Caron Carlson

WASHINGTON—The CEOs of Entrust Inc., RSA Security Inc., Microsoft Corp. and nine other major software companies Wednesday unveiled a task force to elevate the importance of cyber-security among top executives in the private sector and at government agencies. Other than tax breaks and class-action reform to protect them from frivolous lawsuits, the software executives are […]

WASHINGTON—Even as many software companies have outsourced jobs overseas in recent years in response to growing competitive pressures, some of those same companies were in Washington last week urging policy-makers to do more to protect American jobs and promote U.S.-based innovation and expertise. The tension between short-term corporate fiduciary duties and long-term market goals was […]

WASHINGTON—A legislative effort to beef up the federal governments computer security by discouraging peer-to-peer networking moved forward here today with the approval of the “Government Network Security Act” by the House of Representatives. If the bill, sponsored by Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is enacted, federal agencies will have to develop technical […]

The promise of anytime, anywhere communications via satellite was wildly hyped in the late 1990s, but it fell flat when the reality of pricey infrastructure, brick-heavy devices and poor quality hit home. The dream is still alive, however, and Cisco Systems Inc. wants to give it a boost by showing that standards-based, off-the-shelf minirouters will […]

Due to the increasingly heated debate over expanded Internet sales taxes, e-commerce merchants are no longer one big, happy family. Many of the largest online merchants now favor allowing states to collect sales taxes on goods from retailers that have no physical presence—no stores or warehouses—in the state. Thats because many of those online merchants […]

One of silicon valleys key voices in Congress, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said last week that lawmakers have reached a logjam on several technology-related legislative initiatives, including spam, digital rights and, to some extent, database protection. With just a few weeks left before members plan to return home, Congress is preoccupied with spending bills. Unwanted […]

WASHINGTON—VeriSign Inc. executives today defended the SiteFinder Internet service that was suspended last week, arguing that it does not destabilize the Internet and that the company would not profit from the service unless there is a consumer need for it. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) demanded Friday that Verisign shut down […]

One of Silicon Valleys key voices in Congress, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said this week that lawmakers have reached a logjam on several technology-related legislative initiatives, including spam, digital rights and, to some extent, database protection. With about a month before members plan to return home, Congress is heavily pre-occupied with spending bills. Unwanted e-mail, […]

Further demonstrating that its not only teenagers who are engaged in unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, a congressional committee that oversees government reform approved a bill today that would discourage federal bureaucrats from P2P activities. The “Government Network Security Act of 2003,” introduced just yesterday by Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., would require […]

Six months after its creation, the Department of Homeland Security gained a dedicated cyber-security leader last week and unveiled its first network security initiatives, including a national computer emergency response team and a National Cyber Security Summit planned for late fall. Leery of promulgating measures that smack of explicit government standards-setting, department officials nonetheless want […]

Reports of Hurricane Isabels wrath stopped Carly Fiorina in her tracks Wednesday, causing the Hewlett-Packard Co. chief to cancel a trip to Washington, D.C., where she was to unveil her latest strategy to tackle the small and medium-sized business market. The much-hyped SMB strategy is largely—but not entirely—a repackaging of goods and services already for […]

WASHINGTON—In the boom times of the late 1990s, U.S. corporations widely turned to foreign workers to fill highly skilled jobs, particularly in the technology field. Now, in the continuing economic downturn, foreign workers are being blamed for displacing their homegrown counterparts. Wednesday, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., will introduce a bill crafted to close loopholes in […]