Edupage, December 04, 2006

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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting
the intelligent use of information technology.
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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2006
  Researchers See Security Risk in Nike + iPod
  VeriSign Keeps Control of .com until 2012
  Taxes Loom for Online Assets

RESEARCHERS SEE SECURITY RISK IN NIKE + IPOD
Researchers at the University of Washington argue that a recently
introduced recreational device poses potentially significant security
risks to anyone who uses it. The device, the Nike + iPod, transmits
data from running shoes to a receiver plugged into an iPod. The data
are used to calculate how far a person has run and how fast. The
researchers said that they were able to collect the information on
another sensor from as far away as 60 feet, and although the data are
encrypted, the researchers were able without much difficulty to read
the unique identifier used by the system. "A bad person could use this
information to compromise your personal privacy and safety," said Scott
Saponas, Jonathan Lester, Carl Hartung, and Tadayoshi Kohno in a
statement. All are from the university's Department of Computer
Science and Engineering. They described several scenarios in which
malicious individuals could cheaply and easily build a network of
sensors that could track people who used the Nike + iPod, providing
information about where they are and when.
The Register, 4 December 2006
http://www.theregister.com/2006/12/04/nike_ipod_security_threat/