Irish online businesses and websites have been warned to bolster their defences against hacker attacks such as those on some of the world's largest sites last week. In the US, the FBI is investigating attacks on Yahoo!, eBay, E*Trade, CNN, ZDNet and other leading sites, which were crippled during a three-day spree of attacks which began on Monday. However it may be difficult to bring those responsible to justice because the traffic which overloaded the sites was "mock traffic".
The Denial of Service (DOS) attacks demonstrated the vulnerability of the Internet and have prompted some sites to install software designed to weed out future incidents of "cyber-terrorism". "Nobody is safe from cyber-vandals and their malicious cyber-attacks," said Noel Meaney, Country Manager of Computer Associates Ireland, "but e-businesses are especially vulnerable because their survival depends on the ability to be available with zero interruption in service."
MS PROBED AGAIN: Microsoft is facing another antitrust investigation into its latest operating system, Windows 2000, to be launched worldwide on Wednesday. The investigation has arisen from complaints by Microsoft competitors that Windows 2000 is designed to extend dominance in PC operating systems and server software. Dominance in server software is likely to lead to dominance in the rapidly-expanding e-commerce sector. Meanwhile, oral hearings in Microsoft's US antitrust case are due to start next week.
DUBLIN CHOSEN: Andersen Consulting has chosen Dublin as a location for one of its Dot-Com Launch Centres. The centre will provide online businesses with expertise in management, marketing, finance, administration and technology, according to Andersen. The Tanaiste, Mary Harney, said the decision to locate in Dublin was a further endorsement of the Government's policy of establishing Ireland as a significant e-commerce haven. Andersen Consulting is setting up 17 such centres worldwide. The Dublin operation will create 200 jobs.
CD-ROM OF KELLS: The Book of Kells is to be released in CD-Rom format at the end of this month. It is the first digitised version of the manuscript and is a result of a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and X Communications. It will be launched in Canberra on February 24th to coincide with the first visit of the book to the National Gallery of Australia.
ANANOVA FOR SALE: Press Association (PA) is to sell its Internet and new media business Ananova Ltd via structured auction. The company, previously known as PA New Media, recently created the first virtual news reader, Ananova. NET PROFIT: A British politician has become the latest Internet millionaire after investing £1,250 sterling just six weeks ago. British Labour Party member Alan Donnelly invested in friend Karl Watkin's Just2Clicks, a business-to-business Internet group formed last July. When shares in the company begin trading this week, it is believed that Donnelly's stake will be worth £3 million sterling.
WEB WEEKEND: Saturday is the most popular day of the week to surf the Net, according to Web audience analysts WebSideStory's StarMarket.com. The figures, based on Internet usage by 30 million unique daily visitors to more than 100,000 sites worldwide, also reveal that Wednesday is the lowest point of the week for Internet traffic.
BID MUCH: An anonymous bidder has offered almost $2 million to buy the domain name www.bertieahern.com, according to TransNames.com which is selling the web address. A spokesman for TransNames said it was confident of selling bertieahern.com for a large sum and that it was considering the latest bid of $1,835,000.
PASSE PC: Sales of Internet appliances will surpass the sales of PCs by 2002, according to market research firm International Data Corp (IDC). Internet appliances - which are designed for accessing the Internet only - are cheaper, easy-touse and typically have no hard disk drives. IDC says that shipments of Internet gaming consoles, Internet-accessible TVs, Internet-smart handheld devices, Web terminals, email terminals and screenphones will soon surpass the shipments of PCs.
FREE MAIL: A new facility allows users of conventional GSM mobile phones to send emails from their handsets in the much the same way as sending a text message. The service, called Go2mobile, is provided free by Skycom. Instructions on how to use the service are available at www.go2mobile.com.
QUICK CHIP: An experimental computer chip being developed by IBM runs up to five times faster than the fastest currently used chips, according to the company. IBM says that the new chips also have the potential to cut power consumption by half.
NETWORK KNOWHOW: 3-Com has published a simple guide to networking, intended for those new to the subject. The booklet offers clear explanations of network configurations and components and copies are available from sandra_kerins@3com.com
IN BRIEF...Ocean has introduced a new business-to-business service called ePs. . . The number of Argentines linked to the Internet has risen 43 per cent in the past six months to 770,000 people. . . Canadian insurer, Toronto Dominion Life Insurance Company, has signed a contract with Dublin-based e-business company FMS for its browser-based automated underwriting product. . . Dell and Diskovery Educational Soft- ware have announced an educational programme for Irish primary and secondary schools. . . Buytel has appointed Purchasing Solutions to sell its TeleDirect virtual purchasing card in Ireland. . . The board and shareholders of office equipment company Bryan S. Ryan have taken a 30 per cent equity stake in Octagon Technologies. . . Technology Sales Leads Ltd is to open an office in the US. . . Openet Telecom Ltd has won a strategically important contract with Swiss ISP Nextra. . .