Caron Carlson

AOL Time Warner, Microsoft Settle Antitrust Suit

AOL Time Warner Inc. settled the private antitrust lawsuit that its Netscape Communications unit brought against Microsoft Corp. last year, and Microsoft agreed to pay AOL Time Warner $750 million and help the content company combat online piracy. “This marks a new day,” Richard Parsons, chairman and CEO of AOL Time Warner, said late Thursday. […]

DOJ Will Defend Microsoft Settlement in Court

The Department of Justice will defend its antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. in court this fall, when two states and two IT trade groups present arguments to overturn the landmark deal. According to a spokeswoman, the Justice Department will present its defense of the settlement before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of […]

CPI Integrates Web, Audio Conferencing

Conference Plus Inc. plans to unveil Wednesday upgrades to its teleconferencing infrastructure to allow enterprises to customize calls for enhanced security and efficiency. Shell Oil Products U.S. has been using CPIs services for four years to link thousands of employees across the country and counterparts worldwide, according to John Aaronson, communications coordinator for the Shell […]

War on Spam Gains 2 Allies

The anti-spam crusade is gaining momentum as industry players, including Microsoft Corp. and Symantec Corp., counter pending bills on Capitol Hill with legislative proposals of their own. To date, proposed ideas have covered a wide range of measures, from jail time for repeat spammers to a tiny charge on every piece of spam sent. The […]

DHS Revamp on Tap

After months of escalating criticism from the IT industry that the Bush administration is devoting insufficient resources and attention to cyber-security, the fledgling Department of Homeland Security is already restructuring to give network safety a higher profile. The organizational changes, due to take place over the coming months, will show that the executive branch is […]

Feds to Open Cyber-Security Ops Center

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security plan to announce this week the establishment of a national cyber-security center, which brings all the departments information security assets under one umbrella, according to people briefed on the plan. So far, however, no one has been named to head the center, and security experts warn that without […]

House Panel: Do Private Nets Need Security Subsidies?

A committee of lawmakers charged with overseeing the cyber side of homeland defense debuted Wednesday with a look at the research projects and priorities at the Department of Homeland Security. Among the questions under consideration is whether critical cyber-infrastructure owned by the private sector requires subsidies for security. Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., asked the question […]

Wiretap Law to Fight Terrorism Used in Other Ways

New electronic surveillance powers enacted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have been used widely by law enforcement agents, but not solely in pursuit of terrorism; some new powers bestowed by the USA PATRIOT Act allegedly have been used in cases involving drug violations and credit card fraud. Even as the law […]

Microsoft Proposes Plan to Slam Spam

The anti-spam bandwagon is gaining speed as industry players counter pending bills with legislative proposals of their own—including one from Microsoft Corp. Wednesday. Proposals vary widely, covering a range of measures from jail time for repeat spammers to the imposition of a tiny charge for sending e-mail, and the Senate is slated to sort through […]

TIA Gets New Name, Old Questions Persist

The Pentagons research arm, in a report released Tuesday, changed the name of its mammoth electronic surveillance project following public outcry, but concerns that the project will unnecessarily invade privacy without necessarily improving national security remain strong. The Total Information Awareness program, now called the Terrorism Information Awareness program, under development at the Pentagons Defense […]