[ga] FW: Proposed Legislation Significantly Affecting Computer Profession (46637)

[Roeland Meyer <rmeyer@mhsc.com>]

WRT recent emphasis on computer security, this is just ONE of the items
crossing my desk. In the US, this take the DEA actions as precedent to
by-pass the US 4th amendment. The US Constitution is begining to look like a
moth-eaten rag. Be that as it may, the ICANN is in danger of falling into
this same rat-hole...on the wrong side.

I strongly suggest that we do not allow, what is supposed to be a business
meeting, to be turned into an "educational" event. Especially regarding
points and issues that have very little to do with the ICANN.

Jefsey may theorize on his conspiracies, yet miss the real background
agendii. What direction did Stuart receive from the DoC recently? These
elephants are much larger than Jefsey's old fish.

For the record, I'm in favor of treating  cyber-crime, like Nimda, as
terrorist acts. By every definition, they are. However, retro-active
prosecution, of old non-criminal acts, under new criminal statutes, without
any statute of limitations, criminalizes just about 60% of current technical
professionals. No, I'm not one of them. But, this does smack more than a
little of McCarthyism. Never mind the basic unfairness and injustice.

Now, how much of this is supposed to show up at the MdR ICANN meeting?

|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: Gregory Hicks [mailto:ghicks@cadence.com]
|> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 4:08 PM
|> To: ghicks@courier.cadence.com
|> Subject: FW: Proposed Legislation Significantly Affecting Computer
|> Profession (46637)
|> 
|> 
|> 
|> Thought you might be interested in this and might want to 
|> express your 
|> opinion to your elected representative.
|> 
|> Gregory Hicks
|> 
|> ------------- Begin Forwarded Message -------------
|> 
|> From: board-enotify@usenix.org [mailto:board-enotify@usenix.org]
|> Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2001 1:38 PM
|> 
|> The USENIX Board of Directors has decided to alert our 
|> membership that
|> bills pending before the U.S. Congress or in committee 
|> appear to have a
|> detrimental impact on computer professionals.
|> 
|> We are most concerned about aspects of two proposed bills, the
|> Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the Security Systems Standards and
|> Certification Act (SSSCA), and how they interact with existing
|> legislation such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Digital
|> Millennium Copyright Act.  The ATA redefines virtually all computer
|> crime as terrorism, enlarges the maximum penalty to life in prison
|> without parole, allows broad pre-conviction seizures, and, 
|> furthermore,
|> does this retroactively, removing the existing statute of 
|> limitations.
|> The SSSCA essentially mandates copyright protection in all digital
|> consumer devices and makes disabling or avoidance of copyright
|> mechanisms a felony offense.
|> 
|> More information about these and related issues can be found at:
|> http://www.usenix.org/whatsnew/legislation.html
|> 
|> Similar legislation is being considered in other jurisdictions
|> including Canada and some states.
|> 
|> If you believe that provisions of these or similar acts are
|> inappropriate, we strongly encourage you to contact your elected
|> representatives as soon as possible and register your opinions.
|> 
|>                                 Sincerely,
|>                         The USENIX Board of Directors
|>                     http://www.usenix.org/directory/board.html
|> 
|> ------------- End Forwarded Message -------------
|> 
|> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
|> Gregory Hicks                           | Principal Systems Engineer
|> Cadence Design Systems                  | Direct:   408.576.3609
|> 555 River Oaks Pkwy M/S 6B1             | Fax:      408.894.3479
|> San Jose, CA 95134                      | Internet: 
|> ghicks@cadence.com
|> 
|> "To do great, important tasks, two things are necessary:
|> a plan and not quite enough time."   -- Anonymous
|> 
|> 
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