Web Headlines

Headlines from around the Web for Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008.

States Prepare for Tests of Changes to Voting System

The New York Times

As voters in 23 states head to polls or caucuses today, local election officials around the country are bracing for a long, exhausting night and an array of unpredictable factors that might prevent some states from reporting final tallies until early Wednesday morning.

Super Tuesday: An e-voting report from the trenches

ComputerWorld

Almost a month after two candidates called for recounts in New Hampshire's primaries, observers will be watching to see how well the e-voting systems work in today's contests.

NIST Lists Vista, XP Security Tools for Feds

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has posted its first list of tools that conform to a new federal government rule for securing Microsoft Vista and XP desktops.

NSF Wants $6.85 billion to Fund Cybersecurity, Other Research

NSF Director Arden Bement Jr. says the need for increased funds comes at a time when high-tech executives and others are becoming increasingly vocal about the need for the United States to beef up basic research spending to stay competitive globally.

National Cybersecurity Threats Abound, National Intelligence Director says

NetworkWorld

Over the past year, cyber-exploitation activity has grown more sophisticated, more targeted, and more serious and the national intelligence community expects these trends to continue in the coming year, J. Michael McConnell, director of National Intelligence, told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Bush’s Budget Repeats Cybersecurity Mistakes

Center for American Progress

Bush's proposal to allocate $6 billion for a secretive system designed to protect government and private computer systems from attack repeats the mistakes of the Federal Intrusion Detection Network, which proposed similar monitoring of private computer systems when it was proposed in 1999.

State Schools' Privacy Breach Draws Rebuke

The DesMoines Register

A nonprofit watchdog group says Iowa's largest state-run universities must do more to safeguard students' private information stored in computer files.

High-Stakes Tag

The Indianapolis Star

Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items -- and, by extension, consumers -- wherever they go.