Researchers have devised a system to combat highly virulent, malicious worms by embedding defence mechanisms in key parts of the internet - akin to endowing it with an immune system.

Computer security, botnets, and viruses have all gotten so bad that there is a growing belief among engineers and security experts that Internet security and privacy have become so maddeningly elusive that the only way to fix the problem is to start over.

Australian scientists believe they have developed an unbreakable information code to stop hackers, using a diamond, a kitchen microwave oven and an optical fibre.

The National Security Agency's top information security official disclosed plans this week for a government-funded research center devoted to improving the security of commercial software, calling the initiative a modern-day Manhattan Project.

Researchers uncovered a serious flaw in the underlying technology for nearly all Internet traffic, a discovery that led to an urgent and secretive international effort to prevent global disruptions of Web surfing, e-mails and instant messages.

Software engineers have developed an intrusion-detection program capable of recognizing attack patterns before hackers have even developed them.

A new device that quarantines different portions of a computer network could stop worms and viruses infecting an entire company once they have breached its perimeter defences.

Researchers have developed a smaller version of the Internet that will serve as a virtual laboratory to develop new business tools, computer programs and weapons against worms and viruses.

The authors argue that the U.S. should pay more attention to cyberterrorism because as the recent blackout showed, attacks on our computer networks can "dramatically affect millions of our citizens and undermine core institutions of our society just as effectively as a weapon of mass destruction."

The author proposes that the United Nations should require nations to enact strict "cyber auditing" and security measures to protect the interconnected global network.