NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 5 October
05-10-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Hotmail password details leaked | Trojans march on Irish PCs
IT security stories dominate Daily Digest today, leading off with problems for one of the biggest names in the tech sector. Technology blog Neowin.net has claimed that over 10,000 passwords for Microsoft Hotmail accounts have been hacked and posted online. The incident occurred on 1 October when the information was posted on the website pastebin.com. The information was taken down shortly after it was initially posted. Microsoft has confirmed it is aware of the claims and is investigating the situation.
Ireland meanwhile suffered a plague of Trojan viruses last month according to research by ThreatSense.net. The USB infection Autorun virus and a range of spyware and adware related Trojans were commonplace in Ireland in September. The WMA/TrojanDownloader.GetCodec was also a prevalent threat in Ireland during this period. Interestingly the Win32/Conficker threat, which accounted for 8.8 percent of attacks globally, was only the 17th most widespread threat in Ireland last month.
Finally on the threat-theme, research by LetsHost has found that 21.9 percent of all spam e-mail received in Ireland in September originated in the United Kingdom. The UK edged out Germany, on 21.1 percent, as the top country sending spam towards these shores, followed by Canada. LetsHost said the high proportion of phishing spam, which often requires a knowledge of local financial systems to be effective, was partially responsible for the UK topping the charts.
Samsung has launched two new models in its N notebook series, the N130 and N140. The devices are aimed at users looking for lightweight machines, with the N130 weighing in at just 1.26kg. Prices start from EUR359 including VAT for the N130 and EUR429 for the N140.
Sustainable Energy Ireland is to provide EUR4.3 million in funding to 10 Irish companies developing ocean energy technologies. The move is aimed at stimulating the development and deployment of devices that can generate renewable electricity. The money will be used to enable the firms involved to take their proposals and prototypes to the next stage of development. OpenHydro, a tidal energy renewable firm, looks set to be one of the main beneficiaries. The firm, which has offices in Dublin and Louth, said in a statement that it could receive up to EUR2 million in funding through the deal. Other businesses to benefit include Galway-based Wavebob and Technology and Idea Ltd, which is based in Waterford.
South Dublin County Council has rolled out SMS technology from Irish software firm Saadian, which will enable it to provide estimated journey times to the public. The application works with the Traffic Management Centre for South Dublin and people can use it by texting the road name and direction to 51678. The technology gives South Dublin journey times for N4, N7, N81, Belgard Road, Fonthill Road and the outer ring road. The system works by measuring traffic volumes between two points and capturing all relevant data so an accurate journey time can be provided. The council is hoping to expand the service in the future to take into account road works, traffic accidents and road conditions such as ice and closures.
Software firm pTools will release the latest version of its content management software at the Microsoft worldwide SharePoint conference in Las Vegas later this month. The launch of the software, specifically designed for SharePoint, will coincide with the Irish firm announcing some significant customer wins and partnership deals.
BT Ireland has given its backing to the European Commission's decision to support ComReg in its efforts to make Eircom charge less for access to its networks. In a statement, a spokeswoman for BT said: "Given the barriers that exist in Ireland for an open and competitive broadband market, it is reassuring that two very respected European Commissioners are adding their support to ComReg in its efforts to open competition in the Irish market." The comments were made after EU Telecoms commissioner Vivian Reding echoed the views of Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes in backing ComReg's proposal to direct Eircom to lower its LLU prices, as noted by ENN on Friday.
Lastly, Eircom has launched a new personal services portal for its customers called My Eircom. The portal, which the former incumbent is rolling out with telecoms software firm FeedHenry, is designed to make it easy for users to discover and personalise Eircom's services, as well as a range of Web 2.0 applications, and share them across social networking sites like Facebook. "The successful beta of "My Eircom" gave our customers a more personalised environment where they could discover services they never knew existed. It allowed them to personalise them, make use of them and take these services with them wherever they went," said Mark Taylor, Head of Digital Content and Services, Eircom.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 