Features

• Chinese hackers master the art of lying in wait

  The remarkable success that Chinese state-sponsored groups have had in infiltrating U.S. government, military and corporate networks in recent years should not be mistaken as a sign of growing technical superiority over the U.S. in cyberspace, security experts said.

• An H-1B jobs database the tech industry may hate

  The intent of the comprehensive immigration bill's H-1B database is to improve the odds that a U.S. worker will be hired over a foreign one. But its effectiveness may depend on fuzzy terms such as "good faith" hiring, and enforcement. This is where the real legislative battle may be fought.

• Supply chain 2013: Stop playing whack-a-mole with security threats

  IT can never take all the risk out of a supply chain, but it can help organizations minimize their vulnerability in a world of new threats.

• Internet taxes: Is the inevitable about to happen?

  Some things never happen the way that us pundits expect. Back on Independence Day in 1999 I wrote this about government taxing the purchase of goods over the Internet: "I fully believe in the ingenuity of the government when it comes to imposing taxes. We will be paying these taxes soon." Well, "soon" has not happened yet, but maybe it is getting closer.

• Our Internet privacy is at risk -- but not dead (yet)

  Legislation, stealth technologies, and emerging data privacy markets are proving that the battle for our Internet privacy has only just begun

• H-1B demand this year will be fast, furious

  The U.S. begins accepting new H-1B visa petitions on Monday, April 1, and fast demand is expected. This is going to be followed by much fury.

• In online sales tax debate, $1M business is 'mom and pop'

  As Congress considers a law requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes nationally, debate is heating up over the revenue threshold for triggering collections.

• Security concerns bedevil Chinese outsourcing

  China's plan to create a competitive outsourcing industry was hit with another blow last month with the release of a report that lay bare, in ways never seen before, the extent of the security risks of working in the country.

• Who ratted out Microsoft on browser ballot absence?

  No Microsoft browser rival would comment on, much less confirm, that it reported the omission of the browser ballot to European antitrust regulators -- an omission that led to a $732 million fine this week against Microsoft.

• The sequester will hurt tech nationally

  The federal government's automatic budget cuts, due to begin Friday, may accelerate cost savings measures already in place. But there will be damage to IT spending, and a period of uncertainty as the government reacts to the cuts.

• Top users of H-1B visas are offshore outsourcers, Computerworld study finds

  The biggest users of H-1B visas are offshore outsourcers, many based in India, or U.S.-based companies whose employees are mostly located overseas, according to government data obtained and analyzed by Computerworld.

• Unseen, all-out cyber war on the US has begun

  Security pros and government officials warn of a possible cyber 9/11 involving banks, utilities, other companies, or the Internet

• Opinion: Looking forward to a future Internet

  Going into last month the future of the Internet, to borrow a phrase from the great film noir movie "A Touch of Evil," looked like it may have been all used up. The feeling of the traditional telephone folk and controlling governments was that the Internet had done just about enough of this changing the future stuff -- thanks very much -- now it was time for a bit of control. But the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) in Dubai did not turn out quite the way that those who would control the Internet wanted. Nor, did the WCIT turn out quite the way that those of us who wanted a more hands-off future would have liked.

• FTC gives Google slap on wrist instead of face

  After a nearly two-year antitrust investigation, Google escaped with more of a slap on the wrist than a slap in the face, say industry analysts.

• Google's antitrust settlement means few changes

  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's antitrust settlement with Google will create few changes in the way the company operates, both critics and fans of the deal said.