EC seeks breach notification law

The EU privacy watchdog has joined calls for a data breach notification law in Europe, says Computing.co.uk.

The watchdog wants European countries to follow 35 US states in introducing a law that would force companies to inform consumers when they have lost their information.

Peter Hustinx, of the European data protection supervisor, said the European Commission's proposal to amend its e-Privacy Directive didn't go far enough in recommending a law.

Security researchers say thousands have fallen victim to an e-mail scam in which senior managers are told they have been sued in federal court and must click on a Web link to download court documents, reports IT World.

Victims of the crime are taken to a phoney Web site where they are told they need to install browser plug-in software to view the documents. That software gives the criminals access to the victim's computer.

This type of targeted e-mail attack, called "spear-phishing", is a variation on the more common "phishing" attack. Both attacks use fake e-mail messages to try to lure victims to malicious Web sites, but with spear-phishing the attackers try to make their messages more believable by including information tailored to the victim.

It's official. Google and Salesforce.com have hooked up, as in Web 2.0 to Web 2.0. Salesforce.com customers now have direct access to Google productivity applications, including hosted word processor, spreadsheet and e-mail applications, says Microsoft Watch.

The Google-Salesforce.com mash-up is problematic for Microsoft on so many levels. The two Web 2.0 companies have put together a pretty compelling business suite that's sure to appeal to smaller shops. Think hosted CRM, Exchange, Office and SharePoint Server.

Microsoft executives will bark about the importance of software and how many more features products such as CRM, Exchange and Office deliver, locally, than Google and Salesforce.com hosted apps. Number of features isn't what matters. It's what features users need, meaning what product delivers enough of them to be "good enough".

Apple and China's largest mobile operator, China Mobile, are still not trying to work out a deal over the iPhone since previous talks broke off in January, says After Dawn.

Despite speculation that the two might come to an agreement to get the device "officially" into the country, the Xinhua News Agency reported that there are no ongoing negotiations.

"Our door will remain open as long as there is customer demand," China Mobile chairman Wang Jianzhou told an audience while speaking at the 2008 Boao Forum for Asia.