Educause Security Discussion mailing list archives
Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing
From: Ken Shaurette <Ken.Shaurette () OMNITECHCORP COM>
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:26:52 -0600
Pass on this link to every K-12 educational institution that you might come in contact with. It may not solve all the problems, but it does begin to address some of the security, ethics and responsible use issues currently with "FREE" curriculum for K-8 that matches the NETS (National Education Technology Standards). Annually there is a poster contest sponsored/supported by several organzations including InfraGard (www.wi-infragard.net/kis.html Wisconsin State level info from 2002-2003) and Homeland Security, also the National Cyber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline.info). April 6 has been designated CyberSecuirty Day. Set some time aside this week to update your anti-virus software and scan your computer for viruses. Also, check out the Top Ten Security Tips http://www.staysafeonline.info/sectips.adp) for more information on keeping your computer safe from hackers. If you would like more information please feel free to email me directly at ken.shaurette () omnitechcorp com or call (262) 523-3300 x486. Ken M. Shaurette, CISSP, CISA, CISM, IAM Omni Tech Corporation "Tailoring Technology Solutions for Education" www.omnitechcorp.com -----Original Message----- From: SANDRA DELK [mailto:ansed () UAA ALASKA EDU] Sent: Fri 2/28/2003 10:56 AM To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU Cc: Subject: Re: [SECURITY] US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing I totally agree with you Merri Beth! Sandi Delk Computer Tech Center for Human Development University of Alaska Anchorage -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Security Discussion Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU]On Behalf Of Lavagnino, Merri B Sent: Friday, February 28, 2003 6:39 AM To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU Subject: Re: [SECURITY] US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing Below is an article in which some statistics reported show why they are focusing on universities. (See the third paragraph down, starting "The hearing was the first..") But still they do not address Alex's question about what number of NOTICES are sent. What strikes me as most important in our experiences here at Indiana University is that we seldom have repeat offenders. That tells me the students learn from the process we have in place to notify them of the complaint and teach them about the law. I think this is very positive and tells us that our efforts are successful, but this positive aspect does not appear to be addressed in these meetings. I do not think the RIAA and MPAA realize that we have a constantly revolving community of users and so this is NOT a process in which we teach our users and then there are no more infringments ever again. It is a constant process to reach the huge numbers of new users who join our community every semester, and our data concerning the receipt and processing of DMCA notices shows us that the procedures we have in place to respond to notices is successful in stopping infringement by those individuals. They could, of course, state that our educational efforts should be so successful as to stop the initial instance of infringement that they have to send us notices about, but, they cannot claim, in at least our case and based on data about their notices, that our efforts to respond when we are notified of an infringement are not producing the desired results. If they wish to reduce the initial number of notices sent to Universities each year, they need to target individuals before they reach the age of 17 or 18 and hit our campuses. We do what we can to educate them when they arrive but they are also being educated in a lot of other things at the same time and this particular message is easily missed among all the others! There is no reason why the music and movie industries could not undertake such an educational campaign, similar to campaigns to keep children off drugs and cigarettes, that would help reduce the number of individuals that have to be educated on this issue at the late age of 17 or 18... Merri Beth Merri Beth Lavagnino Deputy Information Technology Policy Officer Office of the Vice President for Information Technology Indiana University (317) 274-3739 > -----Original Message----- > From: AAU Listmail [mailto:AAU_LISTMAIL () aau edu] > Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 4:21 PM > To: undisclosed-recipients > Subject: CFR UPDATE (03-#38, 2-27-03 PM) > > > > February 27, 2003 PM > > To: Council on Federal Relations > cc: AAU Public Affairs Network, AAU Associates > From: AAU Staff > Subject: CFR UPDATE (03-#38, 2-27-03 PM) > > * Summary of House Hearing on "Peer-to-Peer Piracy on University > Campuses" > > The Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee held > a hearing February 26 on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on university > campuses. The witnesses testifying before the subcommittee were: > > --Hilary Rosen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Recording > Industry Association of America; --Graham Spanier, President of The > Pennsylvania State University; --Robyn Render, Vice President for > Information Resources and Chief Information Officer of the University > of North Carolina; and --John Hale, Assistant Professor of Computer > Science and Director of the Center for Information Security, > University of Tulsa. > > The hearing was the first under new subcommittee chairman Lamar Smith > (R-TX) and was heavily attended, with 17 subcommittee members in > attendance. In his opening statement, Chairman Smith stated that > while P2P file sharing technology has many benefits, it also permits > the widespread distribution of digital music, movies, and software > files, often resulting in copyright infringement. Smith cited data > from a P2P file sharing service which showed that 16% of files > available through that service at any given time were located at IP > addresses managed by U.S. educational institutions, and that file > traders from educational institution networks accounted for 10% of all > traders of the service at any given time. "It's unlikely that this > amount of file-sharing activity is in furtherance of class > assignments," Smith observed. > > Almost all members made opening statements. Although the statements > varied in tone and content-with some emphasizing P2P file sharing as > criminal activity and others noting the important role of the academic > community in the development of information technology, the legitimate > uses of P2P technology, and the importance of the entertainment > industry developing new business models-all members stated that > illegal P2P file sharing was a major problem requiring serious action. > > In her statement, Hilary Rosen stated that the hearing came at a > propitious time because illegal P2P file sharing is increasing but > legitimate on-line music subscription services are now available. She > stated that P2P technology itself is not unlawful but most of its uses > are, and cited the ready acceptance of file sharing by college > students, aided by the fast Internet connections available to > them-often as a result of government funding intended for network use > in support of academic, research and other legitimate purposes. > > Rosen expressed particular concern for the growth of what she termed > LANNs-Local Area Napster Networks-intranets that eliminate the problem > Internet file sharing poses on institutional bandwidth. She expressed > optimism that the recent collaboration between the entertainment and > higher education communities would achieve real progress in reducing > unauthorized P2P file sharing and promoting legitimate on-line music > subscription services. > > Graham Spanier described the goals of the Joint Committee of the > Higher Education and Entertainment Communities, of which he is > co-chair, and its three task forces on campus education on copyright > and P2P file sharing, use of technology in managing P2P use, and > legislative issues. Spanier stated that higher education recognizes > that P2P file trading that constitutes copyright infringement is > illegal and should be stopped and that higher education institutions > have an obligation to educate their students about their legal and > ethical responsibilities. > > In turn, Spanier expressed the hope that entertainment industry > officials and policy makers such as members of the subcommittee would > understand the challenges that confront university administrators in > trying to eliminate or reduce inappropriate uses of P2P technology > without eliminating legitimate uses, without constricting academic > freedom and the open exchange of information, and with invading the > privacy of university students, faculty, and staff. > > Spanier described Penn State's copyright education programs, > acceptable use policies and due process procedures for dealing with > violations of university policies, as well as technological means > employed to control P2P use and disrupt infringing activities. He > noted that no single educational program or technology policy would be > appropriate across the diversity higher education institutions and > stated that the Joint Committee's education and technology task forces > would seek to identify a range of options for addressing P2P misuse. > > Robyn Render stated that American universities are committed to > addressing the unauthorized trading of copyrighted materials but must > do so through policies and practices for network management that > accommodate core academic values. Federal legislation that would > limit legitimate uses of P2P technology would threaten the central > values of the higher education community. Render described a number > of actions that have taken place on the 16 campuses of the University > of North Carolina System to educate students about copyright generally > and P2P use specifically, and to employ network management and > monitoring tools to assist network administrators to manage traffic > types and network use. UNC campuses employ education and counseling > for violators of copyright and acceptable use policies, but also > engage disciplinary procedures consistent with campus student > disciplinary procedures when necessary. > > John Hale noted that in addition to the legal and ethical problems > posed by student misuse of P2P technology, such use also poses > increased risk to network and computer security. Filtering or > blocking techniques to control the downloading or uploading of files > of copyrighted material lead P2P developers to create new encryption > techniques to circumvent such techniques, leading to a "cat-and-mouse" > game played between P2P developers and network managers. Hale stated > that "it will take a combination of efforts on multiple fronts to help > this promising technology survive its adolescence." > > The question and answer period focused on what specific actions > universities were taking to eliminate illegal peer-to-peer file > trading. Members asked for evidence of reduction in the volume of > illegal file trading and whether any students had been arrested or > expelled for illegal file trading. Graham Spanier said that he > thought progress had been made on eliminating cases of gross > infringement but that more moderate levels of inappropriate file > trading continued to be a problem. The higher education witnesses > restated the importance of addressing the problem within the context > of academic values and institutional due-process procedures and noted > that the problem of P2P misuse was not unique to college and > university campuses. > > Several members expressed their appreciation for efforts of higher > education to work cooperatively with the entertainment industry but > emphasized that their joint work needed to go beyond process to > results. One member stated emphatically that Congress needed to "see > more seriousness" from universities and that if results were not > forthcoming, Congress would step in with draconian solutions. > > End of Document -----Original Message----- From: Alex Campoe [mailto:campoe () USF EDU] Sent: Thursday, February 27, 2003 4:33 PM To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU Subject: Re: [SECURITY] US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing I wonder what percentage of the RIAA notes are sent to Colleges and Universities versus ISPs. What about statistics based on country of origin? Are any notes sent abroad? Has anyone ever seen any figures? Alex [previous communication deleted] ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Discussion Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/memdir/cg/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Discussion Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/memdir/cg/.
Current thread:
- Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing Lavagnino, Merri B (Feb 28)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing SANDRA DELK (Feb 28)
- Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing Ced Bennett (Feb 28)
- Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing Ken Shaurette (Feb 28)
- Re: US Lawmakers Demand That Colleges Crack Down on Illegal File Sharing Ken Shaurette (Mar 03)