Week in Review: Infosec news and a timely breach

Infosec 2008 Coverage

IT PRO hit the show floor for all the security news at the European version of the event. Data breaches and malware were rather hot topics, as was a surprise briefing about the new e-crime team, the 'Police Central e-crime Unit'.

ICO: 94 data breaches in six months

Speaking of data breaches, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has been keeping track of the number of such slip-ups since the big one that started it all, the loss of a pair of discs by HM Revenue and Customs in October. In those six months, 94 breaches have been reported to the data watchdog. Make that 95 - Boots announced this week that data tapes relating to its dental plan were stolen out of a contractor's car.

Eee PC to get Atom, extra inch

The wee little laptop we know you love is set for a growth spurt, as maker Asus announced the next edition will feature a 10 inch screen - up from the latest version's 8.9 inches. It may also feature Intel's Atom chip.

Apple results reveal massive jump in Mac sales

Selling a very, very large number of Mac laptops and desktop computers has helped Apple exceed analysts' expectations for the quarter. Apple doubled its sales of the laptops to 2.3 million for the quarter. The firm also announced it has picked up chip firm PA Semi.

Microsoft may 'wake up' over end to XP

Steve Ballmer, the head honcho over at Microsoft, has said he might possibly be willing to consider customers' opinions when it comes to continuing to offer and support the XP operating system after its 30 June death date - but as far as he can tell, customers aren't asking for that... suggesting they all want followup OS Vista.

Disagree? Drop us a line at itpro@dennis.co.uk if you want XP to keep going, and we'll forward the responses to the lovely folks at Microsoft, who are surely awaiting your opinion.

Want to know more on these stories? Come back later this afternoon for the IT PRO podcast.