Clips January 15, 2003

[Lillie Coney <lillie.coney@xxxxxxx>]

Clips January 15, 2003

ARTICLES

Hearings Sought on Data Agency
Microsoft to Give Governments Access to Code
U.S. warns Asia over copyright piracy
Bush Choice for Security Job Decides Not to Accept It
Bill bolsters borders, first responders
Fla. offers digital divide directory
OPM poised to launch e-payroll
DOD brass: Afghanistan campaign strengthened battlefield comm
Former CIO: When it comes to Web services, just do it
Joint Chiefs will focus on data-sharing initiative
Many HSD agencies have IT problems, GAO says
Bush fills two top Homeland Security posts
Homeland IT costs may be understated, GAO warns
Supreme Court Upholds Longer Copyrights
[FCC] Deregulation Plans Assailed
DNA databases 'no use to terrorists'
Wireless Operators Lose Short Text Messages-Study
Credit card fraud help policies vary [e-commerce]
High-tech auto devices unsafe?
TurboTax complaints mount [DRM]

*************************
Washington Post
Hearings Sought on Data Agency
By Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Tuesday, January 14, 2003; Page E05

Some members of Congress and civil liberties groups want to learn more 
about a new surveillance project run by former national security adviser 
John M. Poindexter, concerned that the Pentagon's effort to design a 
computer system that can sweep up massive amounts of personal data from 
around the world threatens personal privacy.

Poindexter's Information Awareness Office began a year ago as part of a 
push to employ data surveillance and profiling technology in the war on 
terrorism. It aims to design a system that can analyze mountains of data on 
everyday transactions -- such as credit card purchases and travel records 
-- for signs of danger.

In a series of recent letters and statements, Democrats and Republicans 
said Poindexter's initiative should be the subject of congressional 
hearings. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a member of the Senate Appropriations 
Committee's subcommittee on defense, complained yesterday that the Pentagon 
has not been forthcoming about the initiative.

Last week, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and other Democrats sought 
information from Attorney General John D. Ashcroft about any ties between 
the Justice Department and the project. Separately, Sen. Charles E. 
Grassley (R-Iowa) met with officials from the Defense Department's 
inspector general's office a few weeks ago to address his own concerns, an 
aide said.

Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) will introduce legislation this week calling 
for the suspension of data-mining efforts until Congress "has completed a 
thorough review" of the Poindexter program, his office said yesterday.

And a coalition of several liberal and conservative civil liberties groups, 
including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy 
Information Center, wants Congress to stop funding the initiative as part 
of a broader campaign to slow the development of government data 
surveillance systems, according to a letter to be sent to Congress as soon 
as today.

Because of the recent controversy, Poindexter's office removed from its Web 
site an emblem that had become a focal point of criticism. It features a 
variation of the great seal of the United States: An eye looms over a 
pyramid and appears to scan the world. The motto reads Scientia Est 
Potentia, or "knowledge is power."

In a recent interview, Poindexter said his office understands the need for 
restrictions on such a system to protect privacy. But he said authorities 
need to take full advantage of technology to root out terrorists before 
they can strike. He said it will be up to Congress and policymakers to 
establish limits. His office has already begun working with other agencies 
to improve their use of data systems.

The retired Navy rear admiral, a central figure in the Iran-contra scandal 
in the 1980s, did not return telephone calls yesterday.
******************************
New York Times
January 15, 2003
Microsoft to Give Governments Access to Code
By STEVE LOHR

To try to slow the acceptance of the Linux operating system by governments 
abroad, Microsoft is announcing today that it will allow most governments 
to study the programming code of its Windows systems. Under the program, 
governments will also be allowed to plug their security features instead of 
Microsoft's technology into Windows.

More than two dozen countries, including China and Germany, are encouraging 
agencies to use "open source" software  developed by programmers who 
distribute the code without charge and donate their labor to debug and 
modify the software cooperatively. The best-known of the open source 
projects is GNU Linux, an operating system that Microsoft regards as the 
leading competitive threat to Windows.

"Microsoft is doing this to combat Linux and open source," said Ted 
Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research.

One appeal of Linux is that developers have complete access to the 
underlying source code, whereas Microsoft has kept some Windows technology 
secret. That has made many governments leery of becoming too reliant on 
Microsoft technology, and it has been a marketing advantage for Linux.

The concern about Microsoft abroad has grown as the company has become more 
dominant and as more and more government operations, from the military to 
health services, rely on its software.

"The issue is how comfortable are governments depending on the technology 
of a United States company and Microsoft in particular," said Craig Mundie, 
a senior vice president at Microsoft. "As a technology platform, we want to 
be demonstrably neutral to national interests."

In the past, Microsoft has shared some source code  the computer 
instructions rendered in a programming language that people can read, 
instead of binary code of 1's and 0's that machines process  with selected 
governments. But Mr. Mundie said the new initiative, called the Government 
Security Program, represents "a substantial step beyond our previous efforts."

Under the program, 97 percent of the code to Windows desktop, Windows 
server and Windows CE hand-held software will be available to governments 
online for inspection and testing. To view the other 3 percent  the most 
sensitive technology  government representatives must come to Microsoft 
headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Governments, under the initiative, will also be allowed to choose their own 
cryptography software and snap that code into software "sockets" in 
Windows. Governments can also control their own identification and 
authentication technology for privacy and security, and still run on Windows.

"Microsoft will partner with and trust the governments where we do 
business," Mr. Mundie said.

And abroad, there have been steady reports and rumors that Microsoft kept a 
software "back door" in Windows that it would allow tapping by United 
States government agencies for national security or espionage purposes. 
"This should go a long, long way," Mr. Mundie said, "toward eliminating the 
popular speculation in many countries that has been used to attack Microsoft."

Microsoft expects that perhaps 60 foreign governments and international 
agencies will eventually join its government security program. The first to 
join were Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the 
company is negotiating with 20 other groups.
*********************************
Mercury News
U.S. warns Asia over copyright piracy
January 15, 2003

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday told the Philippines and 
Taiwan to take tough action against criminal gangs producing illegal copies 
of Hollywood movies and fake brand-name goods or risk having trade 
privileges revoked. William Lash, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
market access and compliance, praised Thailand and Malaysia for positive 
steps to stamp out piracy, but said there had to be more prosecutions of 
crimes which were costing U.S. firms billions of dollars.

``You are responsible for your own house,'' Lash said. ``People have to go 
to jail. There has to be more sentencing, more prosecutions.''

At a news conference, Lash displayed a fake designer T-shirt from a newly 
established brand by U.S. hip-hop artist Sean ``P. Diddy'' Combs, and a 
slew of DVDs of yet-to-be-released priated Hollywood films with big name 
stars, including Lionardo DiCaprio, bought at Thai malls.

He said Taiwan and the Philippines, where there were 280 arrests related to 
piracy last year but no convictions, would remain on Washington's 
``priority watch list.''

``Philippines has a very serious problem,'' he said. ``The government 
there, depending on what day (it is), either will recognise it or put their 
heads in the sand like ostriches,'' said Lash.

``'Priority watch list' is a shot across the bows... The next step is we 
take a very serious review towards revoking some or all of your...special 
trade benefits. Next stop oblivion.''

Lash, who went on a highly publicised shopping spree for pirated DVD's of 
yet-to-be released Hollywood movies in Manila last week, said American 
firms lost about $116 million last year due to intellectual property rights 
violations in the Philippines.

Lash said intellectual property rights violations in Thailand cost U.S. 
firms about $250 million, but authorities there were working harder to 
stamp out criminal networks.

``Malaysia also has a large amount of piracy, but we see an administration 
there that is at least taking steps. They are making arrests and destroying 
factories,'' he said.

Malaysia and Thailand were on a lower priority watch list of countries 
where U.S. officials had serious concerns but thought the authorities were 
making progress, he said.

Lash said China, because of its sheer size, was seen by U.S. authorities as 
in a league of its own and under constant review. He said it presented 
greater challenges and was being addressed province by province.
********************************
Washington Post
Bush Choice for Security Job Decides Not to Accept It
By Brian Krebs
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; Page E05

The White House's leading candidate to head the Homeland Security 
Department's intelligence arm withdrew his name from consideration, less 
than two weeks before the department is to open.

James R. Clapper, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was 
the Bush administration's choice to head the department's Information 
Analysis and Infrastructure Protection division. But in an e-mail sent 
Monday to co-workers, Clapper said he could "continue to serve his country" 
by remaining director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which 
analyzes satellite photos and makes military maps.

A spokesman for the mapping agency would not elaborate on why Clapper asked 
that he not be nominated for the homeland security job.

Clapper's withdrawal left the Bush administration without a clear favorite 
to oversee one of the new agency's core missions: coaxing often competing 
intelligence agencies to pool data.

President Bush on Friday nominated former General Dynamics President 
Charles E. McQueary to be undersecretary for science and technology at the 
new department. Bush last week nominated former Corning Inc. executive 
Steven Cooper as the department's chief information officer.
******************************
Associated Press
Chinese Internet Dissident Put on Trial
Wed Jan 15, 2:12 AM ET
By MARTIN FACKLER, Associated Press Writer

SHANGHAI, China - A Chinese author who posted articles on the Internet 
saying his country was feudal and approaching an economic collapse has been 
put on trial for subversion, a court official said Wednesday.



Tao Haidong's trial began last week at the Intermediate People's Court in 
Urumqi, capital of China's ethnically restive northwestern region of 
Xinjiang, said a court official. He gave only his family name, Meng.


Human Rights in China, a New York-based monitoring group, said Tao 
disappeared in July near his home in Urumqi. He could face years in prison 
if convicted, Meng said.


The trial highlights the Chinese government's ambivalent relationship with 
the Internet, which it wants to harness as a commercial tool but restricts 
as a forum for political discussion. Human rights groups say more than 
three dozen people have been arrested for online dissent.


Meng and other court officials refused to disclose more details of Tao's 
case. But a state-run newspaper in Xinjiang, Urumqi Metropolitan News, 
reported Tao was accused of receiving $500 from a foreign organization to 
post subversive articles on Chinese and overseas Web sites.


"Tao Haidong Betrays His Country for $500," the headline said.


Tao's writings slandered the Communist Party by predicting that China's 
economy was near collapse and describing the nation as the modern world's 
largest remaining bastion of feudalism, said an editor at the newspaper. 
She asked to be identified by only her family name, Fan.


Tao, 45, served two months in a labor camp in 2001 for editing a book that 
included calls for more democracy, according to Human Rights in China.


The rights group also reported Wednesday that police in Shanghai have 
sentenced the leader of an underground Christian church to 18 months in a 
labor camp.


Police raided Xu Guoli's home on Dec. 8 while he was holding an 
unauthorized church service for more than 20 Chinese Christians, the group 
said.

By MARTIN FACKLER, Associated Press Writer

SHANGHAI, China - A Chinese author who posted articles on the Internet 
saying his country was feudal and approaching an economic collapse has been 
put on trial for subversion, a court official said Wednesday.



Tao Haidong's trial began last week at the Intermediate People's Court in 
Urumqi, capital of China's ethnically restive northwestern region of 
Xinjiang, said a court official. He gave only his family name, Meng.


Human Rights in China, a New York-based monitoring group, said Tao 
disappeared in July near his home in Urumqi. He could face years in prison 
if convicted, Meng said.


The trial highlights the Chinese government's ambivalent relationship with 
the Internet, which it wants to harness as a commercial tool but restricts 
as a forum for political discussion. Human rights groups say more than 
three dozen people have been arrested for online dissent.


Meng and other court officials refused to disclose more details of Tao's 
case. But a state-run newspaper in Xinjiang, Urumqi Metropolitan News, 
reported Tao was accused of receiving $500 from a foreign organization to 
post subversive articles on Chinese and overseas Web sites.


"Tao Haidong Betrays His Country for $500," the headline said.


Tao's writings slandered the Communist Party by predicting that China's 
economy was near collapse and describing the nation as the modern world's 
largest remaining bastion of feudalism, said an editor at the newspaper. 
She asked to be identified by only her family name, Fan.


Tao, 45, served two months in a labor camp in 2001 for editing a book that 
included calls for more democracy, according to Human Rights in China.


The rights group also reported Wednesday that police in Shanghai have 
sentenced the leader of an underground Christian church to 18 months in a 
labor camp.


Police raided Xu Guoli's home on Dec. 8 while he was holding an 
unauthorized church service for more than 20 Chinese Christians, the group 
said.
*******************************
News.com
RIAA calls hacking claim a hoax
By Robert Lemos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 14, 2003, 5:14 PM PT

Claims that the music industry hired a group of hackers to create a worm to 
infect peer-to-peer networks are being dismissed by security experts.
In an advisory posted to security mailing lists, a group called Gobbles 
Security delivered its latest vulnerability--a real one found in a 
relatively unknown MP3 player--wrapped in an apparent joke aimed at the 
Recording Industry Association of America. The main part of the advisory 
consisted of Gobbles' claims that its programmers had created a "hydra"--a 
worm capable of spreading in a variety of ways--that infects all major 
music software.

The RIAA, the organization that represents major music publishers, wasn't 
amused. "It's a complete hoax," said an RIAA spokesman, who asked that his 
name not be used. "It's not true."


Security experts agreed. Steve Manzuik, moderator of vulnerability 
information site VulnWatch, received the advisory on Sunday. But because of 
the apparent joke, he held the document until the vulnerability was 
verified a day later.

"This is typical Gobbles, is it not?" Manzuik said. "Cause a stir, but also 
release useful information."

The true vulnerability is not found in the major music players--Windows 
Media Player, WinAMP and Xmms are among the players Gobbles names--but in 
the MPG123 music player, a relatively unknown piece of open-source software.

Mailing list BugTraq also decided to post the advisory. "In this case, it 
contained valid vulnerability details, so we decided to publish it," said 
Oliver Friedrichs, senior manager at computer security firm Symantec, which 
owns the mailing list.

This is not the first time that the RIAA has been a potential target of 
hacker humor. Over the weekend, unknown hackers hit the organization's site 
and replaced some content with false releases. In July, the music 
industry's Web site was hit by vandals in an attack that caused the pages 
to be available sporadically for four days.

The music industry isn't hacking back, but someday it might. A bill 
sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Howard Coble, R-N.C., would 
allow copyright owners and such groups as the RIAA and the Motion Picture 
Association of America to disable, block or otherwise impair a "publicly 
accessible peer-to-peer file-trading network." Nowadays, that's called hacking.
***************************
Federal Computer Week
Bill bolsters borders, first responders
BY Judi Hasson
Jan. 14, 2003

Senate Democrats are moving ahead with their own plans to enhance homeland 
security at the nation's borders and target more money for first responders.

They introduced legislation Jan. 9  the Justice Enhancement and Domestic 
Security Act of 2003  that would authorize $12 billion over three years for 
public safety officers and border security.

The legislation calls for money to hire additional Immigration and 
Naturalization Service personnel at the nation's borders and $250 million 
in technology for improving border security. It also includes more money 
for community policing  putting more police officers on the beat in the 
nation's cities, towns and neighborhoods.

"This bill represents an important next step in the continuing efforts by 
Senate Democrats to enhance homeland security and to enact tough, yet 
balanced, reforms to our criminal justice system," Sen. Patrick Leahy 
(D-Vt.) said.

A separate bill, first introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) last 
year and reintroduced on Jan. 7, would provide $3.5 billion directly to 
local police, fire and emergency responders.

The legislation allocates funding through the new Homeland Security 
Department to communities across the United States to help improve 
emergency response and public safety at the local level.

"This is my first order of business because America's first responders 
should be first on our domestic security agenda," Clinton said in a statement.

In December 2002, the Bush administration decided to delay $1.5 billion in 
law enforcement and antiterrorism assistance allocated by Congress to local 
police departments because of a stalemate over the fiscal 2003 budget.

The budget freeze continues as Congress tries to work out plans to create a 
giant funding bill for fiscal 2003 that would keep the government operating 
at current levels. In the meantime, state and local governments are waiting 
for money to bolster security, and federal agencies are waiting for money, 
too, to enhance information security systems.
********************************
Federal Computer Week
Report offers INS guide for IT
BY Michael Hardy
Jan. 14, 2003

A report filed with Congress this month has begun to give shape to the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service's quest for an entry/exit computer 
system that would keep track of border crossings by land, sea and air.

The Data Management Improvement Act Task Force report, filed Jan. 3, 
evaluates the agency's current technology and offers recommendations toward 
developing the entry/exit system.

Congress has set aside $362 million for the system in the budget now being 
considered for INS. However, the funds can't be appropriated until the 
agency develops a spending plan, according to a Senate report on the bill, 
because "it is unclear what this system is or will become, and how it will 
address [INS'] expansive directives."

The directives stem from several pieces of antiterrorism legislation passed 
in 2001 and 2002 that collectively will require INS to fingerprint every 
traveler entering or leaving the United States, collect biographical and 
biometric information on them, and store the data in a central database 
that is available to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, the 
Senate report said.

The task force report found that airports are the most heavily automated 
entry points. The largest number of people enter or leave the country via 
land routes, which are the least automated. It recommends that INS choose 
systems it already is using to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for capturing 
entry and exit information at air- and seaports. Over the long term, many 
of the systems will need to be upgraded or replaced, the team found.

Like most federal agencies, INS suffers from "stovepipes" of unconnected 
data. Many of the systems process data in batches, which delays access to 
information essential for tight security. The IT architecture isn't 
standardized and many IT users are poorly trained, the task force found.

The task force also looked for ways to expedite the border-crossing process 
for people whose business requires frequent travel to or from the United 
States. Ensuring that security measures don't impede legitimate travel was 
important to many members of the team, including Randel Johnson, vice 
president of labor, immigration and employee benefits for the U.S. Chamber 
of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

Other key recommendations in the report include:

* Use emerging technologies including Extensible Markup Language and 
"federated systems" -- an approach that uses multiple physical databases as 
if they were one -- to make existing systems communicate with one another.

* Identify technology, including biometric devices, to strengthen border 
security. The systems should be interoperable with all federal, state and 
local law enforcement agencies.

* Design the system so that it collects needed data only once, and 
disseminates it to other agencies as needed.

* Develop long-term goals based on strategic function rather than 
individual departments.

* Work in conjunction with other governments and private industry to 
develop increasingly secure documents for international travelers.

The 17-member task force was created through the Data Management 
Improvement Act of 2000 and began its work in February 2002. It includes 
six agency representatives, nine from the private sector and two from state 
and local government. Now that the entry/exit system report is complete, 
the task force will turn its attention to other aspects of INS' information 
technology.
********************************
Federal Computer Week
Fla. offers digital divide directory
BY Dibya Sarkar
Jan. 14, 2003

Florida officials recently unveiled a portal that will serve as a 
repository and directory of the state's myriad digital divide programs and 
initiatives.

The Digital Divide Council's online clearinghouse is set up to help people 
see what programs are being offered in their region as well as to provide a 
"best practices" index, said Stacey McMillian, director of the Digital 
Divide Council. The council, created by statute in July 2001, is an 
advisory group composed of legislators, agency technology heads and 
private-sector leaders.

"Everybody's doing a little something," said McMillian, adding that the 
piecemeal efforts statewide are not fully known.

She said the clearinghouse's creation and state funding for several pilot 
projects in underserved areas, which were announced just before the 
holidays, are significant for Florida to produce a high-tech workforce to 
stay economically competitive with other states and countries. Currently, 
the state is ranked fifth in the nation for high-tech workers and 26th 
overall for average high-tech wages and support, she said.

With the advent of online government, McMillian said Gov. Jeb Bush wants 
the public to keep up. But a digital divide does exist. Citing other 
sources, she said 76 percent of Florida households earning less than 
$15,000 do not own a computer; about 57 percent of residents 25 years or 
older and employed use a computer at work; and among children, 9 percent, 
or 289,000, do not have a phone at home.

So far, the council has listed more than 600 sites on the portal, listing 
locations, contact numbers, addresses, links and services offered, ranging 
from Internet access to computer training to certification. The 
clearinghouse enables other organizations involved in bridging the digital 
divide to register their services, she said. A registrant is given a log-in 
and password to input the information, which is checked by the state before 
being posted.

The portal allows any user to search for services via a ZIP code or city. 
Another portal feature, still in development, will allow people to donate 
equipment as well as look for needed equipment, she said, a "sort of 
matching service."

McMillian said it's too early to tell how many people have registered, but 
she added that the state has received positive feedback. She said the state 
is marketing the portal through brochures, billboards, cable television and 
grassroots efforts, including talks and posters. The council also announced 
that workforce boards in six regions -- Tallahassee, West Palm Beach, 
Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville and Miami -- would receive $75,000 each, 
totaling $450,000, to sustain computer labs and programs by providing 
"wrap-around services," such as transportation and child care.

Another $469,000 was provided to 28 of the 65 existing PowerUP Florida 
sites. PowerUP Inc. is a nonprofit, Virginia-based group that teamed up 
with Florida officials two years ago to address the state's technology gap. 
Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 can be used for educational 
instruction, nonsoftware curriculum materials, recruitment of mentors or 
volunteers and technical computer lab support.
*********************************
Federal Computer Week
OPM poised to launch e-payroll
BY Colleen O'Hara
Jan. 13, 2003

The Office of Personnel Management is expected to announce this week that 
it has worked out the details with several federal payroll providers to 
develop the governmentwide e-payroll system.

The e-payroll project, which is one of President Bush's 24 e-government 
initiatives, aims to consolidate federal payroll providers and standardize 
payroll policies. Currently, 22 agencies process payroll for about 1.9 
million civilian employees.

In November 2002, OPM, which is the lead agency on the e-payroll 
initiative, narrowed the field to four payroll providers: the Defense 
Finance and Accounting Service and the General Services Administration as 
one partnership, and the Agriculture Department's National Finance Center 
and the Interior Department's National Business Center as another.

These agencies are expected to move forward on the e-payroll project, 
however OPM would not comment until its official announcement, scheduled 
for Jan. 15.

Eventually, OPM officials have said, there will be two providers and two 
platforms -- a move that would save $1 billion over 10 years.
*****************************
Government Computer News
01/15/03
DOD brass: Afghanistan campaign strengthened battlefield comm
By Dawn S. Onley

SAN DIEGOCommanding the first Navy carrier at sea during the conflict in 
Afghanistan, Rear Adm. Thomas E. Zelibor said he became frustrated by the 
disparate communications systems among the Defense Department and allies' 
ships.


West Coast ships communicated via the Coalition WAN. East Coast ships used 
the Linked Operations-Intelligence Centers Europe communications system, 
which was adopted by many U.S. allies as the intelligence system for 
coalition warfare.


Still, some NATO allies used other systems, Zelibor said.


"I found it to be very frustrating," said the former commander of Carrier 
Group 3. "I couldn't talk to them."


Today, Zelibor has successfully converged COWAN and LOCE into a single 
system that allied forces can use.


It proved to be one area where Zelibor made information sharing during 
wartime easier. Yesterday, he and other military commanders at the AFCEA 
West 2003 conference laid out what they had learned from Operation Anaconda 
in Afghanistan.


The Navy, working with allied forces, experimented with handheld mine 
detectors. And all warfighters used the Defense Department Secret IP Router 
Network to transmit information to commanders.


"The ability to work in that medium was phenomenal," said Capt. Robert S. 
Harward, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Group 1.


"We did all of our warfighting (communications) via the Web," Zelibor 
added. "The more information available, the less questions I got. I found 
that when we webified so that anyone with access to the SIPRnet could find 
out anything they wanted to know about our forces, the questions pretty 
much stopped."


But data sharing wasn't always reciprocal, Harward said. For example, 
Harward said his unit had to watch a walled compound in Afghanistan for 
about three days, relaying information back to their superiors. Shortly 
afterwards, Harward said he learned his bosses had ordered the compound 
bombed.


"No one told us they were going to be bombed," he said. His group 
ultimately was able to halt the bombing request after spotting women and 
children in the compound. "The flow was going up, but not always flowing 
back down."


Capt. Phil Wisecup, who was working aboard the USS Stennis, said the 
technological advances made in Afghanistan gave him options that he hadn't 
had in other conflicts.


"I had two to three ways that I could communicate," said Wisecup, a fellow 
with the Strategic Studies Group in the Office of the Chief of Naval 
Operations. Wisecup served as the commander of Destroyer Squadron 21 during 
Operation Anaconda.
*****************************
Government Computer News
01/15/03
Former CIO: When it comes to Web services, just do it
By Patricia Daukantas

Instead of conducting six-month studies or waiting for the newest 
Web-services standards to come out, agencies should take the plunge and get 
started in Web services sooner rather than later, a former Utah CIO said 
yesterday.

Agencies can take a number of small steps now that will make a huge 
difference to future Web-services efforts, said Phillip J. Windley, who 
stepped down as Utah's systems chief at the end of last year (see story at 
www.gcn.com/22_1/statelocal/20787-1.html). If an organization is already 
building a Web site that links to a database, the added cost of making the 
site compatible with other Web services is marginal, he said.

Windley presented his list of 13 guiding principles for building Web 
services. Among them:


Every data element or collection of data should have its own uniform 
resource identifier.


Avoid changing the URIs of existing data resources.


Advertise the presence of data using Web Services Inspection Language, 
which Windley said is much less complicated than the Universal Description, 
Discovery and Integration specification.


Web services lend themselves easily to common cross-agency functions such 
as a payment gateway and computer-aided public-safety dispatching, Windley 
said.

Windley spoke at a workshop in Arlington, Va., sponsored by the Universal 
Access Working Group of the CIO Council's Architecture and Infrastructure 
Committee.
***************************
Government Computer News
01/15/03
Joint Chiefs will focus on data-sharing initiative
By Dawn S. Onley

SAN DIEGO-The Joint Chiefs of Staff is spearheading work on a strategy for 
how the military branches share information, secure command and control 
assets, and fight future wars.


"If our military is to defeat our adversaries, we must improve how we share 
information," Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, head of the Joint Chiefs, 
said. "Information sharing allows transparency in both planning and 
execution. History is pretty clear. The one who can do that the fastest, 
usually wins."


The operational Joint Capstone Document will come from the perspective of 
the warfighter and will exploit what Myers called "our nation's 
asymmetrical advantages." The Joint Chiefs is working with the individual 
services, think tanks, universities and technology vendors to create the 
document, Myers said.


"We are putting a lot of energy behind better solutions," he said. 
"Transformation must be more than a bumper sticker. Transformation isn't 
just about words; it's about results."


Myers gave the keynote address yesterday at the Armed Forces Communications 
and Electronics Association's West 2003 conference in San Diego. He spoke 
via telecast from the Pentagon.


Transforming how the military fights depends on three items, Myers said: 
letting warfighters use existing technologies in innovative ways, 
encouraging risk taking and improving data sharing.
As an example of innovation, he explained that commanders used P-3 unmanned 
aircraft to locate enemy positions in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. 
That was not what the planes were designed to do, Myers said, but the 
Defense Department must stretch the boundaries of technology, finding out 
what works by taking chances.


"Transformation is a process that takes place between the ears of the 
warfighter," Myers said. "It is improving the warfighter's breadth and 
depth of knowledge."


War has often been a catalyst in improving the way the military fights, 
Myers said.


In World War II, military communications specialists created the radar. And 
just last month while visiting troops in Afghanistan, Myers said he saw how 
soldiers were using the Common Operating Picture mapping system to get a 
wide view of the battlefieldan improvement over the paper maps that were 
heavily used just over a year ago.
**********************************
Government Computer News
01/14/03
Many HSD agencies have IT problems, GAO says
By Matt McLaughlin

The new Homeland Security Department will inherit many of the IT management 
problems of its component agencies, the General Accounting Office reported 
today.

GAO has made 592 recommendations on which the 22 agencies that will become 
part of the new department still need to take action, according to the 
report, Homeland Security: Information Technology Funding and Associated 
Management Issues.

Most of the open recommendations concern security, managing investments, 
implementing IT architectures or blueprints for systems development, and 
developing or acquiring systems.

The most common unresolved recommendations have to do with security. GAO 
identified poor security as a widespread problem and designated it a 
governmentwide high-risk area. The report said every agency that will join 
HSD has exhibited weakness in program management for data security.

Agencies also showed weaknesses in implementing enterprise architectures. 
Of 15 agencies that provided auditors with data about their architectures, 
11 were at Level 1 or 2 on a five-point scale in their maturity. Only one 
agency, the Customs Service, has reached Level 5.
*****************************
Government Computer News
01/14/03
Bush fills two top Homeland Security posts
By Jason Miller

President Bush continues to fill out the top management team at the 
Homeland Security Department. This week, Bush said he would nominate 
Charles E. McQueary as undersecretary for science and technology and 
Michael D. Brown as undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response.

The nominations follow nominations and appointments for several other 
high-level positions in the department, including the naming of Janet Hale 
as undersecretary for management, Asa Hutchinson as undersecretary for 
border and transportation security, and Steve I. Cooper as CIO.

McQuearya former president of defense giant General Dynamics Corp. of Falls 
Church, Va., and a former board member of the National Defense Industrial 
Associationwill head the government's domestic defense R&D.

Brown, currently the deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, will focus on ways to integrate the federal response to emergencies 
by creating a national incident management system.
******************************
Government Executive
January 14, 2003
Homeland IT costs may be understated, GAO warns
By Tanya N. Ballard
tballard@xxxxxxxxxxx

Information technology spending on homeland security could exceed $1.7 
billion in fiscal 2003, according to a new report from the General 
Accounting Office.


In its investigation of homeland security IT expenditures, GAO found that 
the largest part of the multibillion dollar budget is attributed to four 
agencies merging into the new Homeland Security Department: the FBI's 
National Infrastructure Protection Center, the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security 
Administration. Homeland Security will have a budget of nearly $37 billion 
and will merge 170,000 employees from 22 different agencies.


Agencies' homeland security IT budget requests total $1.7 billion for 
fiscal 2003, but IT expenditures may be underestimated because some costs 
that should be attributed to homeland security may not have been accounted 
for, the watchdog agency said in its report (GAO-03-250). "Homeland 
security IT funding is likely understated because there may be other 
potential homeland security IT costs that are not reflected in reported 
totals," the report said.


According to GAO, agency-to-agency IT infrastructure, new intelligence 
systems, network security and IT spending at agencies with homeland 
security-related missions, such as the Defense Department and the Federal 
Aviation Administration, would boost actual IT spending.


GAO also found that IT management issues plague many of the departments 
with agencies moving into the Homeland Security Department. Areas of 
concern include enterprise architecture plans, investment management, IT 
procurement, systems operations, information management and human capital.


"Since September 1996, we have reported that poor information security is a 
widespread federal problem and designated it a governmentwide high-risk 
area," the report said.


GAO has emphasized in previous reports that strong information technology 
systems are key to preventing terrorist attacks. "IT will help enable the 
nation to identify potential threats more readily, provide mechanisms to 
protect our homeland and develop response capabilities," the new report said.
**********************************
Washington Post
Supreme Court Upholds Longer Copyrights
Ruling Gives Victory to Disney and Other Companies
By Gina Holland
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; 12:39 PM

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld lengthier copyrights protecting the 
profits of songs, books and cartoon characters -- a huge victory for Disney 
and other companies.

The 7-2 ruling, while not unexpected, was a blow to Internet publishers and 
others who wanted to make old books available online and use the likenesses 
of a Mickey Mouse cartoon and other old creations without paying high 
royalties.

Hundreds of thousands of books, movies and songs were close to being 
released into the public domain when Congress extended the copyright by 20 
years in 1998.

Justices said the copyright extension, named for the late Rep. Sonny Bono, 
R-Calif., was neither unconstitutional overreaching by Congress, nor a 
violation of constitutional free-speech rights.

The Constitution "gives Congress wide leeway to prescribe 'limited times' 
for copyright protection and allows Congress to secure the same level and 
duration of protection for all copyright holders, present and future," 
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said from the bench.

A contrary ruling would have cost entertainment giants like The Walt Disney 
Co. and AOL Time Warner Inc. hundreds of millions of dollars. AOL Time 
Warner had said that would threaten copyrights for such movies as 
"Casablanca," "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With the Wind."

Also at risk of expiration was protection for the version of Mickey Mouse 
portrayed in Disney's earliest films, such as 1928's "Steamboat Willie."

The ruling will affect movie studios and heirs of authors and composers. It 
will also affect small music publishers, orchestras and church choirs that 
must pay royalties to perform some pieces.

The Bush administration defended the extension, telling the court that 
while justices may personally disagree with the latest extension, Congress 
had the authority to pass it.

Congress passed the copyright law after heavy lobbying from companies with 
lucrative copyrights.

The Constitution allows Congress to give authors and inventors the 
exclusive right to their works for a ?limited' time, and during oral 
arguments in the case in October some justices seemed to question whether 
the extension fit that requirements.

The majority in Wednesday's ruling, however, ultimately found that Congress 
was within its rights.

"We find that the (extension) is a rational enactment; we are not at 
liberty to second-guess congressional determinations and policy judgments 
of this order, however debatable or arguably unwise they may be," the court 
said.

Congress has repeatedly lengthened the terms of copyrights over the years. 
Copyrights lasted only 14 years in 1790. With the challenged 1998 
extension, the period is now 70 years after the death of the creator. Works 
owned by corporations are now protected for 95 years.

Eric Eldred challenged the copyright extension, which he said unfairly 
limits what he can make available on a public web library he runs.

The extension "protects authors' original expression from unrestricted 
exploitation," Ginsburg wrote in rejecting Eldred's free-speech claims. 
"Protection of that order does not raise the free speech concerns present 
when government compels or burdens the communication of particular facts or 
ideas."

"I was disappointed in the decision," Eldred said from his home in Derry, 
N.H. "It seems like it's giving an open license to Congress to keep those 
works locked up perpetually."

Eldred had started his Web site in 1995 when his daughters were reading 
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlett Letter" in school. He decided to post 
the book on the Internet with hyperlinks to allow visitors to learn the 
definitions of unfamiliar words as they read.

Justices John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer disagreed with their colleagues.

Stevens wrote that the court was "failing to protect the public interest in 
free access to the products of inventive and artistic genius."
******************************
Washington Post
United We Stand (Against the Pirates)


By Cynthia L. Webb
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; 9:55 AM


Entertainment and technology heavyweights yesterday announced a united 
front to stop the piracy of digital content -- a front that explicitly 
eschews government mandates. The Recording Industry Association of America, 
the Business Software Alliance and the Computer Systems Policy Project 
announced a "core set of principles" outlining how the groups plan to lobby 
congressional leaders about the issue of distributing digital content.

Included in the plan: Allow the private sector to control digital 
distribution decisions and a direct message to lawmakers that 
"government-dictated" technology mandates are not welcome. At the same 
time, the groups do want government to enforce copyright laws and to commit 
to funding public awareness efforts to fight digital piracy. The tech 
groups represent big players including Intel, Dell Computer and 
Hewlett-Packard. "The agreement seems to oppose legislation from the likes 
of Senator Fritz Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat, whose Consumer 
Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act calls for embedding copy 
protection technology in all high-tech devices. Hollings introduced that 
bill last year, but it made little progress" before the 107th Congress 
adjourned, wrote InfoWorld in its coverage of the pact.

Of course, not everyone is happy with the "united we stand" digital piracy 
plan. "It is not good news for the consumer," Wendy Seltzer, staff attorney 
at the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Wired. "They are trying to take 
the legislative process out of the legislature and put it in the hands of a 
few industry groups. There's a lot of public debate that has to go on and 
we do need Congress to step in and undo the mess that has been created by 
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."
? InfoWorld: RIAA, IT Groups Agree On Digital Rights
? Wired News: Downside To Digital Rights Pact
? The Washington Post: Entertainment, Tech Firms Reach Truce On Digital Piracy
? BSA/RIAA/CSPP Principles (PDF)

Noticeably missing from yesterday's announcement was the Motion Picture 
Association of America, a traditional ally of the RIAA in fighting digital 
piracy. The New York Times explained the absence this way: "The motion 
picture industry is worried mainly about the future, concerned that digital 
television broadcasts and movies copied from DVD's will soon be traded over 
the Internet in the same high volumes as music is currently. Hollywood 
movie and television studios view federal intervention as a crucial element 
in avoiding the same fate as their record industry colleagues."
? New York Times: Music Industry Won't Seek Government Aid on Piracy

Other Comments on IT Policy United We Stand (Against the Pirates)
By Cynthia L. Webb
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; 9:55 AM
Entertainment and technology heavyweights yesterday announced a united 
front to stop the piracy of digital content -- a front that explicitly 
eschews government mandates. The Recording Industry Association of America, 
the Business Software Alliance and the Computer Systems Policy Project 
announced a "core set of principles" outlining how the groups plan to lobby 
congressional leaders about the issue of distributing digital content.
Included in the plan: Allow the private sector to control digital 
distribution decisions and a direct message to lawmakers that 
"government-dictated" technology mandates are not welcome. At the same 
time, the groups do want government to enforce copyright laws and to commit 
to funding public awareness efforts to fight digital piracy. The tech 
groups represent big players including Intel, Dell Computer and 
Hewlett-Packard. "The agreement seems to oppose legislation from the likes 
of Senator Fritz Hollings, a South Carolina Democrat, whose Consumer 
Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act calls for embedding copy 
protection technology in all high-tech devices. Hollings introduced that 
bill last year, but it made little progress" before the 107th Congress 
adjourned, wrote InfoWorld in its coverage of the pact.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the "united we stand" digital piracy 
plan. "It is not good news for the consumer," Wendy Seltzer, staff attorney 
at the Electronic Frontier Foundation told Wired. "They are trying to take 
the legislative process out of the legislature and put it in the hands of a 
few industry groups. There's a lot of public debate that has to go on and 
we do need Congress to step in and undo the mess that has been created by 
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."
? InfoWorld: RIAA, IT Groups Agree On Digital Rights
? Wired News: Downside To Digital Rights Pact
? The Washington Post: Entertainment, Tech Firms Reach Truce On Digital Piracy
? BSA/RIAA/CSPP Principles (PDF)
Noticeably missing from yesterday's announcement was the Motion Picture 
Association of America, a traditional ally of the RIAA in fighting digital 
piracy. The New York Times explained the absence this way: "The motion 
picture industry is worried mainly about the future, concerned that digital 
television broadcasts and movies copied from DVD's will soon be traded over 
the Internet in the same high volumes as music is currently. Hollywood 
movie and television studios view federal intervention as a crucial element 
in avoiding the same fate as their record industry colleagues."
? New York Times: Music Industry Won't Seek Government Aid on Piracy
*********************************
Washington Post
[FCC] Deregulation Plans Assailed
Senators Question Agenda of FCC's Chairman
By Christopher Stern
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; Page E05

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell's deregulatory 
agenda received a cool reception from a Senate committee yesterday, as 
several members questioned his plans to rewrite telephone regulations and 
media ownership rules.

Several senators on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee 
expressed concern that the FCC was preparing to relax the rules in ways 
that would reduce competition, raise rates and allow giant media companies 
to get even bigger. Committee Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) had 
organized the hearing to discuss the state of competition in the 
telecommunications and media industries before he turns the reins of the 
committee over to his Republican counterpart, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

"We are heading in exactly the wrong direction," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan 
(D-N.D.). "You should have your foot on the brake, not your hand on the 
throttle."

Powell ran into particularly stiff opposition to an FCC staff proposal that 
would ease requirements that local phone companies lease parts of their 
networks to their rivals.

Opponents of the plan, who include Hollings, say the proposal would 
jeopardize competition in the local phone business just as it begins to 
take off.

AT&T Corp. and WorldCom Inc.'s MCI Group subsidiary have taken advantage of 
the rules during the past year to offer competition in 46 states and the 
District of Columbia. More than 10 million residential customers have 
signed up so far for local phone service provided by rivals of the regional 
Bell firms.

But local phone companies, including Verizon Communications Inc. and 
BellSouth Corp., object to the rules. The local firms argue that they are 
being forced to rent their networks to rivals at below-market rates. The 
U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last year ordered the FCC 
to revisit the issue, saying the agency had failed to provide a detailed 
justification for the rules on a market by market basis. The FCC faces a 
Feb. 20 deadline for issuing revised rules, often referred to as Unbundled 
Network Element Platform, or UNE-P.

Powell said the existing rules are not the only way to foster local 
telephone competition. "I do not accept that the only likely opportunity 
for competition is UNE-P and nothing else," Powell said.

In addition to easing the current regulations, industry sources say, the 
FCC is considering a proposal to reduce the role of state regulators in 
setting the rates that competitors must pay for leasing elements of the 
network.

But three of the FCC's five commissioners said yesterday that they 
supported a strong role for states and would not vote for a proposal that 
greatly reduced the influence of local regulators.

Among the three was Kevin J. Martin, one of Powell's fellow Republicans at 
the FCC. Martin suggested that state regulators could help the commission 
better justify its rules, making them more defensible in court.

Committee members, meanwhile, made it clear they were also concerned about 
proposals to loosen a variety of media ownership rules, including 
regulations that bar a single company from owning several types of media 
outlets in a market. For instance, the FCC has sought comment on a proposal 
to do away with a ban on one company owning a newspaper and a TV station in 
the same market or a TV station and a cable system in the same market.

"There is a real possibility that the FCC is going to shift policies so 
that one company can own the whole game in town," said Sen. Ron Wyden 
(D-Ore.). He said the current media landscape is already dominated by just 
five companies, News Corp., Walt Disney Co., AOL Time Warner Inc., Viacom 
Inc. and Clear Channel Communications Inc.

Powell declined to discuss the specifics of the FCC proposal, but played 
down what he called the "more melodramatic" descriptions of his efforts to 
deregulate media ownership rules. He noted that the FCC has lost four 
recent court cases in which it sought to defend its existing media 
ownership rules. He also argued that any significant media merger must win 
approval from antitrust regulators at the Justice Department or the Federal 
Trade Commission, making any FCC rules in the area redundant.
******************************
USA Today
Father of student in Internet libel case wants reimbursement
CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)  David Lake, the father of a former Milford High 
student who battled charges of criminal libel and defamation for his Web 
site attack on students and school officials, wants compensation from 
Milford, Beaver County and state officials.

Lake, a former maintenance worker for Milford, maintains the charges 
against his son were unconstitutional and discriminatory, and he wants 
compensation from those he says put his family through more than two years 
of legal wrangling.

"There have been a lot of bills paid by me, and I still have an outstanding 
balance to recover what I have lost," Lake said Tuesday from Desert Hot 
Springs, Calif. He was quoted in a copyright story in The Salt Lake Tribune.

"I have attorney bills, living expenses I paid for Ian and wages I lost 
spending two years of my life getting this (legal defense) organized," Lake 
said.

His notice of claim for money was mailed this week. A required step before 
suing government officials, the notice names former Beaver County Attorney 
Leo Kanell, former 5th District Juvenile Court Judge Joseph Jackson, 
Sheriff Ken Yardley, Milford, the county and the state.

He said that if he sues, he will ask for more than $50,000. He estimates 
attorney fees for his son's initial court fight at more than $20,000.

Lake, who lives with his son in Desert Hot Springs, said he is not now 
represented by a lawyer.

The legal problems began in May 2000, when Ian Lake, then 16, created a Web 
site in which he referred to some students as sluts and Milford High's 
then-principal as the town drunk. A settlement later was reached with the 
principal.

Kanell charged the youth with slander and criminal libel, both misdemeanors.

Ian Lake was held in the Iron County Youth Correctional Facility for a week 
after being arrested. He then was sent to live with his grandfather in 
Desert Hot Springs.

The slander charge was dropped, and the Utah Supreme Court threw out the 
criminal-libel charge last November, saying the old statute was 
unconstitutional.

Kanell filed defamation charges against the youth. Those charges were 
dismissed last week at the request of new Beaver County Attorney Von 
Christiansen, who defeated Kanell in November. Kanell now is an assistant 
county attorney.

Christiansen said his office was reviewing David Lake's notice. "He had 
been threatening to do this, so it comes as no surprise," Christiansen said.

Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, said his 
office's involvement was the defense of the libel law before the Supreme Court.
***********************************
BBC
DNA databases 'no use to terrorists'
January 15, 2003
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor


Some have raised the possibility that terrorists could take publicly 
available data on harmful microbes and use new genetic engineering 
techniques to turn the information into lethal bio-weapons.

This frightening prospect has led to calls for the classification of the 
genome data of harmful organisms.

But a leading scientist in the field has told BBC News Online that 
potential bioterrorists would not be able to manufacture genetically 
modified killer viruses or bacteria using the databases.

Genome pioneer Dr Claire Fraser, of The Institute for Genomic Research 
(Tigr), says that although the genetic data of human pathogens is public, 
no one knows enough to turn this information into bioweapons.

She adds that making genomes secret would merely harm science - just what 
the terrorists would want.

Science or science fiction?

In 1995, the nerve gas Sarin was released on the Tokyo underground. In 
2001, Anthrax was sent in the post in the US, and just a few days ago 
traces of the poison Ricin were found in a London flat.

All of these substances are frightening and are part of the terrorist's 
arsenal.

But some people fear these materials may be mild compared with what 
terrorists, armed with freely available modern genetic engineering 
techniques, could do if they produced a self-replicating bioweapon that was 
infectious and deadly.

A fear of this happening has led to calls that the genomes - genetic 
blueprints - of some dangerous organisms be classified. But is this the 
stuff of science fiction, or is it a possibility?

The US National Academies and the Center for Strategic and International 
Studies has held a conference to discuss the so-called weaponisation of 
genomes.

Soviet experiments

As well as Dr Claire Fraser, on the panel was George Poste, chair of the US 
Department of Defense Task Force against Bioterrorism.

He outlined in graphic detail what some fear might happen in the future.

He described tailor-made microbes that produce powerful toxins, evade 
antibiotics and even produce "stealth viral vectors" that can integrate 
pathogenic DNA directly into an individual's genome.

Perhaps microbes could be modified to evade detection by diagnostics and by 
the human immune system. At a later time, these fatal infections could be 
activated by treatments for other, themselves non-life-threatening, diseases.

Yet still more malevolent microbes might turn the human immune system 
against itself, causing severe toxic shock, similar to Ebola's biological 
meltdown.

"These aren't science fiction," said Dr Poste. "The now defunct Soviet 
bioweapon programme brought many of them to life."

'Debunk the myth'

"In light of these pathogenic possibilities," asked Dr Fraser, "should 
genome-sequence information be kept under lock and key by government 
regulation?"

She said it was not an academic question. At Tigr, scientists have 
sequenced nearly 20 pathogens, including those that cause cholera, 
pneumonia, anthrax, meningitis, and syphilis.

The institute was also involved in identifying the anthrax strain used in 
2001's poison letters.

However, in spite of this, or perhaps because of it, Dr Fraser believes 
that such DNA sequences should remain public.

She told BBC News Online: "I want to debunk the myth that genomics has 
delivered a fully annotated set of virulence and pathogenicity genes to 
potential terrorists.

"I have heard some describe genome databases as bioterror catalogues where 
one could order an antibiotic-resistance gene from organism one, a toxin 
from organism two, and a cell-adhesion molecule from organism three, and 
quickly engineer a super pathogen.

"This just isn't the case."

Although scientists have a lot of genetic information about bacteria and 
viruses that could, in principle, be used to generate superbugs, Dr Fraser 
said there was so much we did not understand about gene function that such 
information would be of no practical use to a bioterrorist.

She said the benefits of keeping the data freely available were clear.

"We have to keep our databases open - to promote research that can increase 
our level of preparedness and as a corollary, perhaps serve as a deterrent."
******************************
Reuters Internet Report
Wireless Operators Lose Short Text Messages-Study
Tue Jan 14,11:56 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Millions of short text messages sent between mobile 
phones in the United States are lost every month, and the chance of two 
parties connecting depends on which networks they use, a study to be 
released on Wednesday says,


Internet performance measurement company Keynote Systems Inc. 
(NasdaqNM:KEYN - news) says in its study that 7.5 percent of all short text 
messages sent between wireless telephone companies are lost.


The increasingly popular service known as SMS (Short Message Service) 
allows mobile phone users to send brief messages instantaneously to their 
friends and family. It typically costs 10 cents to send a message and 
pennies to nothing to receive one.


In Europe, where it is also known as "text messaging," 10 to 15 percent of 
wireless operators' revenue comes from SMS, but adoption of the service has 
been slower in the United States, where users were not able to send 
messages to networks other than their own until last year.


Still, industry group Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association 
estimates that nearly one billion messages were exchanged during the month 
of June 2002, the latest figure it has. At a lost-message rate of 7.5 
percent, this means millions of messages never reach the intended recipient.


Chuck Mount, general manager of Keynote's Wireless Perspective Service, 
said a significant lost-message rate will not only affect carriers' revenue 
but could affect customer usage of the still budding service.


Among the operators, the No. 3 U.S. wireless operator AT&T Wireless 
Services Inc. (NYSE:AWE - news) had the highest success rate in sending and 
receiving messages.


It was the top performer in terms of messages sent to users on other 
networks as well as messages sent within its network at 95.5 percent and 
97.8 percent, respectively.


While rival Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ - news) (VOD.L), the largest wireless 
operator, scored the highest in terms of receiving messages at a 95 percent 
rate, AT&T Wireless trailed the largest wireless operator by only 0.2 percent.


T-Mobile USA, the sixth-largest wireless operator, was one of the worst 
performers. Only 86 percent of messages sent from a T-Mobile phone to a 
user on another network and 87 percent of messages sent to another T-Mobile 
phone were successfully received.

The Deutsche Telekom unit (DTEGn.DE) received 92 percent of messages sent 
from other networks.


Keynote said it test-sent nearly 26,000 messages in cities around the 
country over a period of two weeks in December as part of the study.
*****************************
MSNBC
Credit card fraud help policies vary
Victims find Visa offers refunds on PayPal, Discover doesn't
By Bob Sullivan

Jan. 14  Last month, both Charles Bowman and Kelly Smith were scammed out 
of $2,200 by the same eBay con artist. Both paid for a new laptop computer 
that never came. Both used PayPal to send the money. But Smith got a full 
refund a few days later, while Bowman is still out $2,200. The only 
difference? Smith used a Visa card to fund her PayPal account, while Bowman 
used a Discover card. And that's only one point of confusion surrounding 
credit card transactions and PayPal fraud.
       CALIFORNIA-BASED PAYPAL IS EASILY the Internet's largest electronic 
payment system, claiming over 15 million members. The system has become so 
pervasive that some say it's nearly impossible to actively trade in 
Internet auctions without a PayPal account, which is part of the reason 
that auction giant eBay.com acquired PayPal last year.
       But the company is also a frequent target of fraud complaints, and 
customers quickly discover that consumer regulations which protect bank and 
credit card consumers don't apply to PayPal or other Internet-only payment 
systems. PayPal is also the target of a high-profile class action suit 
which claims the firm indiscriminately freezes customer accounts during 
billing disputes and fraud investigations.
       PayPal critics say some of those investigations are the result of 
consumers like Smith, who seek refunds from their credit cards, known as 
"chargebacks", after a con artist steals their money. PayPal's terms of 
service says customers must go to PayPal  and not directly to credit card 
companies  when seeking to recover money after fraud. Customers who bypass 
PayPal can have their accounts shut down, the policy says.
       EBay and PayPal spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the company doesn't 
take that option unless there is a pattern of abuse by the customer.
       "A user's account will not be frozen simply for using the 
chargeback system," he said. "The only reason there would be a freeze is if 
there seems to be a persistent pattern of chargebacks."
       But Smith and several other PayPal consumers dispute that, saying 
accounts are regularly frozen as a consequence of seeking a refund through 
their credit card companies.
       "Paypal did send me an e-mail stating that they were supposed to 
handle the chargeback, and me canceling my payment through Visa may cause 
them to suspend my account," Smith said.

COSTLY FOR PAYPAL
       Gail Koff, the Jacoby & Myers lawyer who is leading the class 
action suit against PayPal, said the company was trying to bully customers 
into not exercising their consumer rights.
      "They kind of leave me speechless in terms of how they've handled 
consumers," Koff said.
       Consumer credit card chargebacks can be costly for PayPal. When a 
fraud occurs, if a consumer disputes the charge with his or her credit card 
company, the financial institution makes PayPal cover the cost. 
Effectively, when Smith filed a complaint with Visa, the con artist's 
$2,200 bill was handed to PayPal.
       So PayPal, like many merchants, tries to keep anti-fraud measures 
in-house, offering consumers its own fraud protection program, which 
includes insurance. But even when combined with eBay's similar insurance 
program, refunds are limited to $400, less a $25 processing fee.
       Filing a chargeback with the credit card company is much easier, 
and promises 100 percent recovery.

THE CARD YOU PICK MATTERS
       But many consumers, like Bowman, don't know that the card you use 
to fund your PayPal account helps to determine your ability to recover 
money lost to a con artist. Visa and Mastercard transactions can be 
disputed when PayPal customers suffer fraud. But similar Discover and 
American Express transactions can't be disputed. The distinction doesn't 
appear on PayPal's Web site.
      The difference is due to the merchant agreements signed by PayPal 
with the various credit card networks. Visa and Mastercard require PayPal 
to accept responsibility as the "merchant of record" in its transactions. 
That means PayPal is liable to foot the bill when a customer does not 
receive the merchandise and disputes the transaction, according to Janet 
Yang, spokesperson for Visa USA Inc.
       But Discover treats PayPal transactions differently. Discover 
Financial Services Inc. spokesperson Cathy Edwards said PayPal is just a 
middleman, which has effectively performed the service asked of it: It has 
moved the money. What happens after that is a dispute between buyer and seller.
       "It's similar to a cash advance," Edwards said. "If a card member 
gets a cash advance .... then they use that cash to buy a computer, and the 
computer doesn't work, they don't go back to the credit card company."
       It may seem like a nuanced distinction, but the difference is 
hardly subtle to Bowman, who doesn't understand why he's out $2,200, while 
fellow victim Smith has received a full refund.
       He listened to the conventional wisdom, and plenty of credit card 
company marketing, which says that Internet consumers are protected against 
fraud when they use a credit card online.
       "This was my first experience buying anything through eBay," Bowman 
said. "I did lots of research, thinking I was 100 percent protected, and 
nowhere can you find that you are not protected if you work through a third 
party.
       "If I had known this up front, you can bet I wouldn't have made 
that bid."

CONFUSING DISCLAIMERS
       Notices on eBay and PayPal sites didn't clear things up for him.
       EBay's site says "Most credit card issuers provide 100 percent 
consumer protection in instances of online fraud or misrepresentation." 
There is no mention of the differing chargeback rights of Discover and 
American Express users.
       Pursglove conceded the statement wasn't very specific. "We can 
certainly do more in the area of educating the consumers," he said.
      Part of the reason for the confusion, Pursglove said, is that 
initially, most credit cards didn't allow chargebacks against PayPal 
transactions. He said it was taking time for word to get out about the 
relatively new Visa and Mastercard policies. Pursglove said he didn't 
recall when the change occurred, but that it was over a year ago.
       "But consumers ... have to accept responsibility, too," Pursglove 
said. "Some may find out it's more advantageous to use one type of credit 
card than another. Consumers should be willing to take the initiative in 
understanding their credit cards' terms and conditions."
       PayPal's site says users have "the rights and privileges expected 
of a credit card transaction." On the other hand, it insists that customers 
work through PayPal's "dispute resolution" process before approaching their 
credit card companies. The penalty for not doing so: account termination.
       Rosalinda Baldwin, who runs auction watchdog site 
TheAuctionGuild.com, said PayPal's dispute process can take days or weeks 
to complete, and since consumers only have 60 days to file a chargeback 
request with their credit card companies, timing can be critical.
       Smith didn't want to wait and see if PayPal could recover her 
$2,200, so she immediately called her Visa card issuer: First National Bank 
of Omaha. The bank reversed the charge, and she saw a credit on her bill 
immediately. But not before PayPal threatened to freeze her account and 
remove the $2,200 from it.
       "But I never keep a balance in there," Smith said. "I think there 
was $5 in the account, so [the threat] doesn't have teeth. What can they 
do, freeze an account for $5?".

PAYPAL CHASES AFTER THE MONEY
       But other PayPal customers are not so lucky, said Eric Gray, who 
runs a consumer complaint Web site called PayPalSucks.com. The firm's 
threats do have teeth with frequent auction buyers and sellers, who 
regularly leave large balances in their accounts. These people thus often 
forgo chargeback rights.
       "People who think, 'I really need my PayPal account, I use it all 
the time.' Those people have to bite (the loss)," Gray said.
       Consumers who do file chargebacks regularly complain that PayPal 
chases after the money, he said. If there isn't enough in the PayPal 
account to fund the chargeback, the firm tries to access funds in the 
customers' checking or savings accounts, he said.
       "Their terms of service says you authorize them to recover that 
money," Gray said. "I know people who had their accounts put into 
collection agencies because they reversed a credit card charge."
       Pursglove challenged that assertion, saying PayPal only takes 
drastic steps like that in cases where chargebacks are habitual.
      "I talked to the PayPal folks and nobody can remember a case where a 
users' account has been frozen for (filing a chargeback)," he said. "The 
reality is [that] many times PayPal does eat the amount."
       PayPal will take steps to recover amounts lost to chargebacks only 
"if the user has a history of abusing the chargeback system," Pursglove 
said. "If PayPal feels the user has abused the system, then PayPal feels it 
has the right to recover the money. ... Any company would do that."
       But Koff, who last summer won a small legal battle against PayPal 
when a federal judge refused to dismiss her class-action lawsuit, claims to 
have a lengthy list of consumers who had their accounts frozen under just 
such arbitrary circumstances.
       "It's scary what they've done," she said. Consumers shouldn't be 
bullied into giving up their credit card chargeback rights, she said. 
"There's no credible legal hook for them to be doing that."
********************************
MSNBC
High-tech auto devices unsafe?
NHTSA head: State-of-the-art products detract from safety
ASSOCIATED PRESS

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 15  New high-tech devices turning some of today's 
vehicles into offices on wheels may detract from their safety, the chief of 
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
       AUTOMAKERS MUST MAKE SURE giving drivers access to e-mail, news, 
weather and stock quotes doesn't create hazards, NHTSA administrator Dr. 
Jeffrey W. Runge told auto industry professionals at the Automotive News 
World Congress on Tuesday.
       "I recognize there's tremendous market pressure to add gizmos and 
gadgets to new vehicles, some for safety but mostly for customer 
convenience and appeal," he said. "Whether you're here representing a 
manufacturer or a supplier, you have a fundamental responsibility to assess 
hazard potential in these items."
       He also had criticism for rollover-prone sport utility vehicles, 
telling the Detroit News that the public should "exercise its buying 
choices" and pick safer vehicles. "We cannot regulate ourselves out of this 
mess," he said.
       Referring to a NHTSA rating system that gives fewer stars to 
vehicles that tend to roll over more, he said, "I wouldn't buy my kid a 
two-star rollover vehicle if it was the last one on Earth."
       In his speech, he put more emphasis on driver distractions. In a 
study released last month, Harvard researchers estimated about one in 20 
U.S. traffic accidents involve a driver talking on a cell phone. Data on 
the number of crashes caused by cell phones is incomplete, and the cell 
phone industry found fault with the projections and their connection to 
wireless phones.
      Telematics  wireless communications products designed into 
vehicles  are available on 90 automobile models representing 19 brands in 
North America, according to the Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
       Last spring, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers developed 23 
voluntary principles to try to limit how much the gadgets interfere with 
driving.
       The alliance says, for example, that new technologies should not 
block a driver's view or get in the way of other vehicle controls. The 
driver should be able to complete tasks with brief glances. Sounds should 
not be too loud.
       Safety advocates say the guidelines do not go far enough, and many 
want the federal government to introduce new rules. NHTSA officials have 
said they have no immediate plans to regulate the gadgets.
       "We cannot regulate fast enough to keep up with technological 
innovation, nor would we want to," Runge said. "This administration would 
always prefer voluntary brilliance to enforced compliance."
       Runge said he's visited auto manufacturers in the United States, 
Europe and Japan in the past year and has been impressed with safety 
engineering efforts.
       IBM Corp. has worked with some automakers to develop systems that 
establish conditions under which telematics devices do not work.
       "We've got systems that can detect if you're driving on a snowy 
night or an icy road," said Jim Ruthven, IBM's program director for 
automotive and telematics solutions. "That's not the time to be sending 
e-mails or telephone calls to the vehicle."
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MSNBC
TurboTax complaints mount
Antipiracy technology riles customers
By David Becker


Jan. 14  Software maker Intuit has created an uninstaller program for its 
TurboTax tax-preparation programs, as customer complaints mount about 
antipiracy technology included in the software. The uninstaller, which 
TurboTax users will receive when they update the software, completely 
removes the program from computers, along with the files associated with 
it, including SafeCast, Macrovision software that Intuit uses to bar 
unlicensed distribution of TurboTax.
      INTUIT SPOKESMAN Scott Gulbransen said the uninstaller was created 
in response to customer concerns about SafeCast, which creates its own 
directory on the PC's hard drive and runs in the background whenever the PC 
is working. Customers have complained that SafeCast remains on their hard 
drive even after they've removed the rest of TurboTax, and they've accused 
the Macrovision software of slowing down their PCs.
   "Because SafeCast doesn't bog down systems and it doesn't monitor what 
the PC is doing, we didn't think early on it would be an issue," Gulbransen 
said. "But if our customers are telling us they want to be able to do 
something, and we feel it's valid, we try to accommodate them."
    Complaints are continuing to collect in online forums, however, 
concerning product activation. Intuit announced last year that it would 
limit unlicensed distribution of TurboTax by incorporating technology that 
links each copy of the program to a particular PC. Because of SafeCast, 
customers can only print and electronically file returns from the PC the 
software was activated on.
   The activation code that unlocks TurboTax is stored on the hard drive 
and kept hidden from the customer. Contrary to previous claims by Intuit, 
that means anyone buying a new PC or replacing a hard drive needs to call 
Intuit support to reactivate the product, a process some have complained is 
cumbersome and unwarranted.
   "If you uninstall, and then install on a different computer, you either 
have to beg for a new activation code or buy a new license," Ed, a Texas 
tech support worker who declined to give his full name, said in an e-mail 
interview. "Life is way too short for this kind of nonsense ... to use a 
$30 piece of software."
    Other customers have reported having to request repeated reactivations 
after using hard disk utilities such as partitioning programs, which cause 
SafeCast to assume it's not on the same PC anymore. Still more object to 
the way product activation works.
    "It turns out that activation is an intrusive scheme that appears to 
place data on the user's hard disk in nonstandard methods, apparently in an 
attempt to hide its mechanism and function," said Scott Smart, a retired 
naval system engineer from Mililani, Hawaii. "History has shown that such 
schemes tend to be fragile and expose the user to consequential damage if 
the scheme has a failure mode which the developer did not adequately test 
for."
    Intuit's FAQ site on product activation includes pages for several 
installation errors Intuit is still investigating.
    "There's always a certain percentage of error codes that come up that 
are unexpected," Intuit's Gulbransen said. "There are a wide variety of PC 
systems, and how our system interacts with a customer's PC is sometimes 
unknown."
      Some of the complaints about TurboTax's product activation are based 
on misinformation, including allegations the technology will prevent 
customers from reinstalling software if they need to access older tax 
information in coming years. The need for product activation expires on 
Oct. 16 of the filing year, the last day for filing an extended return. 
After that, customers can install and use the software without activating it.
        Intuit is one of the first major software makers to use product 
activation to prevent piracy, following Microsoft's introduction of a more 
obtrusive version of the technology.
        Gulbransen said Intuit has worked hard to make product activation 
as unobtrusive as possible while effectively stemming the uncalculated 
losses Intuit has suffered year after year from unlicensed distribution of 
TurboTax. "We need to protect our intellectual property and the products we 
spend millions developing every year," he said.
        Rob Sterling, an analyst for Jupiter Research, said the customer 
complaints are unlikely to dent Inuit's sales.
        "They were taking it on the chin for years in terms of people 
doing multiple installs," Sterling said. "I don't see how the amount of 
sales they might lose from people irked at product activation would 
outweigh what they get from people not being able to pass it around. ... A 
lot of people see TurboTax as an indispensable product, and a lot of people 
were stealing it."
        Sterling said there's also likely to be more reluctance to switch 
tax programs than other types of software, especially for people who import 
data from Intuit's Quicken personal finance application.
        "The thing about the way people do their taxes is it changes very 
slowly, because you only do it once a year," Sterling said. "And nobody 
does it for fun. They want the simplest, most comprehensive way to get it 
done."
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