'Unbreakable' encryption unveiled

Perfect secrecy has come a step closer with the release of the world's first computer network protected by unbreakable quantum encryption, at a scientific conference, in Vienna, says The BBC.

The network connects six locations across Vienna and in the nearby town of St Poelten, using 200km of standard commercial fibre optic cables.

Quantum cryptography is completely different from the kinds of security schemes used on computer networks today.

HP is to shed 3 378 employees as a consequence of its takeover of EDS last May. The figure is more than double the estimate made by trade union Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) last month, reports Computing.co.uk.

At the time, PCSU predicted at least 10% of HP's 15 000-strong workforce would be affected by the post-merger restructuring.

There are also fears concerning EDS's ability to continue delivering work for its public sector IT contracts, which include deals with the Department for Work and Pensions, Transport for London and the Ministry of Defence.

A 22-year-old Romanian national has admitted he participated in a US-based phishing operation that raked in $700 000 over a three-year period, says The Register.

Sergiu Daniel Popa, who for the past seven years has lived in New York and Michigan, pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to two felonies related to the scheme. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $500 000. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

According to Popa's plea agreement, the scheme snagged the identities of 7 000 individuals who suffered a net loss of about $700 000.

Board-level executives found responsible for information security lapses in retail banks are to be personally fined as part of a new drive to “pierce the corporate veil”, reports Computing.co.uk.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is concerned that corporate fines are not incentive enough for banks to take adequate measures to protect customers' information and wants to drive best practice by ensuring executives personally oversee security programmes.

The move is a key part of ensuring security compliance, according to Bill Sillett, manager of the retail department at the FSA.

Seagate will enter the market for solid-state drives in 2009, as it slowly embraces a technology that will, in some cases, replace its bread and butter: hard disks, says CNet.com.

"Our history is based on rotating magnetic media. But as solid-state comes online, we're embracing this new media type," says Rich Vignes, senior manager of market development at Seagate.

The company's first target market will be large enterprise customers. Consumer SSDs from Seagate will come later. The challenge is to convince large enterprise customers that SSDs are safe.