Just days before the Olympic torch will reach Beijing, Internet leaders Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they are close to an agreement on a code of conduct for doing business in China and other countries that censor the Internet. Sen. Dick Durbin released separate letters from the companies, stating they have "reached agreement on the core components of the principles" of the code, as Google put it.
Journalists Expelled from Security Conference
Three journalists for a French security magazine were kicked out of the Black Hat security conference after they allegedly sniffed the press room computer network. The journalists work for Global Security Mag, which was a media sponsor of the event.
Internet Security Flaw Could Compromise E-mail, Too
A newly discovered flaw in the Internet's core infrastructure not only permits hackers to force people to visit Web sites they didn't want to, it also allows them to intercept e-mail messages, the researcher who discovered the bug said. Considering the silent nature of the attack and the sensitive nature of a lot of electronic correspondence, the potential for damage from this second security flaw is high.
Trademark Office Examining Dell's "Cloud" Application
Dell had received near-final approval for its trademark application of the term "cloud computing," but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled its "Notice of Allowance" and changed the status to "returned to examination." Dell first applied for and got a trademark for the term "cloud computing" in March 2007 when it introduced its Cloud Computing Solution, a set of servers, other hardware, and services.
Court Reviewing Definition of E-mail "Interception"
A federal appeals court in California is reviewing a lower court's definition of "interception" in the digital age, in a case that some legal experts say could weaken consumer privacy protections online. The case, Bunnell v. Motion Picture Association of America, involves a hacker who in 2005 broke into a file-sharing company's server and obtained copies of company e-mails as they were being transmitted.
11 People Indicted in Hack Attacks at Large Retailers
Eleven people were indicted for allegedly stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers, federal authorities said. The indictments, which alleged that at least nine major U.S. retailers were hacked, were unsealed in Boston, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California, prosecutors said.
Olympic Ticket Websites Targeted in Court Shut Down
An online operation that has failed to deliver promised Beijing Games admission tickets to hundreds of consumers worldwide unexpectedly closed down, hours before a federal judge in San Francisco approved a restraining order aimed at halting the websites. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White's order prohibited Xclusive Leisure & Hospitality Ltd. from using more than a dozen website names.
Trojan Software Found in Fake Twitter Profile
Twitter, the microblogging service, once the playground of the Web 2.0 digerati, is now mainstream enough to be targeted by online criminals. Kaspersky Lab has uncovered a fake Twitter profile created solely for the purpose of infecting people's computers.
"Grand Theft" Sales Stopped in Thailand After Murder
A Thai video game distributor halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto" on after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game. "We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games," saidf Sakchai Chotikachinda, sales and marketing director of New Era Interactive Media.
EFF Opposes Prosecution of Mother on MySpace
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is opposing the prosecution of a Missouri mom who allegedly created a fake MySpace account to harass a teenage neighbor, saying the prosecutors' misuse of a federal law that targets computer fraud could turn millions of Americans into criminals. The civil liberties organization filed an amicus brief, urging a Los Angeles federal judge to dismiss the indictment of Lori Drew.
Geller Settles Copyright Suit Over Online Videos
Controversial "paranormalist" Uri Geller has settled a lawsuit claiming he misused copyright law to squelch criticism. But much like Geller's mysticism, the legitimacy of his legal dispute remains rather ambiguous -- the terms of the settlement are mostly confidential.
Online Voyeur Gets Four Years in Jail in Cyprus
An online voyeur was jailed for four years in Cyprus for spying on a teenage girl over a webcam in her bedroom that he switched on remotely. The 47-year-old was found guilty of installing "Trojan Horse" software in the computer of a 17-year-old he met in an online chatroom.
FCC Officially Votes Against Comcast on Net Traffic
A divided Federal Communications Commission ruled that Comcast violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers and ordered the cable giant to change the way it manages its network. In a precedent-setting move, the FCC voted 3 to 2 to enforce a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Internet.
House Committee Seeks More Data on Web Ads, Privacy
A congressional committee wants the nation's largest telecommunications and Internet companies to explain whether they target online advertising based on consumers' search queries and Web surfing habits. In an expanding inquiry into the state of consumer privacy on the Internet, House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders sent letters to more than 30 companies, demanding to know whether they track where their users go online and use that information to deliver personalized advertising.
IOC President Denies Deal on Internet Limitations
Olympic officials have denied agreeing to curbs on internet access for foreign journalists covering the Beijing Games. Reporters found a number of politically sensitive websites blocked, and some senior Olympic officials said they had been aware of it.
Man Arrested for Internet Videos on Poisoning
A man was arrested after he allegedly claimed in hoax Internet videos that he had poisoned millions of bottles of baby food, some with cyanide or rat poison, because he wanted to kill black and Hispanic children. Gerber Products Co. and the Food and Drug Administration have found no evidence of tampering with Gerber products.
Judge Rejects Class-Action in Video Game Sex Suit
A federal judge has put the brakes on a lawsuit filed over sex scenes buried in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In a decision, United States District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram wrote that purchasers of the game could not be lumped together in a class action.
Information on Cyber Security Center Kept Secret
The Bush administration's newly created National Cyber Security Center remains shrouded in secrecy, with officials refusing to release information about its budget, what contractors will run it, and how its mission relates to Internet surveillance. In correspondence with the U.S. Senate posted, the Bush administration said it would not provide that information publicly.
New Emphasis on Data Security Needed, Symantec CEO Says
Government agencies and private companies need to move their focus away from single-point security solutions to more holistic, information-based security, Symantec officials advised. "Clearly we've moved to a point in time where our customers have to be much more focused on protecting the information itself, as opposed to protecting the PC or protecting the network," John Thompson, Symantec's chairman and CEO, said at the company's government symposium in Washington, D.C.
China Monitoring Internet Use at Hotels, Senator Says
China has installed Internet-spying equipment in all the major hotel chains serving the 2008 Summer Olympics, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) charged. Brownback, citing hotel documents he received, said journalists, athletes' families and others attending the Olympics next month "will be subjected to invasive intelligence-gathering" by China's Public Security Bureau.
