Friday, April 25, 2014
Issue 70, Volume 125
Students cash in on digital currency Hanna Lustig News Editor We are now living iin a brave, new cryptocurrencies world of cryptocurre cryptocur encci – a world of Litecoins, Dogecoins and o Bitcoins, Bittcoins, Liteco oin ns, D digital diggital wallets. Three UT u undergraduates are und de standing the tanding at th he helm of this world, to launch worrld w d, preparing preepaar p Cryptilla, what they hope Cry C yptilllaa, w become will be w ecoom the largest, most professional mos m st c r y p t o c u r re n c y exchange on the ex x web. w In January 2013, Ben
SEE INSIDE
Proudly married: UT faculty discuss gay marriage in TN
ARTS & CULTURE >>pg. 5
Which websites were affected by the Heartbleed Bug? Facebook
Affected
Change your password
Affected
Change your password
Not affected
Take a look back at some of the highlights from the 2013-14 UT athletic season SPORTS >>pg. 10
New lineup has Vols looking to scratch LSU in Baton Rouge Dargan Southard Assistant Sports Editor
See HEARTBLEED on Page 2
See BASEBALL on Page 11
Amazon.com
Not affected
Not necessary
Netflix
Affected
Change your password
US Bank
Not affected
Not necessary Source: Mashable.com
Undetected computer virus potential headache for students What happens when someone has access to all of your online accounts – Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, your personal bank – and could access your most private messages and information? On April 1, a serious vulnerability was found in the OpenSSL cryptographic software library. The Heartbleed Bug, a flaw discovered by a member of the Google security team, had the potential to allow hackers access to a vast amount of sensitive data on vulnerable servers without leaving any suspicious footprints in their wake.
See CRYPTOCURRENCY on Page 5
One machine sends out a code, or “heartbeat,” and the receiving machine decrypts the code, reads it and sends back the matching response. The Heartbleed Bug leaves a back door open for hackers to enter and steal data undetected. “The Heartbleed vulnerability allows a hacker to connect to a webserver and harvest sensitive information, which may include your login and password,” Bob Hillhouse, chief information security officer for the Office of Information Technology said. “If that happens, the hacker could use that information to log into any of your accounts using the same username and password.”
Change your password
OpenSSL has been the standard for secure communication since its creation in 1998, ensuring privacy for exchanges over email, instant messages and the rest of the Internet. “OpenSSL is popular because it is an open source software and people don’t have to pay for it,” Jinyuan Stella Sun, assistant professor in computer science and electrical engineering and expert on the Heartbleed Bug said. “A lot of big websites like Amazon and Tumblr, they all used it.” Communication between machines using OpenSSL is kept alive by a “Heartbeat Extension,” a cryptological call and response that removes the need to constantly reconnect individual machines.
nal concept. Known as “altcoins,” there are more than 100 active cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, Dogecoin, and FeatherCoin. Dogecoin, created in December 2013, reached a market capitalization of $180,000,000, demonstrating what Brock called “incredible growth.” Users can flip cryptocurrency like stock to turn a profit. Enter: Cryptilla, where entrepreneurs and computer enthusiasts can exchange cyptocurrencies for a nominal 1 percent fee. “Other people own the cryptocurrencies, we just provide the information that allows them to trade,” Brock said.
Only two members of the Tennessee baseball team have experienced it live. But nearly everyone in orange has heard the rumors. “I’ve heard Alex Box Stadium at LSU is a blast,” southpaw Andy Cox said. “It’s gonna be crazy. I know there’s going to be a ton of fans there, hopefully like 12,000 on Friday and Saturday night. It’s a great atmosphere, great playing surface, great team and I’m looking forward to it.” Cox, along with 31 other members of the current UT squad, will turn that hearsay into reality as the Volunteers travel to LSU for the first time since 2011, opening up a three-game set tonight at 8 p.m. For the first time this month, head coach Dave Serrano has extensively shuffled his weekend rotation, bringing in two crucial hurlers that have thrived primarily in the Vols’ bullpen this year. In Friday’s opener against the Tigers, UT will trot out junior Peter Lenstrohm (1-1, 2.13 ERA) in what will be the Paradise Valley, Ariz., native’s first career start in orange. The righty has been one of Serrano’s most consistent relievers as of late, having surrendered just one hit and no runs in his last six outings.
Affected
Hayley Brundige
ARTS & CULTURE>>pg. 9
Unclear
Gmail
Assistant Photo Editor
Dustin Lynch, one of country music’s rising stars, is headed to the Cotton Eyed Joe
currency is determined by the collective consensus of its users – a peer-to-peer network. As these currencies fluctuate in circulation, popularity and exclusivity, users trade them for different amounts. Thus, they rise and fall in value. Seeing a chance to make a profit, Brock and Belt approached their friend Ben Miller, sophomore in psychology and business analytics. “With most money, like the dollar bill or the peso, you have a king...that tries to regulate it,” Miller said. Cheaper, more anonymous and less susceptible to fraud, Bitcoin has threatened to transform the world of consumerism. Soon, other cryptocurrencies also emerged as more user-friendly alternatives, innovating upon Bitcoin’s origi-
Be still, my heart
NEWS >>pg. 3
Finding your way around campus can be tough – especially with a disability
Brock, sophomore in neuroscience and Andrew Belt, junior in math and physics, began discussing the rise of cryptocurrencies: decentralized, virtual currencies lauded for their superiority to traditional money. Created in 2009 with the arrival of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies circumvent both the governments and credit card companies, removing the “middleman” from consumer transactions. “It’s the simplicity of a credit card, but if you buy something with a credit card, it is 2-3 percent more expensive than if you bought it without,” Brock said. “So you have that convenience, yet you don’t have to pay the 2-3 percent fee because it’s so cryptographically secure.” Outside a centralized bank such as the Federal Reserve, the value of a crypto-
Knoxville houses Levi’s-inspired denim shop Liv McConnell Copy Editor Blue jeans. In the 141 years since Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss created them, they have become as synonymous with “America” as apple pie and a well-worn staple of most wardrobes. But to Marcus Hall, creator of Knoxville-based line Marc Nelson Denim, these pants represent much
more than a mere fashion fad – far from it. For Hall, denim has the capacity to be the fabric of a community, the thread stitching people’s lives together. He knows this about denim because he has seen it, right here in Knoxville. And he wants to bring it back. “I grew up near Cherry Street, about two miles from the old Levi’s plant,” Hall said. “We had a huge facility here; it was about a football field-long factory. They did everything, they had every
machine there in that building, and it was amazing to see how the whole production was done.” One of the company’s preeminent stateside factories, the plant maintained some 1,800 workers and relatives would often turn coworkers, as Levi’s employed multiple members and even generations of the same family. A deeply rooted sense of community and pride of workmanship flourished. “When we were in elementary
school, our parents would pick us up outside, and we’d be there in a line,” Hall recalled, coffee paused at his lips. “One of my friends’ dads or someone would come up to me and say, ‘Hey, boy, you know I put the buttons on those blue jeans,’ or, ‘You know we did that wash two days ago,’ or whatever the case would be. See MARC NELSON on Page 6
INSIDE THE DAILY BEACON
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“Reject passivity, seek truth and embrace this hallowed university – and life – for everything it offers.” OPINIONS >>pg. 4
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