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2010-01-24T21:24:00.001-05:00

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Clinton Warns Countries Against Cyberattacks

2010-01-21T21:15:00.000-05:00

Declaring that an attack on one nation's computer networks "can be an attack on all," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a warning that the United States would defend itself from cyberattacks, though she left unclear the means of response. In a sweeping, pointed address that dealt with the Internet as a force for both liberation and repression, Mrs. Clinton said: "Those who disrupt the free flow of information in our society or any other pose a threat to our economy, our government and our civil society."

Read the article: The New York Times

Microsoft Patches Hole Targeted in Chinese Attacks

2010-01-21T21:10:00.000-05:00

Microsoft issued a cumulative critical patch for Internet Explorer that fixes eight vulnerabilities, including a hole targeted in the China-based attacks on Google and other U.S. companies.

Read the article: CNET News

EC Approves Oracle's Takeover of Sun

2010-01-21T21:05:00.000-05:00

The European Commission said that it had approved Oracle's $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems after concluding that it would not significantly affect competition in the European Union. The commission, the executive arm of the European Union, had begun a formal antitrust investigation in early September because of concerns that the combination could harm the database software market.

Read the article: The New York Times

Security Concerns Threaten ICANN Meeting in Kenya

2010-01-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

Unease following the arrest of radical Islamic preacher Abdullah al-Faisal threatens to jeopardise Kenya's chances of hosting a key global meeting to discuss the future of the Internet. Organizers of the March conference are currently evaluating their options following recommendations made by consultants sent to the country to assess the suitability of the city to hold the meeting.

Read the article: Business Daily

Microsoft Attorney Proposes Cloud Computing Advancement Act

2010-01-20T23:20:00.000-05:00

Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, urged Congress to introduce a bill that would address privacy and security issues associated with cloud computing. Specifically, Smith proposed the Cloud Computing Advancement Act, which would improve privacy protection, modernize the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to allow law enforcement to go after hackers and deter online crime, truth in cloud-computing principles, and a new multilateral framework to address data access issues globally.

Read the article: PC Magazine

Microsoft Sues TiVo Over Program Display Technology

2010-01-20T23:15:00.000-05:00

Microsoft filed a suit against TiVo in a San Francisco federal court, claiming that the Alviso, Calif., maker of digital video recorders illegally uses technology related to purchasing and delivering video and the ability to display programming information. Both are seen as an attempt to counter an earlier suit filed by TiVo against AT&T, which uses Microsoft's technology in its television service.

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

Senators Want U.S. to Help Groups Fight Internet Censorship

2010-01-20T23:10:00.000-05:00

Five United States senators are publicly urging Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to move faster to support organizations that are helping people in countries like Iran and China circumvent restrictions on Internet use. In a letter written by Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, the senators ask Mrs. Clinton to quickly spend $45 million that has been earmarked over the last two years to support Internet freedom but has not been spent.

Read the article: The New York Times

Baidu Sues Register.com for Role in Cyber Attack

2010-01-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

China's top search engine, Baidu, sued its U.S.-based domain name service provider Register.com after a cyber attack interrupted its web services. In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court in New York, Baidu said it sought damages under the Lanham Act for trademark infringement, breach of contract and negligence.

Read the article: Reuters

Verizon Terminates Service for Some File-Sharers

2010-01-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Months after Verizon Communications began issuing warnings to accused file sharers, the company has acknowledged that multiple offenses could result in a service interruption. "We've cut some people off," Verizon Online spokeswoman Bobbi Henson.

Read the article: CNET News

Microsoft to Discard Bing User Data After Six Months

2010-01-19T21:10:00.000-05:00

Bowing to pressure in Europe, Microsoft said that it would comply with regulators and discard all data collected on users of its Bing search engine after six months. John Vassallo, a Microsoft vice president and associate general counsel, said the company would introduce the changes over the next 18 months, aiming to satisfy a European advisory group that had been critical of how search engines collect and retain data on individuals for advertising purposes.

Read the article: The New York Times

U.S. Security Researcher Finds Evidence in Google Attack

2010-01-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

An American computer security researcher has found what he says he believes is strong evidence of the digital fingerprints of Chinese authors in the software programs used in attacks against Google. By analyzing the software used in the break-ins against Google and dozens of other companies, Joe Stewart, a malware specialist with SecureWorks, a computer security company based in Atlanta, said he determined the main program used in the attack contained a module based on an unusual algorithm from a Chinese technical paper that has been published exclusively on Chinese-language Web sites.

Read the article: Source

Samsung to Pay Rambus $200 Million to Settle Patent Dispute

2010-01-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

Samsung Electronics and Rambus said that they have reached an agreement settling all claims between them and the licensing of Rambus' patent portfolio for all Samsung semiconductor products. Under the agreement, Samsung will initially pay Rambus $200 million.

Read the article: CNET News

Forbes Wins Domain Name, $300,000 in Russia

2010-01-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

The Russian edition of Forbes has won the use of the domain name Forbes.ru and a record $300,000 in damages from a cybersquatter in a landmark court ruling, the magazine announced. Forbes and its Russian publisher, Axel Springer Russia, sued Landmark VIP Services, which advertises travel packages on Forbes.ru, for the unauthorized use of the magazine's trademark in its web address.

Read the article: The Moscow Times

British Court Clears Web Founder in File-Sharing Case

2010-01-18T17:30:00.000-05:00

The founder of a Web site accused of being one of the world's biggest sources of illegally downloaded music was cleared of fraud by a British court. Music-industry group the BPI said the verdict in Britain's first trial for online file-sharing was "hugely disappointing."

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

Google E-mail Accounts Hacked for Journalists in China

2010-01-18T17:25:00.000-05:00

At least two foreign journalists living in Beijing have had their Google e-mail accounts hacked, a journalists' advocacy group in China said. The hackers changed settings so that all Gmail messages would be forwarded to unfamiliar addresses.

Read the article: The New York Times

France Joins Germany in Warnings Against MS Explorer

2010-01-18T17:20:00.000-05:00

France has echoed calls by the German government for web users to find an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer to protect security. Certa, a government agency that oversees cyber threats, warned against using all versions of the web browser.

Read the article: BBC News

Google Probing Role by Employees in Cyber-Attack

2010-01-18T17:15:00.000-05:00

Google is investigating whether one or more employees may have helped facilitate a cyber-attack that the U.S. search giant said it was a victim of in mid-December, two sources told Reuters. Google, the world's most popular search engine, said last week it may pull out of the world's biggest Internet market by users after reporting it had been hit by a "sophisticated" cyber-attack on its network that resulted in theft of its intellectual property.

Read the article: Reuters

FCC Considers Alternative Plans for Net Traffic Rules

2010-01-18T17:10:00.000-05:00

Federal Communications Commission officials have begun discussing alternative plans for regulating Internet-traffic management if a federal appeals court rules this spring that the agency doesn't have authority to control the way phone and cable companies handle traffic on their broadband networks. The discussions began less than a week after a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit panel sharply questioned the FCC's jurisdiction in reprimanding Comcast Corp. two years ago when the cable company deliberately slowed some subscribers' web traffic.

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

India Suspects Chinese Hackers of Government Attack

2010-01-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

India suspects that Chinese hackers attempted to gain access to Indian government information at the same time as they have been accused of targeting U.S. companies including Google Inc., according to a report. The Times of London quoted India's national security adviser, M.K. Narayanan, as saying of the attempted cyber attacks on his and other government offices: "People seem to be fairly sure it was the Chinese."

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

Human Rights Group Says Turkey Blocking Websites

2010-01-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

Europe's main security and human rights watchdog said that Turkey was blocking some 3,700 Internet sites for "arbitrary and political reasons" and urged reforms to show its commitment to freedom of expression. Milos Haraszti, media freedom monitor for the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said Turkey's Internet law was failing to preserve free expression in the country and should be changed or abolished.

Read the article: Reuters

Germany Warns of Security Issues with Internet Explorer

2010-01-17T22:30:00.000-05:00

The German government has warned web users to find an alternative browser to Internet Explorer to protect security. The warning from the Federal Office for Information Security comes after Microsoft admitted IE was the weak link in recent attacks on Google's systems.

Read the article: BBC News

Telecom Providers Struggle to Operate in Haiti

2010-01-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

Telecommunications providers in Haiti will continue through to try to accommodate the enormous demand for phone and broadband services as they struggle to overcome massive damage to the island's infrastructure from the 7.0 earthquake. "The logistics and the security situation are really bad," says Paul Margie, U.S. representative for international relief organization Télécoms Sans Frontières (Telecommunications Without Borders).

Read the article: USA Today

Teen Could Face Porn Child Porn Charges for "Sexting"

2010-01-17T22:20:00.000-05:00

A teenage girl who appeared topless in a "sexting" cell phone picture that was distributed among her middle-school classmates should face child-pornography charges, a Pennsylvania prosecutor argued before a U.S. appellate court. In the first U.S. case to test the constitutional status of "sexting," the American Civil Liberties Union countered that the incident does not come close to meeting the definition of child pornography which typically depicts graphic sexual acts with minors and is done for commercial gain.

Read the article: Reuters

Apple Seeks to Ban Imports of Nokia Cell Phones

2010-01-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

The ongoing patent battle between Apple and Nokia escalated when Apple moved to block imports of Nokia cell phones to the U.S. Apple made its request in a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that examines issues including unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark, and copyright infringement.

Read the article: CNET News

Cybercrime Kits Appeal to Do-It-Yourselfers

2010-01-17T22:10:00.000-05:00

Do-it-yourself cybercrime kits are driving a surge in Internet-borne computer infections. DIY kits have been a staple in the cyberunderground for some time. But now they've dropped in price and become more user-friendly.

Read the article: USA Today

EU Antitrust Chief Uncertain as Digital Leader

2010-01-17T22:05:00.000-05:00

The nomination of Neelie Kroes, who was hard-nosed as Europe's antitrust chief, to a new post as commissioner for the digital agenda was in doubt after she was accused of being evasive during a testy appearance before a committee of the European Parliament. Members of the two biggest blocs in Parliament, the conservatives and the Socialists, expressed concerns about the failure by Ms. Kroes to endorse clearly what they considered pro-consumer lines on price caps for mobile phone roaming, redeployment of broadcast frequencies for wireless broadband and revisions to digital copyright law.

Read the article: The New York Times

Chinese Find Ways to Avoid Internet Censorship

2010-01-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

Just as Mongol invaders could not be stopped by the Great Wall, Chinese citizens have found ways to circumvent the sophisticated Internet censorship systems designed to restrict them. They are using a variety of tools to evade government filters and to reach the wide-open Web that the Chinese government deems dangerous -- sites like YouTube, Facebook and, if Google makes good on its threat to withdraw from China, Google.cn.

Read the article: The New York Times

App Store Blamed for $450 Million in Software Losses

2010-01-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

According to analysis by 24/7 Wall St., Apple and App Store software developers have lost more than $450 million to piracy since the store's launch in July 2008. The new study was greeted with some skepticism in the blogosphere, where critics and readers alike challenged the researchers' assumptions.

Read the article: PC World

U.S. Supports Google in Chinese Censorship Debate

2010-01-14T21:10:00.000-05:00

The United States has backed Google's decision to no longer support China's censoring of Internet searches and said the issue was of considerable economic importance as well as involving free information flow. Washington again demanded an explanation from Beijing on the issue, the latest row to break out between two of the world's economic giants.

Read the article: Reuters

Kodak Says iPhone, BlackBerry Cameras Infringe

2010-01-14T21:05:00.000-05:00

Kodak has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission charging Apple and Research In Motion with infringing patents in products with cameras. The suit claims that the iPhone and BlackBerry devices with cameras infringe a Kodak patent that allows image previews.

Read the article: PC World

RIAA Asks FCC to Allow "Flexible" ISP Rules

2010-01-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Recording Industry Association of America asked the Federal Communications Commission to "adopt flexible rules" that free Internet service providers to fight copyright theft. According to a copy of comments submitted by the RIAA to the FCC, others, including two U.S. congressmen have already argued that the "Open Internet" principles should not protect unlawful content such as pirated songs.

Read the article: CNET News

FBI Warns of E-mail Scams Related to Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

As the world looks for ways to help the victims of Haiti's earthquake, the FBI is now warning that there are also those who are looking for opportunities set up scams surrounding the latest disaster relief efforts. The FBI advises that people should be very skeptical of any unsolicited appeals they receive or find on the Internet.

Read the article: CNN.com

Schools to Stop Promoting Kindle in Settlement

2010-01-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

Three U.S. universities will stop promoting the use of Amazon.com's Kindle DX e-book reader in classrooms after complaints that the device doesn't give blind students equal access to information. Settlements with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Oregon, were announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read the article: PC World

Court Reinstates Antitrust Downloading Suit

2010-01-13T21:10:00.000-05:00

A federal appeals court reinstated an antitrust lawsuit accusing major record labels of conspiring to fix prices for potentially millions of people who download their music over the Internet. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said a federal district judge erred in dismissing the case in October 2008 against defendants that include Bertelsmann AG, EMI Group, Sony Corp, Vivendi SA and Warner Music Group Corp or various affiliates.

Read the article: Reuters

McAfee Helps Facebook Users Avoid Viruses, Spam

2010-01-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

It looks like Facebook has finally gotten fed up with all the viruses and spam that is plaguing the social network and ensnaring and embarrassing its 350 million members. The company announced a deal with McAfee, a leading maker of antivirus software, to give Facebook users a complimentary six-month subscription to McAfee's Internet Security Suite.

Read the article: The New York Times

Alleged NASA Hacker's Extradition to U.S. Delayed

2010-01-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

A Briton who hacked into NASA and Pentagon computers has won the right to challenge the government's decision to refuse to block his extradition to the United States, his lawyers said. Gary McKinnon was arrested in 2002 after U.S. prosecutors charged him with illegally accessing computers, including at the U.S. Defense Department and NASA, and causing $700,000 worth of damage.

Read the article: Reuters

Google Threatens to Leave China After E-mail Attack

2010-01-12T22:15:00.000-05:00

Google said that it may pull out of China because of a sophisticated computer network attack originating there and targeting its e-mail service. The company said it had evidence to suggest that "a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists."

Read the article: The Washington Post

Mobile Banking Apps Pulled Over Security Concerns

2010-01-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

A programmer who goes by the nickname "09Droid" has just illuminated security concerns sure to come into sharper focus as tech and financial services corporations move to popularize mobile device banking. Antivirus supplier F-Secure says 09Droid offered more than 50 mobile banking applications for sale through Google's Android Marketplace, the app store for smartphones based on the Android operating system.

Read the article: USA Today

Google apologizes for E-mailing Sensitive Business Data

2010-01-12T22:05:00.000-05:00

Google is apologizing after it mistakenly e-mailed potentially sensitive business data to other users of its business listings service. The company's Local Business Center allows businesses to create a listing for Google's search engine and Maps application, as well as add videos, coupons or photos.

Read the article: InfoWorld

Adult Film Star Says Violent Video Games Worse for Kids

2010-01-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Violent video games have "a much bigger negative influence on kids" than pornography, a leading porn star has claimed. He said parents should be more worried about the harmful effects of such games.

Read the article: BBC News

Court Blocks Webcast of Trial, But Changes Possible

2010-01-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Supreme Court indicated that it might soon have something significant to say about whether and when video coverage of federal trials is appropriate. Shortly before a federal trial over same-sex marriage began in San Francisco, the court temporarily blocked a judge's plan to broadcast the trial on the Internet.

Read the article: The New York Times

Iranian Hackers Blamed for Attack on China's Baidu

2010-01-12T08:10:00.000-05:00

China's top search engine, was unavailable in China, and some Internet users reported seeing signs of an attack on the site by Iranian hackers. Users reported seeing a banner for the "Iranian Cyber Army," complete with an Iranian flag and a shattered Star of David, when they tried to access Baidu's home page.

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

Google Seeks to Improve Work with Chinese Authors

2010-01-12T08:05:00.000-05:00

Google has agreed to hand over a list of books by Chinese authors that it has scanned in recent years, company executives said, in an apparent effort to placate writers who say their works were digitized without their permission. In a letter sent to an association of 8,000 Chinese writers, Google also apologized for any misunderstanding that might have angered authors and said it would work to forge an agreement on digitizing books by early summer.

Read the article: The New York Times

Blind Groups Settle Kindle-Related Discrimination Suit

2010-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Two organizations representing the blind have settled a discrimination lawsuit against Arizona State University over its use of Amazon's Kindle e-reader device. Arizona State is among several universities testing the $489 Kindle DX, a large-screen model aimed at textbook and newspaper readers.

Read the article: ABC News

Judges Question FCC's Authority to Fine Comcast

2010-01-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

Federal judges questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to enforce rules that require Internet providers to give equal treatment to all traffic on their networks. In a hearing in a dispute between the agency and Comcast Corp., the judges questioned whether the FCC acted properly when it ordered the Philadelphia-based cable giant to stop blocking subscribers from using file-sharing services.

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

Judge Rules Against CTA's Ban on Video Game Ads

2010-01-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

In a solid win for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a U.S. District Court ruled that the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) cannot ban computer and video game ads. In a press release posted to the ESA's website, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer's ruling was quoted as saying that the ads the CTA wanted to ban are "expression that has constitutional value and implicates core First Amendment concerns."

Read the article: InfoWorld

FCC to Delay Report on National Broadband Plan

2010-01-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will delay submitting its highly anticipated National Broadband Plan report to Congress by one month to better digest all the data and public input, an FCC official said. The report, a framework to promote affordable high-speed Internet access and use among Americans, is due to be submitted to Congress on February 17, as mandated by President Barack Obama's massive economic stimulus package.

Read the article: Reuters

Suit Says Chinese Firms Stole Code for Monitoring Program

2010-01-09T09:10:00.000-05:00

A software company in California has sued two Chinese technology firms, charging that they stole its computer code to make an Internet-monitoring program that China's government sought to install on every computer in the country last year before backing down. The lawsuit by Cybersitter also names as defendants seven computer makers, including Sony, Lenovo and Acer, accusing them of willingly joining a Chinese government plan to spread the software, known as Green Dam Youth Escort, throughout the country.

Read the article: The New York Times

French Report Urges Tax on Net Advertising Companies

2010-01-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

A report financed by the French government recommends that Google, MSN, Yahoo, and other big advertising companies -- as well as Internet service providers -- be taxed, with the revenue set to help fund the music and publishing sectors. Google is "profiting without any consideration" for music artists and book publishers, according to the report, written by Jacque Toubon, France's former minister of culture, Patrick Zelnick, a former music executive who produced French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's songs, and Guillaume Cerutti, an executive at Sotheby's France.

Read the article: CNET News

Google, Viacom Seek Meeting with Judge in Copyright Case

2010-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Google and Viacom are preparing to throw legal blows at each other as part of Viacom's $1 billion copyright lawsuit against YouTube, according to documents filed with a federal court last month. Both parties have requested a meeting with the judge to discuss the individual motions for summary judgment that each plans to file.

Read the article: CNET News

New French Internet Piracy Law Takes Effect

2010-01-03T21:35:00.000-05:00

The first effects of France's new law against Internet piracy will begin to be felt as the new year begins. The law was passed after a long struggle in parliament, and in the teeth of bitter opposition from groups opposed to internet restrictions.

Read the article: BBC News

Chinese Police Arrest Thousands in Net Porn Crackdown

2010-01-03T21:30:00.000-05:00

Chinese police arrested thousands in a drive against Internet pornography throughout 2009, officials said, vowing a deepening crackdown that critics say is being used to tighten overall censorship. The Chinese government has run a highly publicized campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the country's Internet and threatening the emotional health of children.

Read the article: Reuters

Hacker Pleads Guilty to Stealing Credit Card Numbers

2010-01-03T21:25:00.001-05:00

A 28-year-old college dropout pleaded guilty to charges that he stole tens of millions of payment card numbers by breaking into corporate computer systems. The hacker, Albert Gonzalez, told a federal judge in Boston that he had engineered electronic thefts at companies including the card processor Heartland Payment Systems, the convenience store 7-Eleven and the Hannaford chain of New England grocery stores.

Read the article: The New York Times

Digital Piracy Spreading Quickly Among E-Books

2010-01-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

Digital piracy, long confined to music and movies, is spreading to books. And as electronic reading devices such as Amazon's Kindle, the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble's Nook, smartphones and Apple's much-anticipated "tablet" boost demand for e-books, experts say the problem may only get worse.

Read the article: CNN.com

Facebook Scam Artists Snag FCC Chairman

2010-01-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

Facebook scam artists have closed out 2009 by snagging a prominent victim: Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. It's not clear how Mr. Genachowski's Facebook account was compromised; perhaps he or a family member clicked on a malicious link, allowing his account to be taken over.

Read the article: The New York Times

TSA Drops Subpoenas Issued to Internet Writers

2010-01-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

The Transportation Security Administration dropped the subpoenas it had issued to two Internet writers in its effort to learn who leaked an airline security directive. The security directive ordered extra measures after a Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound airliner.

Read the article: The New York Times

Cyber Bullies in South Korea Hide Behind Anonymity

2010-01-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

In recent years, celebrities, authors and ordinary South Koreans have been subjected to relentless online assaults -- at times with disastrous, or even lethal, effects. Most South Korean cyber bullies are teenagers hiding behind the cloak of Internet anonymity, analysts say, products of a highly regimented culture in which the young are discouraged from speaking their minds with parents, teachers and bosses.

Read the article: Los Angeles Times

"High School Musical" Actress Sues Site Over Nude Photos

2010-01-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Vanessa Hudgens is suing the owners of moejackson.com, after the Web site refused to remove nude pictures of the "High School Musical" actress. According to TMZ.com, the 21-year-old claims that the pics were "self-portrait photographs" taken in a private residence.

Read the article: New York Daily News

DNS Attack Briefly Takes Down E-Commerce Sites

2009-12-28T07:35:00.000-05:00

An attack directed at the DNS provider for some of the Internet's larger e-commerce companies -- including Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Expedia -- took several Internet shopping sites offline two days before Christmas. Neustar, the company that provides DNS services under the UltraDNS brand name, confirmed an attack, taking out sites or rendering them extremely sluggish for about an hour.

Read the article: CNN.com

Comcast to Pay $16 Million in Net Neutrality Case

2009-12-28T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cable giant Comcast agrees to pay $16 million to make a 2007 class action lawsuit go away. The lawsuit claimed Comcast blocked or throttled peer-to-peer traffic in violation of Comcast's user's agreement, charges the FCC subsequently investigated. The FCC found the company in violation of its network neutrality principles.

Read the article: eWeek

Hackers Claim to Crack Protections on Kindle

2009-12-28T07:25:00.000-05:00

Hackers say they've successfully cracked copyright protections on the company's Kindle e-reader, making it possible to export e-books to other devices. One hack reportedly resulted from a Kindle DRM challenge issued on Israeli forum Hacking.org.

Read the article: CNET News

Microsoft to Pay $200 Million in Word Patent Case

2009-12-28T07:20:00.000-05:00

Microsoft must alter its popular Word software or stop selling the product after it lost its appeal of a $200 million patent-infringement verdict won by a Canadian company. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, was given until Jan. 11 -- five months from the original order issued in August -- to make the change by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington.

Read the article: BusinessWeek

Chinese Dissident Sentenced to 11 Years in Jail

2009-12-28T07:15:00.000-05:00

Leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been jailed for 11 years for "inciting subversion of state power", after a trial condemned in the West. The trial, from which Western diplomats and journalists were barred, followed Mr Liu's co-authorship of a document last year urging political reform.

Read the article: BBC News

Russians Concerned About Use of Cyrillic Domain Names

2009-12-28T07:10:00.000-05:00

Cut off for decades under Communism, Russians revel in the Internet's ability to connect them to the world, and they prize the freedom of the Web even as the government has tightened control over major television channels. But now, computer users are worried that Cyrillic domains will give rise to a hermetic Russian Web, a sort of cyberghetto, and that the push for Cyrillic amounts to a plot by the security services to restrict access to the Internet.

Read the article: The New York Times

Judge Allows Subpoena for Google, AT&T in GQ Case

2009-12-28T07:05:00.000-05:00

A federal judge has cleared the way for the publisher of GQ magazine to subpoena Google and AT&T in an attempt to learn the identity of a computer intruder who stole unpublished editorial content and posted it online. Sometime in September, an unknown thief accessed the computer network of Conde Nast and made off with more than 1,100 files containing pictures and editorial content for the December issue of GQ, Vogue and Lucky magazines, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Read the article: The Register

Google's Lawyers Rest Defense in Italian Privacy Case

2009-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lawyers for Google rested their case in defense of four executives charged in Italy with failing to comply with privacy laws, telling a judge that the company has a mechanism in place to rapidly remove objectionable video from its site. The attorneys, Giuliano Pisapia and Giuseppe Vaciago, said that Google removed a video showing high school students bullying an autistic classmate just hours after it learned it had been posted.

Read the article: The New York Times

White House Expected to Cybersecurity Adviser

2009-12-22T09:15:00.000-05:00

Nearly seven months after highlighting the vulnerability of banking, energy and communications systems to Internet attacks, the White House is expected to name a technology industry veteran to coordinate competing efforts to improve the nation's cybersecurity in both military and civilian life. The decision to appoint Howard A. Schmidt, an industry executive with government experience who served as a cybersecurity adviser in the Bush administration and who also has a military and law enforcement background, is seen as a compromise between factions.

Read the article: The New York Times

FBI Probing Hacker Theft of Million at Citibank

2009-12-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a computer-security breach targeting Citigroup Inc. that resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber gang, according to government officials. The attack took aim at Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary, which includes its North American retail bank and other businesses.

Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

China Creates "Whitelist" of Approved Websites

2009-12-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

China has issued new Internet regulations, including what appears to be an effort to create a "whitelist" of approved websites that could potentially place much of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ordered domain management institutions and internet service providers to tighten control over domain name registration, in a three-phase plan laid out on its website.

Read the article: Reuters

Original Source of "Wolverine" Leak Unidentified

2009-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

The FBI has accused the man who allegedly was first, or among the first, to upload a pirated copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" that circulated online in April. What authorities have apparently yet to do is identify the original source of the leak.

Read the article: CNET News

French Court Rules Against Google for Digitizing Books

2009-12-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

A Paris court found U.S. Internet giant Google guilty of violating copyright by digitizing books and putting extracts online, following a legal challenge by major French publishers. The court ruled against Google's French unit after the La Martiniere group, which controls the highbrow Editions du Seuil publishing house, argued that publishers and authors were losing out in the latest stage of the digital revolution.

Read the article: Reuters

"Iranian Cyber Army" Briefly Blocks Access to Twitter

2009-12-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

Hackers briefly blocked access to the popular Internet messaging service Twitter, steering traffic to another website where a group reportedly calling itself the "Iranian Cyber Army" claimed responsibility. Users trying to reach Twitter were redirected to a Web page that CNN reported had a picture of a green flag and a message that said, "This site has been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army."

Read the article: USA Today

Company Files Trademark Suit Against Microsoft Over "Bing"

2009-12-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

A small St. Louis company is suing Microsoft for using the name "Bing" without permission for its recently launched search engine. The small company claims it has been using the Bing name since 2000 and has applications pending to register the trademark, while Microsoft only launched Bing in May 2009.

Read the article: Ars Technica

Companies Aim to Protect Smartphones from Hackers

2009-12-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

Mobile phones are becoming ever more like personal computers. That means they are also becoming more vulnerable to traditional computer menaces like hackers and viruses.

Read the article: The New York Times

Privacy Group Files Complaint Over Facebook's Changes

2009-12-17T23:10:00.000-05:00

In a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, a privacy organization is charging that Facebook's recent changes to its privacy policies constitute "unfair and deceptive trade practices." The Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC, says that Facebook's recent changes "violate user expectations, diminish user privacy, and contradict Facebook's own representations."

Read the article: The New York Times

White House to Release $2 Billion for Broadband Access

2009-12-17T23:05:00.000-05:00

The Obama administration released details of a $2 billion program in grants and loans to help dramatically expand Americans' broadband Internet access and create tens of thousands of jobs. The funds, to be released over the next 75 days, are among $7.2 billion set aside in President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic recovery package to bring broadband access to unserved or underserved U.S. communities.

Read the article: Reuters

China Imposes New Limits on Internet Usage

2009-12-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

China's government censors have taken fresh aim at the Internet, rolling out new measures that limit its citizens' ability to set up personal Web sites and to view hundreds of Web sites offering films, video games and other forms of entertainment. The authorities say the stricter controls are intended to protect children from pornography; to limit the piracy of films, music, and television shows; and to make it hard to perpetuate Internet scams.

Read the article: The New York Times

FCC Unveils Proposals to Expand High-Speed Internet

2009-12-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

The Federal Communications Commission unveiled a laundry list of proposals to meet a congressional mandate to give every U.S. home access to high-speed Internet service. The recommendations, which come just two months before the agency must present its final national broadband plan to Congress, include revising a rural phone subsidy program, revamping the market for television set-top boxes and redirecting more airwaves to wireless services.

Read the article: The Washington Post

New York Man Charged with Uploading X-Men Movie

2009-12-16T21:05:00.000-05:00

FBI agents arrested a New York man on charges that he uploaded a copy of the movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" to the Internet before its May theatrical release, a spokeswoman said. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the probe continues into how Gilberto Sanchez, 47, of New York City obtained the copy he posted to Megaupload.com in the spring.

Read the article: Reuters

Apple Gets Permanent Injunction Against Mac Clone Maker

2009-12-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

After a long legal battle, the company won a permanent injunction against Psystar. According to the ruling, the Mac clone manufacturer is no longer allowed to sell systems running Apple's OS.

Read the article: PC Magazine

FTC Sues Intel for Stifling Microchip Competition

2009-12-16T09:26:00.001-05:00

The Federal Trade Commission sued the chipmaker, Intel, accusing it of using its dominant market position to stifle competition and strengthen its monopoly. In its complaint, the agency accused Intel of a systematic campaign to prevent rivals from selling their microchips by cutting off their access to the market.

Read the article: The New York Times

Europe Drops Antitrust Case Against Microsoft

2009-12-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

European regulators dropped their antitrust case against Microsoft after the software maker agreed to offer consumers a choice of rival Web browsers. The agreement, announced in Brussels by the European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, calls for Microsoft to give Windows users a choice of up to 11 other browsers from competing companies, including Mozilla, Apple and Google.

Read the article: The New York Times

Australian Internet Filters to Block Criminal Content

2009-12-15T22:25:00.000-05:00

Australia intends to introduce filters which will ban access to websites containing criminal content. The banned sites will be selected by an independent classification body guided by complaints from the public, said Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.

Read the article: BBC News

AT&T Says "Open Character of Internet Critically Important"

2009-12-15T22:20:00.000-05:00

AT&T tried to convince federal regulators that it's part of a broad coalition supporting an open and free Internet, but cautioned that new government rules currently being crafted would stifle innovation. The letter attempts to position AT&T as a champion of user rights, and make it seems that its position on the volatile issue of "net neutrality" is not far from its nemesis Google, which champions openness as a way to increase its profits.

Read the article: Wired

Microsoft Says Blogging Program Copied Code

2009-12-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Microsoft said that a blogging application posted to its MSN China site did in fact copy code from a rival. Microsoft has said a third party and not it or its Chinese joint venture partner wrote the Juku program.

Read the article: CNET News

Microsoft Software to Help Identify Child Porn

2009-12-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

Microsoft is contributing new image-matching software, PhotoDNA, that promises to automate and streamline online child-pornography monitoring. "It's a terrific tool for us, law enforcement and ISPs," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Read the article: The New York Times

Malicious Adobe Acrobat File Identified

2009-12-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

Symantec confirmed a vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader and said it was being exploited by a Trojan hidden in e-mail attachments. The malicious Adobe Acrobat PDF file is distributed via an e-mail attachment that "drops and executes when opened on a fully patched system with either Adobe Acrobat or Reader installed," Symantec said in a statement.

Read the article: CNET News

Rumored Google Phone Name May Create Conflict

2009-12-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Isa Dick Hackett, a daughter of the late Philip K. Dick, said in an interview that she was "shocked and dismayed" by reports indicating that the Google phone would be named after her father's famous characters. "We were never consulted, no requests were made, and we didn't grant any sort of permissions."

Read the article: The New York Times

"Operation Holiday Hoax" Nabs $26 Million of Fake Goods

2009-12-14T21:30:00.001-05:00

More than $26 million worth of counterfeit clothing, electronics, DVDs, holiday ornaments and other consumer goods are now in the hands of authorities after a nationwide series of raids. The coordinated raids were aimed at cracking down on major rings selling "knockoff" products, federal authorities announced.

Read the article: CNN.com

Supreme Court Agrees to Hearing Text-Messaging Case

2009-12-14T21:25:00.000-05:00

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether a police department violated the constitutional privacy rights of an employee when it inspected personal text messages sent and received on a government pager. The case opens "a new frontier in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence," according to a three-judge panel of an appeals court that ruled in favor of the employee, a police sergeant on the Ontario, Calif., SWAT team.

Read the article: The New York Times

Settlement May Lead to Release of Missing White House E-mails

2009-12-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

Two nonprofit groups announced that they reached a legal settlement with the White House that may result in the release of a portion of the 22 million e-mails that went missing during the Bush administration because of poor labeling and other technical problems. The National Security Archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) first sued the White House in 2007 alleging that millions of executive office e-mails had gone missing from March 2003 to October 2005 in violation of laws requiring their preservation.

Read the article: The Washington Post

Complaint Accuses Electronics Companies of Violating GPL

2009-12-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

Best Buy, Samsung, Westinghouse, and JVC are among 14 consumer electronics companies named in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in New York by the Software Freedom Law Center. According to the complaint, the defendants sold products containing software application BusyBox in violation of the terms of its license, the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2).

Read the article: CNET News

Microsoft Probing Charges It Stole Code in China

2009-12-14T21:10:00.000-05:00

Microsoft said on that it's investigating allegations that a recently launched microblogging site in China lifts the code and interface of a start-up's rival service. anada's Plurk went public with charges that Microsoft's Juku service "rips off" the look and feel of its microblogging service and also appears to use more than 80 percent of the same code, all without permission.

Read the article: CNET News

Students, Parents Fight Back Against Cyber-Bullying Charges

2009-12-14T21:05:00.001-05:00

Amid rising concerns over cyber-bullying, and even calls for criminalization, some courts, parents and free-speech advocates are pushing back. Students, they say, have a First Amendment right to be nasty in cyberspace.

Read the article: Los Angeles Times

Covey Grants Amazon Exclusive Rights to His E-Books

2009-12-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

Stephen R. Covey, one of the most successful business authors of the last two decades, has moved e-book rights to two of his best-selling books from his print publisher, Simon & Schuster, a division of the CBS Corporation, to Amazon.com for one year. Amazon, maker of the popular Kindle e-reader and one of the biggest book retailers in the country, will have the exclusive rights to sell electronic editions of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," and a later work, "Principle-Centered Leadership."

Read the article: The New York Times

U.S., Russia Discussing Cyberwarfare Issues

2009-12-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

The United States has begun talks with Russia and a United Nations arms control committee about strengthening Internet security and limiting military use of cyberspace. American and Russian officials have different interpretations of the talks so far, but the mere fact that the United States is participating represents a significant policy shift after years of rejecting Russia's overtures.

Read the article: The New York Times

Apple Files Patent Infringement Claims Against Nokia

2009-12-13T12:20:00.000-05:00

In response to Nokia's own claims of copyright violation, Apple accused the largest handset maker in the world of copying some of the technology inside the iPhone. In a suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Apple says Nokia is infringing 13 of its patents.

Read the article: CNET News

Florida Judges Told Not to "Friend" Attorneys

2009-12-13T12:10:00.000-05:00

In the latest collision of cyberspace and justice, Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has ruled that it is unseemly for judges to be Internet "friends" with lawyers who could have cases in their court. "The committee believes that listing lawyers who may appear before the judge as 'friends' on a judge's social networking page reasonably conveys to others the impression that these lawyer 'friends' are in a special position to influence the judge," it wrote in an opinion.

Read the article: Palm Beach Post

Authors, Publishers Debate Rights to E-Books

2009-12-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

The question of exactly who owns the electronic rights to older book titles is in dispute, making it a rising source of conflict in one of the publishing industry's last remaining areas of growth. Authors and agents are particularly concerned that traditional publishers are not offering sufficient royalties on e-book editions, which they point out are cheaper for publishers to produce.

Read the article: The New York Times