Cara Garretson

Expecting an antiterrorism bill to be signed into law by Friday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft has immediate plans to use the new legislation

Now that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have led to a heightened focus on improving the country's emergency response systems, the need for enhanced 911 telephone systems that can pinpoint the location of wireless callers has been bumped up lawmakers' priority lists in Washington, D.C.

A pair of former U.S. government executives told a gathering in Washington, D.C., Wednesday that data sharing among agencies responsible for any aspect of antiterrorism must become a top priority following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The need for enhanced 911 telephone systems that can pinpoint the location of wireless callers has been bumped up lawmakers' priority lists in Washington, D.C. nBut most of the wireless industry missed an Oct. 1 deadline to begin rolling out such services.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee Friday heard how technology could be employed to help prevent future terrorist attacks. While cutting-edge devices such as facial recognition monitors and retinal scanners were discussed, pointed questions from committee members revealed that what's needed most is one of the fundamental advantages that IT offers

The terrorist acts of Sept. 11 have awoken U.S> Congress to the fact that the country is vulnerable to cyberattacks, particularly because government, commerce, economy and communications have become so dependent on information technology and the Internet. With that has come the realization that protecting the nation's IT infrastructure involves so many government agencies

Confident that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Microsoft Corp. can come to a fair agreement, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly Friday ordered the two sides in the antitrust case to enter into "intense settlement discussions" between now and Nov. 2.

The ability for the Internet to spur unfettered communication makes it a great medium for spreading the message of freedom to those living under repression, Senator George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, told U.S. Department of State employees at the agency's NetDiplomacy 2001 conference held here Wednesday.