A Microsoft executive this week mulled a broad Internet tax to help defray the costs associated with computer security breaches and major Internet attacks, according to a report in The Hill.

Addressing a conference in San Francisco, Microsoft Vice President for Trustworthy Computing Scott Charney urged the Web usage fee as one way to subsidize efforts to combat emerging cyber threats.

"You could say it's a public safety issue and do it with general taxation," Charney noted.

Read more here.