Global cyber attack could spur $53 billion in losses: Lloyd's of London

A major, global cyber attack could trigger an average of $53 billion of economic losses, a figure on par with a catastrophic natural disaster such as US Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Lloyd's of London said in a report on Monday.

The report, co-written with risk-modeling firm Cyence, examined potential economic losses from the hypothetical hacking of a cloud service provider and cyber attacks on computer operating systems run by businesses worldwide.

Watchdog extends reach over crypto-cash investment

A US regulator has said firms looking for backing via crypto-currencies should be more strictly regulated.

Such investments should be registered in the same way as securities sales, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Overwatch trolls face tougher penalties

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Image captionOverwatch is an online multiplayer game in which skilled heroes work as a team

Overwatch trolls face tougher penalties

Overwatch players will face harsher penalties if they abuse or harass others, developer Blizzard has announced.

The company said "verified reports" of "bad behaviour" would lead to players being silenced, temporarily suspended or banned from the game completely.

Abusing other gamers over voice-chat or deliberately wasting time in games were examples of bad behaviour, it said.

One reviewer said it would make the game more "welcoming" as an e-sport.

"The gaming community has improved, but there are still some toxic elements," said Ellen Rose, co-editor of the gaming channel OutsideXtra.

"It's too easy online to do, and say, what you want and not get any consequences for it.

"Cracking down on that so it's a more fun experience for everyone - especially for newer players - is really good."

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Image captionEach Overwatch hero has a unique ability

Blizzard highlighted several behaviours that would be affected by the tighter rules, including in-game spam messages.

"In Overwatch, you can make your character say hello, and people press it a million times - it's extremely annoying," Ms Rose told the BBC.

"There's also match inactivity. Sometimes you are in a game and you turn around and there's someone who is just standing there and not playing.

"That's called AFK - away from keyboard. This person goes away for a cup of tea, and it lets the team down."

Griefing

The company said it would also issue tougher penalties for people who deliberately tried to spoil the game for others, known as griefing.

"You also get people who go into matches just to annoy other people because they think it's funny," said Ms Rose.

"One character, Mei, has an ice wall she can bring up, and some people set up ice walls to trap other players on their own team - or stop them getting a line of sight to shoot."

"Stamping out that sort of behaviour is a good thing."

Blizzard is pitching Overwatch as an e-sports title and in July announced the first seven team owners for a forthcoming league.

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Image captionOverwatch's diverse set of heroes appeal to a wide audience

The company believes the tournament could eventually prove more lucrative than the UK's Premier League - football's highest-earning competition.

Hiding out among the net's criminal class

Hiding out among the net's criminal class

Security researcher Liam O'Murchu lives a double life. And sometimes a triple life. Now and then he divides himself even more thinly.

Living multiple lives is part of his job with security firm Symantec, which also involves being a covert part of the forums, chat boards and discussion rooms that comprise the net's underground economy.

It is there that deals are done that lead to companies being hacked, websites knocked offline and booby-trapped emails spammed out to millions. Exploit kits are bought and sold, allowing less proficient attackers to pay their better-skilled brethren for access to tools that make it simple to hunt out and infect vulnerable victims,

Adobe to kill off Flash plug-in by 2020

Adobe Systems has said that it plans to phase out its Flash Player plug-in by the end of 2020.

The technology was once one of the most widely used ways for people to watch video clips and play games online.

But it also attracted much criticism, particularly as flaws in its code meant it became a popular way for hackers to infect computers.

In recent years, much of its functionality has been offered by the rival HTML5 technology.

One of HTML5's benefits is that it can be used to make multimedia content available within webpages without requiring users to install and update a dedicated plug-in.

Musk and Zuckerberg clash over future of AI  

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Image captionElon Musk is worried that artificial intelligence could eventually destroy humanity

Elon Musk has accused Mark Zuckerberg of failing to understand artificial intelligence.

It comes after the Facebook boss said that the doomsday scenario put forward by Mr Musk was unhelpful.

Mr Musk tweeted: "I've talked to Mark about this. His understanding of the subject is limited."

The pair represent two distinct groups, those saying AI's benefits will outweigh its negatives and those saying it could ultimately destroy humanity.

Mr Zuckerberg's comments were made as part of an informal Facebook Live chat, aired during a barbecue at his Palo Alto home.

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Image captionMark Zuckerberg is an optimist, believing AI will bring far more benefits than downsides

A viewer asked him about a recent interview with Mr Musk, in which he said his biggest fear for the future was AI.

"I have pretty strong opinions on this. I am optimistic. I think you can build things and the world gets better. But with AI especially, I am really optimistic," Mr Zuckerberg replied.

Rehab camp aims to put young cyber-crooks on right track

Teenagers caught carrying out hacking and cyber-attacks could soon be attending a rehab camp that aims to divert them away from a life of crime.

The first weekend camp for offenders was held in Bristol this month as part of the National Crime Agency's (NCA) work with young computer criminals.

Attendees learned about responsible use of cyber-skills and got advice about careers in computer security.

If the trial proves successful, it will be rolled out across the UK.