Botmasters—rogue computer programmers who create virtual armies of hacked computers, or “bots,” to do their bidding—are a rising international problem, and computer-security analysts have begun to agree on a criminal profile. Tech Radar reports that Cisco and other computing companies find that intelligent, independent upstarts often train themselves: “People with the skills but without the opportunities,” as one online security analyst put it. “Many of these online criminals are coming from developing countries. If you know how to code and are living in London—great!” But “if you know how to code and are living in Siberia—not so great.” Unlike Web 1.0 hackers, who brought down servers and Web sites “for fun” or to prove a point, the new, globalized generation of hackers are in it for the bottom line. The way to catch them, analysts say, is the same as catching almost any white-collar crook: Follow the money. (Tech Radar)

In an unusual coup for Microsoft, the company announced today that it has struck deals with both Twitter and Facebook to integrate them into Microsoft’s search engine Bing. The Twitter search function on Bing is already live, and its algorithm features the most recent and relevant tweets on a subject, as well as the most re-tweeted tweets. The Facebook integration will come at a later date and will include access only to publicly available information. While many have been speculating how the ad-free Twitter will manage to turn a profit to stay afloat, The New York Times reports that Microsoft paid Twitter for the rights to cull information from their service. Microsoft may not be used to besting Google, but the nonexclusive deal with Twitter likely means that the search-engine giant may not be far behind. (PC World)

Apparently newspaper articles, magazine features, encyclopedia entries, blogs, images, and entire books aren’t enough. Next week, Google will begin offering free and paid songs on the main results page of search pages, The Wall Street Journal reports. Musical selections will be aggregated from four online services and consolidated into what Google describes as a “one box,” at the top of the page (like Google weather and stock results). Songs and samples will be provided by Lala.com, iLike, iTunes, and Amazon.com. Warner Music, EMI Group, Sony, and Vivendi—the four major record labels—are all on board, along with a variety of independent labels. Google considers the addition of music a way to optimize users’ experience rather than a profit-building enterprise, and sales will be split between the record labels and music services. (The Wall Street Journal)

Start salivating: Jeremy Horwitz at iLounge has new details on Apple’s upcoming tablet device from a reliable source. According to the source, it will have a 10.7-inch screen, will run on the iPhone OS, and will look like an iPhone 3G. Apple also is planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and it will hit the market in May or June. It’s still awaiting Steve Jobs’ approval. (iLounge)