Microsoft offers reward to catch worm maker
San Francisco (AFP) Feb 12, 2009
Microsoft on Thursday announced it has formed a technology industry posse and put a bounty of 250,000 dollars on the heads of those responsible for a vexing computer worm. The nasty computer code known as "Conficker" or "Downadup" has been spreading quickly, wriggling into millions of computers worldwide and threatening to commandeer or crash systems. Microsoft is working with computer ... more

Preparing For The Cyber Wars Part One
Washington (UPI) Feb 10, 2009
Cybersecurity, cyber competitiveness and cyber warfare have weighed heavily on the minds of policymakers as the severity and complexity of malicious cyberattacks have intensified over the past decade. These attacks, directed against both the public and private sectors, are the product of a heterogeneous network of state and non-state actors whose actions are motivated by a host of factors. ... more

Obama orders US cybersecurity review
Washington (AFP) Feb 9, 2009
President Barack Obama Monday announced a sweeping review of US cybersecurity to protect the government's information technology systems from security and economic threats. The 60-day review is to be overseen by Melissa Hathaway, a former official in George W. Bush's presidency who coordinated cyber monitoring for the director of national intelligence, according to a White House statement. ... more

Data theft from firms topped a trillion dollars in 2008: study
San Francisco (AFP) Jan 30, 2009
Workers turned "cyber moles" and crime syndicates armed with malicious software are looting digital data from businesses as losses reportedly topped a trillion dollars in 2008. California computer security firm McAfee presented the findings Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with a warning that the world's dismal financial straits are exacerbating data theft woes. ... more