CYBERCRIME

The Italian government’s website had been hacked over the weekend by a group of software experts called “Anonymous,” apparently as a protest against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Since the Egyptian government shut down the Internet for days in the wake of protests, some have asked if the U.S. government could set up an Internet kill switch to cut off access -- either to stop people from communicating or protect the country from cyber attack.

Federals are trying to identify hackers, who have repeatedly entered the network of the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Computer hackers repeatedly entered the network of the company that runs the Nasdaq stock market in the past year, but the trading platform was not compromised, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Iran should investigate claims that the Stuxnet computer virus has caused major harm to its first nuclear power station, a senior official said Friday after suggestions the plant could become a new Chernobyl.

Cyberwarfare of the kind waged against Iran last year offers advanced nations an alternative to ugly military force with its moral costs, a senior Israeli official said on Thursday.

Figures show how deep the malaise is.

The internet has become a venue for battles between the Egyptian government and protesters, through social networking sites such as Facebook and the home pages of groups such as Anonymous.

The group called Anonymous has set up a Facebook page and is asking people to take part in distributed denial of service attacks on Egyptian government web sites.

Security firm Panda Security details the price for various forms of stolen financial information in the black market.

Cybercrime has evolved beyond targeting Windows as it moves into smartphones, tablets and mobile platforms.

Sophos reported that cyber attacks on social networking sites nearly doubled in 2010, a clear sign that the threat continues to grow at an alarming rate. A study by the IT security and control firm reveals dramatic increase in malware, phishing and spam through social networks, most prominently Facebook.

The two hackers arrested in connection with hacking into AT&T's database of iPad 3G email addresses will have a tough time proving they weren't acting maliciously, according ot a least one legal expert.

Latest cyber threat is creating an underground economy and a pool of new hackers.

Advances by China's military in cyber and anti-satellite warfare technology could challenge the ability of U.S. forces to operate in the Pacific, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in prepared remarks on Friday during a visit to Japan.

A $1.5 billion dollar National Security Agency data center under construction in Utah will be an important step in dealing with rising volumes of information in cyberspace, officials said on Thursday.

Some versions of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system are vulnerable to attack from hackers exploiting a flaw in the software that could allow them to remotely take control of a personal computer.

McAfee expects Apple’s iPhone, geolocation services such as Foursquare, and mobile devices to be the target of malware attacks in 2011. The computer security company also predicts attackers targeting shortened URL services and internet TV platforms as well as a rise in politically motivated hacktivisim, as more groups are expected to repeat the WikiLeaks example.

Germany will create a new cyber-warfare defense center next year to fight off espionage attacks, the German interior ministry said.

Amazon.com Inc's websites in Britain, France, Germany and Spain suffered an outage for more than half an hour on Sunday night, but it was not immediately clear whether it was due to a cyber attack.

A 19-year-old Dutchman arrested on Saturday over a cyber attack on the website of the public prosecution office was released on Sunday after admitting involvement in the attack, Dutch authorities said.