The misuse of computer knowledge at work?

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2,400 FIRMS, GOVT AGENCIES HIT BY HACKERS

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SAN FRANCISCO - Coordinated cyber attacks launched from Europe and China breached computers at firms and government agencies worldwide in the past 18 months, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The Journal quoted computer security firm NetWitness as saying the attacks made mountains of data vulnerable to mining by hackers, although the damage had yet to be fully assessed.

Information bared to hackers ranged from credit card transactions to intellectual property of slightly more than 2,400 victims, including 10 US government agencies, according to the Journal.

The hacking operation began in late 2008 in Germany and has yet to be stopped, NetWitness said.

Workers at companies were tricked into visiting websites or opening email attachments that promised to clean viruses from computers but instead infected machines.

Malicious code used in the attacks allowed hackers to seize control of computers remotely. Evidence cited by NetWitness indicated the culprits may be Eastern European gangsters.

The report came in the wake of Google revealing it was targeted by a sophisticated cyber attack aimed at the US firm's source code and Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists around the world. Computer industry specialists subsequently said more than 30 companies were hit by those attackers.

The apparent online espionage prompted Google to vow it would stop bowing to Chinese censors and shut down its China search service if it cannot operate unfettered. Google continues to filter searches in accordance with Chinese law while trying to negotiate a compromise with officials there. AFP

From TODAY, Friday, 19-Feb-2010

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PC software piracy rate here dips

How about at your place, country? Is software piracy difficult to put a tab on?

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by Esther Ng

05:55 AM May 13, 2009

FOR every $100 of personal computer software sold worldwide last year, $69 was pirated.

But in Singapore, the problem is much less severe. Following widespread public education, legislation and enforcement, the PC software piracy rate here has dipped to a new low. According to the latest BSA-IDC Global Software Piracy Study, the software piracy rate here dropped to 36 per cent last year from 37 per cent in 2007. It is also a marked improvement from 43 per cent in 2003.

Despite the decline in the software piracy rate here, absolute dollar losses rose to US$163 million ($238 million) last year from US$159 million in 2007, the study showed. IDC's Asia-Pacific consulting operations vice-president Victor Lim said absolute dollar "losses will increase if the rate of piracy decline is slower than the rate of software growth".

Amid the ongoing recession, Mr Lim expects companies and consumers to delay new PC purchases, a tendency that will cause the piracy rate to rise as "older computers are more likely to have unlicensed software".

Singapore's software market, including legal and pirated products, grew to US$460 million last year from US$430 million in 2007, according to the study. ESTHER NG

From TODAY – Wednesday, 13-May-2009