Businesses to lose $50bn in combating spam, and other brief reports ...

* SA has been ranked 34th out of 104 countries in the Global Information Technology Report, released by the World Economic Forum. Singapore supplanted the US for the top spot in the rankings – gaining high marks for its technical infrastructure, government policies on ICT, the quality of education and the affordability of telephone and Internet services. Full Finance24 report * The Business Software Alliance collected almost €4m in fines from business using illegal software in Europe, the Middle East and Africa last year. The worst offenders, according to the BSA, were small and medium-sized firms in the creative, hi-tech and professional services sector, all of whom rely on professional software products for their businesses. Full Out-Law.com report * A UK 17-year-old has been warned by the Cardiff Crown Court that he faced a jail term for defrauding 100 customers on eBay by advertising non-existent goods. The teen duped visitors to the eBay site into paying between £200 and £2500 for electronic goods that he did not own. Sentencing is due on April 5. Full report in The Telegraph * David Jeansonne, of Louisiana, has been jailed for six months after he was convicted of infecting WebTV users with a Trojan that made 911 nuisance calls. In addition, the judge ordered Jeansonne to pay Microsoft more than $27 000. Following his release, he will be under a six months home detention order. Full report in The Register