Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.

Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

SEC vows hands off e-mail, chat rooms

Maria Trombly Today’s Top Stories

or Other Computerworld Stories

April 6, 2000 (Computerworld) -- In response to concern about the agency's plans to monitor the Internet for illegal activities, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has promised that the commission won't snoop on electronic conversations and e-mail.
However, privacy activists called for safeguards for government surveillance of Internet activity.
The SEC recently issued a request for proposals, asking vendors to submit bids to develop an automated search system that could scan the Web for possible security law violations — including exaggerated claims of return by investment officers, impersonation of public companies or their officers, fictitious press releases or news reports and disclosures of nonpublic information.
Specifically, the agency called for "continuous, comprehensive crawling of the World Wide Web, newsgroups and Listservs."
But this doesn't mean that the SEC will be spying on private conversations, said commission Chairman Arthur Levitt in a statement Wednesday.
"I want to make clear that the SEC has never had any intention of intercepting or monitoring private transmissions, including conversations taking place in chat rooms or on e-mail," he said.
Instead, the SEC simply plans to automate the process of searching public sites that are already accessible to the public through commercial search engines, he said.
"This is no different . . . than finding a newspaper article with the aid of a tool that helps you do so more quickly and exactly," Levitt said.
But just because a statement has been made public, that doesn't mean the government should track it, said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy rights group in Washington.
Rotenberg said he wants the SEC to be subject to judicial review, annual reporting and independent oversight.
"I don't think this particular program should go forward until these safeguards are put into place," he said.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

	IBM launches Bluehouse, a Facebook for business
	iPhone grabs top smart phone spot
	Wi-Fi helps college students get better grades, survey says
	More top stories...

	Microsoft scales out SQL Server 2008, wants to 'democratize BI'
	Oracle tries to step up on high-end databases
	NASA spacecraft successfully snaps pics of Mercury

Health hazards for IT workers -- how that desk job wears your body down

Too much junk food, too little exercise and a 24/7 tether to technology? Your body ain't happy, friend. Let us count the pains.

NASA robot sends back evidence it's snowing on Mars

Instruments on the surface of Mars have detected falling snow that is likely evaporating before it reaches the planet.

Wall Street's collapse may be computer science's gain

One positive development stemming from the collapse of Wall Street may be a boost in interest in computer science and IT careers among students who were previously interested in financial services jobs.

Installing Linux apps: A few good tips

Getting new software installed on Linux doesn't have to be hard, but it can differ depending on what you're installing.

Windows Vista A to Z

Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.

IT Careers 2010

Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?

All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Business Continuity Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Security Management Zone
The SAS Zone
Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone
Windows Protection Zone
The Enterprise Search Zone
Software as a Service Zone

See your link here

Turning information into a Competitive Advantage

Turning information into a Competitive Advantage
View this webcast now!

Go to the webcast

Solving Real World Storage Problems

Download this whitepaper now.
As your storage needs grow, the cost of managing it need not spiral out of control.Our vision - Universal Distributed Storage - is about:

mainstreaming high endstorage functionality
solutions built on industrystandard hardware
a broad partner ecosystem

Our next generation of Server and NAS products - Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 - will help you further reduce your storage costs.

Download this executive briefing

Integrating FICON and Open Systems/Intermix

Download this white paper today!
(Source: Brocade) Large enterprises have been hesitant to try intermix for several reasons including security and management concerns, internal politics, and perhaps a lack of understanding of how FICON/FCP intermix really works. But considering the cost reductions achieved by FICON/FCP intermix and access to the latest advances in technology, FICON/FCP intermix offers a clear advantage for SAN and server network design. This paper discusses the mixing of FICON and FCP devices in the same SAN. It focuses on end users issues and the fabric elements they should consider when evaluating a FICON/FCP intermix solution.

Download this white paper

White Papers

Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.

	Project Portfolio Management - Boost the value of IT
	Core Network Services Survey: The Costs and Impacts of DNS and IP Address Management
	Six Project Metrics Every CIO Should Know for Application Delivery Success

View more whitepapers

• The MacBook Brick

• Apple 'brick' is a manufacturing process

• Researcher finds evidence of massive site compromise

	Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
	Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
	The Weekly Top 10

SEC vows hands off e-mail, chat rooms

Sponsored Links