|
August 2002 Volume 3, Issue 8
Editors Cherie W. Blackburn Robert W. Pearce, Jr. John C. McElwaine
1-800-237-2000 Nelson Mullins has more
than 275 attorneys firm-wide, with over 25 attorneys having
significant representation of e-commerce clients in areas including
patent, copyright and trademark protection; business planning,
securities and venture capital; and licensing, distribution and
contract preparation. Atlanta Contacts Neil Grayson Cherie
Blackburn Robert
Pearce John
McElwaine Charlotte Contact Jason
Sprenkle Myrtle Beach Contact Franklin
Daniels Columbia Contact Mark Dukes Greenville Contact Marvin
Quattlebaum William
Herlong Munich Contact Stefan Lode CyberWatch is an Internet Law Group news digest published as a service to Nelson Mullins’ clients and friends. The articles are summaries of particular developments in the law and are not intended to be a solicitation or to render legal advice. This publication can be considered advertising under applicable laws.
CyberWatch
is a trademark of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, L.L.P. |
 |
|
|
Cyber Attacks by Al Qaida Draw Great Concern According to Congressional sources, federal law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies are predicting that there is at least a 50 percent chance that the next terrorist strike against the United States will include cyber attacks. These agencies are warning that Al Qaida agents have explored ways to disable power and water supplies, phone service and other critical infrastructure services. With approximately 90 percent of the nation’s infrastructure privately owned, there is a dramatic possibility that cyber attacks could shut down this critical infrastructure. If Al Qaida or other terrorists are able to disrupt, for instance, electricity systems in California, commercial activity would grind to a halt, and the resulting disruption could cause billions of dollars of economic damage. In a recent survey of technology professionals, 74 percent of respondents said they were “nearly certain” of a major cyber attack in the next 12 months. Congress has vowed to continue studying the matter. Credit: fcw.com Online Stock Trading Activity Drops Precipitously With the stock market in a severely bearish mode, the quantity of trades conducted at the largest online stock brokerages and the number of active traders has dropped dramatically. While a change in direction for the market may well increase online trading activity, no one expects a return to the go-go days of the Internet bubble. Established brokerages are beginning to offer many more online options to their customers, especially wealthy investors. The Internet is used by brokerages to refine their model of providing the best service mix to their clients, especially the most affluent of their investors. With the Internet, investors can contact their personal brokers, access in-depth research and generally monitor their accounts on a more timely basis. Following the collapse of the dot-com mania, investors have become more realistic, with an eye toward better researching of stocks and with a longer holding period. In the long run, brokers believe that the Internet will prove to be an advantage for investors by allowing the offering of additional products and services, and allowing interaction of the investor with the brokerage firms; however, there is little expectation that less affluent investors will return anytime soon to their online stock trading ways. Credit: ecommercetimes.com Yale University Catches Princeton Hacking Its Website Yale University has filed a complaint with the FBI alleging that Princeton University admission officials hacked into Yale’s Website. Princeton’s Dean of Admissions said that they were merely checking the security of the Yale site; however, Princeton gained access through the site to records of students who had applied to both schools. Despite the fact that Princeton accessed its information, Yale found that its Website proved wildly popular with applicants: 1,190 of the nearly 1,500 students who were admitted to Yale had logged on to the Website. Unfortunately, anyone with the Social Security numbers and birthdates of applicants could also access student records. The FBI is assessing the situation to determine if Princeton’s actions were in federal violation. Credit: washingtonpost.com Employees’ Downloading From the Internet Places Employers at Risk Workers are more frequently using computers in the workplace to download music, movies and other material from the Internet, thus creating huge potential liabilities for their employers. In a recent case Integrated Information Systems, a Tempe, Arizona company, paid $1 million dollars to settle a lawsuit with the Recording Industry Association of America. The company’s workers had downloaded music files and shared copyrighted MP3 music files over the company’s network. With more and more Websites allowing entertainment to be downloaded, companies are clogging their workplace computer systems, introducing computer viruses into their systems, and exposing their employers to lawsuits. One company found that its employees had downloaded an episode of “Star Wars,” watched it during work hours, and even served popcorn during the viewing. In one recent report, approximately 30 percent of companies had installed filtering software in an attempt to block access to music download sites. An increasing number of companies are reprimanding and disciplining their workers for violations of downloading and accessing policies. Credit: usatoday.com Internet Scams Proliferate At the end of July 2002, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies instituted 19 civil and criminal law enforcement actions against alleged Internet scammers. Led by the Federal Trade Commission, these efforts have sought to target securities fraud, online auction fraud, Website advertising, and the growing scam of offering money for at-home envelope stuffing. This last scam has expanded rapidly as consumers have been told they would earn $2.00 for every envelope they stuffed through Internet sites such as “stuffingforcash.com.” Individuals of course did not receive envelopes and had been required to pay $40.00 as an initial application fee. In one conviction announced by the FTC recently, a Missouri couple were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for Internet auction fraud and related bad check charges. A spokesperson for the FTC said that the FTC is working throughout the United States with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to stop the surge of Internet scams. Credit: internetnews.com Los Angeles to Track Sex Offenders Using the Internet Partially in response to the recent series of high-profile child kidnappings, Los Angeles County has decided to post the general locations of sex offenders’ homes on an Internet site. The plan follows a similar plan put in place by San Diego County, and will designate within a half block where convicted sex offenders are living after serving jail time. Los Angeles officials expect the county’s Website to be operational by early September. Credit: reuters.com Nationwide Alert Posted for Data Theft by Russian Mob Following at least five hacking infiltrations into college computer systems by individuals linked to the Russian mob, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education have issued an alert about identity and credit card theft on U.S. campuses. Colleges in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida have been targeted by individuals who seek to capture computer users’ credit card numbers and other personal data. Individuals have been installing keystroke recording software to capture this personal financial information. A spokesman for the Secret Service would not comment on the ongoing investigation other than to say that the motives of individuals linked to the Russian mob were not clearly known at the time. Credit: siliconevalley.com
|
