Citing security risks, the Pentagon banned Google teams from making detailed street-level video maps of U.S. military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on the popular Internet site. A message sent to all Defense Department bases and installations around the country told officials not to allow the mapping website to take panoramic views inside the facilities.
At CeBit Show, Officials Bust Patent Infringers
Dozens of exhibitors at Europe's largest gadget confab were in for a surprise: Suspecting patent violations, German authorities raided 51 booths, carting off cell phones, navigation devices, and other gear that allegedly infringe on patents.
Denver Airport Censors Free Wi-Fi System
Want to browse Vanity Fair magazine on the Denver airport's free Wi-Fi system? Sorry. You'll have to buy it at the newsstand, because DIA's Internet filter blocks Vanity Fair as "provocative."
EU Expected to Approve Google-DoubelClick Deal
Google is expected to receive unconditional approval from European Union regulators for its $3.1 billion takeover of ad firm DoubleClick, people familiar with the situation said. The approval has long been expected because the European Commission decided in January not to object formally to the transaction.
Government Project Aims to Spot Terrorists Online
The U.S. government has begun a project to develop ways to spot terrorists who are using virtual worlds. Codenamed Reynard it aims to recognize "normal" behaviour in online worlds and home in on anomalous activity.
Swiss Bank Dismisses Case Against Wikileaks
A Swiss bank that successfully sued to yank the Wikileaks.org domain name, and then faced a severe setback in a subsequent court ruling, has given up for now. Bank Julius Baer filed a brief note with a court in San Francisco saying it would voluntarily dismiss its own case, while reserving the right to file it again in the future or pursue it "in an alternate court, jurisdiction, or venue."
Underground Network Tries to Undermine Cuba Online
A growing underground network of young people armed with computer memory sticks, digital cameras and clandestine Internet hookups has been mounting some challenges to the Cuban government in recent months, spreading news that the official state media try to suppress.
Appeals Court Connsiders Vulgar Language by Student
A teen who used vulgar slang in an Internet blog to complain about school administrators shouldn't have been punished by the school, her lawyer told a federal appeals court. But a lawyer for the Burlington, Conn., school told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that administrators should be allowed to act if such comments are made on the Web.
European Commission Studying Child Protection Online
The European Commission is spending 55 million euros on making the Net a safer place for children. The money will be spent over four years on educational efforts and ways to protect children from inappropriate content and cyber bullying.
Increase in Crime Rate Linked to iPod Popularity
It's easy to see why iPods would be alluring targets for criminals: The music players are valuable and easy to resell, and people absorbed in their personal soundtracks can be vulnerably oblivious to their surroundings. But could the temptation for stealing iPods be so strong that they're behind an increase in the crime rate? Researchers at a public policy institute say yes.
ATM Machines Vulnerable to Internet Hackers
Security experts have hacked ATMs to show how easy it is to steal money and bank account details from modern cash machines. ATMs, or automated teller machines, today face the Internet-born threat of worms and denial-of-service attacks, as well as being at risk from malicious applications that can harvest customer data or hijack machines.
More Companies Stop Workers from Viewing Videos Online
Companies across the U.S. are starting to prevent their employees from accessing Internet-video services at work. The move follows previous steps by IT departments to shut employees' access to instant-messaging services, streaming music and Web sites with adult content.
Italian Man Jailed for E-mailing Nude Photos
An Italian man was jailed for more than two years for putting pornographic pictures of his ex-girlfriend on the Internet and sending them out in more than 15,000 e-mails. The 32-year-old man had created a Web site that appeared to show his ex-girlfriend offering sexual favors and erotic games, with her phone number also on display.
Microsoft, Visto Settle Mobile E-mail Patent Dispute
Microsoft and Visto, which provides mobile e-mail services, said that they have settled a long-running patent dispute. The companies did not disclose details of the settlement; Visto had alleged that Microsoft violated its mobile e-mail patents.
Testimony Shows U.S. Preparing for Cyberspace Warfare
If there were any doubts that the United States is preparing for war in space and cyberspace, testimony before the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee would have wiped them away. According to Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, head of U.S. Strategic Command, "our adversaries understand our dependence upon space-based capabilities, and we must be ready to detect, track, characterize, attribute, predict and respond to any threat to our space infrastructure."
British Court Finds Qualcomm Patents Invalid
Mobile technology company Qualcomm absorbed another legal blow when a British court ruled its claims of patent infringement against handset maker Nokia were invalid. The U.K. High Court said Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker by sales, had not infringed two patents regarding GSM mobile phone standards.
Publishers Drop Digital Rights Controls on Audio Books
Some of the largest book publishers in the world are stripping away the anticopying software on digital downloads of audio books. The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and cellphones -- and conceivably share them with others.
French Court Blocks Rating of Teachers Online
A French court ruled that a popular Web site can no longer let pupils name and shame their own teachers. Following the example of successful U.S. sites, French entrepreneurs created note2be.com in January that encouraged students to grade teachers and discuss their ability.
Police Worry About Internet's Role in Teen Pranks
Teenage boys have always been prone to mischief and bragging. Sometimes, the prank is a firecracker in a mailbox and the boasting occurs among friends. But police and arson investigators say the Internet is changing the scale and scope of these pranks -- and they are worried.
New Zealand Teen Charged in Global Hacking Case
A New Zealand teenager allegedly at the center of an international cyber crime network appeared in court where he was charged with computer hacking crimes. Computer programmer Owen Thor Walker, 18, was charged with two counts of accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, damaging or interfering with a computer system and possessing software for committing crime, and two counts of accessing a computer system without authorization.
