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-
- Computer underground Digest Wed Oct 26, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 93
- ISSN 1004-042X
-
- Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
- Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
- Retiring Shadow Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
- Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
- Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
- Ian Dickinson
- Mini-biscuit editor: Guy Demau Passant
-
- CONTENTS, #6.93 (Wed, Oct 26, 1994)
-
- File 1--Government Gopher Sites
- File 2--(fwd) South African Consitution and computer privacy (fwd)
- File 3--The Online Future (Review)
- File 4--OTA Report on Information Security and Privacy released
- File 5--Cu Digest Header Information (unchanged since 23 Oct 1994)
-
- CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
- THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 19:32:43 CDT
- From: CuD Moderators <jthomas@well.sf.ca.us>
- Subject: File 1--Government Gopher Sites
-
- ((MODERATORS' NOTE: We're periodically asked for the location of good
- gopher sites for government and other information. Here is a list of
- major government gopher sites. University gopher sites can sometimes be
- discovered just by typing gopher.(university.address). For example,
- gopher gopher.niu.edu gopher niu.edu is a hit-and-miss approach, but
- with a few minutes experimentation, you'll likely come across some
- fascinating archives. The header from the following post was eaten
- when it arrived. Thanks to the poster for sending over the following
- list of government gopher sites. We should also add a few of our own
- favorites:
-
- The American Civil Liberties Union
- host=aclu.org
-
- Univ. of Minnesota gopher (the gopher of all gophers)
- host=tc.umn.edu
-
- Internet Spies/WIRETAP - crammed full of books and texts
- host=wiretap.spies.com
-
- And, we can't forget our own NIU sociology gopher, just constructed
- and growing--
- At the opening menu, move to Academic depts / Liberal Arts / Sociology
-
- and check out the CRIMINOLOGY area. It's still under construction,
- so if you see something that's not there that would be helpful,
- let us know. It also hosts the Society for the Study of Symbolic
- Interaction gopher site)).
-
- NIU Sociology gopher
- host=gopher.corn.cso.niu.edu
-
- ============================
-
- NAME AND HOST
-
- name=extension service, usda
- host=esusda.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture food and nutrition information center
- host=ra.esusda.gov
-
- name=national trade data bank
- host=gopher.stat-usa.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept transportation
- host=gopher.dot.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture extension service
- host=esusda.gov
-
- name=national center for research on evaluation, standards
- host=gopher.cse.ucla.edu
-
- name=library of congress marvel information system
- host=marvel.loc.gov
-
- name=protein data bank - brookhaven national lab
- host=pdb.pdb.bnl.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture national agricultural library plant genome
- host=probe.nalusda.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture ars grin national genetic resources program
- host=gopher.ars-grin.gov
-
- name=federal info exchange (fedix)
- host=fedix.fie.com
-
- name=lanl physics information service
- host=mentor.lanl.gov
-
- name=nasa goddard space flight center
- host=gopher.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
-
- name=nasa network application and information center (naic)
- host=naic.nasa.gov
-
- name=national institute of standards and technology (nist)
- host=gopher-server.nist.gov
-
- name=national institutes of health (nih)
- host=gopher.nih.gov
-
- name=national science foundation (stis)
- host=stis.nsf.gov
-
- name=oak ridge national laboratory esd gopher
- host=gopher.esd.ornl.gov
-
- name=national institute of allergy and infectious disease (niaid)
- host=gopher.niaid.nih.gov
-
- name=national institute of mental health (nimh) gopher
- host=gopher.nimh.nih.gov
-
- name=national science foundation center for biological timing
- host=minerva.acc.virginia.edu
-
-
- name=national cancer institute
- host=gopher.nih.gov
-
- name=los alamos national laboratory
- host=gopher.lanl.gov
-
- name=lanl advanced computing laboratory
- host=gopher.acl.lanl.gov
-
- name=lanl nonlinear science information service
- host=xyz.lanl.gov
-
- name=u.s. military academy gopher
- host=euler.math.usma.edu
-
- name=national center for atmospheric research (ncar) gopher
- host=gopher.ucar.edu
-
- name=national center for biotechnology information (ncbi) gopher
- host=ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
-
- name=nasa langley research center
- host=gopher.larc.nasa.gov
-
- name=nasa shuttle small payloads information
- host=sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=askeric - (educational resources information center)
- host=ericir.syr.edu
-
- name=national center for supercomputing applications
- host=gopher.ncsa.uiuc.edu
-
- name=u.s. geological survey (usgs)
- host=info.er.usgs.gov
-
- name=nasa center for aerospace information
- host=gopher.sti.nasa.gov
-
- name=nasa lewis research center (lerc)
- host=gopher.lerc.nasa.gov
-
- name=u.s. geological survey atlantic marine geology
- host=bramble.er.usgs.gov
-
- name=aves: bird related information
- host=vitruvius.cecer.army.mil
-
- name=nist computer security
- host=csrc.ncsl.nist.gov
-
- name=naval research laboratory
- host=ra.nrl.navy.mil
-
- name=naval research laboratory central computing facility
- host=ccfsun.nrl.navy.mil
-
- name=nasa high energy astrophysics science archive research center
- host=heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=u.s. national information service for earthquake engineering
- host=nisee.ce.berkeley.edu
-
-
- name=lternet (long-term ecological research network)
- host=lternet.washington.edu
-
- name=u.s. dept energy office of nuclear safety
- host=gopher.ns.doe.gov
-
- name=national library of medicine
- host=gopher.nlm.nih.gov
-
- name=lanl gopher gateway
- host=gopher.lanl.gov
-
- name=lanl t-2 nuclear information service gopher
- host=t2.lanl.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept education
- host=gopher.ed.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept energy
- host=vm1.hqadmin.doe.gov
-
- name=national coordination office for high performance computing and
- communications
- host=gopher.hpcc.gov
-
- name=environment, safety & health (usde) gopher
- host=dewey.tis.inel.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept energy environment, safety & health gopher
- host=dewey.tis.inel.gov
-
- name=naval ocean system center (nrad) gopher
- host=gopher.nosc.mil
-
- name=u.s. environmental protection agency great lakes national program office
- gopher
- host=glnpogis2.r05.epa.gov
-
- name=environmental protection agency great lakes national program office gopher
- host=glnpogis2.r05.epaa.gov
-
- name=u.s. environmental protection agency futures group
- host=futures.wic.epa.gov
-
- name=environmental protection agency futures group
- host=futures.wic.epa.gov
-
- name=u.s. navy naval ocean system center nrad gopher
- host=gopher.nosc.mil
-
- name=national institute of environmental health sciences (niehs) gopher
- host=gopher.niehs.nih.gov
-
-
- name=arkansas-red river forecast center (noaa)
- host=gopherpc.abrfc.noaa.gov
-
- name=national geophysical data center (noaa)
- host=gopher.ngdc.noaa.gov
-
- name=nasa office of life and microgravity sciences and applications
- host=gopher.olmsa.hq.nasa.gov
-
- name=noaa environmental services gopher
- host=esdim1.nodc.noaa.gov
-
- name= federal government information (via library of congress)
- host=marvel.loc.gov
-
- name=comprehensive epidemiological data resource (cedr) gopher
- host=cedr.lbl.gov
-
- name=lawrence berkeley laboratory (lbl)
- host=gopher.lbl.gov
-
-
- name=national oceanographic data center (nodc) gopher
- host=ariel.nodc.noaa.gov
-
- name=esnet information services gopher
- host=gopher.es.net
-
- name=cyfernet usda children youth family education research network
- host=cyfer.esusda.gov
-
- name=americans communicating electronically
- host=ace.esusda.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture children youth family education research network
- host=cyfer.esusda.gov
-
- name=oak ridge national laboratory center for computational sciences
- host=gopher.ccs.ornl.gov
-
- name=nasa k-12 nren gopher
- host=quest.arc.nasa.gov
-
- name=national agricultural library genome gopher
- host=probe.nalusda.gov
-
- name=eric clearinghouse on assessment and evaluation
- host=vmsgopher.cua.edu
-
- name=u.s. dept commerce economic conversion information exchange
- host=cher.eda.doc.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept commerce economics and statistics administration
- host=gopher.stat-usa.gov
-
- name=national center for education statistics
- host=gopher.ed.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture economics and statistics
- host=usda.mannlib.cornell.edu
-
- name=u.s. environmental protection agency
- host=gopher.epa.gov
-
- name=environmental protection agency
- host=gopher.epa.gov
-
- name=national library of medicine toxnet gopher
- host=tox.nlm.nih.gov
-
- name=nasa minority university space interdisciplinary network
- host=muspin.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=stis (science and technology information system-nsf)
- host=stis.nsf.gov
-
- name=national toxicology program (ntp) niehs-nih
- host=gopher.niehs.nih.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept commerce information infrastructure task force
- host=iitf.doc.gov
-
- name=co-operative human linkage center (chlc) gopher
- host=gopher.chlc.org
-
- name=smithsonian institution natural history gopher
- host=nmnhgoph.si.edu
-
- name= politics and government
- host=peg.cwis.uci.edu
-
- name=voice of america (radio)
- host=gopher.voa.gov
-
- name=federal register - sample access
- host=gopher.counterpoint.com
-
- name=u.s. senate gopher
- host=gopher.senate.gov
-
- name=u.s. bureau of mines gopher
- host=gopher.usbm.gov
-
- name=legi-slate gopher service (via umn)/
- host=mudhoney.micro.umn.edu
-
- name=nasa laboratory for terrestrial physics gopher
- host=ltpsun.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=noaa national oceanographic data center (nodc) gopher
- host=ariel.nodc.noaa.gov
-
- name=noaa national geophysical data center (ngdc)
- host=gopher.ngdc.noaa.gov
-
- name=u.s. bureau of the census gopher
- host=gopher.census.gov
-
- name=eric clearinghouse for science, math, environmental (osu)
- host=gopher.ericse.ohio-state.edu
-
- name=\peg, a peripatetic, eclectic gopher
- host=peg.cwis.uci.edu
-
- name=u.s. house of representatives gopher
- host=gopher.house.gov
-
- name=information infrastructure task force (doc) gopher
- host=iitf.doc.gov
-
- name=federal communications commission gopher
- host=ftp.fcc.gov
-
- name=defense technical information center public gopher
- host=asc.dtic.dla.mil
-
- name=national archives gopher
- host=gopher.nara.gov
-
- name=nasa center for computational sciences
- host=nccsinfo.gsfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=u.s. agency for international development gopher
- host=gopher.info.usaid.gov
-
- name=graingenes (usda) gopher
- host=probe.nalusda.gov
-
- name=federal reserve board (via town.hall.org)
- host=town.hall.org
-
- name=federal networking council advisory committee
- host=fncac.fnc.gov
-
- name=federal deposit insurance corporation gopher (via sura.net)
- host=fdic.sura.net
-
- name=national telecommunication and information administration (ntis) gopher
- host=gopher.ntia.doc.gov
-
- name=national institute of standards and technology gopher
- host=zserve.nist.gov
-
- name=securities and exchange commission "edgar" gopher
- host=town.hall.org
-
- name=u.s. securities and exchange commission "edgar" gopher
- host=town.hall.org
-
- name=u.s. patent and trademark office information (via town.hall.org)
- host=town.hall.org
-
- name=public broadcasting service (pbs) gopher
- host=gopher.pbs.org
-
- name=u.s. dept justice gopher
- host=gopher.usdoj.gov
-
- name=fedworld (ntis) - 100+ electronic government bulletin boards
- host=peg.cwis.uci.edu
-
- name=ntis fedworld - 100+ electronic government bulletin boards
- host=peg.cwis.uci.edu
-
- name=national renewable energy laboratory
- host=gopher.nrel.gov
-
- name=catalog of federal domestic assistance
- host=peg.cwis.uci.edu
-
- name=social security administration
- host=oss968.ssa.gov
-
- name=national center for toxicological research
- host=gopher.nctr.fda.gov
-
- name=national heart, lung, and blood institute (nhlbi) gopher
- host=gopher.nhlbi.nih.gov
-
-
- name=noaa online data and information systems
- host=esdim1.esdim.noaa.gov
-
- name=eric clearinghouses (via syracuse)
- host=ericir.syr.edu
-
- name=internic: internet network information center gopher
- host=is.internic.net
-
- name=nasa information sources telnet (compiled by msu)
- host=burrow.cl.msu.edu
-
- name=nasa space mechanisms information gopher
- host=altemird.jsc.nasa.gov
-
- name=financenet (national performance review)
- host=gopher.financenet.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept health and human services
- host=gopher.os.dhhs.gov
-
- name=u.s. consumer product safety commission gopher
- host=cpsc.gov
-
- name=consumer product safety commission gopher
- host=cpsc.gov
-
- name=defense nuclear facilities safety board
- host=gopher.dnfsb.gov
-
- name=national agricultural library
- host=gopher.nalusda.gov
-
- name=small business administration
- host=www.sbaonline.sba.gov
-
- name=nasa marshall space flight center spacelink
- host=spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov
-
- name=national information infrastructure task force
- host=iitf.doc.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept agriculture aphis gopher
- host=gopher.aphis.ag.gov
-
- name=u.s. dept housing and urban development
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 22:58:17 -0500 (CDT)
- From: David Smith <bladex@BGA.COM>
- Subject: File 2--(fwd) South African Consitution and computer privacy (fwd)
-
- Saw this posted elsewhere, just passing along this lawyers request for
- information.
-
- David Smith |
- bladex@bga.com |
- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
- Date--Mon, 24 Oct 1994 17:18:52 GMT
-
- South Africa has a new Bill of Rights which guarantees the right to
- privacy and protects all persons against unreasonable and unjustified
- search and seizure of their personal property or the violation of
- private communications.
-
- I am currently involved in research into the impact of this
- constitutional right on computer law. In particular, I am looking at
- whether a state agency can obtain a list of files from a person's
- account which they suspect contains illegal material such as pirated
- software or pornography (illegal in South Africa). Does the state
- agency need to obtain a search warrant or the user's permission before
- searching his/her account even if their suspicion is a reasonable one?
-
- The crisp legal issue is this: Does the seizure of computer files or a
- list of those files out of an individual's account, without a warrant
- or without the user's permission, violate the constitutional right to
- procedural due process and the right to privacy?
-
- I would like references to reported judgements on this issue,
- especially cases that have dealt with this on a constitutional law
- basis. If possible, it would be most useful if I could be e-mailed
- actual copies of the judgements. Reported decisions from any
- jurisdiction would be useful.
-
- Thank you in advance.
-
- Mr Ron Paschke
- Department of Procedural and Clinical Law
- University of Natal
- Durban
- South Africa
- email: paschke@law.und.ac.za
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 19:38:49 -0700
- From: dbatterson@ATTMAIL.COM(David Batterson)
- Subject: File 3--The Online Future (Review)
-
- Some Brief Glimpses at the Online Future
- by David Batterson
-
- Prognosticating the future is always a tricky business. The
- predictions that turn out to be correct usually are matched by the
- number of wrong guesses. [Remember the infamous prediction that by
- the 1980s we would all be flying around in helicopters instead of
- driving cars? Or that we would have huge wall-hung flat TVs by now?]
-
- However, some computer industry people are still willing to
- stick their necks out and offer their thoughts on the elusive future.
- Their opinions are their own, and do not necessarily represent the
- views of their employers.
-
- Jack Murphy, president of Practical Peripherals, thinks that
- being wired is definitely the wave of the future: "The hottest news
- in computing today is online communications, and there's no end in
- sight to the impact this will have on virtually every segment of the
- American public." Ironically, Murphy's remarks were faxed to me,
- not e-mailed.
-
- Leslie Schroeder, a high-tech public relations consultant in
- Silicon Valley, agrees that the future is electronic mail, but sees a
- personal touch: "E-mail is reincarnating the age of letter writing.
- We're keeping in touch the way the Victorians did, building a
- personal community connected by a constant stream of letters sharing
- news and gossip. E-mail is reviving the 'letter' as a forum for wit,
- style, and personality, as well as serving as an invaluable business
- tool."
-
- Tom Almy, a software engineer with Tektronix in Wilsonville, OR,
- offered his thoughts on what we can expect soon. "PDAs will be as
- widespread as TVs by 2000. With larger, color screens, long battery
- life, excellent text recognition, voice and cellular phone
- capabilities, these units will replace personal planners, telephones,
- fax machines, and video games."
-
- What about prices/storage capacity? "Desktop computing will
- advance in an evolutionary fashion--more memory and speed as prices
- drop. Floppy drives and disks will vanish, replaced by writable CDs.
- Will semiconductor memories replace hard disks?--yes, probably for
- portable applications."
-
- Almy added that "the Information Superhighway will take two
- paths due to widely-differing visions "one being an information
- sharing network like the current Internet--(and available to homes
- using ISDN technology from the phone company--and the other being
- information provider and home shopping services over cable TV."
-
- Charles Jennings, co-founder of the Oregon Multimedia Alliance
- and author of the "Pluggers" syndicated newspaper comic, offered this
- bit of insight: "My thoughts about the future of computing are
- pretty simple. Someday soon, online computing will be the sea we all
- swim in, and when that happens, it will be the fish--the colorful,
- complex organisms we are beginning to call 'content'--that matter
- most."
-
- Jennings said his group has high hopes for the future too: "to
- shorten the implementation period for online, interactive multimedia
- products and services. Open access to online pathways is a key
- principle of our organization, as is support for educational and
- other socially beneficial uses of multimedia technology."
-
- Obviously, we can all expect faster and more powerful computers
- in the future. And while Intel's Pentium chips are getting the
- lion's share of the CPU business, there are other companies that
- trying to "chip" away at that. An example is International Meta
- Systems (IMS) of Torrance, Calif.
-
- IMS created the 3250 60Mhz RISC microprocessor with
- hardware-assisted emulation technology. This lets the 3250
- emulate 486 PCs, as well as Motorola's 68040 chip. IMS chips also
- incorporate special algorithms for speech recognition, image
- processing and telecommunications functions.
-
- IMS President George W. Smith said "I think that speech is the
- key that will unlock the potential applications for the hand-held
- computer and communications market."
-
- As for this reporter's thoughts on future computer products, I
- predict a new, not-yet-invented technology will result in
- high-resolution, laser-quality printers that don't require toner to
- perform their hard-copy magic. And look for a cheap "Dick Tracy"
- combo wrist-TV/fax/pager/e-mail device before the year 2000.
-
- More personal predictions: within 10 years, cheap and powerful
- basic personal computers will cost about $100 list price. In 20
- years, a typical "home computer" will surpass today's most powerful
- Cray (and similar) computers in processing power, memory and storage
- capacity. And all monitors will be super-high-resolution flat-screen
- type, with images as sharp as a printed color, glossy magazine page.
-
- Finally, sometime in the near future--thanks to massive
- computerization of automobile traffic control--safety on the roads
- will match the airline safety of today, with relatively few car
- accidents and deaths per year. It's going to be very exciting,
- because as Al Jolson said: "you ain't seen nothin' yet."
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 13:54:43 CDT
- From: mdexter@ops.ota.gov (Dexter, Martha Dir.,Info/Pub)
- Subject: File 4--OTA Report on Information Security and Privacy released
-
- September 23, 1994
-
- ***********************************************************
- INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY IN NETWORK ENVIRONMENTS
- ***********************************************************
-
- [The Office of Technology Assessment report "Information
- Security and Privacy in Network Environments" is now available.
- The report was released on September 23, 1994.
- Ordering information and details about electronic access
- are at the end of this message.]
-
- As electronic transactions and records become central to
- everything from commerce and tax records to health care, new
- concerns arise for the security and privacy of networked
- information. These concerns, if not properly resolved,
- threaten to limit networking's full potential in terms of
- participation and usefulness, says the congressional Office
- of Technology Assessment (OTA) in a report released today.
-
- Some 20 to 30 million people worldwide can exchange messages
- over the Internet. Every day U.S. banks transfer about $1
- trillion among themselves, and New York markets trade an
- average of $2 trillion in securities. Nearly all of these
- transactions pass over information networks.
-
- The report "Information Security and Privacy in Network
- Environments" focuses on safeguarding unclassified
- information in networks, not on the security or
- survivability of networks themselves, or on the reliability
- of network services to ensure information access.
-
- Appropriate safeguards must account for--and anticipate--
- technical, institutional, and social changes that
- increasingly shift responsibility for safeguarding
- information to the end users, says OTA. The laws currently
- governing commercial transactions, data privacy, and
- intellectual property were largely developed for a time when
- telegraphs, typewriters, and mimeographs were the commonly
- used office technologies and business was conducted with
- paper documents sent by mail. Technologies and business
- practices have dramatically changed, but the law has been
- slower to adapt, says OTA.
-
- Information safeguards, especially those based on
- cryptography, are achieving new prominence. OTA emphasizes
- that decisions about cryptography policy will affect the
- everyday lives of most Americans because cryptography will
- help ensure the confidentiality and integrity of health
- records and tax returns, speed the way to electronic
- commerce, and manage copyrighted material in electronic
- form. Congress has a vital role in formulating national
- cryptography policy, says OTA, and more generally in
- safeguarding electronic information and commercial
- transactions and protecting personal privacy in a networked
- society.
-
- A field of applied mathematics/computer science,
- cryptography is the technique of concealing the contents of
- a message by a code or a cipher. The message is
- unintelligible without special knowledge of some secret
- (closely held) information, the key that "unlocks" the
- encrypted text and reveals the original text. Key
- management is fundamental to security. It includes
- generation of the encryption key or keys, as well as their
- storage, distribution, cataloging, and eventual destruction.
-
- The federal government still has the most expertise in
- cryptography, says OTA. As a developer, user, and regulator
- of safeguard technologies, the federal government faces a
- fundamental tension between two important policy objectives:
- fostering the development and widespread use of cost-
- effective safeguards; and--through use of federal standards
- and export controls--controlling the proliferation of
- commercial safeguard technologies that can impair U.S.
- signals-intelligence and law-enforcement capabilities.
-
- The concern is reflected in the ongoing debates over key-
- escrow encryption and the government's Escrowed Encryption
- Standard (EES). The Clinton Administration announced the
- "escrowed-encryption" initiative, often called the "Clipper
- chip," in 1993. This type of encryption is intended to
- allow easy decryption by law enforcement when the equivalent
- of a wiretap has been authorized. The Department of
- Commerce issued the EES, developed by the National Security
- Agency (NSA), as a federal information processing standard
- for encrypting unclassified information in February 1994.
-
- The initiative in general and the EES in particular have
- seen intense public criticism and concern, OTA reports. The
- controversy and unpopularity stem in large part from privacy
- concerns and the fact that government-designated "escrow
- agents" will hold the users' cryptographic keys.
-
- Congress has asked the National Research Council (NRC) to
- conduct a major study, expected to be available in 1996,
- which would support a broad review of cryptography. OTA
- presents several options for congressional consideration in
- the course of such a review. Because the timing of the NRC
- review is out of phase with the government's implementation
- of key-escrow encryption, one option would be to place a
- hold on further deployment of key-escrow encryption, pending
- a congressional policy review.
-
- An important outcome of a broad review of national
- cryptography policy, says OTA, would be the development of
- more open processes to determine how cryptography will be
- deployed throughout society, including the development of
- infrastructures to support electronic commerce and network
- use of copyrighted materials. More openness would build
- trust and confidence in government operations and leadership
- and allow for public consensus-building.
-
- OTA examines and offers policy options for congressional
- consideration in three areas: 1) cryptography policy,
- including federal information processing standards and
- export controls; 2) guidance on safeguarding unclassified
- information in federal agencies; and 3) legal issues and
- information security, including electronic commerce,
- privacy, and intellectual property.
-
- Requesters for the report are the Senate Committee on
- Governmental Affairs and the House Subcommittee on
- Telecommunications and Finance.
-
- OTA is a nonpartisan analytical agency that serves the U.S.
- Congress. Its purpose is to aid Congress with the complex
- and often highly technical issues that increasingly affect
- our society.
-
- ***************************
- * CONGRESSIONAL COMMENT *
- ***************************
-
- Senator John Glenn (D-OH) Chairman, Senate Committee on
- Governmental Affairs:
-
- "In the new electronic age, we are relying more and
- more on information technology to streamline government,
- educate our children, make health care more accessible and
- affordable, and make our businesses more productive and
- competitive. This rush to embrace a new age of technology
- must not, however, obscure our ongoing responsibility to
- protect important information and maintain the personal
- privacy of citizens.
-
- "Because we need policies and practices to match the
- reality of this new age, I joined with Senator Roth in
- asking the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to study
- security and privacy issues in the network environment. I
- am very happy to say that OTA's report provides an excellent
- summary of these issues. More importantly, OTA spells out
- clear steps that Congress and the Executive Branch should
- consider if we are to develop policies and practices equal
- to the task of providing security and privacy protections in
- an increasingly networked world.
-
- "The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, which I
- chair has already rung warning bells in this area. Our
- oversight of agency operations has uncovered threats to
- security and privacy as diverse as foreigners hacking into
- Department of Defense computers and IRS employees browsing
- through computerized taxpayer records. We must recognize
- that new technologies, particularly the development of
- computer networks, are leapfrogging security and privacy
- controls designed for a simpler time. Policies and
- practices for managing paper file cabinets simply are no
- match for the instantaneous world-wide flow of data through
- computer networks.
-
- "Addressing the needs of this new world demands that we
- find fair balancing points among often competing imperatives
- for personal privacy, law enforcement, national security,
- governmental efficiency, and economic competitiveness.
- OTA's very insightful report highlights the need for the
- development of new security and privacy controls, which
- should be done openly, with thorough debate and public
- accountability. Therefore, in the next Congress, this
- Committee will continue its oversight of agency operations
- and will pursue legislation to ensure that government
- agencies handle data from citizens and businesses
- responsibly, and that government employees entrusted with
- maintaining security are held accountable for breaches or
- misuse of their responsibilities.
-
- "I commend the Office of Technology Assessment for its
- timely and very insightful contribution to the development
- of policies and practices that can match the realities of
- the emerging electronic information age."
-
- Senator William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE), Ranking Republican,
- Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs:
-
- "Since 1988, computer network security breaches have
- grown dramatically, increasing 50% per year on the Internet
- --today's information highway. The ability of the
- government to protect Americans' most private information is
- at stake. For example, the Internal Revenue Service is
- among those agencies who rely increasingly on computer
- networks for such things as filing tax returns. Anyone who
- pays federal taxes has to wonder who might be browsing
- through their personal financial data.
-
- "We need to recognize the potential danger and act
- accordingly. Last year, I asked the Office of Technology
- Assessment to look at such problems and recommend changes.
- Its report highlights how today's government institutions
- are poorly structured to deal with information security.
- Moreover, the report underscores the fact that much more
- work must be done. I intend to pursue hearings on the
- report and amendments to the Computer Security Act."
- ***********************************************************
- HOW TO OBTAIN THIS REPORT
- ***********************************************************
-
- ORDERING INFORMATION: For copies of the 252-page report
- "Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments"
- for congressional use, please call (202) 224-9241. Copies
- for noncongressional use are available from the
- Superintendent of Documents for $16.00 each. To order, call
- (202) 512-0132 (GPO's main bookstore) or (202) 512-1800 and
- indicate stock number 052-003-01387-8. Or you can send
- your check or your VISA or MasterCard number and expiration
- date to Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box
- 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7974 , [FAX (202) 512-2250].
- Federal Express service is available for an additional $8.50
- per order. For free 8-page summaries, please call (202) 224-8996
- or e-mail pubsrequest@ota.gov.
-
- ELECTRONIC ACCESS: The full report is available
- electronically. To download via ftp from OTA, use the
- following procedures: ftp to otabbs.ota.gov (152.63.20.13)
- Login as anonymous. Password is your e-mail address. The
- files are located in /pub/information.security and the file
- names and sizes are:
-
- 01README.TXT (3K)
- 02ORDER.INFO.TXT (4K)
- FOREWORD.TXT (3K)
- ADVISORY.PANEL.TXT (3K)
- STAFF.TXT (1K)
- TOC.TXT (2K)
- CH1.TXT (93K)
- CH2.TXT (169)
- CH3.TXT (172K)
- CH4.TXT (299K)
- APPC.TXT (36K)
- APPD.TXT (3K)
- APPE.TXT (4K)
-
- Appendix A--Congressional Letters of Request and
- Appendix B--Computer Security Act and Related
- Documents--are not available electronically.
- ***********************************************************
-
- Martha Dexter
- Director, Information Management
- Office of Technology Assessment
- mdexter@ota.gov
- (202) 228-6233
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1994 22:51:01 CDT
- From: CuD Moderators <tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu>
- Subject: File 5--Cu Digest Header Information (unchanged since 23 Oct 1994)
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- ------------------------------
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- End of Computer Underground Digest #6.93
- ************************************
-
-
-