SBC Center to Focus on Net Hackers

SBC Communications Inc., one of the nation’s largest Internet service providers, plans to create a laboratory to test methods of defeating viruses and attacks on Web sites.

The decision to create the research center, to be announced today, was endorsed by a top official of a government Internet security board.

But the reaction among some in the Internet security industry was more cautious. They note that ISPs have opposed government requirements to improve security, the investment in the laboratory will be modest -- less than $10 million, according to SBC -- and it won’t be designed to warn customers of ongoing attacks.

The SBC lab, to be based in Austin, Texas, will mimic servers, firewalls and other structures of an ISP. Fred Chang, chief executive of the unit that will run the lab, said the center could produce some early anti-hacker technologies within 18 months.