contributed by Evil Wench
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) is likely to endorse the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA). This isn't a federal law but a law that will be passed around to all the states to enact individually making it even harder to defeat. The proposal will allow software manufacturers to sell software that is broken with no liability, even if they knew it didn't work. It gives vendors the right to disable software remotely without prior authorization from the customer. It would prevent reverse engineering and place a gag order on anyone who said anything bad about a product.

ComputerWorld
InfoWorld- UCITA Summary

contributed by Weld Pond
A draft prepared by the National Security Council last month, calls for a sophisticated software system to monitor activities on nonmilitary Government networks and a separate system to track networks used in crucial industries like banking, telecommunications and transportation. This system is to be called FidNet or the Federal Intrusion Detection Network. The effort is intended to alert law enforcement officials to attacks against the nation's Infrastructure. Opponents are saying that this could become a building block for a surveillance infrastructure with great potential for misuse.

NY Times

contributed by Evil Wench
Intelligence Authorization Act has been passed by the Senate, this new bill will give federal law enforcement new powers to search government computers belonging to individuals who have access to classified information. The bill requires employees who need access to classified information to sign a waiver allowing law enforcement officials to "access information stored in computers used in the performance of government duties." (They can't take your rights away but now they can get you to sign them away.)

Federal Computer Week

contributed by Arik
Pulling from the LA Times article that we linked to on Monday, the UK Register runs a story on how local US Police departments are legally accepting large grants from IT firms in exchange for going after pirates. Companies such as Intel and Hewlett-Packard offer cash and other perks to local law enforcement agencies while they work on cases beneficial to the corporation. Local Police agencies see nothing wrong with this. (Why hire private detectives when you can just hire the local police force.)

The UK Register

contributed by operand
Interactive Connections, now known as Screaming Media, has had two former employees arrested on Tuesday on charges they allegedly broke into its computer system and stole secret business plans. If convicted, they face a possible maximum prison term of five years. They allegedly copied various proprietary files and software belonging to Interactive Connections. It is unknown what they then did with the information.

Wired

contributed by TurTleX
Computer virus infection rates have doubled since 1998 and quadrupled since 1997 according to a report released by ICSA. The survey was based on responses from tech departments at 300 U.S. corporations and government agencies.

Newsweek
ICSA