The world's most powerful military alliance is increasingly vulnerable to attack by unconventional weapons and cyberwarfare in particular, Nato governments were warned today. "The next significant attack on the alliance may well come down a fibre optic cable", according to a draft new Nato "strategic concept". There are unacceptable "serious gaps" in Nato's cyber defences, it warns.

The Guardian 

A number of leading chip makers are expected to be fined by European authorities this week for allegedly fixing memory prices. Nine manufacturers have been named in the case, including Samsung, Infineon, Hynix, Elpida, NEC, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Nanya. Another company, Micron, won immunity for blowing the whistle on the alleged cartel.

At the World Expo in Shanghai Monday, Bill Huang general manager of the China Mobile Research Institute, issued a request to Apple to create a TD-SCDMA version of its iPhone so that the world’s largest mobile carrier could offer the game-changing device to its customer base of more than half a billion subscribers.

Telecoms.com 

Two weeks ago the CEO of Freescale told TechEye just how many integrated circuits (ICs) there were in the most up to date motor cars. There can be as many as 650 ICs, believe it or not. Believe it. The one pictured here does not have this problem because it was made before semiconductors and software became all pervasive things.

TechEye  

Big technology companies are spending a huge chunk of their budgets keeping Washington politicians tanked up on booze and little cheesy snacks. According to Valley Insider, the 'lobbying budget" for many IT outfits has sailed through the roof and is on its way to visit Uranus.

TechEye  

Japan hopes to turn the wildest fantasies of science fiction into reality today with a "space yacht" that will draw on the power of the sun to take it to Venus and, perhaps, far beyond. A Mitsubishi H-2A rocket carrying Ikaros (an acronym for Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun) is set to blast off from Tanegashima island in south-west Japan at 6.44am local time. The long-awaited launch is seen as part of a mission that could change the course of interplanetary exploration.

The search giant is braced for inquiries in America and Germany after it admitted recording information broadcast via unsecured wireless networks in family homes. It will not face any action in the UK because the Information Commissioner is satisfied with the company's promise to delete the data "as soon as reasonably possible". But the international inquiries are a fresh embarrassment for Google, which on Friday backtracked on earlier denials that it had stored data collected from wireless networks by its Street View cars.

Customers of iTunes are at risk of having their accounts hijacked, and thousands of pounds spent by fraudsters, because of poor security settings on the website, experts have warned. Apple has also been criticised for failing to help customers who have been victims of fraud and for refusing to publish sufficient warnings or information on how to minimise the risks. The iTunes Store, where customers buy music and videos to play on their computers or iPods, is the largest music retailer in the world. However, stored credit card details and a log-in system with inadequate safeguards mean that millions may be at risk of fraud. 

The European Union has issued a major report that will be key to its forthcoming Europe 2020 IT strategy plan. ICT in the European and Global Economy (PDF) found that half of all economic growth in the EU since 1995 can be attributed to information and communications technology (ICT), and that around half of citizens use the internet on a daily basis. "Europe's digital economy is crucial to economic growth and prosperity. ICTs and high-speed internet are as revolutionary in our lives today as the development of electricity and transport networks over a century ago," said Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes.

The mobile equivalent of Band Aid has just got under way. Instead of building on music, 1Goal will focus on football. With over 1 billion text messages going out to people in the coming weeks, 1Goal is set to become the largest, cause-related campaign in history. The objective behind ‘1Goal:Education for All’ is to highlight the plight of children around the world who don’t get a proper education. To raise support and awareness for the campaign, text messages will be sent out free.