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Wired News Report -

The war in Iraq set off a rash of online vandalism against Arab websites, site administrators and security experts say, with dozens of websites attacked.

At Islamonline.net, one of the most popular destinations for reports and analysis on Islamic affairs, traffic doubled after U.S. forces invaded Iraq. So did cyberattacks, which reached 250 a day, according to the site's general coordinator, who said hacking attempts also stepped up after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The most high-profile Arab website targeted by hackers is that of satellite news channel Al-Jazeera. The channel, an unusually outspoken voice in the Arab world, drew intense criticism after it carried Iraqi TV footage of dead and captive U.S. soldiers that U.S. networks declined to air.

Soon after, the site's English and Arabic pages were replaced by pro-American hackers who called themselves the "Freedom Cyber Force Militia." Similarly, pro-Islamic hackers have defaced some U.S. and British websites and flooded some with anti-war graffiti.

The seal says it's safe: Instead of pursuing strict regulations to guard against cyberterrorism, the federal government and the technology industry have decided to work together to develop voluntary standards. Critics say voluntary standards won't properly protect consumers from online pranksters, hackers and identity thieves.

Members of the CEO Cyber Security Task Force, formed after the trade group TechNet approached federal officials, say their standards would be akin to a "Good Housekeeping seal of approval" for computer security.

In theory, consumers who visit websites that display a certification logo would have an extra measure of peace of mind. Plans call for a public awareness campaign to push the initiative. Critics claim, however, that the voluntary standards will promote a false sense of security -- and could even encourage attacks.

The standards are the next steps in the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, a directive issued by the White House.

Semiconductors survive SARS: The potentially deadly SARS virus, which started in China, has sparked fear and led to a rush of preventive planning but has not disrupted a global semiconductor industry reliant on easy access to Asian chip factories.

Fears have been fanned by canceled technology conferences, travel restrictions and quarantines. But a string of earnings reports suggests that the executives of the largest semiconductor companies have not backed down from expansion strategies in Asia and have not seen a major problem with the supply of goods in and out of the region.

Teradyne (TER), a maker of testing tools used in microchip production, said the illness was having some effect on its ability to move staff in and out of Asia, but added that the company was going ahead with plans to add 1,000 people in one office in China. Intel (INTC) and Texas Instruments (TXN), both large chip makers, also confirmed that SARS has not yet had a serious impact on business.

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