Cybercrime

The U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would let music companies and other media entities legally enter file-swapping services to block users from trading copyrighted files. Claiming to be "a big fan of [peer-to-peer] networks and the technology behind them," several state representatives i...

After suffering a series of security flaws that have shaken customer confidence, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has taken to e-mail to reassure customers that Microsoft has heavily invested in its "Trustworthy Computing" initiative and is on track to ensure the security of its products. Writing to...

Spending on Web security is expected to triple in the next four years, according to a new report released by research firm IDC. The report predicted that Web security spending will increase 60.5 percent annually to nearly $700 million by 2006, compared with just $65 million in 2001. "The Web pres...

In the few years since the Internet has become an important venue for commerce, communications and entertainment, cybercops have tried to impose a variety of rules, regulations and guidelines to protect the interests of consumers and businesses. Unfortunately, however, no mechanism yet exists to ...

In a preemptive strike against hackers, Microsoft has posted advisories on TechNet about newly discovered security vulnerabilities in the company's SQL Server software and three of its operating systems. "I think the main problem with Microsoft, and with them trying to protect Windows, is that it...

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has taken aim at the growing amount of spam plaguing New York consumers by filing suit against online marketing company MonsterHut and two of its executives. The suit accuses the company of misrepresenting its e-mail marketing service as an opt-in offering.

Numerous products and services are now available to shield consumers and businesses from the ever-increasing barrage of spam. But experts warn that if users are not careful, they could end up blocking some e-mail that they actually want. "What's spam to you could be useful company information to ...

More than 40 percent of all reported Internet fraud complaints stemmed from online auctions in 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a report covering complaints received during the year. But auction fraud cost an average of just $400, compared with a $5,000 average loss from a scam i...

With new threats constantly cropping up -- ranging from hacking threats to new viruses and identity thievery -- the number of security companies getting into the game also has been rising steadily. "There are so many things to look into, because there are so many areas for vulnerability," Giga In...

Despite numerous legislative, consumer and technological efforts to weed it out, experts say spam e-mail continues to proliferate, sparking increasing user irritation in the process. "There is now 16 times as much spam on the Internet as there was just two years ago," Gartner vice president Joyce...

To most online consumers, receiving unwanted e-mail marketing messages is just part of being online. But analysts say there is a price to pay for too much spam, and e-commerce may have to foot some of the bill. "Privacy continues to be something that consumers say is holding them back," Forrester...

An e-business standards consortium is working to specify rules for using XML (extensible markup language) in biometrics for e-commerce and other applications. Biometrics, which verifies identity based on human characteristics like DNA, fingerprints, iris scans and hand geometry, has entered the p...

More than US$700 million in online sales was lost to fraud in 2001, according to a new report released by GartnerG2. Those losses represented 1.14 percent of annual online sales of $61.8 billion and were 19 times higher than fraud losses resulting from offline sales, the report said. "Fraudsters ...

The vast majority of consumers who shop on the Web want online companies to do more to verify identities on the Internet, even if it means more work for shoppers, according to a report from Jupiter Media Metrix. Current systems, which rely heavily on passwords, do not go far enough in providing a...

Although hack-fighting weapons constantly are being devised and made available, many sites are still too small to invest the time and money needed to install and maintain the latest security measures. But their lack of diligence could cost them more in the long run, according to experts. "For eve...