United States Congress

Congress: P2P networks threaten national security

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 06:59:53 -0400

Hmm. We've just received word from our department of questionable reasoning that Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing networks are being fingered as a "national security threat" by members of the U.S. Congress. At a hearing on the topic of Internet piracy, Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman revealed he is considering new legislation to address the threat posed by P2P networks, which can allow government employees to inadvertently share classified documents and materials on the Internet.

Do P2P networks enable illegal piracy? Yep. Could a government employee conceivably share a classified document over a P2P network without knowing? You bet. Is this a job for the U.S. government? Well, considering that government IT departments could easily block access to P2P sites and networks--and even certain network ports, if necessary--without the need for new legislation, I'm not so sure. Still, I'll bet that the record and movie industries won't mind much if their #1 enemy is lumped in with the threat of terrorism. Come to think of it, this almost sounds like the sort of thing that a certain industry association might cook up in its spare time. Will somebody please think of the children?

For more on Waxman's comments:
- see this CNET article

Editor's Corner

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:01:39 -0400

There have been numerous times in my technology journalism career when I yearned to put high-profile executives on a sworn witness stand. So, while I have nothing against the fine legacy of Hewlett-Packard (in fact I somewhat admire them) it felt like real justice to watch Pattie Dunn squirm as she got the Mark McGwire treatment in Congress yesterday. For all the juiciest quotes, check out the round-up here. -Evan

SPOTLIGHT: HP update: attorney resigns, execs testify

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Another day, another head rolling away from Hewlett-Packard. The latest person to resign is general counsel Ann Baskins, who said she will enact Fifth Amendment rights not to testify before Congress. CEO Mark Hurd and former chairwoman Patricia Dunn are testifying today. Article

ALSO NOTED: Sun buys Neogent for ID management; IBM licenses water cooling technology; and much more...

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:01:31 -0400

> Sun buys Neogent for ID management. Article

> IBM licenses water cooling technology. Article

> Intel, Emulex team up on storage chips. Article

> Congress desperately needs IT help. Article

And Finally... Comverse fugitive finally caught. Article

SPOTLIGHT: HP's Hurd to begin damage control today

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Hewlett-Packard's leadership is in trouble. CEO Mark Hurd yesterday offered to testify before Congress about the leak scandal, and today he plans to brief the media on what he knew and when he knew it. Plenty of hard questions will certainly still remain, primarily, what the heck were they thinking? Article

FTC still considering neutrality issue

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

The controversial issue of network neutrality is currently being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, even after Congress recently declined to regulate it, chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras said. Majoras openly supports the computer industry regulating itself rather than being regulated externally and she suggested that existing laws would already cover companies which unfairly use network services. It's not clear if the new Internet Access Task Force has a solid timetable for announcing its findings, but they did announce that hearings will be held Nov. 6-8, so expect an update then.

For more on neutrality:
- read this TechWeb article
- read this internetnews.com article

SPOTLIGHT: Telecom tax imposed in 1898 finally ends

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Congress established a 3 percent tax on the luxury of long-distance telephone service back in 1898 to help fund the Spanish-American war. The war ended in just a few months, and now the tax is ending too. Article

Congressional push for efficient servers

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:01:37 -0400

Congress approved a bill requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to study the use of energy-efficient servers in data centers. There are already several million servers sold each year in the U.S. alone, with the numbers increasing despite some consolidation trends. The study would also consider incentives for advocating efficient servers. Moreover, the study should take less than six months and cost less than $500,000, according to official estimates. It's co-sponsored by a Democrat and a Republican and now goes to the Senate for another vote.

For more on servers:
- read this Computerworld article

ALSO: Avoiding the BlackBerry squint. Article

SPOTLIGHT: Group offers net regulation compromise

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 20:01:33 -0400

The nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology has a suggestion: Instead of broadly supporting or denying network neutrality, Congress should legislate that public networks remain open and equal while service providers can choose to develop priority networks. Neutrality advocates insist it won't work because finite bandwidth dictates that priority networks will naturally inhibit public networks. On another side entirely are groups that desire as little interference as possible. Article

SPOTLIGHT: House panel moves on breach bill

Wed, 24 May 2006 20:01:33 -0400

The Data Accountability and Trust Act ("DATA", get it?) is steadily winding its way through Congress. The latest milestone is that it successfully passed through the House Commerce Committee. Still unclear are when this bill might go before the full House, and whether it will be put aside or merged with similar bills. Article