June 12, 2004
Insurers Subpoenaed in A.G. Probe
Company payments to employee benefit insurance brokers has become a focus of the Attorney General of New York, as his investigation expands to include subpoenae to Aetna, Cigna, MetLife and Hartford Life, according to the New York Times. "Contingency payments" reward commercial insurance brokers for achieving sales goals, but not all brokers disclose details of the payments to their customers. Several major brokers received subpoenae this spring as part of A.G. Eliot Spitzer's investigation. "Spitzer Inquiry Expands to Employee-Benefit Insurers" (New York Times, June 12, 2004).
Read more ...
Continue reading "Insurers Subpoenaed in A.G. Probe"June 11, 2004
Wisdom of Ronald Reagan
Reflecting on President Ronald Reagan's legacy, students of political science may examine his choices between negotiation and escalation and in favor of building communication links to other nations and leaders. As world leaders gather today to lay to rest the 40th President, one may look back on his decisions to negotiate with adversaries to end conflicts, despite those who urged uncompromising escalation to win them.
In an opinion piece in today's New York Times, C.U.N.Y. Prof. John Diggins reminds us that back in 1985, "neoconservatives" like Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld were counselling Reagon to escalate rather than negotiate with the Soviet Union over its military involvement in Afghanistan. He points to George Shultz's memoir, "Turmoil and Triumph," for evidence of the disconnect between President Reagan and the hawks in his administration, and notes the insistence of then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney that perestroika and glasnost were deceptive traps, intended to mislead the West, and would be followed by even greater Soviet militancy.
In the end, Mikhail Gorbachev did "tear down this wall," and led the "Evil Empire" into its self-transformation. In Washington today, he pays his respects to his former adversary.
History may have already shown us the relative wisdom of Ronald Reagan and his neoconservative counsellors. World leaders could do worse than learn from the instincts of "The Great Communicator."
See: The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: How Reagan Beat the Neocons
Cybercrime: Theft of Secrets and DOS still lead
Results from the 2004 Computer Crime and Security Survey indicate that theft of intellectual property was the second most expensive computer crime, with denial of service (DOS) being number one. The survey found a "noticeable downturn" in the percentage of companies reporting intrusions to law enforcement, with companies citing concern over negative publicity as a reason. The study noted the availability of cybersecurity insurance despite the shortage of actuarial data, but found that 72% of respondents did not have cybersecurity insurance. The results include data from 494 survey participants and are available at the Computer Security Institute (CSI). Now in its ninth year, The Survey is conducted by CSI with the participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Computer Intrusion Squad. The survey results are free in PDF format with registration.
Thanks to beSpacific for the tip about this cybercrime resource.
June 10, 2004
Anonymity Inhibits Social Control in P2P Nets?
European researchers explored the potential for self-regulation on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. Their empirical studies revealed a lower incidence of exchange of unlawful content (e.g. child porn and pirated music) in those networks in which users had an ongoing relationship and were identifiable to each others and system administrators. Some notes on their paper, published free online at First Monday.org, follow.
Read more ...
Continue reading "Anonymity Inhibits Social Control in P2P Nets?"June 09, 2004
Tech Innovators at CT XPO
AT this year's Connecticut XPO (a regional trade show focused on resources for small businesses) I met Dr. Karl Prewo of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT.us), a federally-funded nonprofit organized to assist small technology businesses. In addition to helping arrange professional support and training for technology start-ups, CCAT supports tech education at the K-12 and community college level and is offering incubator space in their location at United Technologies' Research Center near Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.
We also stopped to meet folks from Beacon Alliance, a biomedical engineering trade association of private and public institutions based in Hartford that has been around since 1997. See "Public, Private Institutions Unite in Biomedical Alliance," Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) Reports 1999. Beacon will host a Bionanotechnology Symposium and Technology Fair intended to attract bionanotechnology faculty, researchers, entrepreneurs and industrialists. The event is scheduled for October 28, 2004 at Hartford Hospital.
"Beacon" is a service mark of Beacon Alliance, a Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium.
June 06, 2004
Reading: Ellsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers
On June 13, 1971, the New York Times began publishing the top secret history of the Vietnam war commissioned by Robert McNamara that came to be known as the Pentagon Papers. The documents had been secretly copied and provided to the Times by Daniel Ellsberg, a former intelligence analyst with the State Department and RAND Corporation who obtained them under authority of his "Top Secret" clearance. Efforts by the administration of President Richard Nixon to halt the publication and to discredit Ellsberg were part of a pattern of activity that ended in a constitutional crisis and Nixon's resignation.
"Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" is Ellsberg's personal story of his years studying the war in Vietnam, including his time travelling "in-country" with civilian advisors and embedded with active combat units, and why he believed publication of the history was essential. The narrative is often overweighted with personal details and colored by his political opinions. It is still an insight into the mind of an insider who starts as a "team player" and becomes an active dissident exposing government secrets.
Read more ...
Continue reading "Reading: Ellsberg, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers"June 05, 2004
What's the question? Nieman Foundation Answers
At Harvard, Nieman Watchdog Project provides an online connection for journalists, academics, independent experts and gadflies to pose informed questions for the press to ask those who should know. The project is a new offering from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
Read more ...
Continue reading "What's the question? Nieman Foundation Answers"June 04, 2004
Happy to Say: "Not a Financial Institution"
Attorneys are not "financial institutions" within the meaning of Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) 15 U.S.C. §§6801-6809, despite the Federal Trade Commission's position otherwise, says the U.S. District Court.
Read more ...
Continue reading "Happy to Say: "Not a Financial Institution""Political Impacts on Terror Insurance
Wharton has a continuing focus on insurance and terrorism reflected in the research of its faculty. A February 2004 working paper by Prof. Kent Smetters, "Insuring Against Terrorism: The Policy Challenge" is at his listing of Working Papers.
Read more ...
Continue reading "Political Impacts on Terror Insurance"Tenet's "Personal" Decision in Lieu of Testimony?
The New York Times reports that CIA Director George J. Tenet's surprise resignation for "personal reasons" came on the same day he had been scheduled to appear before the U.S. Senate to rebut criticism of the CIA's performance in a 400-page report from the Senate Intelligence Committee. He cancelled that appearance earlier this week, says the Times. A declassified version of the critical report is expected to soon become public, according to the Times.
Some sources close to Tenet said the report was one factor leading to his decision, according to the Times. The New York Times > Washington > Report Blames Agencies Over Prewar Intelligence
An editorial in the Times critical of Tenet's service calls the timing "terrible." The New York Times > Opinion > George Tenet Resigns
June 03, 2004
Anti-Plagiarism Resources
Increasing access to online resources and pre-written papers has increased the temptation for students, journalists, even university presidents, to pass off others' writing as their own. Sharon Stoerger, MLS, MBA, created materials for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and adapted them in a valuable listing of resources on the topic at: Plagiarism. This includes links to scholarly papers, to comparisons of plagarism detection software and services, and to some of the hundreds of sites where term papers are bought and sold online.
June 02, 2004
Computer Intrusion Data
An updated tabular presentation of representative criminal case outcomes in Computer Intrusion Cases, from the U.S. Dept. of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).
CSO Magazine published results of its "2004 E-Crime Watch" survey that shows a rise in cybercrime and data intrusions. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the United States Secret Service and the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute’s CERT® Coordination Center.
Thanks to Sabrina Pacifica of beSpacific.com for links to these resources.
May 21, 2004
Basic primers on IP law
For clients seeking guidance on basics of trademark, copyright and other intellectual property law, a short primer accessible online may be a good backgrounder for them to read before a conference about their particular goals. Some of the primers I found online include:
