■ 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.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
Taiwanese trade negotiators told Washington that Taipei would not relocate 40 percent of its semiconductor production to the US, and that its most advanced technologies would remain in the nation, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said on Sunday. “I told the US side very clearly — that’s impossible,” Cheng, who led the negotiation team, said in an interview that aired on Sunday night on Chinese Television System. Cheng was referring to remarks last month by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in which he said his goal was to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to the US Taiwan’s almost
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