisses CIO
Biometrics to imprint job site
Career Channels Federal IT job openings

*****************************
CNET
Tower Records site exposes data
By Declan McCullagh
December 5, 2002, 1:17 PM PT

A security hole on Tower Records' Web site exposed data on millions of U.S. 
and U.K. customers until it was closed late Wednesday.
The glitch allowed anyone to peruse Tower Records' Web site to view its 
database of customer orders dating from 1996 through this week, including 
home and e-mail addresses, phone numbers and what music or video products 
were purchased. More than 3 million such records were exposed.

"It was a technical error, and when we discovered it we were fairly 
horrified and we fixed it in a matter of hours," a Tower representative 
said on Thursday. No credit card numbers appear to have been revealed, the 
company said.


Stephanie Wilbanks of Jonesboro, Ark., had her personal information exposed 
after she ordered a CD as a gift from Tower Records this week.

"I'm shocked and disappointed," Wilbanks said. "I will no longer do online 
business with Tower Records."

But another affected customer, Ivor Colwill of Haywards Heath, England, 
said he wasn't as concerned.

"I doubt it'll affect my shopping at Tower," Colwill said. "I honestly 
can't think of another site that covers so many of my musical needs in one 
spot or with the same quality of service. At worst, I'll telephone my 
orders to them."

The security leak arose out of a programming error in a script called 
"orderStatus.asp." When customers requested information on their order via 
the Tower site, the script called up the record, displaying the order 
number as part of the URL of the resulting page.

But the script allowed customers to type a different order number into the 
URL and call up a different record. In the change made Wednesday, Tower now 
requires customers to log in with their e-mail address and password before 
they can view information about their order.

The programming error, which existed for an unknown length of time, appears 
to have conflicted with Tower Records' posted privacy policy, which says: 
"Your TowerRecords.com Account information is password-protected. You and 
only you have access to this information...TowerRecords.com takes steps to 
ensure that your information is treated securely..."

Founded in 1960 in Sacramento, Calif., Tower Records operates about 200 
retail stores and opened its online store in November 1996.
******************************
Washington Post
Homeland Security Won't Have Diet of Raw Intelligence
Rules Being Drafted to Preclude Interagency Conflict
By Dan Eggen and John Mintz
Friday, December 6, 2002; Page A43

With the FBI and CIA insisting on strict limits on the information they 
must share with the new Homeland Security Department, the Bush 
administration has begun to craft rules for the handling of intelligence in 
the hope of heading off conflict among the agencies responsible for 
protecting the United States from another terrorist attack.

For now, the intelligence agencies have persuaded the White House that 
information provided to the Homeland Security Department should be in the 
form of summary reports. Those summaries generally will not include raw 
intelligence or details on where or how the information was gathered, in 
order to protect sources and methods.

But defenders of the new department, which will consolidate 22 federal 
agencies early next year, say its analysts occasionally will need -- and 
receive -- access to a wider range of intelligence, including undigested 
classified information, to fulfill their primary mission of protecting the 
nation's infrastructure.

Access to information is likely to be a significant topic of debate in the 
formation of the new department, according to government officials and 
outside experts. Because the rules and procedures governing information 
sharing are not yet decided, officials said it is too early to tell how the 
debate might play out.

"The new agency succeeds or fails depending on whether it gets what it 
needs from the CIA and FBI," said Mary DeRosa, a senior fellow at the 
Center for Strategic and International Studies who specializes in homeland 
defense issues. "There are strong incentives for FBI and CIA not to want a 
new player taking away their turf. . . . People in leadership will need to 
pay attention to this all the time."

Administration officials already are considering, for example, whether to 
include homeland security representatives as members of the 56 regional 
Joint Terrorism Task Forces, which oversee local terror investigations. 
That suggestion has sparked discussion over how much access to information 
those representatives should be granted, and to what extent the information 
should be shared with others at the Homeland Security Department, sources said.

The statute that created the new agency is not specific about how the 
department will obtain and analyze classified information. The law signed 
by President Bush last month appears to give Tom Ridge, the homeland 
security director who has been nominated to head the new department, the 
power to demand access to classified intelligence held by the FBI and CIA.

"Except as otherwise directed by the president, the secretary shall have 
such access as the secretary considers necessary to all information, 
including reports . . . and unevaluated intelligence relating to threats of 
terrorism," the statute reads. "The secretary may obtain such material upon 
request."

But administration officials said that in fact Ridge's department would 
receive undigested intelligence only when he makes the case for it under 
yet undefined procedures, and that these guidelines are to be laid out 
generally in presidential directives that are only now being drafted. No 
one yet knows who will broker any conflicts between the department and 
other agencies, or what criteria will be used to make such decisions, 
officials said.

At the FBI, the summaries will be compiled by a new contingent of "reports 
officers," who will be responsible for culling useful information about 
terrorist threats from raw intelligence for use by homeland security and 
other outside agencies. The process will be similar to that used by the 
CIA. Neither agency will be folded into the new Homeland Security Department.

At the new agency, analysts will try to speed the intelligence they receive 
-- information, for example, that al Qaeda operatives are thought to be 
casing government buildings -- to the federal and local security officials 
who can take appropriate action.

A number of officials at the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency have 
deep misgivings about distributing raw intelligence too widely, especially 
to a new and untested department. A number of officials and staff members 
on Capitol Hill also fear that internal squabbling could hinder the 
formation of the new department, and will contribute to pre-Sept. 11, 2001, 
tensions between existing intelligence units that authorities have been 
working to defuse.

"There has been a real reluctance to provide information or access to 
information; it would be naive to think that reluctance won't continue," 
said one Senate aide involved in the homeland security legislation. "There 
is real friction among these agencies. A lot of people want to put Homeland 
Security in a little box and not share too much with them."

Senior Bush administration officials play down the likelihood of discord, 
saying the intelligence issues are relatively minor and can be worked out. 
The new department's relationship with the CIA and FBI "will be a learning 
process as it moves forward," but it's "an unnecessary leap" to conclude 
that the disagreements will be serious, one administration official said.

The debate comes at a time of uncertainty over the future of the domestic 
counterterrorism effort, including growing concerns among some lawmakers 
and administration officials over the FBI's readiness to detect and prevent 
another attack. Senior White House officials have begun to discuss whether 
the FBI should turn over its counterterrorism responsibilities to a new 
domestic security agency.

The debate over information sharing essentially is a continuation of 
arguments that began immediately after President Bush unveiled his homeland 
security proposal last spring. Some administration officials and lawmakers 
suggested at the time that the new department should have unfettered access 
to raw intelligence data, such as information gathered by eavesdropping 
satellites operated by the supersecret NSA.

Intelligence officials worked quickly to quash such talk, arguing that 
sharing raw data was unwieldy and risky. However, a number of the new 
department's component agencies -- such as the Secret Service, the Customs 
Service, the Coast Guard and the former Immigration and Naturalization 
Service -- will retain intelligence divisions that continue to gather 
classified data as they have for years. As a result, some officials said, 
the new agency will pose a bureaucratic threat to the FBI, the CIA, the 
NSA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and others.

As an example of what the future may hold, some officials point to a 
current case of interagency disagreement. The FBI and the Customs Service 
have been squabbling for months over Operation Green Quest, the mammoth 
Treasury-run task force that is investigating the funding of terror groups. 
Some FBI officials have pushed hard to gain control of the investigation, 
arguing that officials at Customs and its parent agency, the Treasury 
Department, do not have the counterterrorism expertise that the probe 
requires. Representatives from each side disparaged the other in private 
briefings with Congress, according to sources familiar with the meetings.

To end the dispute, administration officials have tentatively decided to 
leave responsibility for the Green Quest probe with Customs when that 
agency moves over to Homeland Security, while putting the FBI in charge of 
all other terrorism-related financial probes, sources said.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with a 
broad reorganization aimed at transforming the bureau into a 
counterterrorism agency, telling employees in one of his regular memos last 
week that "we're being called upon to take on added responsibilities and to 
view our role in different ways."

In terms of sharing information with the Department of Homeland Security, 
Mueller has repeatedly emphasized the need to cooperate in internal memos 
and comments to his top staff, according to sources familiar with his 
views. The White House has also made clear to the FBI and other agencies 
that collegiality is required, and that they are committed to avoiding 
showdowns.

"There are going to be bumps in the road; I would be lying if I said there 
weren't," one U.S. intelligence official remarked. "But we are prepared to 
work out most of those bumps."
*****************************************
Government Computer News
Utah CIO Windley resigns
By Trudy Walsh

Utah CIO Phillip Windley is the latest to leave in the end-of-the-year 
blizzard of state CIO resignations. He submitted his resignation yesterday 
to Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, effective Dec. 31.

In the past two weeks, CIOs from New Jersey, Iowa and Georgia stepped down.

"With recent events, I have come to realize that I have become an 
impediment to implementing our vision for e-government and an efficient and 
effective information technology infrastructure," Windley said in his 
resignation letter. "The conversation has increasingly become about me 
instead of the important work that needs to be done to benefit the citizens 
of Utah."

Leavitt appointed Windley CIO in March 2001. Windley had been vice 
president of product development and operations at the now-defunct 
Excite@Home of Redwood City, Calif.

As CIO and director of Utah's IT Services, Windley had come under fire in a 
September report, Hiring Practices of the CIO and ITS, by the Office of the 
Legislative Auditor General for Utah. "We believe favoritism towards former 
Excite@Home employees has occurred," the report stated. "While individual 
cases may not raise strong concerns, taken together we believe these cases 
display a pattern which does yield strong concerns of favoritism."

The report detailed examples of how competitive processes were apparently 
manipulated to hire specific individuals formerly employed by Excite@Home. 
It also stated that the new hires that had come from Excite@Home had higher 
starting salaries than other new hires. "Taken together, we believe this 
data supports the allegation of favoritism," the report said.

Although Windley said he has "many mixed emotions: anger, sadness, 
excitement and relief," his resignation was not "forced."

In a statement yesterday about Windley's resignation, Leavitt said, "The 
state is losing a very talented technology leader and strategist."
******************************
New York Times
December 6, 2002
High-Speed Wireless Internet Network Is Planned
By JOHN MARKOFF

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 5  The wireless technology known as WiFi, which allows 
users of personal and hand-held computers to connect to the Internet at 
high speed without cables, got a significant stamp of approval today when 
AT&T, I.B.M. and Intel announced a new company to create a nationwide network.

The unruly technology, which has largely been a playground for hackers, 
hobbyists and high-technology start-ups, is already sprouting mushroomlike 
in coffee shops, bookstores, airports, hotels, homes, businesses and even a 
few parks.

The new company, Cometa Networks, has set ambitious goals for itself: to 
deploy more than 20,000 wireless access points by the end of 2004, placing 
an cable-less high-speed Internet connection within either a five-minute 
walk in urban areas or a five-minute drive in suburban communities.

Executives from the technology companies and the two investment firms, Apax 
Partners and 3i, that joined to create the network said they would begin 
offering their service through cellular and wired telephone companies, 
D.S.L. and cable Internet service providers and other Internet retailers 
some time in 2003.

The service is intended to let subscribers pop open their laptops and have 
a seamless high-speed wireless extension of their personal or corporate 
Internet services  initially in the 50 largest metropolitan areas  without 
having to give credit card numbers or enter additional information, as is 
generally the case now. Connections would generally be at least the speed 
of a typical home broadband connection.

Cometa executives said that they expected the national availability of the 
wireless network would combine with Intel's planned inclusion of wireless 
Internet capability in all its mobile microprocessors next year to spur a 
fundamental shift in the way Americans will use the Internet.

"This is that big," said Dr. Lawrence B. Brilliant, chief executive of 
Cometa Networks. "It's that exciting; it's that much of a distortion in the 
computing field. It's a change in the way people use technology."

Until now WiFi has been viewed by many technology analysts as an upstart 
from-the-bottom technology that has the potential of upsetting other 
capital-intensive technology deployments, like the expensive 
next-generation data-oriented cellular networks known as 2.5G and 3G that 
are being established by companies like AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel, 
T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.

But Cometa executives said that because they had chosen a wholesale 
business strategy, in which they will not sell Internet service directly to 
consumers or business, it is more likely that the two technologies would 
complement each other. In addition, users of the wireless access points 
would generally be stationary while connecting to the Internet.

"WiFi has very high bandwidth and short range, while 2.5 and 3G cellular 
are lower bandwidth services designed to support data services on the fly," 
said Theodore Schell, chairman of Cometa Networks and a general partner of 
Apax Partners. "They will have different cost equations, and there is a 
place for both of these technologies."

Industry analysts have said they believe that growing WiFi use could steal 
valuable subscribers from cellular companies that are hoping consumers will 
begin using their cellphones for data services like movie times, restaurant 
reviews and shopping deals wherever they are traveling.

The Cometa executives said they were not certain how the new network would 
be used but were convinced that the nation's 100 million Internet users 
would begin to use their portable computers in new ways once connections 
are widely and easily available as they travel.

The executives and industry analysts acknowledged that creating a new 
nationwide wireless network was something of an act of faith given the 
general economic and technological gloom in the telecommunications 
industry. It is widely believed that the industry had overbuilt and had 
overinvested in the Internet boom of the last decade.

The new company would not disclose its planned prices or the equity stakes 
of the five partners. Wireless industry analysts, however, have said WiFi 
hot spots can cost as much as $4,000 apiece to install in public places. If 
the average cost is half that, the installation of 20,000 access points 
would cost $40 million.

"One of the problems is that giant companies creating wireless ventures 
often have not had tremendous success," said Alan Reiter, publisher of 
Wireless Internet and Mobile Computing, an industry newsletter based in 
Chevy Chase, Md. He pointed to ambitious and expensive undertakings like a 
cellular data initiative known as C.P.D.P. in the 1980's and early 1990's 
and the wireless data service known as Metricom, which went bankrupt last 
year with $800 million of debts.

Other analysts questioned whether Cometa Networks would be able to make 
headway in an already crowded WiFi marketplace that has had both early 
failures and a host of smaller, aggressive start-ups.

"It's obvious that what is happening right now is a wireless land grab," 
said Andrew Seybold, editor of Outlook 4Mobility, a publishing and 
consulting firm based in Los Gatos, Calif. "The question is, How many 
places can they lock up and how quickly?"

Cometa executives insisted, however, that they were in a different position 
from their predecessors. The companies have a technological advantage in 
that they will not have to create customer equipment, relying on Intel's 
equipping the nation's portable computers with wireless abilities.

They said Cometa was also in a particularly strong position with respect to 
its competitors because it could use AT&T's existing data network, to 
connect the planned 20,000 wireless access points.

Leaving the relationship with individual customers to Internet service 
providers "is smart from a business point of view," said Richard Miller, a 
wireless data industry consultant at Breo Ventures in Palo Alto, Calif. At 
the same time, he noted, the venture will not succeed unless big corporate 
customers demand the service from Internet service providers.

"The demand will have to come from the enterprise to the carriers," he said.

To gain the confidence of corporate customers the new network will have to 
meet stringent data security standards, and Dr. Brilliant said that Cometa 
planned to take advantage of industry standards like virtual private 
networks to add security to the WiFi standard.
*********************************
Washington Post
Sen. Shelby To Press Consumer Protections
By Kathleen Day
Thursday, December 5, 2002; Page E02

The new head of the Senate Banking Committee plans to reopen the question 
of how best to protect the privacy of financial information when key 
consumer credit legislation expires next year.

In a speech today to the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America, Sen. 
Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) plans to reiterate his long-held view that 
consumers deserve much more privacy protection than they were given a few 
years ago in a law that deregulated the financial services industry, the 
senator's spokeswoman, Andrea Andrews, confirmed yesterday.

The difference now, many business executives say, is that Shelby will have 
more power to promote his view when his party becomes the majority in the 
Senate when the new Congress convenes in January.

Although there are no plans to revisit the deregulation act, another piece 
of legislation that deals with privacy -- the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 
which governs how the nation's three major credit agencies collect and 
disseminate information about consumers -- will expire at the end of next 
year. That will require that lawmakers revisit the privacy issue, 
particularly the part of the law that preempts state laws on the subject, 
Shelby will say in the speech.

The speech, according to sources familiar with what Shelby plans to say, 
will be Shelby's most detailed public statement to date of how he envisions 
running the committee, which has oversight of financial-services agencies, 
including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Board 
and the Department of the Treasury.

Shelby's views on privacy have put him at odds with the business community 
and with many fellow Republicans who favor allowing insurers, bankers and 
securities brokers to share financial information, such as consumer 
spending patterns, among themselves and with other retail industries.

Industry officials argue that they need easy access to individual financial 
data to better serve consumers with the products and services they want and 
need. Consumer groups argue that industry demands too much information, and 
often uses it unfairly, while at the same time fighting against giving 
consumers better information, such as how much interest someone pays over 
the life of a credit card bill by paying only the minimum balance due each 
month.

Shelby also will say that he will make oversight of the SEC's 
implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act a top priority, sources said. 
Congress passed the bill in July in response to the accounting scandals at 
Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and other companies. To restore investor trust 
in the securities markets, Congress must fully implement the law's 
provisions, he will say. In addition, Shelby will argue that President Bush 
must nominate a strong SEC chairman who is independent from the White House 
and other political pressures.

Andrews, Shelby's spokeswoman, said the senator was not available for 
comment and that copies of his speech would not be available until today.
****************************
Reuters
Calif. Trial Told No Proof of eBook Piracy Found
Wed Dec 4, 8:38

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc. (NasdaqNM:ADBE - news) has 
not been able to find proof that anyone made illegal copies of electronic 
books using software that could sidestep copyright safeguards in the 
company's eBook software, an Adobe engineer testified on Wednesday.


The testimony came in the first criminal trial over alleged violations of 
the 1998 U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (news - web sites), which 
bars people from cracking the digital locks on software.


In his second day of testimony, Thomas Diaz, a senior Adobe engineer, said 
Adobe could not find evidence of any illicitly copied books had been 
created with the help of a program from ElcomSoft of Moscow.


The company is charged with violating the DMCA by selling its Advanced 
eBook Processor program. ElcomSoft says the program was designed to allow 
people to read electronic books in flexible ways, such as transferring them 
from a PC to a laptop for mobile use.


In testimony in U.S. federal court, Daryl Spano, who formerly worked on 
Adobe's anti-piracy team, said the software company gets hundreds of tips 
on alleged piracy daily and could not follow up on all of them.


However, with the ElcomSoft case "it was clear that this was of great 
concern to Adobe and they wanted something done about it," Spano said.


He said Adobe sent ElcomSoft a cease-and-desist letter and that the company 
usually asks infringers to stop their actions rather than threatening them 
with legal action.


"I didn't want to hold anyone actionable," he said.


The case drew international attention in July 2001 when ElcomSoft 
programmer Dmitry Sklyarov was arrested in Las Vegas after giving a 
presentation on the software at a hacker conference.


After reaching a deal with prosecutors, charges against Sklyarov were 
dropped and he is expected to testify in the ElcomSoft trial.

Movie and recording studios, among others, say the law is necessary to stop 
pirating of intellectual property, which is made easy when the material is 
in digital format.

Opponents claim the DMCA is being used to give copyright holders greater 
rights in cyberspace than they have in the real world (news - Y! TV), where 
people can legally copy videotapes for their personal use and record music.
*******************************
Federal Computer Week
Iowa governor dismisses CIO
BY Dibya Sarkar
Dec. 4, 2002

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack has fired Richard Varn, the state's chief information 
officer for the past four years and the leader of its Information 
Technology Department, along with five other agency heads.

Varn said the recently reelected governor told him that technology would 
not be a focus during his second term. Instead, He said Vilsack would focus 
on economic development, education and health care.

"He can't support the things we want to do and he wants to spend his 
political capital on those three things," said Varn, who said leaving was a 
mutual decision. He said he has been frustrated watching the drastic cuts 
made to his department's budget and staff during the past two budget cycles 
as Iowa faced a massive shortfall.

"We don't share a common vision for what technology should be used for," 
said Varn, one of the nation's most knowledgeable government officials on a 
wide range of technology issues, from identity theft to health data privacy.

Varn, who will be on the state payroll until Jan. 2, said he's unsure where 
he'll wind up next. A former professor at the University of Northern Iowa, 
he said he may go back to academia, but he probably will be headed toward 
the private sector.

An active member of the National Association of State Chief Information 
Officers, Varn lent his expertise and experience in several of the group's 
committees and workgroups. He also has spoken at major conferences and has 
made several trips to Washington, D.C., to lobby and testify before a 
congressional subcommittee.

Varn may continue his work on technology issues with the Council of State 
Governments and the Harvard Policy Group.

In Iowa, Varn said he was proud of his achievements despite dwindling 
resources. Among the achievements he cited were:

* Helping to create the state Information Technology Department in April 2000.

* Establishing a pooled technology fund and service model for state agencies.

* Creating an enterprise quality assurance office.

* Spearheading an enterprise resource planning initiative.

One of Varn's most recent projects was to create an Identity-Security 
Clearinghouse that would strengthen identification documents and reduce the 
issuance of fraudulent ones. He said that project might continue because it 
is an issue that has been around for quite some time and has only recently 
been receiving proper attention.

In the spring of 2001, Varn, a former state Democratic lawmaker, faced 
opposition from the Iowa Senate. State senators questioned the direction of 
the information technology department, among other things. At the time, 
Varn also said a local tax group lobbied against his confirmation for 
something he did when he was a legislator.
********************************
USA Today
Biometrics to imprint job site
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

Forget about traditional reference checking. New technology has a growing 
number of companies checking out their employees' fingerprints instead  and 
raising privacy concerns in the process.

The technology is showing up at job fairs as companies turn to fingerprint 
technology to verify that applicants have no criminal records. Other 
employers use the technology as a newfangled time clock: Workers punch in 
and out using fingerprint scans instead of timecards.

It's also a security tool. Instead of wearing ID cards, employees enter 
buildings after touching a fingerprint scan. Instead of using a password, 
they log onto their computers with only a touch.

Supporters say biometrics technology is on its way to becoming a staple of 
workplace security. Already, organizations such as hospitals, banks, 
government agencies, schools and child-care centers use fingerprint technology.

Fueled largely by growth in the private sector, revenue in the industry is 
expected to grow from $600 million in 2002 to $4 billion by 2007, according 
to the New York-based International Biometric Group. Fingerprint technology 
now accounts for nearly $470 million of the revenue, making it the largest 
segment in the industry.

But that growth is raising first-of-a-kind privacy questions among civil 
libertarians who say the practice goes too far. Critics say there are not 
enough legal protections to prevent employers from compiling databases that 
could be sold to third parties or otherwise abused.

"The technology is developing at the speed of light, but laws that protect 
our privacy are in the Stone Age," says Barry Steinhardt, with the American 
Civil Liberties Union. "Over time, the databases will be used for wholly 
unrelated purposes. There's no law that an employer can't sell the data."

Who's using it:

The Chicago Housing Authority is using fingerprint technology to increase 
computer network security. Instead of typing a password, employees have a 
computer mouse that takes a readout of their thumbprint to allow access.
The program will eventually cover more than 1,000 employees. Officials say 
the system will end calls to the company helpdesk from employees who've 
forgotten their passwords.

"We anticipate there'll be significant cost savings," says Bryan Land, 
assistant chief information officer.

Union Bank of California will use fingerprint technology systems as part of 
a pre-employment screening process. The fingerprint scanning systems are 
being used at each of the bank's staffing centers, and it may put the 
system  which is compact and mobile  on the road with recruiters, who could 
check applicants' fingerprints at job fairs and campus recruiting events.
Previously, the San Francisco-based bank has taken traditional ink 
fingerprints and waited two to six weeks to get results. Because of the lag 
time, fingerprinting was done after employment had begun. Now, electronic 
fingerprints will have a turnaround time of about five days, allowing 
checks before the applicant is on the job.

"The bank is looking at losses and fraud as a whole. This is one way to 
reduce our risk," says Mark Schmidt, senior vice president of human resource.

Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio is using it. In April of this year, 
the hospital rolled out a comprehensive program that requires more than 
1,000 doctors, nurses and pharmacists accessing patient medical records and 
entering medicine orders by computer to scan their fingerprint first using 
a keyboard pad. The cost of the system was about $200,000.
"We don't want anyone unauthorized to get at medical records," says David 
Fisher, the medical director. "It's incredibly fast. I was concerned it 
would be unacceptable to people, but we haven't had anybody who won't use it."

At PlentyFun, a family entertainment center in Hilo, Hawaii, fingerprint 
technology is used to document when employees come to work and leave, as 
well as when they take breaks. The company, which offers such entertainment 
as arcade games and pool tables, has been using it since June.
Before, the company had to review timecards by hand every pay period. But 
the new system links directly to payroll software, saving time.

"It's great. You can't fake someone's fingerprint," says Brian Crawford, 
one of several owners. "People can't clock in and out for each other. 
There's no faking. Out of 40 employees, only one or two were concerned 
about privacy."

Fingerprinting in the workplace is growing because the technology has 
become more affordable, and more companies are giving security a high 
priority since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, experts say. Use has 
especially taken off among industries such as health care, pharmaceutical, 
government and financial service companies.

Brent Larsen, a senior developer at Count Me In, a Mount Prospect, Ill., 
firm that sells fingerprinting technology, says his company is seeing a 50% 
jump in sales each month. "The growth in the whole biometrics area is 
coming because it's finally at the point where companies can afford it."

Proponents say databases that store information don't save the actual 
fingerprints. Rather, they warehouse a mathematical representation of 
unique parts of the fingerprint, which they say protects users' privacy.

While critics say fingerprinting can have valuable uses, they also warn the 
technology can become an invasive tool to monitor workers. Many employers 
are interested in monitoring: Nearly 80% of companies record and review 
employee communications on the job, according to a survey by the American 
Management Association. That figure has doubled since 1997.

To help ease privacy concerns, some employers who've rolled out fingerprint 
technology have spoken with employees first to make sure there are no 
objections. Jonathan Augustine, president of AZG Research in Bowling Green, 
Ohio, wanted to use fingerprinting to monitor when his workers came and 
went. About a year ago, he brought them together and asked them what they 
thought.

"I said, 'Is this going to be a problem or a right-to-privacy issue?' " 
says Augustine, at the market research and consulting firm. "Quite frankly, 
I got very few people who had anything they didn't like. And there's no 
faking. Everybody has to come to work with their finger."
*********************************
Federal Computer Week
Traveler smart card poses security concerns
BY Megan Lisagor
Dec. 2, 2002

While garnering support from stakeholders, the Transportation Security 
Administration's proposed registered traveler program could create new 
aviation vulnerabilities, the General Accounting Office found.

The program would allow certain credentialed and pre-screened passengers to 
speed through security checkpoints in airports using smart cards. The goal 
would be to reduce long waits and better target resources to those 
travelers who might pose greater risks.

"GAO concluded that a registered traveler program is one possible approach 
for managing some of the security vulnerabilities in our nation's aviation 
systems," office officials wrote in highlights of the November 2002 report. 
"However, decisions concerning key issues are needed before developing and 
implementing such a program."

GAO identified a slew of issues to resolve: eligibility criteria, level of 
background check required, security-screening procedures, technology 
options, scope, cost and financing options.

The TSA felt the study offered a good overview of the potential and the 
challenges of the registered traveler concept, according to GAO's highlights.

The Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which created the TSA in 
November 2001, allows the agency to consider the program. The TSA hopes to 
begin testing soon.
**************************
Federal Computer Week
Career Channels Federal IT job openings
Dec. 3, 2002

Supervisory Computer Engineer
Series/Grade: GS-854-15
Location: Huntsville, Ala.
Announcement #: X-SP-03-4546-ST
Closing Date: Dec. 24, 2002
Contact: Department of Army, DEU, SC-CPOC Bldg. 5304, Attn DAPE-CP-SC-B-X, 
Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898; Michael Davis 256-876-9451

Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-12
Location: Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Announcement #: 3MN030812
Closing Date: Dec. 9, 2002
Contact: Department of Army, WCPOC, Bldg. 61801 Box 12926, Ft. Huachuca, AZ 
85670-2926; Donald Matson 520-533-2556

Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-12
Location: Mather, Calif.
Announcement #: VA-1-03-0155
Closing Date: Dec. 10, 2002
Contact: Department of Veterans Affairs, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Bldg. 258 
Rm. 128, Los Angeles, CA 90073; 310-268-4150

Supervisory Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-15
Location: Washington, D.C.
Announcement #: 030033316MP
Closing Date: Dec. 20, 2002
Contact: General Services Admin., HR, 1800 F St. NW Rm. 1119, Washington, 
DC 20405; 202-208-6461

Supervisory Statistician
Series/Grade: GS-1530-15
Location: Washington, D.C.
Announcement #: ACF-02-088
Closing Date: Dec. 10, 2002
Contact: Health and Human Services, ACF, Pers Op, HRS/PSC, Box 5346, 
Rockville, MD 20848-5346; 301-443-3201

Supervisory Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-15
Location: Washington, D.C.
Announcement #: 02-56
Closing Date: Dec. 13, 2002
Contact: International Trade Commission, HR, 500 E St. SW, Washington, DC 
20436; 202-205-2651

Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-12
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Announcement #: OIDEU/02-035SLJ
Closing Date: Dec. 9, 2002
Contact: Department of Treasury, Customs Svc, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Rm. 
2 2A, Washington, DC 20229; S. Jackson 202-927-3703

Supervisory Information Technology Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-13
Location: Atlanta
Announcement #: HEC-02-05
Closing Date: Dec. 13, 2002
Contact: Department of Veterans Affairs, HR/05, 300 S. Jackson St. Ste. 
444, Denver, CO 80209; 303-331-7885

Supervisory Computer Assistant
Series/Grade: GS-335-11
Location: New Orleans
Announcement #: NFC-03-004
Closing Date: Dec. 13, 2002
Contact: Department of Agriculture, OCFO, National Finance Center, 13800 
Old Gentilly Road, New Orleans, LA 70129; Tamika Adams 504-255-5059

Computer Assistant
Series/Grade: GS-335-5
Location: Fort Polk, La.
Announcement #: X-EL-03-4548-PO
Closing Date: Dec. 10, 2002
Contact: Department of Army, DEU, SC-CPOC Bldg 5304, Attn: DAPE-CP-SC-B-X, 
Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898; Sondra Ogle 337-531-4020

Supervisory Statistician
Series/Grade: GS-1530-14
Location: Boston
Announcement #: BOS-03-08
Closing Date: Dec. 16, 2002
Contact: Department of Labor, JFK Bldg., Rm. E-215, Boston, MA 02203114; 
Vanessa Taylor 617-565-1990

Computer Engineer
Series/Grade: GS-854-13
Location: Indianhead, Md.
Announcement #: 02-444AR
Closing Date: Dec. 9, 2002
Contact: Department of Defense, Civ Pers Div, Attn: 02-444AR, 701 S. 
Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2199; Anne Ross 703-607-4429

Computer Scientist
Series/Grade: GS-1550-13
Location: Indianhead, Md.
Announcement #: 02-444AR
Closing Date: Dec. 9, 2002
Contact: Department of Defense, Civ Pers Div, Attn: 02-444AR, 701 S. 
Courthouse Road, Arlington, VA 22204-2199; Anne Ross 703-607-4429

Computer Specialist
Series/Grade: GS-2210-12/13
Location: Rockville, Md.
Announcement #: FDA-32014
Closing Date: Dec. 10, 2002
Contact: Health and Human Services, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, 7B-03, 
Rockville, MD 20857; Laura Taylor 301-827-4030

Computer Scientist
Series/Grade: GS-1550-12
Location: Patuxent River, Md.
Announcement #: DE-PAX-02-0958-NR
Closing Date: Dec. 11, 2002
Contact: Department of Navy, HRSC-NE, Code 52 2/MD, 111 S. Independence 
Mall East, Philadelphia, PA 19106; M. Dibiase 215-408-4441

Computer Scientist
Series/Grade: GS-1550-14
Location: Fort Monmouth, N.J.
Announcement #: ALU300302
Closing Date: Dec. 27, 2002
Contact: Department of Army, NE Staff Div DEU, 314 Johnson St., Aberdeen 
PG, MD 21005-5283; 410-306-0031
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Lillie Coney
Public Policy Coordinator
U.S. Association for Computing Machinery
Suite 510
2120 L Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
202-478-6124
lillie.coney@xxxxxxx