Internet Security Systems Inc

With revenue growth sluggish at IBM Corp., Big Blue is buying its way to getting bigger. The company's recent acquisition roll continued Wednesday with a deal to spend $1.3 billion in cash for Internet Security Systems Inc., which performs network monitoring and analysis services for companies. The deal values Internet Security Systems at $28 a share, an 8% premium over its $26 closing price Tuesday.

With revenue growth sluggish at IBM Corp., Big Blue is buying its way to getting bigger. The company's recent acquisition roll continued Wednesday with a deal to spend $1.3 billion in cash for Internet Security Systems Inc., which performs network monitoring and analysis services for companies. The deal values Internet Security Systems at $28 a share, an 8% premium over its $26 closing price Tuesday.

AT&T Corp., Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and 16 other companies said they have created a center to share data about their computer systems to stem attacks like one last year that caused Yahoo Inc.'s Web site and others to crash. The companies will exchange information about threats, attacks, areas where networks may be vulnerable and solutions to problems through Internet Security Systems Inc., which is under contract to operate the center.

Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday won a legal battle to silence a researcher who had publicly demonstrated he could hijack machines that power much of the Internet. Cisco sued Michael Lynn shortly after he presented his findings Wednesday at the annual Black Hat technological security convention in Las Vegas. Despite its name, the gathering mostly draws not bad guys but experts who help defend companies against Internet attacks.

Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday won a legal battle to silence a researcher who had publicly demonstrated he could hijack machines that power much of the Internet. Cisco sued Michael Lynn shortly after he presented his findings Wednesday at the annual Black Hat technological security convention in Las Vegas. Despite its name, the gathering mostly draws not bad guys but experts who help defend companies against Internet attacks.

BT Group, the former British telecommunications monopoly, said Wednesday that it bought Mountain View, Calif.-based Counterpane Internet Security Inc. to boost its computer security services for corporate customers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition is the latest example of industry giants looking to beef up their security offerings. Data storage provider EMC Corp.

A battle among hackers erupted on the Internet on Sunday as some factions disrupted a loosely coordinated "contest" among other groups trying to vandalize thousands of Web sites around the world. Unknown attackers for hours knocked offline an independent security Web site, zone-h.org, that was verifying reports of online vandalism and being used by hackers to tally points for the competition. U.S. government and private technology experts warned last week that such vandalism was likely.

Hackers on Wednesday vandalized the Web sites for the Nasdaq Stock Market and the American Stock Exchange, but there was no evidence they manipulated data. A group calling itself "United Loan Gunmen" infiltrated the computer running the sites just after midnight. The hackers left a message--the high-tech equivalent of graffiti--and also claimed to have briefly created an e-mail account on Nasdaq's computer, suggesting a broader breach in security.

A feared Internet attack resulting from a fast-spreading computer virus fizzled Friday. Security experts said they contained the virus by identifying and blocking computers key to coordinating it. Instructions written into the latest version of the "Sobig" virus, which has caused enormous headaches since it began appearing Tuesday, called for infected Windows machines to try to download a program that, prior to 3 p.m. EDT Friday, had an unknown function.

An earnings warning from Rainbow Technologies Inc. sent shares of the Irvine security software provider down nearly 28% Monday and pushed other security software stocks lower as well. After the market closed Friday, Rainbow warned that an unexpected slowdown in its North American business in the last month of the fourth quarter will probably hurt its quarterly earnings. The company also said growth for the next two quarters could be slower because of market conditions.

AT&T Corp., Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and 16 other companies said they have created a center to share data about their computer systems to stem attacks like one last year that caused Yahoo Inc.'s Web site and others to crash. The companies will exchange information about threats, attacks, areas where networks may be vulnerable and solutions to problems through Internet Security Systems Inc., which is under contract to operate the center.

Shares of Symantec Corp. and other makers of anti-virus software fell Tuesday after Computer Associates International Inc. offered free security programs to some home users of personal computers. Computer Associates, based in Islandia, N.Y., said it would "aggressively promote" free one-year subscriptions for its eTrust EZ Armor package of programs to "qualified" users of PCs running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. The software sells for about $50.

A debate over free-speech rights and security of the Internet intensified Friday as authorities opened a criminal investigation of a researcher whom many technology professionals are calling a hero. The FBI is looking into accusations that researcher Michael Lynn stole trade secrets or broke other laws in publicizing his findings about security flaws in routers made by Cisco Systems Inc. that direct much of the world's Internet traffic, according to three people familiar with the probe.