■ PC security
`Big Yellow' on the loose
A computer worm is attacking business PCs through a flaw in antivirus software developed by Symantec Corp, a security company warned on Friday. EEye Digital Security, based in Aliso Viejo, said the worm, dubbed "Big Yellow," began attacking some computer systems on Thursday -- seven months after eEye first discovered the flaw. Symantec released a patch to address the flaw in May but it is up to its corporate customers to install it. Big Yellow enters machines through a security hole in the corporate version of Symantec's Norton Antivirus software. Once infected with the worm's "bot" program, a hacker can use it as a way to connect with other computers for malicious attacks.
■ E-Commerce
Amazon files countersuits
Amazon.com Inc denied that it had violated IBM Corp patents in building its massive retail Web site, and instead alleged that IBM infringed on Amazon's technology to improve its own offerings. In countersuits filed on Thursday in federal court in Texas, Amazon said that IBM's previous legal claims of patent infringement were a meritless and misleading attempt to cash in on its vast patent holdings and Amazon's success. Amazon this year will sell US$10 billion worth of everything from books and CDs to pet supplies and jewelry. IBM is the world's leading patent holder, spending US$6 billion a year in research and development and earning about US$1 billion a year in royalties.
■ Trade
Free-trade zones planned
The government is aiming at increasing the number of companies established in the country's free trade port zones from the existing 92 to 105 by the end of this year, a Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) official said on Friday. CEPD Vice Chairman Thomas Yeh (葉明峰) said that in order to attract more companies to the zones, the government will work to integrate efforts by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan's economic agencies stationed abroad, upgrade the operations of free trade port zones to the level of strategic industries, as well as relax limitations on the employment of foreign laborers at the zones.
■ Automobiles
Mazda to scrap stranded cars
Japan's Mazda Motor Corp will scrap some 4,700 cars that were left for roughly a month on a cargo ship that nearly capsized on its way to the US in July, reports said yesterday. The ship loaded with Mazda cars sat listing at an angle of more than 60? for nearly a month after an incident in the North Pacific in late July, Kyodo News and the Mainichi Shimbun reported, citing Mazda officials. Even though most of the cars had no visible damage, the automaker decided to throw them out as they were unable to ensure they were market-quality after such a long time at sea, one Mazda official quoted by the Mainichi said.
■ Economy
Emerging sectors targeted
Minister Without Portfolio Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) said on Friday that the short and middle-term goal for local industry was to promote the development of several emerging sectors. She estimated that the production value of such sectors would exceed NT$1 trillion (US$30.3 billion) by 2015. The former economics minister said that examples of emerging sectors include wireless broadband, digital life, health care and the green industry.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
COLLABORATION: The operations center shows the close partnership between Taiwan and Japan in the field of semiconductors, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said Tokyo Electron Ltd, Asia’s biggest semiconductor equipment supplier, yesterday launched a NT$2 billion (US$61.5 million) operations center in Tainan as it aims to expand capacity and meet growing demand. Its new Taiwan Operations Center is expected to help customers release their products faster, boost production efficiency and shorten equipment repair time in a cost-effective way, the company said. The center is about a five-minute drive from the factories of its major customers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) advanced 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer fabs. The operations center would have about 1,000 employees when it is fully utilized, the company
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