THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
K
ansan
Warm tomorrow with partly sunny skies.
Wednesday
June 24, 1998
Section:
A
Vol. 108 : No. 154
Check out the best soap opera on television: WCW Wrestling.
Sports today
Online today
Vol.108·No.154
http://www.wcwwrestling.com
Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz will make the official jump to the NBA today when they are taken in the draft.
SEE PAGE 2B
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KUID cards might not be that smart
(USPS 650-640)
Hackers may break codes that protect students' information
By Michael Martin
Kansan staff writer
Electronic smart cards, such as the new KUID, can be outsmarted by hackers using relatively unsophisticated computer software, a San Francisco consulting firm said Monday.
Cryptographic Research, a four-person firm headed by scientist Paul Kocher, has discovered a way to electronically tamper with the microchip on smart cards to determine user personal identification numbers and to manipulate digital cash.
In a statement on the company's web site, the firm said that existing smart
card systems were indefensible against the breed of electronic attacks and could not be fixed.
Hackers would need a working knowledge of computer engineering and cryptography, but not sophisticated computer equipment. Kocher said ordinary PCs with cryptographic software could collect and analyze data from smart cards and could tamper with encrypted information.
"We expect people will be replicating this," Kocher said. "I know that other labs are building technologies to implement these attacks."
The University of Kansas recently converted from traditional magnetic-strip student ID cards to smart cards, in which a microchip enables students to check out library materials, use vending machines, ride the bus and store cash in a Commerce Bank account.
The University's smart card technology was developed and manufactured by CyberMark LLC, of Tallahassee, Fla.
Officials from Commerce Bank and the University dismissed Kocher's findings as unproven.
"I would find it hard to believe they can make a blanket statement about chip cards, when every system is different," said Carl Bradbury, debit business line manager in Commerce Bank's bankcard department.
Nancy Miles, informational technology consultant and KU smart card coordinator, said she had read an article in The New York Times on Kocher's findings and that the University was not terribly concerned.
"They've said a lot of things can be done theoretically, but proving them is very different," Miles said. "We rely on the experts in this case. CyberMark has assured us that the chip is secure."
Chris Corum, director of systems marketing for CyberMark LLC, said his company is taking the findings seriously.
"No technology is impenetrable." he
said. "The case is theoretical, but that doesn't mean it's not significant."
Corum said that since every smart card has a different set of access keys, hackers would only be able to break one set of
However, Corum said that KU students should not be unduly concerned because hackers would only be able to tamper with smart cards that they had in their possession.
keys at a time, affecting a single card, not an entire system.
Since the University's smart card system is "accountable," meaning that transactions are tracked, fraudulent use of a card would result in its disablement, Corum said.
Corum said that CyberMark LLC was unaware of the tampering when smart card technology was developed and that he was unsure if the University's smart cards had anti-tampering capabilities sufficient to resist the attacks.
CyberMark LLC is waiting to see if Cryptographic Research can perform an actual attack and hack into smart cards, before it recommends upgrades.
"It's more of a lesson for people in the smart card industry that we need to be aware and guard against these attacks," he said.
Further information can be found at Cryptography Research's website at www.cryptography.com.
Sailing away
Megan Mills, a vacationer from New Jersey, practices her wristsurfing at Clinton Lake. Wristsurfing is increasing in popularity. Photo by Lizz Weber/KANSAN
Winter clothes needed in campus buildings
By Graham K. Johnson Kansan staff writer
The weather outside is hot, but the temperatures inside are not.
The temperatures inside some University of Kansas buildings are too cold, even for summer, said many students, faculty and visitors.
Since the air conditioning went into high gear at the start of the summer, most buildings have become cooler, but some have become cold, particularly Wescoe Hall.
Students in Wescoe have noticed. Amanda Martin, Lenexa sophomore, who was attending an orientation for transfer students in Wescoe, said she wore jeans and a jacket because it was cold yesterday morning. She was glad once inside Wescoe.
"I am usually very warm, but I was just freezing all day," Martin said.
Sandi Zimdars-Swartz, professor of religious studies, has advised during orientation in Wescoe for years. She said the temperature was just a fact of life.
Faculty who have worked for a long time in Wescoe said the problem was not new.
"Wescoe is always cold," Zimdars-Swartz said. "I am used to the
fact that these rooms are cold."
Wescoe isn't the only building causing an outbreak of sweaters and jackets.
Natalie Willis, mother of Pete Willis, Tulsa, Okla., junior, sat in the Kansas Union during an orientation session yesterday wearing a nylon winter jacket. Willis said that she thought it could have been a little warmer.
"It seems like they could save on electricity by turning the air-conditioning down," Willis said. "Maybe that could save on our tuition more."
Mike Richardson, director of facilities operations, which oversees temperature regulation in all campus buildings, said that their policy was to try to keep the temperature of most buildings between 74 degrees and 78 degrees. But it is difficult to regulate this exactly for many reasons, Richardson said.
"There's always the need for adjustments, but we have literally thousands of thermostats across campus," he said.
Richardson said that things have been more difficult this year because he has less staff this summer. Richardson also said that air-conditioning units caused more problems and were harder to regulate than heating units because
they were more complicated.
Richardson admitted some buildings, particularly Wescoe, were harder to regulate.
"To be honest, we have enough calls in Wescoe Hall, that we have a maintenance person permanently assigned to Wescoe Hall," Richardson said.
That maintenance person is part of a building monitoring program, which the department is establishing to deal with such problems, Richardson said. The program places a crew with a shop in buildings that have high maintenance problems. Richardson said that the program has been successful and expects that the problem will be controlled eventually.
Until then many students will bring jackets to class in concern for their health as well as comfort. Some believe extreme changes in temperature lead to increased health risks.
However, William Brandenberger, physician at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said that there was more risk from the extreme heat and humidity, than from changes in temperature.
"I think that it's more of a misconception than it is in anything based in scientific fact," Brandenberger said.
KU on Wheels turns private
State obligation hurts campus bus routes
By Liz Wristen
Kansan staff writer
The privatization of KU on Wheels is planned to improve the bus system and to prevent bus pass prices from rising.
The plan is good news for Tiana Chrisman, Kansas City, Kan., senior, who said she would not purchase a bus pass if prices increased.
"I have bought a bus pass for the past four years," Chrisman said. "I won't continue to purchase one if the prices are raised."
The idea to privatize KU on Wheels was proposed because the program was losing money to the state.
KU on Wheels' funds are held in a state account at Carruth-O'Leary Hall. The interest the account earns each year goes to the state.
Some say that money could be used to improve the bus system.
The members of the privatization council are the directors of KU on Wheels, the General Council for the University of Kansas legal services, members of Student Senate and the University general administration.
"The money has a real impact on the services that we can provide," said Scott Kaiser, student body vice president. "Hopefully everyone involved in making this happen will want to play ball."
the Saferide program, and could keep bus fares from rising in the future.
The second component is an agreement between Student Senate
The privatization paperwork is divided into two main components.
The Articles of Incorporation consist of a preamble describing the purpose of the organization, which is to provide transportation and other related services to students at the University.
Kaiser said that he expected the privatization paperwork to be completed within a few months, and the actual privatization to be approved within six to nine months.
and KU on Wheels, in which KU on Wheels would be filed with the Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit organization. If the plan is approved, the University would have the legal authority to remove transportation funds from the state account.
"We don't want to be a public tax system," Kaiser said. "We would rather use student money for improving school programs."
The school bus system, which began in 1968, started without a required student transportation fee. In 1970, the program went bankrupt and the student fee of $16 per person was established. Today the system is stable with 18 bus routes and often has multiple buses on individual routes.
Bus pass sales in the past year have allowed the bus system to operate with a $1.2 million budget.
This money is used to pay the Lawrence Bus system, which the University contracts for the use of the buses. It also is used for bus system improvements and to fund the Saferide program.
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