Start Something Big
Beware of the zombies (and the patents)
Named “Mariposa” after the Spanish word for butterfly, a network of so-called “zombie computers” that hijacked more than 13 million computers globally has been busted by police. As reported by ABC News, the hackers stole “credit card data, usernames and passwords, banking credentials and other information”, with the details of more than 800,000 individuals located on just one computer in the possession of the suspected ringleader.
Reportedly, this man earned his keep by renting out his hacker-friendly network of remotely-controllable computers to fellow cyber crime lords. Worryingly, Defence Intelligence chief executive Christopher Davis was quoted as saying "It would be easier for me to provide a list of the Fortune 1,000 companies that weren't compromised rather than the long list of those who were." While Mariposa has had its wings clipped for now, there are sure to be more incidents such as this springing up across the world in years to come.
On the other side of the courthouse, the simmering tensions between technology’s big two - Apple and Google - have exploded into a courtroom battle between Apple and HTC: Google’s Nexus One phone maker. According to the New York Times, “Apple said that HTC phones running Android violated 20 of its patents,” one of which relates to the iPhone’s multitouch capabilities. Apple chief Steve Jobs has come out swinging in a severe statement that can only be meant for once-ally Google; “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”
In our modern times though, can anyone really claim to have completely, entirely, individual ideas? Of course, taking someone else’s work and claiming it as one’s own should be wholeheartedly discouraged. When it comes to technology such as scrolling through a list by dragging a finger down a phone screen however, (another violation Apple are also claiming) should there be a limit to what can be classified as a piece of creative genius and what is simply an obvious, even commonsense, piece of functionality? It will be an interesting case that will no doubt have widespread implications.
