A lot of businesses are starting to discover they have become pawns in a war over control of the Internet that could wind up either increasing the cost of security or compromising it outright.

This week the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s ICS-CERT (Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team) Control Systems Security Program division issued a warning for companies deploying Rockwell Automation’s new FactoryTalk products.

People are becoming more aware not only of the security issues related to social media but also the business models that sustain the providers of these networks. As a result, there is a growing appreciation for just how easily personal data can be misappropriated.

As security researchers look for patterns to all the various types of attacks that were launched in 2011, there is one glimmer of optimism that should warm the hearts of IT security administrators everywhere.

In what may be the equivalent in boxing of hitting a man after the bell has rung, Anonymous is threatening to hit Sony hard Jan. 23, 2012, for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) -- this despite SOPA's apparent momentum loss.