Court orders IBM to hand over more documents for SCO to study

A court has told IBM to hand over millions of lines of code and reams of information on developers privvy to the AIX and Dynix operating systems so that Unix company SCO can study whether any of its Unix code was copied into the open source Linux platform. SCO had originally asked for details of 7,200 developers involved with IBM's AIX and IBM-owned Sequent's Dynix Unix systems. Judge Brooke Wells ordered IBM to choose some 3,000 as a representative sample. ...more

Gates promises more transparency and security

In an email to Microsoft customers, Bill Gates outlines Microsoft's progress towards Trustworthy Computing and admits 'there is still more to do - at Microsoft and across our industry'. The 'executive email' concentrates heavily on what the company has already achieved: investing more than $200m in improving Windows security; taking whole sections of the workforce off the production line to introduce security training and practices; automating security analysis and updates, and offering clearer explanations of security issues to consumers; and making new products secure by default as oppose as features turned on by default. Championing Microsoft's Palladium initiative, Gates waxed lyrical on the benefits of the 'new hardware/software architecture' that will allow physical areas of the system to be 'curtained off' from others. ...more

Gadget-lust fuels insurance fraud

More than five per cent of the UK population have made a fraudulent insurance claim in order to upgrade their gadgets for free, according to a survey by Directline.com. Richard Coombe, head of Ecommerce at Direct Line, said: 'Even allowing for the fact that many people are likely to prefer to keep this type of information to themselves when asked, this survey has revealed a huge trend towards people of all ages attempting this type of insurance fraud, particularly regarding personal technology type products. ...more

European Commission moves to criminalise cybercrime

The EC has today adopted a proposal to close legal gaps throughout member states and ensure perpetrators of cybercrime can be brought to justice. Specifically, the Commission has adopted a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on 'Attacks against information systems'. It seeks to make sure that EU countries' law enforcement and judiciary bodies are empowered to act against these criminals, in particular, focussing on crimes of illegal access to information systems (hackers) and illegal interference with information systems (via viral or denial of service attacks). ...more

Businesses fear reporting pornography - IWF survey

More than two-thirds of businesses would not tell the authorities if they found child pornography on their systems, for fear of prosecution, according to the Internet Watch Foundation. The IWF survey reveals that while only 27 per cent of those polled would report such materials to the authorities, those that felt unable to may take confidence from a recent agreement 'between the police and the CPS [that] states that IT managers may preserve such material and records on their systems for the explicit purpose of providing access to law enforcement'. This new understanding is based on increased evidence that malware such as Trojans can infect systems and allow remote attackers to place such material within compromised corporate networks. ...more