According to the New York Times, “EU and U.S. senior officials said on Friday they would crack down on counterfeiting of computer components after they seized over 360,000 fake items in just two weeks in a joint operation at the end of last year.  Integrated circuits and computer components of over 40 trademarks including Intel, Cisco and Philips, worth more than $1.3 billion, were seized during the operation, the officials said.  ‘Traffickers and counterfeiters have become much more sophisticated … They are no longer confining themselves to trafficking in some of the traditional goods we used to see them in, such as footwear or handbags,’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Dan Baldwin said.  ‘There are increasing numbers with high-tech goods, goods that impact our critical infrastructure,’ Baldwin told reporters after talks with European Union counterparts in Brussels.”

The International Herald Tribune reports that “

[a] group led by a Princeton University computer security researcher has developed a simple method to steal encrypted information stored on computer hard disks.  The technique, which could undermine security software protecting critical data on computers, is as easy as chilling a computer memory chip with a blast of frigid air from a can of dust remover. Encryption software is widely used by companies and government agencies, notably in portable computers that are especially susceptible to theft.”

The Mercury News reveals that “Apple, the world’s largest buyer of flash memory chips, slashed its projected orders for the semiconductor this year, which may lead some suppliers to post losses this quarter, research firm iSuppli. said. Global sales of so-called NAND flash chips will rise ‘marginally’ this year, instead of the 27 percent increase forecast earlier, the El Segundo researcher said in a statement late Wednesday.”

Internetnews.com writes that “[w]hile Research In Motion (RIM) and Motorola battle in court over the use of each other’s patents and licensing, experts say the smartphone vendors need each other to survive and hope the litigious action won’t continue for long.  ‘Going to court is expensive, and both these companies are facing their own challenges in the market and need to keep their eye on the ball if they want to stay competitive,’ Carmi Levy, senior vice president of strategic consulting at AR Communications, told InternetNews.com.  RIM, Levy explained, has faced increasing competition from large players capable of ‘swamping the company’ if the vendor loses focus.”

According to the SFGate, “[l]awyers for a disgraced Internet mogul insisted on his innocence Friday at the start of a court appeal of his securities fraud conviction in a scandal that destroyed one of Japan’s highest-flying Internet startups.  Takafumi Horie, former CEO of Internet service provider Livedoor, was found guilty last March of inflating earnings reports and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Four other former executives also were found guilty.  Horie was not present Friday for the first hearing at the Tokyo High Court, court spokesman Takahiro Ito said, refusing to release any further details of the court session.”