The federal government is starting to realize the real threats of botnets around the world. U.S. homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff speaking at the RSA conference said that the US government has launched a cyber security "Manhattan Project."

The US is realizing that online attacks can be a form of "devastating warfare", and equivalent in damage to "physical destruction of the worst kind."

Virginia has become the first state to require that all public schools teach "Internet Safety" classes for all grade levels. Their goal is to educate young Web users from the dangers associated with using the Internet.

This shows us that Virginia is able to adapt with the changing times. They realize the public danger the Internet can pose to a community and have taken some action to mitigate the risk. This is the right thing to do.

The CEO of Red Hat at the recent Open Source Business Conference claimed that open source technologies are benefiting from the unpopularity of the US. He suggests that people are resentful of sending billions of dollars back to the U.S. in "intellectual property" taxes. He claims that he's talked to governments like China and Russia and they are very keen on deploying technologies that are not tied to any IP laws of the US.

The CEO of Red Hat at the recent Open Source Business Conference claimed that open source technologies are benefiting from the unpopularity of the US. He suggests that people are resentful of sending billions of dollars back to the U.S. in "intellectual property" taxes. He claims that he's talked to governments like China and Russia and they are very keen on deploying technologies that are not tied to any IP laws of the US.

Maryland is looking to pass a law that would make surfing the Internet on someone else's wireless connection, without permission, a crime under a bill sponsored by LeRoy E. Myers Jr.

He told the House Judiciary Committee that one of his neighbors, after buying a new laptop computer, got onto the Internet, thinking it was going through his own cable connection when in reality he was logged in to Myers' home Internet hookup.

Larry Lessig, a law professor at Stanford hopes that a 'Wikipedia' approach can help change the way politics are played. He wants to use collaborative software to keep track of political positions candidates take and hold them accountable to pledges they make.

A survey of IT workers from Computing Technology Industry Association (CTIA) and Rasmussen Reports, taken in early March, shows Obama and McCain at a statistical tie, with each receiving 39 percent of the vote, and Hillary Clinton trailing at 13 percent.

The survey also shows that 35 percent of IT workers report themselves as Republicans while 26 percent call themselves Democrats, and 40 percent chose no party. Over 75 percent of IT workers classify themselves in the conservative-moderate political spectrum.