Europe takes step closer to criminalising piracy

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee has approved an EU directive that will impose criminal sanctions for copyright infringement piracy. The directive put forward by the European Commission would commit all Member States to criminalise intentional infringements on a commercial scale of any intellectual property right carried out. If approved, it could have implications for a wide range of individuals and organisations, from one person duplicating CDs for a car boot sale to Internet giants such as YouTube and MySpace that host copyright content. ...more

Hewlett-Packard to buy management consultancy

Hewlett-Packard is in talks with accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to buy its consultancy arm for ?14 billion. The PwC has been looking to sell its consultancy business after conflicts with US regulators last year. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been pressing for the top five accountants to sell off their consultancy arms. ...more

Hackers crack Tiscali

A denial of service attack on the ISP Tiscali temporarily brought down its Web site, Internet access and email services yesterday. In a brief statement the company said, 'Tiscali has been subject to an external attack on our network. However, we have taken steps to identify the source and isolate the problem. ...more

Wi-Fi to be secured by force of law

A county in the US state of New York is proposing to enact a groundbreaking law covering security on Wi-Fi hotspots. Andy Spano, county executive of Westchester, has submitted a bill that would require locations such as Internet caf?s with public access points and businesses with wireless networks to ensure that their networks are secure. 'People don't realise how easily their personal information can be stolen,' Spano explained. ...more

Euro iTMS Grand Prize: Tell a Friend to win

How can you win Apple's Euro iTMS Grand Prize - for purchasing the 100 millionth entry from a European iTunes Music Store - without making a purchase? This was the question we asked when noting that the first item in the Terms and Conditions was that no purchase was in fact necessary. 'The music fan who purchases the 100 millionth song in Europe will receive a prize that is just as dramatic and makes the digital music experience complete,' reads the promotional web page, but Apple has kindly pointed out that we could also "Tell a friend". Rather than having to buy a music track for a chance to scoop the big prize promotion - a 17-inch iMac G5, a 30GB iPod and a 10,000-song Gift Card are up for grabs - you need only email a friend a track recommendation. ...more