WINDOWS - Microsoft's Shift Towards Tablets

"With Windows 8, Microsoft Makes Big Shift Away From PCs Towards Tablets" PBS Newshour 10/26/2012

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SUMMARY: Microsoft has revealed its biggest makeover so far to the operating system found on nine out of every 10 computers in the world. Ray Suarez talks to Forrester Research's Charles Golvin about how Microsoft's decision to focus on tablet-style computers will impact consumers and the greater tech industry.

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): For more than two decades, Microsoft has been a dominant force in the worlds of business and technology. But its position has been challenged and, in some ways, surpassed by Apple, Google and others in recent years. Some question its ability to innovate.

Now Microsoft is facing a pivotal moment and a crucial test, as Ray Suarez reports.

CYBER SECURITY - Attacks on U.S. Banks

"Could the U.S. Face 'Cyber Pearl Harbor'? Protecting Banks from Hacker Attacks" PBS Newshour 10/18/2012

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MARGARET WARNER (Newshour): We turn to a new cyber campaign against American banking giants and growing worries about what they might foreshadow. It began late last month and continues to this day.

Two more U.S. banks are the latest targets in the spate of cyber-hits on American financial institutions. This week, Capital One and BB&T suffered disruptions on their websites, leaving customers without access to their accounts.

A group calling itself the Qassam Cyber Fighters claimed responsibility and said the attacks are retaliation for an anti-Muslim video. But some U.S. officials, like Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, blame the recent uptick of attacks on Iran and its elite security force.

He spoke last month on C-SPAN.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN, I-Conn.: I think that this was done by Iran and the Quds Force, which has its own developing cyber-attack capacity, and I believe it was a response to the increasingly strong economic sanctions.

MARGARET WARNER: Also blamed on Iran, recent hits on Saudi Arabia's state oil company, Aramco and Qatar's natural gas producer, RasGas, that disabled 30,000 computers entirely.

And Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned last week that the threat to America's vital infrastructure throughout is rising.