Year in Review: Top tech stories of 2009

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One of the biggest stories in IT security this year was Conficker. Also known as Kido or Downadup, the worm had infected nine million PCs by January – leading Microsoft to offer up a $250,000 bounty for information on those responsible for its creation.

It managed to take down PCs at hospitals, the House of Commons and even the Ministry of Defence, and everyone got really nervous when a counter in the worm suggested something big was to happen on 1 April. The worm tried to link up to something, and eventually connected to the Waledec botnet.

While security measures helped calm things over the summer, it started to re-emerge as a threat in September, taking down systems at Oxford Brooks University.

Intel fined by EU

Intel was hit by a massive €1 billion fine by the EU in May this year, sparking off a harsh back-and-forth between the two organisations as the European regulator accussed the firm of buying off manufacturers and the chip maker said the case was flawed.

Intel and AMD came to a $1.25 billion settlement, but it wasn’t enough to keep the US Federal Trade Commission off the chipmaker’s back, as it filed a suit against the massive firm. Will Intel have to settle with Nvidia too in 2010 to appease regualtors?

Gary McKinnon’s case continues…

Gary McKinnon’s battle to avoid extradition to the US to face hacking charges continued this year.

His lawyers appealed to the high court, but without much luck. MPs then stepped in, making the case even more political that it had already become. His supporters and lawyers have repeatedly asked Home Secretary Alan Johnson to step in and halt the extradition, on the grounds that the Asperger’s Syndrome sufferer is at risk of suicide if sent overseas.

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