2600 Flash
IRS Wants Access to Telco Data
Paying for an unlisted telephone number may keep pests from interrupting your dinner, but it won't keep the revenuers off your back if the Internal Revenue Service has its way. The IRS is considering a proposal to plug directly into the phone company's computers to track down delinquent taxpayers.
The tax collectors will soon begin negotiating a pilot phase of the plan with Bell Atlantic, which covers all or parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The scheme will allow the IRS to get information directly about the phone numbers of taxpayers who do business with Bell Atlantic.
And not only listed numbers would be turned over to the IRS, but closely guarded unlisted numbers as well. Eventually, the IRS hopes to have direct access to the telephone company's computer banks, as well.
Critics point out that as things stand now, businesses and individuals who are asked for confidential information have the right to challenge such a demand, and make the IRS prove its case in court. Under the computer plug-in plan, the telephone company would already have given IRS access to its records - without consulting anyone. Such a plan could end up reversing the burden of proof in tax cases, forcing the taxpayer to prove that information gathered from a variety of sources was inaccurate.
Meanwhile, IRS is reportedly laying plans to supply computer data on taxpayers to other government agencies.
GEISCO's New Toys
Information differs from other commodities in that many people can possess it at the same time. If one person uses some, it is not diminished. And it's difficult to prevent people from obtaining information without paying for it. These thoughts were offered at a press conference on December 6, held by General Electric Information Services Co. (GEISCO) in Rockville, MD. At the same time, the company announced a point-to-multipoint partnership with Bonneville Telecommunications of Salt Lake City, Utah. The resulting service will enable companies to communicate with subscribers, dealers, or clients at a lower cost than is now available via telephone, teletext, or mail. The data goes out from an office to Bonneville over a telephone line. Bonneville collects data to be distributed and transmits it via satellite to FM radio stations around the country, which broadcast the data to individual personal computers or printing terminals located within the broadcast area of each radio station. The FM station rebroadcasts the signal at 19.2 bits per second to a local office or client on the subcarrier portion of the FM band. An error rate of 10 to the minus 6 power is claimed by Bonneville.
Platts Global Alert, a service for people who buy tanker loads of oil, goes out over Bonneville's network. The customer transmits data to the Bonneville Uplink host via a standard modem connection to the terrestrial-based portion of the GE service called Mark*Net, a value added data service.
GEISCO also announced a deal with Gannett Co. Inc. which will allow USA Today Update, a new electronic newsline, to be distributed on the GEISCO worldwide teleprocessing network. The GEISCO network has local telephone access in over 750 cities in 25 countries at 300 or 1200 baud.
GE has a knack for putting together successful partnerships. The company gave Ronald Reagan a new start in 1954 when no one in Hollywood would hire him to act. He was GE's traveling salesman on the virtues of free enterprise for several years.
GTE Hit By Divestiture
The GTE Corporation has accepted a judge's consent decree that requires the company to keep its long-distance and local telephone networks separate in return for the acquisition of what are now called GTE Sprint and GTE Spacenet.
(((Judge Harold H. Greene))) of the United States District Court in Washington then signed the decree, making it effective immediately. GTE announced its intention to acquire the Southern Pacific Communications Company and the Southern Pacific Satellite Company - now GTE Sprint and GTE Spacenet, respectively - in October 1982. In order to complete the acquisition, the company agreed with the Department of Justice in May 1983 to the entry of a consent decree.
The decree also requires GTE to provide Equal Access to other long-distance carriers in its local exchanges.
Fascist Computer Network
The leader of a White supremacist group whose former member is a suspect in the slaying of a jewish talk show host says neo-Nazi groups throughout the United States and Canada are linked by a network of home computers.
Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler of Hayden Lake, Idaho, also said members of his group can call up a computerized list containing the names of jews, alleged communists, and "race traitors."
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The Ku Klux Klan has set up an electronic bulletin board that enables computer operators to hook into the latest in neo-Nazi thought for a $5 fee.
The Aryan Nation Liberty Net offers information like the locations of communist party offices and ZOG (Zionist Occupied Government) informers.
"It's a tremendous tool in the awakening of the White Christian people to the jewish plot to destroy the White race and Christianity," said Glenn Miller, leader of the North Carolina Klan, which operates one of several such bulletin boards.
A Challenge to Hackers
Most businesses fear computer hackers. An Albany, NY company challenges them.
Elite Software Systems Inc. makes a software program called Encomp that encrypts information stored on computer disks. The $99.95 program makes the disk unreadable without the right password, and Elite is offering $10,000 to anyone who can break its system using a personal computer.
The company has sent out 6,000 entry forms but has received only three replies - all wrong, says Philip Cohen, vice president of sales and marketing. A systems analyst, he says, "called up to bust my chops" and outlined a way to crack the code using a million-dollar mainframe computer. That doesn't count, Cohen says; only personal computer users need apply.
[We believe a number of our readers are worthy of this challenge. Go ahead. Make us proud of you. Elite Software Systems can be reached at 518-482-4162. Keep us posted.]
In Addition...
*) Although it had said it would try to avoid layoffs as part of a planned reduction of 11.000 jobs announced in August, AT&T is furloughing at least 400 workers and more layoffs are expected. The job cuts are part of the company's efforts to trim costs and stay competitive after the government-mandated breakup of the Bell System.
*) The Democratic National Committee has moved to its new headquarters on Capitol Hill. The Republican National Committee also has headquarters near the Capitol. There may be some confusion since the new D.N.C. telephone number is 202-863-8000. The R.N.C. number is 202-863-8500.
*) (((New York Telephone))) has announced that under new rate proposals, the discount for personal telephone service currently available to members of the clergy would be discontinued.
