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U.S., Estonia Discuss Cyber Attacks
by Winter Casey
President Bush and Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves discussed the threat of cyber attacks during a meeting in the oval office on Monday.
As has been widely reported, Ilves noted that his country in recent months suffered a series of attacks on its computer infrastructure.
"It is a serious issue if your most important computer systems go down in a country like mine, where 97 percent of bank transactions are done on the Internet," Ilves said, according to a White House transcript. "When you are a highly Interneted country like we are, then these kinds of attacks can do very serious damage. And I do think it's the wave of the future -- not that it's a good wave, but it is something that we have to deal with more and more."
Noting that the United States and other countries have come under attack before, Ilves said the issue "will require much more attention in the future. And I'm very happy that two countries that are very vast in terms of information technology can work together on these issues."
Bush said cyber attacks make "us all vulnerable." He said Ilves had some ideas on how to address cyber attacks, including using a North Atlantic Treaty Organization "center of excellence in Estonia to deal with this issue."
Bush thanked Ilves for his leadership on the issue and "for your clear understanding of the dangers that that imposes not only on your country, but mine and others as well." Bush previously has said Estonia's sophisticated e-government system should be "the envy of a lot of nations."
Estonia, a member of the European Union since 2004, has been called one of the most technology-savvy countries in Europe. The country has been a member of the World Trade Organization since November 1999 and has strong electronics and telecommunications sectors.
During their meeting, Bush also told Ilves that he "will continue to pursue with Congress a modernization of the visa program." He added, "I readily concede there's an inconsistency in our policy where the people of Estonia are treated differently from other people inside Europe -- even though the people of Estonia are making great sacrifices for the cause of democracy and liberty alongside with U.S. forces." Estonia has sent a small contingent of forces to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Google Opposes German Data-Storage Bill
Google said Tuesday that reports claiming that the firm may drop the German version of its Gmail service due to proposed legislation being considered in Germany are false.
The company said it has no plans to close its Google mail or Gmail services even though it opposes a draft bill in the German parliament that reportedly would require Internet service providers and providers of e-mail service to collect and store customer data that security officials then could access.
The news that Google might close Gmail was reported by IDG News Service, Macworld and PC Advisor, among others that referenced reports from German news outlets.
"We think that this law is bad for users and bad for privacy on the Internet," said Peter Fleischer, Google's global privacy counsel. "Google believes that users should have the right to create an e-mail account without going through the hassle of having to prove exactly who they are. Anonymous e-mail is particularly important for political dissidents, for example."
Qualcomm Opposes Single Mobile TV Standard
Qualcomm is concerned that the European Union reportedly supports a standard based on Nokia technology for mobile television broadcasting in Europe.
The commission could name Nokia's Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld standard the region's single standard. The European Union previously chose a single standard when it rallied behind the GSM standard for mobile phones in the 1990s.
Two other standards, T-DMB, which is used in South Korea, and MediaFlo, a technology from Qualcomm, compete with Nokia's DVB-H. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Viviane Reding, the European Commission's telecommunications regulator, said Nokia's standard is based on European technology with the support of EU funds.
Qualcomm believes that mandating a single technology for mobile TV in Europe is not good for the industry and would not help innovation, according to Omar Javaid, vice president of business development for Qualcomm MediaFlo Technologies.
Qualcomm favors technology neutrality and argues that the market ultimately should decide which technologies are right for each territory or organization that wishes to develop a mobile broadcast business.
Javaid questioned why the European Union believes it is necessary to choose a single standard.
"I know that competition among different standards can, for some time, be a good way to let the market identify the best solution," Reding told an industry conference, according to InformationWeek. "But we have been waiting too long. The opportunities are slipping away. It is time to break the deadlock."
China Takes Step Toward Anti-Monopoly Law
China moved closer toward establishing the country's first anti-monopoly law on Sunday, according to a report from the country's state-run media.
Xinhua News Agency reported that China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress went through the second reading of the anti-monopoly bill, which would impose security checks on any foreign enterprises buying Chinese companies.
According to the draft law, "foreign mergers and acquisitions of domestic companies or foreign-capital investing in domestic companies' operation in other forms should be examined according to relevant laws and regulations if the cases are related to national security."
Under a regulation issued last year, Xinhua said foreign investors must apply directly to China's Ministry of Commerce to verify that a purchase of a domestic company does not affect national economic security, involve key sectors or represent a transfer of the operating rights of famous domestic brands.
China's antitrust legislation has been in the works since 1994.
U.S., Peru Agree On Trade Pact Amendments
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said Monday that the United States has reached an agreement with Peru's government on amendments to a proposed trade deal. The amendments address labor and environmental concerns raised by some U.S. lawmakers.
"The Peru agreement offers an important opportunity to expand economic opportunities for U.S. farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers and to encourage the economic reforms in Peru that are helping to alleviate poverty in that country," Schwab said in a statement. "We are also in consultations with the governments of Colombia, Panama and Korea regarding similar provisions."
In other trade news, Agence France-Presse reports that Surayud Chulanont, Thailand's military-installed premier, said his country plans to conclude free-trade talks with India soon.
"Our two countries are on track to conclude a free-trade agreement in the near future with a view to establishing the FTA covering trade in goods by 2010," Surayud said.
Trade talks between the countries began last year. Surayud, who was in India this week, also said he welcomed investment from India in the information technology sector. India reportedly is Thailand's largest trading partner in South Asia.
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