The emergence of virtual threats

Server virtualisation continues to attract significant investment from organisations keen to save cost, power and space in the data centre through server consolidation. But few IT managers are aware of the potential security threat that increased use of virtual machines (VMs) pose to their infrastructure, says Computing.co.uk.

No security attacks against VMs have so far been reported, but security experts believe it is only a matter of time before hackers start to look at ways to exploit vulnerabilities within virtual infrastructures.

David Lynch is vice-president of marketing at virtual machine lifecycle management company, Embotics. He acknowledges that he has not yet seen any programs deliberately attacking hypervisors - the software that grants multiple VMs access to the hardware resources of a single physical system - but says it is only a matter of time.

Interpol chiefs will propose the use of automated facial-recognition technology at borders to flag internationally wanted suspects, reports The Register.

The UK already has airport gates equipped with such technology, intended to remove the need for a human border guard to check that a passenger's face matches the one recorded in his or her passport.

According to the Guardian, Interpol database chief Mark Branchflower believes his organisation should set up a database of facial-recognition records to operate alongside its existing photo, fingerprint and DNA files.

Three out of four children have seen images on the Internet that disturbed them, an NSPCC poll suggests, says The BBC.

The charity is renewing its call for computer manufacturers and retailers to install security to stop children finding violent or sexual content.

The NSPCC, which polled visitors to its children's Web site There4me.com, said it was "alarmed" by the accessibility of potentially disturbing material.

SanDisk said it is still open to a Samsung buyout and hinted at more restructuring to come, as the largest supplier of retail flash memory cards reported a third-quarter 2008 net loss of $155 million on Monday, reports CNet.

The loss was significantly worse than the net income of $85 million reported in the third quarter of 2007. SanDisk and other flash memory chip suppliers have been hit by a steep price decline in flash.

The California-based company said the average price per megabyte sold declined 63% on a year-over-year basis and 30% sequentially.