The secretaries of state for Kentucky and New Mexico plan to authenticate political campaign Web sites using the Election Security Seal Program developed by Election Mall Technologies of Washington, D.C. The program creates an online registrar directory of legitimate political Web sites, including those set up by candidates for office, political action groups, or other […]

The Federal Communications Commission issued a decision that any voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) provider linked to the public telephone network must comply with a set of rules making it easier for police to seek and obtain wiretaps. The affected companies must meet these requirements by spring 2007. Still undecided is what the Communications Assistance […]

Peter Hustinx, data protection supervisor for the European Union (EU), has voiced his criticism of two antiterrorism proposals for their stance on data retention. Neither the proposal by the European Commission nor one drafted by EU governments makes a compelling case for holding on to sensitive data as part of antiterrorism efforts, said Hustinx. The […]

Researchers are set to test a videoconferencing system that will significantly raise the bar for such technology. A demonstration of the new system will link speakers between the University of California, San Diego, and Keio University in Tokyo–a distance of roughly 9,000 miles–with video images at 4K resolution, or about 4,000 pixels wide.
Attendees at […]

Two new tools from GeoTrust offer Internet users another layer of protection against a range of online scams. The TrustWatch Search site and TrustWatch Toolbar both provide indications about the probable reliability of sites users are visiting, in an effort to help consumers avoid being victimized by phishing scams or by other forms of fraudulent […]

A California judge has ruled against plaintiffs who had accused CardSystems Solutions, Visa, and MasterCard of failing to notify them as required by state law following a computer breach that exposed the personal information of 40 million individuals. The breach happened in June, and, according to CardSystems Solutions, records on approximately 200,000 individuals were taken […]

A new tool from the recording and film industries uninstalls or disables P2P applications, and it scans computers for illegal copies of songs or movies and deletes them. Digital File Check was developed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in conjunction with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and is available […]

At a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee meeting this week, lawmakers, campus officials, and representatives of the movie industry and of a provider of legal download services discussed efforts by U.S. colleges and universities to curtail copyright violations on their networks. Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.) said they will ask the Government […]

To help fill what it calls the “gap between skilled IT professionals and the increased number of technology jobs,” IBM will introduce an online job-listing service targeting graduates in computer sciences. On the applicant side, the service will be open to students who have passed an IBM Professional Certification test. Those individuals will be able […]

A report submitted to Congress this week provides a snapshot of campus programs to provide legal alternatives to illegal file trading. Prepared by the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, the report noted that the number of institutions offering legal download services has tripled during the past year, to 70, covering […]