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GOVERNMENT
Chinese official vows to purify Internet
The top Communist partyleader in China is taking it upon himself to “purify” the Internet, a move meant to control the 137 million or so registered Chinese users, reports say.
Communist Party chief Hu Jintao made his comments during a Jan. 24 meeting of the partys Politburo, which is looking for ways to keep control of the Internet and its Chinese users. The party had to “strengthen administration and development of our countrys Internet culture,” Hu said during the meeting, according to Xinhua, the countrys news agency. “Maintain the initiative in opinion on the Internet and raise the level of guidance online. We must promote civilized running and use of the Internet and purify the Internet environment,” he said.
TRADE SHOWS
CeBIT cutting a day starting next year
Even CeBIT, the massive technology trade show, isnt immune to the changing trends of the high-tech business.
Organizers said Jan. 24 that CeBIT, the largest technology event in the world, will be shortened by a day, starting in 2008, thanks to the defections of several big-name manufacturers, including Nokia and Motorola.
Ernst Raue, one of the managers of the show, which is held every year in Hannover, Germany, said at a news conference that other changes were on the way, including a new price structure for exhibitors and an effort by organizers to attract other companies and focus on visitors to the show.
Raue said he expected about 6,000 exhibitors at the show, compared with 6,262 last year. Last year also saw a 6 percent drop in the number of visitors—to 450,000—the fifth consecutive year of declining attendance.
This years show runs March 15-21.
SECURITY
Study: Consumers leery of e-banking
Consumers are becoming more concerned with the security of online banking, according to the results from RSA Securitys fourth annual Financial Institution Consumer Online Fraud Survey, issued Jan. 25.
Of the 1,678 adults polled, 82 percent said they are less likely to respond to an e-mail from their bank because of online scams like phishing, while 44 percent said they are becoming more concerned about other types of attacks, such as Trojans and keyloggers.
Fifty-two percent said they are less likely to sign up for or use online banking at all because of online threats.
“While consumers continue to sign up for online banking, it is clear that security is a concern and a barrier for many people,” said Marc Gaffan, director of marketing for the Consumer Group at RSA.
For businesses that use online banking, scams are cutting into something that saves them money and gives them a lot of business.
“The online channel holds an enormous amount of potential and many benefits for business professionals,” Gaffan said. “They have a definite interest in maintaining the level of trust and boosting consumer confidence.”