432 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
432 lines
24 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
BBB III TTT SSS BBB Y Y TTT EEE SSS
|
|
B B I T S B B Y Y T E S ONLINE EDITION
|
|
BBB I T SSS AND BBB YYY T EEE SSS VOL 1, NUMBER 7
|
|
B B I T S B B Y T E S 8/23/93
|
|
BBB III T SSS BBB Y T EEE SSS FOCUS ON PRIVACY
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
We live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one
|
|
another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another.
|
|
Henry David Thoreau
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
Privacy and Free Speech on the Digital Frontier
|
|
|
|
It is a characteristic of our evolving civilization that we are
|
|
developing an increasing respect for the individuality and privacy of
|
|
every human being in addition to a recognition of proprietary rights
|
|
in real estate and other material possessions. Therefore, it follows
|
|
logically that we will also evolve a body of law to protect
|
|
information about ourselves as well as information concerning our
|
|
corporate enterprises and public institutions.
|
|
(SOURCE: Information Technologies and Social Transformations. Bruce R.
|
|
Guile, Editor [National Academy Press, 1985. $14.95])
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
How Safe Is Your Information: Some Cautionary Tales
|
|
|
|
The arrival of personal digital assistants such as Apple Computer,
|
|
Inc.'s Newton MessagePad and EO, Inc.'s Personal Communicator,
|
|
coupled with skyrocketing sales of cellular phones, packet radio
|
|
modems, sky pagers and wireless electronic mail devices, has created
|
|
new points of vulnerability for electronic data interchange, experts
|
|
said.
|
|
"None of us would ever leave a confidential memo lying on a
|
|
restaurant table, but then we turn around and don't think twice about
|
|
transmitting data electronically without a safeguard," said Bob
|
|
Geisler, a senior consultant at CCT, Inc., a consultancy in
|
|
Minneapolis.
|
|
Because all methods of wireless data transfer are accomplished by
|
|
devices that are essentially radio transmitters, anyone with the right
|
|
receiver can tune into your voice or data transmission. "Ask Princess
|
|
Diana how problematic it can be if someone is tapping into your phone
|
|
conversation," Geisler said. (James Daly, "Whither Wireless Security,"
|
|
Computerworld, 8/16/93, p. 1)
|
|
* * *
|
|
Late last month, a resident of St. Albert, a town in the Canadian
|
|
province of Alberta, purchased a used PC hard-disk drive from
|
|
Multitech Electronics, an Edmonton computer store. After installing
|
|
the drive, the customer searched it for any files that might have
|
|
been left there by the previous owner. It turned out there was quite
|
|
a bit of information left on the drive, much to the dismay of the
|
|
province's land titles offices. The disk drive contained the personnel
|
|
records of every employee, including their salaries, attendance
|
|
records, performance evaluations, and home addresses and phone
|
|
numbers. Also on the disk were confidential memos about plans to take
|
|
the land title department private. A local newspaper, The Edmonton
|
|
Journal, published the story last week, along with the text of some of
|
|
the embarrassing documents, and opened up a can of worms as enraged
|
|
representatives of a government-workers union called the situation a
|
|
breach of the public trust. A full investigation of the incident is
|
|
underway. Here in the good old USA, a similar situation occurred to
|
|
Super-Patriot Oliver North as some of his 'deleted' email came back
|
|
to haunt him. Moral: Understand the technology you are working with
|
|
and use proper precautions to safeguard your privacy. With a DOS
|
|
machine, for instance, merely DELeting files from your hard drive does
|
|
not actually erase them from the drive, it just marks the space where
|
|
the file resides as being available for use by the system. So until
|
|
some other program uses that space, the information is still
|
|
physically on the drive. That's why the DOS UNDELETE command works.
|
|
Any number of "disk wiping" utilities exist. (SOURCE: John P.
|
|
McPartin, "Loose Disks Sink Ships," Information Week 8/9/93, p. 60)
|
|
* * *
|
|
In a related story, A U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the government
|
|
must preserve millions of electronic messages and memoranda under the
|
|
same standards used for paper communications. The decision was hailed
|
|
by historians and journalists. You can bet elected officials
|
|
everywhere will be learning how to wipe their files carefully. Hint:
|
|
a big magnet will do a pretty good job.(SOURCE: E-D-U-P-A-G-E 8/17/93)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
Membership Has Its Privileges
|
|
|
|
Last week Visa International introduced an executive information
|
|
service that will let banks analyze their cardholders' buying patterns
|
|
more effectively in order to target promotions to receptive customers.
|
|
The VisaVue service will gives member banks software to analyze
|
|
customer data, calculating for example how the purchasing patterns of
|
|
certain age groups compare with national norms. Member banks, who will
|
|
license the service from Visa, will receive monthly updates from
|
|
Visa's customer database. (SOURCE: Information Week, 8/16/93, p. 16)
|
|
* * *
|
|
FREE CREDIT REPORT: SECOND THOUGHTS. It was pointed out to me be that
|
|
the free credit report from TRW (B&Bv1#5) may not be so "free" after
|
|
all, that even if you make the call you will be required to provide
|
|
(by mail) proof of address, SSN, and (get this) your addresses for the
|
|
past five years! Seems to me like a sneaky way of getting even more
|
|
data on you.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
Excerpts From Computer Privacy Digest 7/28-30/93
|
|
|
|
On 7/28/93, Kevin Calmes <tmis1692@altair.selu.edu> wrote:
|
|
I thought the thing about private e-mail was a bit of a stretch. After
|
|
all it is the employer's computer and it is the employers right to
|
|
know what is there. Simply, don't put your private information in the
|
|
company's computer.
|
|
|
|
(REPLY 1)
|
|
I would probably agree with that in principle, but I think there are
|
|
laws or things that sound like laws that talk about a "reasonable
|
|
expectation of privacy". I know first hand that a LOT of non-techie
|
|
people who use corporate e-mail have no idea that someone other than
|
|
the intended recipient can read their mail, and they are understand-
|
|
ably rattled when they find out otherwise.
|
|
-David Hoffman <hoffman@xenon.stanford.edu>
|
|
|
|
(REPLY 2)
|
|
In the United States, *Federal Law* sets certain standards for any
|
|
computer system that handles mail that is transferred intersystem,
|
|
and it's called the Electronic Communications Protection Act, the
|
|
same law that makes it illegal to monitor cellular phones. If your
|
|
system is on the Internet or is otherwise connected to an outside
|
|
network, certain rules are automatic and mandatory unless the system
|
|
manager explicitly denies them. Failure to deny makes them automatic
|
|
and mandatory. These provisions are:
|
|
|
|
1) Private Mail may not be intercepted, monitored or read by third
|
|
parties.
|
|
2) In the absence of a subpoena, warrant or other process, the
|
|
information in private E-Mail cannot be used in a court proceeding.
|
|
3) Violating these provisions is a federal crime punishable by
|
|
fines and imprisonment, and the victim(s) can also sue civilly for
|
|
up to $10,000 or provable damages.
|
|
|
|
Let me ask you: your employer owns the telephone on your desk; should
|
|
he have the right to record your telephone calls? He's paying for the
|
|
call, shouldn't he be able to monitor anything transmitted?
|
|
- Paul Robinson <TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM>
|
|
|
|
(REPLY 3)
|
|
I agree with your basic premise that all company resources belong to
|
|
the company, may only be used as sanctioned by the company, and may be
|
|
monitored, accessed, and controlled as deemed appropriate by the
|
|
company. However I find it difficult to apply a common standard to
|
|
seemingly similar situations. If we assume, for sake of argument,
|
|
that it's acceptable for my employer to monitor and access my
|
|
"private" e-mail, then:
|
|
|
|
o Is it also acceptable for my employer to do monitor my telephone
|
|
calls as well? It is, after all, their telephone, and they put
|
|
it on my desk for business use. Does this then give them the
|
|
right to monitor my calls, with or without my knowledge?
|
|
|
|
o How about voice mail? Isn't voice mail the moral equivalent of
|
|
e-mail that just uses an alternate storage and I/O format?
|
|
Should different rules apply to voice mail and e-mail?
|
|
|
|
o Let go the limit: when the mail robot stops by and I drop a
|
|
bill payment in the "Outbound" box, does my company have the
|
|
right to open it? (Please, debate the ethics, not the
|
|
legalities; I'm not sure when the mail in this box formally
|
|
becomes U.S. Mail with which it would be illegal to tamper.)
|
|
|
|
o How does the previous example change if the "Outbound" box is,
|
|
by policy, for business related mail only, but I ignore policy
|
|
and use it for personal use? Have I relinquished any rights?
|
|
|
|
I'm not as interested in who has what rights as I am in how anyone can
|
|
justify applying *different* policies for these various scenarios. It
|
|
seems to me we need a single, consistent policy that covers all these
|
|
bases. - Todd Jonz <Todd.Jonz@corp.sun.com>
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
"Bozo" Filters
|
|
|
|
A microbiologist from Rootstown, Ohio, has stirred up a storm of
|
|
controversy with a program that automatically wipes out anonymous
|
|
messages on Internet, the nation's largest on-line network. He was
|
|
offended by an anonymous user who posted a joke about the last words
|
|
of the space shuttle Challenger's crew. Several colleges have also
|
|
blocked electronic discussions on some subjects. Many online veterans
|
|
complain that such actions threaten freedom of expression.
|
|
(William M. Bulkeley, "Censorship Fights Heat Up On Academic
|
|
Networks," The Wall Street Journal, May 24, p. B1.)
|
|
|
|
This article failed to mention that the type of program mentioned,
|
|
known to many on the net as a "bozo filter," is actually somewhat
|
|
common and quite useful to net workers. If you subscribe to a lot of
|
|
mailing lists, you will eventually want to use one. In addition to
|
|
filtering out anonymous users, bozo filters can also filter out
|
|
specific users who (in your humble opinion) have nothing useful to say
|
|
about the subject at hand, and are wasting your time by forcing you to
|
|
download and then delete their postings. Some mailing lists have many
|
|
"threads," or topics of conversation going on, and bozo filters allow
|
|
you to exclude topics you have no interest in. It's all very primitive
|
|
at this point, but I anticipate that in the future, bozo filters will
|
|
evolve into sophisticated programs that will scan incoming messages
|
|
by subject and author and other user-definable criteria for relevance
|
|
and sort them into meaningful queues for further processing by human
|
|
operators.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
High-Tech Harassment
|
|
|
|
USA Today reports that sexual harassment is making inroads in
|
|
cyberspace as female users increasingly report instances of lewd
|
|
messages, suggestive graphics or even electronic stalking over
|
|
computer networks. Most reported incidents have been at universities.
|
|
(Ah, those crazy college kids - our hope for the future of America)
|
|
Last year school officials at the University of Oregon posted signs
|
|
warning against sexual harassment via e-mail after female students
|
|
received nude pictures pulled off an Internet erotica news group.
|
|
Some females deliberately choose gender neutral names online, and some
|
|
find they are treated differently if it is known they are women. On
|
|
the flip side of the coin, some men log on as women and proceed to
|
|
come on to any and all males, who of course being manly men, respond
|
|
to the objects of their imagined desires. All parties involved come
|
|
out looking like bigger fools than they already are. Everyone, take a
|
|
cold shower! (SOURCE: USA Today 8/6/93 p. B2, EDUPAGE 8/10/93)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
High-Tech Censorship
|
|
|
|
Here's are some interesting self-censorship concepts that *should*
|
|
satisfy the people who want more control over the sex and violence on
|
|
TV without depriving those of us who can tell the difference between
|
|
TV and real life our cheap, vicarious thrills:
|
|
|
|
+A patented digital technology offered by VideoFreedom Systems in San
|
|
Diego lets you do your own censoring. The idea is that producers of
|
|
digitally transmitted media can blur objectionable scenes and sounds,
|
|
the way news programs on TV distort the faces and voices of anonymous
|
|
sources. TV viewers (or movie theater operators) can then use the
|
|
device to "de-blur" to their taste.(SOURCE: Information Week, 8/16/93)
|
|
|
|
+The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee introduced legislation
|
|
requiring new TV sets to be equipped with a violence detection chip,
|
|
or "V chip." According to subcommittee chairman Senator Edward Markey,
|
|
installing the chip will not add more than $1 to $5 to the cost of a
|
|
TV set. The article I saw did not explain how the chip works.
|
|
(SOURCE: E-D-U-P-A-G-E 8/12/93)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy.
|
|
- Cypherpunk Saying
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
Meet the Cypherpunks
|
|
|
|
Data encryption standards may be the ultimate battleground for privacy
|
|
rights in on-line America. Twenty years ago, nobody outside the
|
|
National Security Agency knew much about cryptography, the study of
|
|
codes, but the PC and the network have changed all that. Citing
|
|
national security concerns, the NSA wants to limit the right to use
|
|
cryptography. Concerned citizens, as well as a loose-knit group known
|
|
as Cypherpunks, are fighting the government and making encryption
|
|
technology generally available. (SOURCE: Steven Levy, "Crypto Rebels,"
|
|
Wired 1.2, May/June 1993, p. 54) Another good source of information
|
|
about the cypherpunks and their agenda is the article "Cypherpunks,
|
|
E-Money and the Technologies of Disconnection" by Kevin Kelly in the
|
|
Whole Earth Review, #79 (Summer 1993). The Whole Earth Review is the
|
|
single greatest magazine on earth. See At The Newsstand section below
|
|
for access info.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
PRIVACY RESOURCES:
|
|
|
|
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the effect of
|
|
technology on privacy. The digest is moderated and gatewayed into the
|
|
USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy (Moderated). Submissions should
|
|
be sent to comp-privacy@pica.army.mil and administrative requests to
|
|
comp-privacy-request@pica.army.mil. Back issues are available via
|
|
anonymous ftp on ftp.pica.army.mil [129.139.160.133].
|
|
|
|
The Privacy Journal is an independent monthly journal on privacy in a
|
|
computer age. It will keep you well-informed of threats to your
|
|
privacy posed by computer data banks, government investigations,
|
|
electronic surveillance and other new technologies. They will send you
|
|
a sample issue on request. (Privacy Journal, PO BOX 28577, Providence,
|
|
RI 02908. or call 401/274-7861)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
In Conclusion....
|
|
|
|
Such are the confounding issues of free speech in this brave new world
|
|
of electronic publishing. As readers, we take for granted the fact
|
|
that the information in responsible publications has been double-
|
|
checked by responsible editors. Unfortunately, there's no such luxury
|
|
where electronic bulletin boards or public E-mail systems are
|
|
concerned. As use of these electronic forums explodes during the next
|
|
several years, we could be looking at a legal nightmare. . . . As a
|
|
user, it pains me to think that every piece of flame mail or offhand
|
|
E-mail shot could be subject to the same legal scrutiny as something
|
|
written in a newspaper column. But as a journalist, I don't think it
|
|
can be any other way. The number of public bulletin boards has jumped
|
|
more than tenfold in the last five years and now numbers more than
|
|
44,000. Prodigy claims to have 1.75 million users and more than
|
|
80,000 messages daily. Thus, the potential audience for a defamatory
|
|
statement on Prodigy is the same as for the same statement in the
|
|
Sunday New York Times. (Source: Paul Gillin, "Flame Out,"
|
|
Computerworld, 4/12/93, p. 32.)
|
|
* * *
|
|
This is the end of our special focus on privacy and freedom of speech
|
|
in a digital universe, but by no means the end of our coverage of
|
|
these and related issues. We have not mentioned, for example, the idea
|
|
of computerized medical records as championed by health care
|
|
reformers. While potentially a life saving and cost cutting measure,
|
|
there is *enormous* possibility for misuse of such information. What
|
|
do *you* think of entrusting such sensitive information to an outside
|
|
party? Look for coverage of this issue in an upcoming B&B.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
|
|
|
|
+HIGH RESOLUTION FLAT SCREEN DISPLAY FROM XEROX. Scientists at Xerox
|
|
Corp's Palo Alto Research Center announced the development of color
|
|
and black-and-white flat-panel displays with resolutions of 16 million
|
|
pixels. The displays are reportedly the highest pixel-count active
|
|
matrix LCDs ever developed. The 13-inch B+W screen has a resolution of
|
|
3,072 by 2,048 pixels, 20 times the pixel count of a 13-inch B+W Video
|
|
Graphics Array (VGA) displays. The color screen offers 1,536 by 1,024
|
|
pixel resolution. The article did not mention when this technology
|
|
will be commercially available. (SOURCE: Computerworld 6/28/93, p. 28)
|
|
|
|
+MORPHING COMES TO THE DESKTOP. In another demonstration of just how
|
|
fast things are moving, here is access information for four different
|
|
morphing packages for desktop computers. A year or two ago, morphing
|
|
was *the* hot application in Hollywood. Michael Jackson used it to
|
|
incredible effect in his videos (Michael turns into leopard, people
|
|
blend into each other), and it was used for a lot of the fx in
|
|
Terminator II. Morphing takes one image, and smoothly transforms it
|
|
into another. Back in those days, you had to have a Silicon Graphics
|
|
workstation or better to even think about doing it, now you can do it
|
|
in the privacy of your own home. The packages are:
|
|
- MorphWizard, a Windows-based package from ImageWare Software, can
|
|
use images created in TGA, TIFF, GIF, PCX, BMP, CMP, JPEG, RLE, and
|
|
other file formats. It also produces video or animation files of the
|
|
morphing process in AVI, FLI or FLC format for viewing either within
|
|
MorphWizard or in third-party applications. MorphWizard requires a
|
|
386SX IBM-compatible PC or higher with at least 4 MB of memory,
|
|
running Windows 3.1 or later in enhanced mode. A 256-color VGA display
|
|
or better is also required. The package lists for $139.00, but is
|
|
available for $89.00 on an introductory basis. (CONTACT: ImageWare
|
|
Software 619/457-8600)
|
|
- PhotoMorph, from North Coast Software, is another Windows package.
|
|
It includes is a runtime version of Video for Windows so you can
|
|
distribute your animations. Several transitional effects are also
|
|
possible. The list price is only $149.95. Sorry, I don't have any
|
|
contact info for this one.
|
|
- Rmorph, from Fascinations Software Co., is shareware, and should be
|
|
available from your local BBS. It works just fine and is not a Windows
|
|
program. Contact the author, Richard Goedeken through Compuserve
|
|
[70304,1065], or call his support BBS, The Digital Phantom, at
|
|
319/396-4492 and leave a message to the Sysop or Richard Goedeken.
|
|
The registration fee is only $20. This is an excellent way to get
|
|
your feet wet with this technology. There is a Windows shareware
|
|
Morphing program, but I have not seen it yet.
|
|
- For the Mac, there is Morph, from Gryphon Software. This outputs a
|
|
finished 'film' in a variety of formats, including quicktime. Retail
|
|
Price is $149. Sorry, no contact info was provided.
|
|
(SOURCES: Newsbytes 7/26/93, Randy's Rumor Rag 8/93, and Black Ice,
|
|
Issue #1 [see At The Newsstand section below])
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
AT THE NEWSSTAND
|
|
|
|
CD-ROM Today. A new magazine covering CD-ROM technologies on IBM and
|
|
Mac platforms for general audiences. Lots of reviews in the premiere
|
|
issue.
|
|
|
|
Black Ice (Issue 1). This one may be a bit harder to find, so I will
|
|
provide access info below. Black Ice is a new "cyberpunk" zine from
|
|
England, along the lines of MONDO 2000, but much better editorially.
|
|
Topics covered include virtual reality, future TV, smart drugs,
|
|
computer technology, multimedia, video games, alternative science and
|
|
street tech (uses of technology out of context). Issue one has an
|
|
interview with the guys that produced MTV's BUZZ, a short-lived
|
|
cyber-esque news show(?), an article on Japanese junk food that
|
|
must be read to be believed, and an interview with the people behind
|
|
the Virtuality VR gaming system which can be found at malls across the
|
|
US. (Black Ice Subscription Dept., PO Box 1069, Brighton BN2 4YT,
|
|
England)
|
|
|
|
The Whole Earth Review, just celebrating its 25th anniversary, is the
|
|
single greatest magazine on earth. Covering a variety of subject
|
|
matter with great panache is their forte. If I could only buy one
|
|
magazine, this would be the one. It has introduced me to more useful
|
|
books, tools and ideas than any other single source. The latest issue
|
|
(#79, Summer 1993) has info and articles and reviews on cypherpunks,
|
|
fuzzy logic, fractals, trees and man, living in small spaces, a
|
|
beginner's guide to the world economy, electric screwdrivers, wood
|
|
finishing, handheld sewing machines, mind/body medicine, AND MORE!!!!!
|
|
You'll never know what to expect from this magazine. At better
|
|
newsstands, or call 800/938-6657.
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
A Giant Leap... Sideways?
|
|
|
|
For $99, Signature Software of Portland, Oregon will scan your
|
|
handwriting into a MacIntosh and convert it into your own personalized
|
|
Postscript font. This should be ideal for doctors and pharmacists
|
|
who want to move into the digital age but still maintain that aura of
|
|
complete unintelligibility when printing out prescriptions or
|
|
directions for taking medication. (CONTACT: Signature Software:
|
|
508/386-3221) (SOURCE: Black Ice, Issue #1, January 1993)
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
### ADMINISTRIVIA ###
|
|
I'm running a little long this issue so I'll keep it brief.
|
|
|
|
REQUEST FOR CONTRIBUTIONS. Send me interesting information.
|
|
|
|
ACCESS. B&B is available for downloading on America Online in their
|
|
telecom files area, and in Compuserve's telecom forum library. Delphi
|
|
access is forthcoming.
|
|
INTERNET ANONYMOUS FTP SITES:
|
|
ftp.dana.edu in /sys/gopher/pub/journals
|
|
INTERNET GOPHER ACCESS.
|
|
- gopher.law.cornell.edu in the Discussions and Listserv archives/
|
|
Teknoids directory
|
|
- gopher.dana.edu in the Electronic Journals directory
|
|
If you decide to receive B&B Elsewhere, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO
|
|
UNSUBSCRIBE!
|
|
|
|
THANKS! Thanks for all the letters of support and encouragement. If I
|
|
wasn't such a humble guy, my head might swell just a little... I can
|
|
also take a little criticism without crying; feedback of any kind is
|
|
encouraged. See you next week!
|
|
======================================================================
|
|
BITS AND BYTES ONLINE, is a weekly electronic newsletter with too much
|
|
on its mind. Email Subscriptions are available at no cost from
|
|
slakmaster@aol.com or jmachado@pacs.pha.pa.us. Put "SUBSCRIBE in the
|
|
subject header and your email address in the body of the message. If
|
|
you work for "the rail" send a similar message to my internal
|
|
emailbox. To unsubscribe, send a message with "UNSUBSCRIBE" in the
|
|
subject header and your email address in the body.
|
|
===============================================
|
|
Jay Machado = (Copyleft 1993 Jay Machado) *UNALTERED* =
|
|
1529 Dogwood Drive = electronic distribution of this file for =
|
|
Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 = non-profit purposes is encouraged. The =
|
|
ph (eve) 609/795-0998 = editor is solely responsible for the =
|
|
====================== = contents of Bits and Bytes Online, and he =
|
|
I have no problems = likes it that way. The opinions expressed =
|
|
with DOS either - I = herein do not necessarily represent =
|
|
use UNIX. -anonymous = anyone's actual opinion. =
|
|
=============== end of Bits and Bytes Online V1, #7.==================
|