Critical infrastructure operators ill-prepared

Utility and other critical infrastructure firms are wide open to an online attack, according to industry insiders and other experts interviewed by gateway security firm Secure Computing, reports Computing.co.uk.

Respondents to the study were asked to indicate the state of readiness against IT threats in eight different industries. Over 50% said utilities, oil and gas, transportation, telecommunications, chemical, emergency services and postal/shipping industries were not prepared. The energy sector emerged as the most vulnerable target.

Only the financial services sector was considered to be adequately ready to defend against attack, according to the Securing Critical Infrastructure report.

Asian film-makers have completed filming a movie inspired by the infamous Love Bug worm, says The Register.

The celluloid outing, entitled Subject: I love you, stars US actress Briana Evigan and has finished filming on the streets of Manila, in the Philippines, ahead of an expected release next year.

The title of the film is the same as the subject lines of e-mails infected by the infamous Love Bug mass-mailing worm, which infected millions of computers and caused a huge strain on overloaded mail servers in May 2000.

A report has predicted that Christmas shopping online in the UK will peak on 8 December, but growth in festive spending on the Internet is set to slow, says The BBC.

IMRG and Capgemini estimate £320 million will be spent on the Internet on 8 December, with the peak between 1pm and 2pm.

It forecast that UK shoppers would spend £13.16 billion online in the final quarter of 2008, which equates to £215 each.

Nortel Networks is under further pressure to scale back on spending as it announced a cull of 1 300 staff worldwide less than two months after unveiling its restructuring plans, reports Computing.co.uk.

Drastic measures to save cash at the telecoms equipment maker include a salary freeze, a "consolidation" of management positions and the suspension of dividends on two classes of preferred shares.

"This is a critical time for Nortel," says chief executive Mike Zafirovski. "These aggressive, necessary and swift actions are focused on allowing Nortel to manage through this tough environment, while at the same time position ourselves to move forward."