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Inland Revenue cracks down on computer misuse

SimonV · Jul 5, 2003 0
Inland Revenue cracks down on computer misuse

The Inland Revenue has disciplined 205 people for computer misuse, and in 1994 and 1996 dismissed offenders who were later sentenced to a year behind bars.

The figures are revealed in a House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on "Inland Revenue: Tax Credits and Tax Debt Management''.

The all-party group said that the department would spend £31m on a new management information system by 2007 to improve performance.

In its report, the PAC said, "The department has disciplined 205 people in 2002 for all types of computer misuse, not just unauthorised browsing of tax record.

"The chairman of the board recently issued a strongly worded note to all departmental staff making it clear that computer misuse was a serious offence, ultimately punishable by dismissal.

"There had been two instances, dating back to 1994 and 1996, where departmental staff had sold information. In each case the offender...

Beware weekend hacker 'competition', ISS warns

SimonV · Jul 4, 2003 3
Thursday 3 July 2003

Beware weekend hacker 'competition', ISS warns

An international hacking contest scheduled to begin this weekend could cause headaches for organisations worldwide and disrupt the internet, Internet Security Systems has warned.

The contest, known as the Defacers Challenge, awards points to malicious hackers who successfully compromise an organisation's web server and deface its web pages.

ISS first became aware of the contest last week by monitoring websites and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels frequented by malicious hackers who specialise in defacements, according to Peter Allor, manager of X-Force Threat Intelligence Services at ISS.

Rather than focusing on the volume of defacements, the Defacers Challenge is set up to reward the skill of malicious hackers who can compromise systems running obscure operating systems such as Apple Computer's Macintosh and Unix variants such as IBM's AIX and Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX.

Contest organisers even...

Your Shout: On the state of the IT jobs market

SimonV · Jul 4, 2003 0
Your Shout: On the state of the IT jobs market

  • Is the IT job market in decline?
  • Are there less jobs than ever?
  • What do you need to get a Job?
Its Your Shout

More training needed to meet security threats

SimonV · Jul 4, 2003 0
More training needed to meet security threats

IT specialists need more training in how to build systems that prevent security breaches and comply with the law, and end-users need to learn how to preserve evidence to aid police with investigations into e-crime, the BCS has said.

The BCS believes more could be done to prevent e-criminals escaping punishment - including the tightening up of inconsistencies in the law and in procedures between countries.

BCS position papers and responses on public issues www.bcs.org/news

NEC to launch water-cooled notebooks

SimonV · Jul 1, 2003 0
NEC has developed a water-cooling system to counter heat problems generated by notebooks' increasing power

Japanese electronics firm NEC has announced a water-cooling system for notebooks, desktops and servers that promises less noise and greater cooling power compared to standard air-cooling.

The company said it is hoping to make its water-cooling module a de facto standard within the computer industry when it is licensed to manufacturers in two years' time.

full story here....

Microsoft may be scoring own goal with IE plans

SimonV · Jul 1, 2003 0
Customers and analysts say Microsoft is forcing its most important partners to use competing browsers by its move to integrate IE with Windows
Microsoft may have unwittingly started a revolt against its Internet Explorer (IE) browser by discontinuing it as a standalone product and blurring the future of the current version, IE 6.

Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted it would not release any new versions of IE as a standalone browser. Instead, the software giant said that the next version of IE will be an integrated part of the Windows operating system.

The move has led to unrest among companies that rely on their customers to access services over the Internet and led some analysts to conclude that IE's virtual monopoly and status as the de-facto browser standard is about to come to an end.

Full story here......

New Itanium a breakthrough for Intel?

SimonV · Jul 1, 2003 0
The third member of the Itanium chip family, announced Monday, is the company's best shot to date at taking on Sun and IBM in the market for high-end server processors.

With "Madison," Intel is hoping the third time's a charm.

Madison, the third member of the Itanium chip family, is Intel's best shot to date at taking on Sun Microsystems and IBM in the market for high-end server chips. If the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker succeeds with its ambitious plans, the higher end of the $43 billion server market will be remade around Itanium the way the lower end now centers on Intel's Xeon chips.

The chip debuted Monday under the Itanium 2 name, along with new versions of the Xeon processor for midrange servers. Madison offers roughly 50 percent better performance over its most recent predecessor, according to Intel, and is already rated highly against the best chips audited benchmark tests.

But just as importantly, Intel and its allies have finally begun...

Court: Anonymous P2P no defense

SimonV · Jul 1, 2003 0
Peer-to-peer networks cannot escape copyright infringement claims by giving members the ability to mask the content that changes hands on their networks, a federal appeals court rules.

Operators of peer-to-peer networks cannot escape copyright infringement claims by giving their members the ability to mask the content that changes hands on their networks, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

Calling the tactic a form of "willful blindness," the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a lower court's injunction against the Madster file-swapping network that had ordered the service shut down pending a trial. But, in a mixed decision, the court also bolstered a key defense argument invoking a comparison between file-swapping software and personal home video recording.

Before it was shut down, Madster had offered its users the ability to encrypt files traded over America Online's AOL Instant Messenger client. As a result, its operators had argued that they...

Time running out for Windows NT

SimonV · Jun 27, 2003 1
Time running out for Windows NT

Microsoft's extended support for the 7-year-old workstation version of the operating system ceases at the end of the month.

The clock is ticking for those Microsoft customers still using the software maker's Windows NT 4.0 workstation operating system.
Microsoft's telephone support for the 7-year-old operating system ceases at the end of June. Customers' only option will be to go online to work out problems themselves. Until now, the Redmond, Wash., software maker has kept up its paid telephone, or "extended," support and has developed any needed security patches for the operating system.

Those with the server version of NT 4.0 have a bit more time. As earlier reported, extended support for that operating system doesn't expire until the end of 2004. Extended support consists of paid support and continued security patches known as "hot fixes."

Microsoft had planned to end support for NT 4 Server some time this year, but...

Microsoft urged to fry its own spam

SimonV · Jun 26, 2003 0
Microsoft recently launched a high-profile campaign against spammers, but some critics say the company should be more introspective if it is serious about reducing the scourge of unwanted e-mail. ....Full Story
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