NetFlash: Identity theft, the sequel

ID theft, the sequel

Harrison Ford is ticked off again. But not because the bad guys have hijacked Air Force One or kidnapped his wife from a Paris hotel room; this time they’ve swiped his identity to break into the bank where he works and steal millions of dollars. “Firewall” is the latest film to focus on an issue that over the past year has come front and center in the public’s consciousness – identity theft. Read more about the movie’s extreme plot line.

Net neutrality debate heating up

If they haven’t already, enterprise network executives should sit up and take notice of the debate swirling around network-neutrality rules, industry experts say. Read why.

Microsoft warns of file-trashing worm

Microsoft has published a security advisory warning Windows users of a file-trashing worm that has been circulating via e-mail for several weeks. The worm, which is programmed to destroy a wide variety of files on the third day of every month, has been circulating since mid-January, and is estimated to have infected between 250,000 and 300,000 systems worldwide. Click here for all the details.

Bush proposes tech funding, defends wiretapping

In his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed a multibillion-dollar initiative to encourage research and development in the U.S. and strengthen education in maths and the sciences. He also defended the government’s controversial wiretapping efforts. Earlier that very day the EFF filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T for collaborating with a U.S. National Security Agency program to intercept Internet and telephone communications of U.S. citizens without authorization from a court of law. More on Bush’s State of the Union address.

Nortel, Huawei plan joint broadband venture

Canada’s Nortel and China’s Huawei Technologies Wednesday announced they have agreed to establish a joint venture company that will target service providers with broadband access equipment. Click here to read more.

IM is the new threat vector in messaging, says Postini report

Worm attacks over instant-messaging networks increased tenfold in 2005, while e-mail spam remained constant at about 75% to 80% of all messages sent, according to an annual report issued by messaging security service provider Postini on Monday. Read more about Postini’s report.

Car trouble results in breaches

The latest source of data-security breaches, your car. Even as the FTC was fining ChoicePoint, two more companies reported large data-security breaches last week – both involving the apparent theft of IT equipment from employees’ cars. Click here for more.

Network World celebrates 20 years

Who do you think had a bigger impact over the past 20 years, Internet pioneer Vint Cerf or the creator of Ethernet, Bob Metcalfe? What piece of technology can you not live without, even though 20 years ago you in fact lived without it? Help Network World celebrate its 20th anniversary by participating in a quick, 10-question survey about forces that have shaped the industry. Watch for the results in the March 27 issue.

Get all of today’s news, updated all day long on the NetFlash news page at NetworkWorld.com.