PRIVACY Forum Digest     Wednesday, 23 September 1992     Volume 01 : Issue 19

         Moderated by Lauren Weinstein (lauren@cv.vortex.com)
                Vortex Technology, Topanga, CA, U.S.A.
	
                     ===== PRIVACY FORUM =====

   	  The PRIVACY Forum digest is supported in part by the 
	      ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy.


CONTENTS
        Draft ACM whitepaper on computers and privacy (David Redell)
	Medical record database (Jeff Makey)
	Re: Telephone comm encryption (Steve Bellovin)
	Announcement of a New Journal (Gerald M. Phillips)

 *** Please include a RELEVANT "Subject:" line on all submissions! ***
            *** Submissions without them may be ignored! ***

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The PRIVACY Forum is a moderated digest for the discussion and analysis of
issues relating to the general topic of privacy (both personal and
collective) in the "information age" of the 1990's and beyond.  The
moderator will choose submissions for inclusion based on their relevance and
content.  Submissions will not be routinely acknowledged.

ALL submissions should be addressed to "privacy@cv.vortex.com" and must have
RELEVANT "Subject:" lines.  Submissions without appropriate and relevant
"Subject:" lines may be ignored.  Subscriptions are by an automatic
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consisting of the word "help" (quotes not included) in the BODY of a message
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digest represent the views of the individual authors and all submissions
will be considered to be distributable without limitations. 

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VOLUME 01, ISSUE 19

    Quote for the day:

	"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!"

					-- "Superchicken"

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Date:    Wed, 23 Sep 92 12:43:28 PDT
From:    redell@src.dec.com (David Redell)
Subject: Draft ACM whitepaper on computers and privacy

In connection with the ACM's increasing interest in policy issues,
I have been writing a draft whitepaper on computers and privacy.  It
was reviewed by ACM Council, and they recommended soliciting feedback
from the readers of Privacy Forum, followed by publication in CACM
for comments from the membership at large (similar to the earlier
publication of the draft Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct).
The eventual goal is to adopt a revised version of this whitepaper
as an official statement of the ACM.

Your comments are solicited. Please send them to me at: redell@src.dec.com
Thanks for your help with this project.

Dave Redell

   [ The complete text of Dave's paper has been placed in the PRIVACY Forum
     archives.  It may be retrieved via anon FTP from site "cv.vortex.com"
     under the name "/privacy/acm-wpd.1.Z".  Be sure to transfer this file
     in "image" mode if you will be uncompressing it yourself, or leave off
     the ".Z" for automatic uncompression by the FTP server.  

     The paper may also be obtained by e-mail from the automated listserv
     system by sending a message to:

	listserv@cv.vortex.com

     containing the line:

	get privacy acm-wpd.1

     at the start of the BODY of the message. -- MODERATOR ]

------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 21 Sep 92 22:51:40 PDT
From:    Jeff Makey <makey@VisiCom.COM>
Subject: Medical record database

The October 1992 issue of "Redbook" has a fairly well written article
entitled "The Strangers Who Know All Your Secrets" that covers a
number of privacy-related topics familiar to PRIVACY Forum readers.
In addition to the usual suspects, the article mentioned "the Medical
Information Bureau (MIB), a Westwood, Massachusetts-based national
clearinghouse for some 750 life and health insurance companies."  It
seems that the MIB maintains a database of "an estimated 12 to 15
million" medical records that are just as susceptible to errors as
credit records.  What's worse is that the consumer-protection laws
that apply to one's credit record do not reach other areas such as
medical records, so correcting an erroneous medical database record
may be nearly impossible.

                        :: Jeff Makey
                           makey@VisiCom.COM

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 20 Sep 92 08:08:09 EDT
From:    smb@ulysses.att.com
Subject: Re: Telephone comm encryption

I wasn't going to reply until I had some more technical details, but
since Jerry explained -- correctly -- how difficult it is, I felt I
should say something...

First, of course, there have been military-grade encryption units for a
few years now, the STU-III's.  These are somewhat larger than ordinary
phones, and are rated for top-secret traffic.  Basically, they're V.32
modems with a fancy encryptor.  The original scheme designed by the
government called several different models, including one that could be
sold to American businesses, using DES.  The basic technology could be
built into any phone; I think that Motorola even makes cellular
STU-III's.

But the real reason I'm responding is that AT&T has just introduced a
device that sounds exactly like what's being requested here.  It's
about the size of a calculator, plugs in to either any phone or any
handset (I'm not sure), and provides a fair amount of security.  I
suspect -- but I don't know for sure -- that it uses DES.  I don't have
any technical details yet, or even a glossy marketing brochure, but
I'll be glad to pass along anything I learn to anyone who's
interested.

(Yah, I know this sounds like an ad, but I didn't plant the original
question -- really!)

		--Steve Bellovin

	[ A large number of other excellent submissions were received on this
	  topic.  Most of them went into a bit more technical detail than I
	  feel is appropriate for the focus of this digest, so I have
	  presented Steve's message as representative of the mail regarding
	  this subject.

	  Other authors pointed out that the reported cost of the AT&T
	  unit is around $1200, and some speculated on the possible
	  limitations of a device interfacing between the handset
	  and the "hybrid" circuitry of the phone, which apparently
	  is the interface mode used by the unit.

	  Phil Karn (karn@servo.qualcomm.com) pointed out that vocoders
	  capable of quality speech at bit rates of 9600 bps do exist,
	  including the chip developed by Qualcomm for their digital
	  cellular system.

	  In short, it appears that the technology required for relatively
	  inexpensive "secure" telephone systems is beginning to appear.
	  Of course, the actual security provided by such systems will
	  depend largely on the algorithms selected and the key distribution
	  methods used. -- MODERATOR ]

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 20 Sep 92 10:14 EDT
From:    <GMP@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW JOURNAL

                   ANNOUNCING THE FOUNDING OF

                              IPCT
               Interpersonal Computing and Technology:
             An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century

IPCT: An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century is based on the
following premises:

The electronic journal is the wave of the future. By the year 2000, the bulk
of information will be exchanged electronically and the nature of print
media will have changed drastically.

There are, currently, several barriers to the use of electronic journals as
outlets for scholarly research. These include:  copyright problems, the
problem of coordinating with print publication, and especially the
validation of the electronic journal as a legitimate outlet for
dissemination of scholarly studies, suitable for credit toward promotion and
tenure in colleges and universities.

IPCT: An Electronic Journal for the 21st Century will attempt to address
these three concerns.

The first issue of the journal is planned for January, 1993.  Depending on
the quantity and quality of submissions, the decision will be made as to
whether the journal will be issued twice yearly or quarterly.  Each journal
issue will be the equivalent of 64 print pages.

The journal will be coordinated with and issued through the Interpersonal
Computing and Technology Discussion List, a list maintained, moderated and
operated at Georgetown University.  This list will serve as the initial
readership. Subscribers to the list will be considered charter subscribers.
There will be no charge for the service for the first year.  Subscribers
will be urged to comment extensively on content and format of the journal.
After an experimental year, we will commence library collaboration and may
find it necessary to charge for the service.

    CALL FOR ARTICLES AND PAPERS

This is also a formal call for submission of articles for inclusion in the
journal.

Please submit full length articles (10-20 pages with notes
and bibliography) done in APA format on the following topics:

Use of electronic networks in the classroom, electronic publishing, use of
electronic networks and information exchange, library applications of
electronic communication, professional relationships carried on via
electronic communication, use of electronic communication in higher
education, business, industry and government and related topics.  Articles
may have a humanistic or social science cast. Technological articles will be
considered to the extent that they are intelligible to the bulk of the
readers and are not specific to any particular hardware configuration

We regret that, at this time, we will be unable to use articles which employ
pictures and diagrams and we urge that statistical tables be kept to a
mimimum.  Our transmission will be in the simplest ASCII format, to make the
journal available to greatest number of potential subscribers.

We will also consider reviews, approximately eight pages in length, of books
relevant to issues of interest to IPCT-L.

All articles will be given at least two blind reviews and published
articles will be selected by the editors.

In our reviewing process, we will conform to the highest standards of
reviewing used in the best print journals.  Our associate editors
(reviewers) will be selected on criteria of editorial experience and status
in their field of expertise.

SEND ALL ARTICLE AND REVIEW SUBMISSIONS IN ASCII USING
A 65 CHARACTER LINE TO;

 GMP@PSUVM.BITNET or gmp@psuvm.psu.edu (internet).

Since the journal will be distributed by IPCT-L, subscription to IPCT-L
will be necessary for those desiring copies.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO IPCT-L PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW:

Send the following one-line message in the body of an email message to
LISTSERV@GUVM or LISTSERV@GUVM.GEORGETOWN.EDU

  SUBCRIBE IPCT-L YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME


Editor: Gerald M. Phillips, Ph.D. (Professor Emeritus of Speech
    Communication, Pennsylvania State University)

Editorial Board:
Zane L. Berge, Ph.D. (Director, Center for Teaching and Technology.
    Academic Computer Center, Georgetown University
Gerald M. Santoro, Ph.D. (Center for Academic Computing, Pennsylvania
    State University)

Managing Editor:

Mauri Collins, M.A. (Senior Consultant, Michigan Consultants Group)

Associate Editors:

Manuel E. Bermudez, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Computer and Information
    Sciences, University of Florida)
Morton Cotlar, Ph.D. (Professor of Management, University of Hawaii)
James A. Danowski, Ph.D. (Associate Professor and Director of Graduate
    Studies, Department of Communication, University of Illinois
    at Chicago)
Paulo A. Dasilva, Ph.D. (Chairman, Systems and Computation Graduate
    Program, Military Institute of Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Gordon Dixon, M.Sc., F.B.C.S. (Editor-in-Chief, Literary and Linguistic
    Computing, The Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
William F. Eadie, Ph.D. (Professor of Speech Communication, California
    State University, Northridge)
Jill Ellsworth, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, OECD Division, Department
    of Technology, Southwest Texas State University)
Bradley Erlwein, Ph.D. (Research and Development, Zenith Data Systems)
Mark Evangelista, B.S. (Telecommunication System Programmer, Georgetown
    University
Allan G. Farman, Ph.D.(Professor, Radiology and Imaging Science Division,
    University of Louisville)
Mark G. Gillingham, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Education, Washington
    State University, Vancouver)
Peter Goodyear, Ph.D. (Director, Centre for Studies in Advanced
    Learning Technology, Lancaster University, UK)
Dennis S. Gouran, Ph.D. (Professor of Speech Communication, the Pennsyl-
    vania State University
David Alan Grier, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Computer and Information
    Systems and Director of Honors Education, George Washington University).
Thomas S. E. Hilton, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Business Information
    Systems and Education, Utah State University)
Ken Hirsch, Ph.D. (Professor of Communication Studies, California
    State University - Sacramento)
Alice Horning, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Linguistics,
    Oakland University)
Lawrence Johnston, B.A. (Manager, Operations, Office of Telecommuni-
    cations, Computer, and Information Systems, Pennsylvania State
    University.
Vladimir Klonowski, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Professor of Environmental Science and
    Engineering, Cracow Institute of Technology)
Donald H. Kraft, Ph.D. (Professor, Computer Science, Louisiana State
    University)
Gary L. Kreps, Ph.D. (Professor of Communication Studies, Northern
    Illinois University
Cecelia G. Manrique, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Political Science,
    University of Wisconsin -- LaCrosse)
Maurice C. Mitchell, Jr., Ph.D. (Assistant Director, Academic Computing,
    University and Community College System of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Kristine Morrissey, Ph.D. (Curator, Michigan State University Museum)
Ann Okerson, MLS (Director, Office of Scientific and Academic Publishing,
    Association of Research Libraries)
David Raitt, Ph.D. (System Engineer, System Design Section, European
    Space Agency - ESTEC)
David E. Sims, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Veterinary Medicine,
    Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island)
David L. Schroeder. Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of MIS, Valparaiso
    University)
Gary Lee Stonum, Ph.D. (Professor of English, Case-Western Reserve University
Rosalie Wells, Ph.D. (Assistant Faculty and Distance Education
    Specialist, Centre for Distance Education, Athabaska, Alberta University
John W. Wooten, Ph.D. (Educational Technology Coordinator, Oak Ridge
    National Laboratory)
Nancy J. Wyatt, Ph.D. (Associate Professor, Speech Communication, Pennsylvania
    State University - Delware County Campus)

------------------------------

End of PRIVACY Forum Digest 01.19
************************
