Millions risk exclusion from digital economy

Millions of Britons are missing out on the benefits of the digital economy, such as Internet shopping, online entertainment and easy access to government services, because they either cannot afford or cannot use technology, reports Computing.co.uk.

Research from the Inclusive Digital Economy Network warns groups such as the elderly and disabled risk being excluded from the digital economy.

The factors influencing people's ability to participate in the digital economy were identified as accessibility, affordability, usability and the barrier new technologies present to those unfamiliar with it.

eBay scammers have been exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities in the Firefox and Internet Explorer (IE) browsers to deliver counterfeit pages that try to dupe people surfing the online auction house to bid on fraudulent listings, says The Register.

The attacks managed to inject eBay pages with hostile code by exploiting bugs long known to afflict Firefox and IE. While eBay has managed to block the exploit from working on its domains, other Web sites that accept user-generated content may still be vulnerable to the attacks, Web security experts warn.

Firefox security volunteers say they are in the process of patching the vulnerability. For their part, Microsoft officials say the exploits aren't the result of a vulnerability in IE, but rather of Web sites that fail to properly protect against such attacks.

Several firms accused of subscribing to a secret database of building workers' details have denied any wrongdoing, reports the BBC.

The Information Commissioner says a firm called the Consulting Association flagged up workers who had raised safety concerns or who had union links.

Balfour Beatty and Amec said they did not condone "blacklisting". Emcor and Laing O'Rourke denied discriminating against workers on any grounds.

As European lawmakers debate how to keep access to the Internet free and equal, they are inundated by lobbyists, says CNet.

But the corporate envoys roaming the halls of Brussels trying to make their case, more often than not, do not represent the continent's myriad telecommunications and Internet companies, but rather those from the US. Europe has become the world's technology regulator.

So the AT&Ts and Verizons are pitted against the Googles and Yahoos to shape European law in the hopes that American regulators will follow suit.