While Republicans have been more aggressive in calling for an investigation, Democrats have voiced similar concern about preventing future leaks. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., recently suggested the New York Times shouldn't have published its stories on the leaks, a stance that was rejected by both the newspaper and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. NYT managing editor Dean Baquet also responded to characterizations of the articles as access journalism, arguing they dealt with programs that should rightly be part of the national discussion. This week's issue of The Economist reports the U.S. is also suspected of helping create the recently discovered Flame virus, which appears to be even more advanced than the Stuxnet worm. If Flame ends up wreaking similar havoc on third-party systems, their owners will likely know whom to blame.
A Bad Week for LinkedIn: First, the business social network's iPhone app was accused of transmitting users' data back to servers without their consent or knowledge. Soon after, news broke that 6.5 million user passwords were stolen and their cryptographic hashing cracked, allowing the thieves to potentially access millions of user accounts (if you haven't already, change your password). This week's Economist notes LinkedIn and the dating website eHarmony, which lost 1.5 million passwords this week in a similar attack, could have taken some additional steps to safeguard the passwords. The attacks have also renewed calls on the Hill for data breach legislation, which is strongly supported by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif. That legislation is currently bogged down over issues such as how long companies should have to notify consumers their data has been breached. Should Kids Be on Facebook? No, according to Common Sense Media, which launched a petition on Thursday opposing reports Facebook is developing technology to open its site up to children under 13. The Economist writes that any such move would require compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires parental consent before companies collect any information from minors. Parents also must be able to review and delete their children's data if they wish under the law. A separate article in this week's print edition argues it is more harmful to force children to lie about their age to access Facebook (something 5.6 million of them have done, according to Consumers Union), than to allow them controlled access to the social network. The newspaper calls for strong default privacy settings and simpler privacy settings for parents. After all, many kids are on Facebook anyway, and often more likely than their parents to understand its complex controls. House Members Suggest Military Spectrum for LightSquared: PCWorld reports five members of the House Appropriations Committee asked the FCC to review spectrum held by the Pentagon in an effort to salvage LightSquared's proposed wireless broadband network. The members argue the proposed network would help meet the growing demand for mobile Web access and ask whether a spectrum swap would be possible. The FCC recently moved to block LightSquared's network after tests showed it interferes with GPS devices. The letter was signed by Democrats Jim Moran of Virginia, Maurice Hinchey of New York, and Steve Rothman of New Jersey, as well as Republicans Rodney Alexander of Louisiana and Ander Crenshaw of Florida. Republicans have accused the Obama administration of giving LightSquared preferential treatment over political donations; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has promised a full investigation of the matter. Bake Sales For NASA: In a sign of just how bad things have gotten for America's space agency, scientists and graduates students at the University of Central Florida will be holding a car wash and bake sale on Saturday in hopes of spurring Congress to increase its proposed fiscal 2013 funding for NASA's planetary science projects. The Southwest Research Institute is sponsoring the overall demonstrations, which will be joined by other organizations including the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in Mountan View, Calif. The Obama administration's proposed budget would cut funding for planetary science projects by about $300 million, which would affect future projects similar to missions currently under way such as the Cassini orbiter around Saturn and the New Horizons spacecraft that is traveling to Pluto.NASA has seen its fortunes decline in recent years, as the nation's appetite for expensive space research has waned in the face of tightening budgets. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has slashed the agency's funding and redirected its efforts toward boosting the commercial space industry. But April's retirement of the space shuttle Discovery was a reminder of the fascination the space program once held for the nation, as crowds gathered in Washington to watch it pass overhead. It's no wonder fans of America's space program feel like they need a cookie.