■ Computer Virus
MyDoom variant rises
A new computer worm is wiggling its way through the Internet. Computer antivirus companies Symantec and H+BEDV are warning their customers of the existence of a MyDoom variant known as Worm/MyDoom.AH. The worm is a threat to anyone using the Microsoft Windows operating system. Like MyDoom, the new MyDoom.AH virus exploits a securit flaw in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser. The worm opens port 1639 on the infected computer and through this opening can allow unauthorized access to the infected computer system. The MyDoom.AH worm spreads itself by sending e-mail messages to addresses found on the infected system. It also constructs e-mail addresses based upon addresses it finds. The worm sends out a message in which recipients are requested to click a link found in the body of the message. When the link is clicked, a Web server is contacted that then infects the user's computer. E-mail messages containing the MyDoom.AH virus will include a subject line such as "hi!," "hey!," "Confirmation," or one that is blank.
■ M&A
China expects surge
Mergers and acquisitions in China will multiply 10-fold or more in the next five years, accounting for about half of overseas investment in the nation, a Chinese official said. Foreign companies were involved merger deals valued at US$3.8 billion in 2003, 7.2 percent of the US$53 billion China received in foreign investment, Victor Gao, chief executive of the China State-Owned Enterprise Investment Co told a finance conference in Shanghai. There will be "huge merge and acquisitions opportunities" as China, Gao said, noting that his agency alone has a goal of selling off small state-owned companies and merging 187 large state-owned businesses into 50.
■ MP3 Music
Downloads get costly
Employees using company computers to download MP3 music files are costing Australian firms at least A$60 million (US$45 million) a year. Melbourne-based network management company Exinda Networks went through Australian Bureau of Statistics data and the files of an internet service provider to come up with a picture of the cost of bandwidth stealing in the workaday world. Exinda said local businesses were spending A$450 million (US$352) a year on accessing the Internet. Of that, A$58 million (US$44 million) was paid out for illicit usage -- the equivalent of 1 million MP3 files each day.
■ Tax Fraud
China eyes foreigners
China is threatening a crackdown on foreign companies after a survey indicated evidence of widespread tax fraud, state media reported Sunday. Alarm bells have been ringing after a team investigated 9,465 foreign-funded enterprises in southern Guangdong province and found that only a small minority was following the rules, the China Business Weekly newspaper said. "Almost 90 percent of the foreign enterprises are making money under the table," Huang Zhaoming, head of the team, told the paper. The most common form of fraud involves transfer pricing, in which transnational companies shift income to their affiliates overseas, reducing the profits in China so they can avoid paying taxes, according to the paper.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft