Global Briefing: Nov. 26, 2001

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A NEW HACKER THREAT

Hoping to boost productivity and give workers increased flexibility, more bosses are letting employees use wireless devices to tap into their company's local network. But they may be letting strangers in as well. A recent report by Cigital, a software-security company based in Dulles, Va., says the programs that facilitate wireless connections could make a network vulnerable to hackers. The software contains the addresses of all the machines that employees can access with their laptops, including the main servers at work. A skilled hacker could manipulate the software to gain access to all information on the internal network and could "effectively become the administrator of the network," says Cigital's CEO Jeffery Payne.

Saving the Junk

J.P. Morgan Chase acquired Hong Kong financial firm Jardine Fleming and then sold off its banking arm, all in the past year. But there is one part of Jardine Fleming's assets that its new parent company is holding close: its junks. Not those of the bond variety but the famous sailboats long associated with Hong Kong harbor. Companies such as J.P. Morgan and its rival HSBC entertain clients aboard well-appointed junks with colorful sails. Maeve Gallagher, J.P. Morgan's Hong Kong spokeswoman, says the junks are popular among bank employees, who get to use them when the boats aren't booked with clients.

A Nose for Anthrax?

There's fresh interest in a handheld gadget called the Cyranose 320, which can be programmed with the "smellprint" of various microbes and then issue an alert if it detects them. Cyrano Sciences, which is based in Pasadena, Calif., and is associated with the California Institute of Technology, has been selling the electronic nose for more than a year. The company manufactured it for use in the food-service and chemical industries. The device can tell whether basil is fresh and warn if a shipment of fish has started to rot. It can also identify contaminants in perfumes or chemicals. But following the Sept. 11 attacks, the $7,995 Cyranose may have a new application. Last week Cyrano Sciences began conducting tests to see whether the Nose can detect the odor of the bacterium that causes anthrax.

Beauty and Bulldog

Fears of terrorism caused a sharp drop in attendance and cancellation of the opening ceremonies at the annual Tokyo Motor Show earlier this month, but the new roadsters and concept cars from Toyota, Honda, Nissan and their competitors were as daring and imaginative as ever. New consumer cars, including the retro Nissan 350Z--priced at less than $30,000--and the latest Mazda RX-8 model, will be in showrooms next year. But crowd-pleaser concepts like the Honda Bulldog (above)--equipped with two electric fold-up scooters--and the Toyota POD, which detects sweaty palms and tailgating and turns on the driver's favorite soothing music, may never make it to market.

A LAWSUIT OVER DRIBBLING