Junior sales staff are most likely to be responsible for technological security breaches at work, according to a British survey.

The poll of 942 IT managers found that salesmen aged between 26 and 35 are most at risk from computer viruses and other online attacks.

Internet security firm MessageLabs, which commissioned the survey, said sales staff were too busy to worry about protecting themselves and their company from fraud.
“They are the natural multi-taskers,” MessageLabs’ Chief Security Analyst Mark Sunner told Reuters. “They’re going to be on the phone, browsing the Web and using instant messaging all at the same time.

With an official YouGov survey in the UK finding that one in 10 Internet users is a victim of some form of online fraud, security experts are warning that online fraud — from phishing to identity theft — can strike any user, regardless of the operating system.

One in 10 Internet users in the United Kingdom was a victim of online fraud last year, according to an official survey of 2,400 people, who were asked about their online surfing habits, level of security protection, and encounters with fraud and theft.
Approximately 6 percent had been hit by fraud while shopping online, 4 percent saw “general fraud,” and 3 percent were victims of crime related to banking and credit cards.

The survey was done by YouGov for Get Safe Online, a group created by law enforcement, private companies, and the government. One of the most notable aspects of the project was the discovery that many users did not take basic steps to protect themselves online, such as installing antispyware software.

About one-fifth of those surveyed said they had replied to spam messages, and 10 percent had clicked on a Web site link within a spam e-mail. About 25 percent said most of their online security passwords were the same, and five percent used the same password for every site.

When video game maker Jim Greer approached Silicon Valley investors to give him nearly $1 million for his start-up. he had an irresistible pitch: “It’s video games meets YouTube.”

He named the site Kongregate.com and last June began inviting game developers and players to test it. After Christmas he opened the site to users of all stripes, who can submit and play games free of charge.

So far, the advertising-supported site at www.kongregate.com offers 300 games that are rated by players, who chat online as they play.

“Not all of them are gems, but the top 100 are,” said Greer, 36, who founded the company with his younger sister Emily, 32, and offers game makers a share of the site’s advertising revenue.

Reid Hoffman, founder of business networking site LinkedIn and a former PayPal executive, said timing played a big role in his decision to become an investor in the company.

Google Inc. has signed deals to supply software to students and government workers in two East African nations, in a bid to put them on the technical footing of more developed countries.

The Web search leader said on Monday it had agreed to separate partnerships with the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Kenya Education Network (KENET), which represents students and staff at 32 universities in Kenya.

Under the deals to supply Google Apps software, students in both African countries along with Rwandan government officials will have access to free communications tools including e-mail, shared calendars, instant messaging and word processing.

Last year, Mountain View, California-based Google entered the business software market with a basic set of free programs delivered over the Web. It then began offering last month a subscription service to companies who pay for extra features and technical support.

While Patch Tuesday came and went with Microsoft deploying no critical security updates, Microsoft didn’t leave I.T. admins sitting on their hands. Redmond released a new version of the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool and several other software updates.

Apple, meanwhile, released a slew of patches for Mac OS X to plug 45 holes, including several zero-day vulnerabilities.

If Microsoft ’s monthly Patch Tuesday failed to grab I.T.’s attention, Apple Computer added some excitement to the security world on the notorious day.
Microsoft typically releases security fixes the second Tuesday of each month. For the first time in 18 months, however, Microsoft canceled its scheduled security update, despite at least five zero-day software vulnerabilities that leave a back door open to hackers.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company needed more time to develop fixes for known flaws and is continuing to investigate potential and existing vulnerabilities.

“Creating security updates that effectively and comprehensively fix vulnerabilities is an extensive process involving a series of sequential steps,” said the spokesperson. “All updates need to meet testing standards in order to be released. This ensures that our customers can confidently install these updates in their environment.”