Windows for Warships™ combat kit unaffected, says MoD

The Ministry of Defence confirmed today that it has suffered virus infections which have shut down "a small number" of MoD systems, most notably including admin networks aboard Royal Navy warships.

The Navy computers infected are the NavyStar (N*) system, based on a server cabinet and cable-networked PCs on each warship and used for purposes such as storekeeping, email and similar support functions. N* ship nets connect to wider networks by shore connection when vessels are in harbour and using satcomms when at sea.

The system is supplied by Fujitsu, with most of the Navy's fleet being equipped in the early years of the century. N* is intended to stay in service, coming under the Defence Information Infrastructure now being rolled out.

N* hardware varies in detail depending on when a ship had the system installed and when it has last had dockyard maintenance, but is based on industry-standard PCs with ruggedised cases and shock mounting (to cope with combat damage) and strict emissions certification to avoid interference with other systems.

Comment: Just another example of how no one seems to be safe these days. All the more reason to have NOD32 Antivirus.

Posted by Justin Payton in Adware, Spyware and Trojans at 17:02

NEW YORK — A task force charged with assessing technologies for protecting children from unwanted contact online has concluded that no single approach is foolproof and that parental oversight is vital.

The Harvard-led panel, in a report obtained by The Associated Press and scheduled for release Wednesday, dismissed prospects for age-verification technologies, the approach favored by many law-enforcement officials who had pushed for the creation of the task force.

The yearlong Internet Safety Technical Task Force also played down fears of Internet sexual predators who target children on social-networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

While citing other dangers such as online bullying, the panel said cases of predators typically involved youths well aware they were meeting an adult for sexual activities.

Technology can be a component in the strategy to protect minors online, but Internet companies "should not overly rely upon any single technology or group of technologies as the primary solution," the task force said.

"Parents, teachers, mentors, social services, law enforcement and minors themselves all have crucial roles to play in ensuring online safety for all minors," the report said.

The findings come as little surprise as law enforcement, Internet companies, child-safety advocates and policy makers seek to address fears of Internet sexual predators.

Rather, the report serves to synthesize what many researchers and child-safety advocates have been saying.

The report also identifies areas in which more studies are needed — on what sex offenders do at social-networking sites, and how minors are approached sexually by other minors.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, one of the leading forces behind the task force's creation, criticized the report for relying on "outdated and inadequate" research to downplay the threat of predators.

Posted by Justin Payton in Adware, Spyware and Trojans at 11:08