CHAPTER 13 Computers in Society: Today
Information Technology Worker Demand Down 44%. According to a survey by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), demand for IT workers is down 44% from last year. The information technology workforce is now at 10.4 million. The demand this year for this category of worker is 900,000, down from 1.6 million in 2000. However, the talent gap is still substantial, as a shortfall of about 425,000 IT workers is projected for this year. Technical support people are in greatest demand. According to the survey, the demand is down for technical writing (down 73%) and for digital media specialists (down 62%). The downsizing of the U.S. economy has had its impact on IT workers, as it has on workers in other fields. Nevertheless, the IT worker, in all areas, is still a highly desirable commodity.
What to Do with Online Gambling? The number of online gambling web sites has doubled since last year to about 1,400. A number of Senators and Congresspersons would like to outlaw online gambling. However, if legislation is passed making online gambling illegal, will the law be enforceable? How do you control millions of people gambling on hundreds of Web site? Nevertheless, it is inevitable that legislation will be introduced and debated during the coming year. One approach to dampening the impact of online gambling is to ban the use of credit cards at the gambling sites.
Computer Crime Update The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) survey indicates that computer security had been breached and financial losses were incurred in 2000 in about 65% of the organizations survey. Of those respondents willing to quantify losses, the FBI calculated an average loss of about $2 million, double that of 1999. Unfortunately the criminal element is becoming more skilled and has found that the manipulation of bits and bytes can produce greater yields than the use of bullets. It should be noted that computer crime does not always come from outside the organizations. About half of the respondents reported a combined loss of $41 million resulting from unauthorized employee access to systems.
A Million Credit Card Numbers Stolen The FBI is actively investigating attacks on more than 40 e-commerce and financial Web sites in 20 states. An estimated one million credit card numbers are said to have been stolen, presumably by organized crime units in Russia and the Ukraine. The hackers used a well-known point of vulnerability in the Windows NT operating system to obtain the credit card numbers. Most companies have installed Microsoft's patch and are no longer vulnerable.
Libraries Not Responsible for Internet Content An important ruling by the California State Appeals Court resolved an important issue for libraries that make Internet-enabled PCs available for public use. The court has ruled that public libraries are not responsible for Internet content. The suit upon which the ruling was based was an attempt by the Public Justice Institute, a conservative "family values" group in Sacramento, to force libraries to filter Internet content. Had the suit been successful, parents in California could demand that courts order local libraries to curtail or reduce Internet access, a decision opposed by the library associations on grounds that it violates patrons' rights to free speech. Those libraries that have used filtering software are concerned that many legitimate Web sites have been filtered out and are not available to their patrons. This ruling implies that libraries can maintain an open access policy and no longer fear lawsuits.