Italy to Loosen Wi-Fi Limitations

An Italian minister has announced the country will lift restrictions on public Wi-Fi access to the Internet starting next year, according to AFP.

Speaking at a press conference Nov. 5, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the measure “allows us to lift restrictions . . . that have now been superseded by…

Most Likely to Fall for Phishing Scams? Young Women

Young women are most likely to fall victim to online scams, according to new research published by Internet security expert knowthenet.org.uk.

A survey of more than 2,000 Internet users measured individuals’ ability to detect and respond to seven types of online-scam scenario, ranging from spotting bogus social-networking sites to testing how consumers respond to competition…

GovCon Heavy Hitters to Support European Smart Grid Cybersecurity Forum

A host of prominent government contractors have signed on to support the inaugural European Smart Grid Cyber Security Forum, taking place on the 14-15 March 2011 in London.

As governments and utilities around the world continue to work on the deployment of the Smart Grid initiative, cybersecurity issues surrounding the business model are…

Deloitte, CSC Execs to Attend Cyber Panel

Prominent leaders and experts from government and industry will get together this week to attend a federal cybersecurity panel to discuss current trends and the need for continuous monitoring.

Additionally, participants of the Splunk Federal Executive Panel will address the challenges with continuous monitoring and cybersecurity. The event will close with a sneak…

Students’ Explanation for Sexting Teacher? It Was ‘Just for Fun’

A school teacher in India who received pornographic text messages in the middle of the night was surprised to learn the senders were his own students, The Times of India reports.

It was around midnight last Friday the teacher of a school in Calcutta received a sexually explicit clip, sent via MMS. He tried to identify the sender, but did not recognize the number. He then kept receiving…

Palin Email Hacker to Serve 366 Days in Jail

A man convicted of hacking former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s email account has been sentenced to 366 days in prison.

David C. Kernell was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for intentionally accessing without authorization Palin’s email account, as well as obstructing justice. The U.S. district judge also imposed a three-year term of supervised released.

Earlier this year, Kernell was found guilty of…

Zombie Virus Infects Multitude of Cellphones in China

A virus posing as an anti-virus application has infected more than a million cellphones in China, according to Shanghai Daily.

The virus, known as Zombie, allows the hackers to take control of the device and then to send infected links to other cellphones using the user’s address book.

News outlets in China have reported that at least 10 other applications similar to the one containing the Zombie virus have been…

Australia Opens Doors to Cyber Office

The Australian office of the Computer Emergency Response Team opened its doors in Brisbane this month to serve as the source of cybersecurity information for the Australian community and as the point of contact for international cybersecurity counterparts, according to Computerworld Australia.

Attorney General Robert McClelland…

Melissa Hathaway to Keynote Symposium on Securing Global Supply Chain

President of Hathaway Global Strategies Melissa Hathaway will be the keynote speaker at a symposium on Securing the Global Supply Chain to be held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19.

Hathaway, who led President Barack Obama’s 60-day Cybersecurity Policy Review, will speak about potential private-public partnerships to secure the…

Palin Email Hacker Wants Probabtion

A man convicted of hacking former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s email account has asked a federal judge to sentence him to probation, while federal prosecutors are pushing for him to get at least 18 months in prison, CNN reports.

David Kernell’s fate will be decided today at a sentencing hearing in a federal courtroom…