INTERNET
Hijackers May Have Accessed Computers at Public Libraries (WP)
Internet Surpasses Its Original Goal (NYT)
ADVERTISING
Media Trying to Stem Losses With Dignity (NYT)
PRIVACY/SECURITY
Geeks Gather to Back Crypto (WIRED)
EPIC Publishes 2001 Privacy Law Sourcebook (EPIC)
INTERNET
HIJACKERS MAY HAVE ACCESSED COMPUTERS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Issue: Public Access
Investigators are looking into the possibility some of the suspected
hijackers in last week's deadly attacks on Washington and New York may have
communicated with each other by using computers at public libraries. At
least one South Florida librarian has told authorities she recognized the
name of a suspected terrorist on one of her computer sign-in sheets after
the FBI released the list of hijackers' names Friday. And library officials
in Fairfax County also reported that FBI agents have requested the computer
lab sign-in lists from one library. Public library officials say the use of
computers with Internet access, which affords clients the option of logging
into chat rooms and exchanging private messages, is a controversial issue in
the library industry, and that policies on patron use and the amount of
privacy allowed differ from place to place. Betty Dejean, the assistant
director of the libraries division in Broward County, where several of the
suspects lived, said she could not release any information without a court
order, citing Florida statutes. Dejean said she had sent out a memo to staff
members at the 37 Broward County branches, which include three in Hollywood,
reminding employees they are not allowed to comment on books checked out by
clients or on client computer use.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Sue Anne Pressley and Justin Blum]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41034-2001Sep16.html)
INTERNET SURPASSES ITS ORIGINAL GOAL
Issue: Internet
Almost 40 years after it was conceived as a method of maintaining
communications in the event of an attack on the United States, the Internet
- long since broadened past that purpose - last week had the first real test
of its original goal. According to firms that analyze Web site traffic and
performance, while some sites slowed, the overall flow of data across the
Internet was not degraded by either damage to critical fiber optic lines or
the clogging of those lines by Web users. On Tuesday morning, pages at many
of the most popular web sites took nearly three to four times the normal
average to load, but over the next several hours, that average returned to
normal.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bob Tedsechi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/technology/17ECOM.html)
(requires registration)
ADVERTISING
MEDIA TRYING TO STEM LOSSES WITH DIGNITY
Issue: Advertising
Industry analysts estimate that the broadcast and cable television networks
and stations have lost from $40 million to $100 million a day from Tuesday,
when they began uninterrupted coverage of the attacks and rescue efforts, to
Saturday morning, when the first network began gingerly interspersing a few
commercials amid its news. Many magazines and newspapers have also lost
revenue as companies pulled or postponed their planned advertisements. And
film studios and book publishers hoping to plug their latest releases have
been squeezed out of the airwaves and public attention. On Friday, Paul
Rittenberg, senior vice president for ad sales at the Fox News Channel in
New York, said he had commitments from only 30 of the network's 200 regular
advertisers for the week ahead. "You can't just pretend you're going back to
selling Wheaties," he said. "It's hard to do a feel-good campaign when so
many people are hurting." The loss in revenue is all the more painful
because this year the media industry is already suffering from one of the
steepest drops in decades.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David D. Kirkpatrick and Stuart Elliott]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/business/media/17MEDI.html)
(requires registration)
SECURITY/PRIVACY
GEEKS GATHER TO BACK CRYPTO
Issue: Security
The mere possibility that the world's most-wanted terrorist may have used
encryption tools like Hushmaill or Pretty Good Privacy has begun to spur
debate about how to ensure the U.S. government can listen in on them. This
weekend, about 15 local geektavists gathered at the University of Maryland's
Baltimore campus to try to figure out how to persuade legislators and the
public that the liberties that Americans have long enjoyed should remain
protected during wartime. The activist have long tried to convince policy
makers that encryption technology is essential to e-commerce. Now they are
concerned that government is unaware of the civil liberties and financial
repercussions of moves to limit the use privacy technology. Last Thursday
evening, the Senate approved the Combating Terrorism Act of 2001, which
enhances police wiretap powers and permits law enforcement to use the
Carnivore surveillance device without a court order in some situations.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: ]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46900,00.html)
EPIC PUBLISHES 2001 PRIVACY LAW SOURCEBOOK
Issue: Privacy
The 2001 edition of the "Physician's Desk Reference of the privacy world" is
now available from EPIC. The Privacy Law Sourcebook is the leading resource
for students, attorneys, researchers and journalists interested in privacy
law in the United States and around the world.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
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