Increasing numbers of teenagers are starting to dabble in high-tech crime, say experts. Computer security professionals say many Internet forums are populated by teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips.
Indicted TJX Hackers Shed Light on Cybercrooks
Two men who played key roles in the massive cyberheist at TJX, parent of retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, were involved in different scams tied to TJX, according to their respective indictments. The men's divergent sagas represent bookends of the vast digital crime. According to psychiatrists, hackers and computer-security experts, they represent the vanguard of cybercrooks: young, misguided males who rationalize that they've done nothing wrong.
Bryan Adams Pursuing Operators of Unofficial Sites
Canadian soft rocker Bryan Adams is the latest star to grumble at fans for plastering his name and face on unofficial websites. The crinkly Eighties star and sometime number one slot hogger has enlisted the help of Web Sheriff to convince the likes of bryanadamsfanclub.nl, bryanadams.nu and badfan.com to play nice and agree to a set of guidelines that will allow them to "happily coexist" with Adams.
Tech Industry Looking Forward to New President
No matter who wins the White House, Silicon Valley is looking forward to a president who understands the value of technology and innovation -- far better, some would say, than at any time in recent years. Though the campaign has been dominated by other matters, from personal attacks to the overall economy, both John McCain and Barack Obama have vowed to address numerous issues of concern to the tech industry.
ICANN Opens Comment Period on New Domain Process
ICANN, the organization that manages the technical aspect of the DNS, among other things, has opened up a 45-day public comment period on the process for requesting a new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) such as .com, .net, and .gov. The comment period is the next step along the path of adding more gTLD's to DNS.
Security Flaw Found in Android Phone Software
Just days after the T-Mobile G1 smartphone went on the market, a group of security researchers have found what they call a serious flaw in the Android software from Google that runs it. One of the researchers, Charles A. Miller, notified Google of the flaw and said he was publicizing it now because he believed that cellphone users were not generally aware that increasingly sophisticated smartphones faced the same threats that plague Internet-connected personal computers.
EBay Seller Threatens Lawsuit Over Negative Feedback
A seller on the online marketplace eBay has threatened to sue a customer in a row over negative feedback. Seller Joel Jones says the feedback posted on his eBay profile page by Chris Read, from Kent, is damaging his business, and he wants it removed.
AOL Subscriber Sues Over "Annoying" Ads in E-mail
A California resident has sued AOL for inserting "annoying, confusing, intrusive and misleading" ads in his e-mail. In a complaint filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, AOL subscriber Frank Cecchini alleges that his e-mails should not contain ads because he pays the Internet company $25.90 a month for his account.
ICANN Releasing Application Details for New Domains
The Internet's key oversight agency issued preliminary guidelines for the introduction of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of alternatives to ".com" in the first sweeping changes to the network's 25-year-old address system. The application fee, scheduled to be disclosed soon, is expected to approach $200,000 -- partially refundable only in limited circumstances -- to help cover the potential $20 million cost of crafting the guidelines and reviewing applications.
Harvard Professor Sues Google for Aiding Typosquatters
Harvard Business School professor Benjamin G. Edelman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Google for its decision to contract with "typosquatting" Web sites to place advertisements on these sites. A typosquatting Web site has an address almost identical to that of another Web site, and is designed to capitalize on internet users' typos by exposing them to advertisements, according to Edelman, whose research focuses on electronic marketplaces and online advertising fraud.
Russia Stops Google's Bid to Buy Advertising Agency
Google said that its bid to buy an advertising agency in Russia was rejected by the country's competition regulator. Google, based in Mountain View, California, bid in July for Begun, a unit of the search-engine operator Rambler Media, which is based in Moscow.
American Airlines Sues Yahoo Over Search Terms
American Airlines is suing Yahoo Inc. for trademark infringement, a case similar to one that the nation's largest airline settled this summer against Google Inc. The airline complains that when computer users enter American's trademark terms such as AAdvantage, the name of its frequent-flier program, in a search they can be directed to competitors who pay Yahoo for the traffic.
EU Lawmakers Target Cyber-BUllying, Child Porn
Cyber-bullying and child pornography will be targeted in a 55 million euro ($70.9 million) scheme agreed by European Union lawmakers. The European Commission's "Safer Internet" proposal from 2009 to 2013 aims to improve safety for children surfing the Internet, promote public awareness and create national centers for reporting illegal online content.
Ohio Voting Site Back Online After Data Breach
The voter-registration Web site in the key swing state of Ohio may be back online following a data breach, but the partisan fights over voter fraud allegations rage on. The Web site of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the state's top elections official, contains logs of voter records, campaign contributions and other election information.
Man Pleads Innocent to Sharing Guns N' Roses Songs
A man accused of placing songs on the Internet from an unreleased album by the rock band Guns N' Roses pleaded innocent in federal court. Kevin Cogill, 27, is charged with violating federal copyright law.
Dutch Court Convicts Two of Virtual Item Theft
Dutch court has convicted two youths of theft for stealing virtual items in a computer game and sentenced them to community service. Only a handful of such cases have been heard in the world, and they have reached varying conclusions about the legal status of "virtual goods."
More Employees Downloading Dangerous Software
A new report from security services provider ScanSafe finds that companies are at increasing risk of having employees inadvertently download backdoors and password stealers onto corporate computers from Web sites that have malicious software hidden on them. A company in ScanSafe's focus group faced a nearly 500 percent greater risk of exposure to those threats in September than was faced in January of this year, according to ScanSafe's Global Threat Report.
Suspects Arrested in Hacking of Sarkozy's Bank Account
French police arrested two suspects as part of a search for computer hackers who broke into French President Nicolas Sarkozy's bank account and withdrew money. Sarkozy alerted authorities last month after small amounts were taken from his personal account and used to open mobile phone subscriptions.
FBI Raids Alleged Hacker Who Posted Cyrus Photos
A 19-year-old hacker who posted some racy photos of Disney starlet Miley Cyrus on the Internet said he was raided by the FBI after boasting that he would never be caught. The hacker, Josh Holly, bragged openly about obtaining the photos from an email account of the 15-year-old star of "Hannah Montana," the hit Disney Channel series about a schoolgirl with a secret life as a pop star.
Chinese Users Protest Microsoft's Anti-Piracy Move
Chinese Internet users have expressed fury at Microsoft's launch of an anti-piracy tool targeting Chinese computer users to ensure they buy genuine software. The "Windows Genuine Advantage" program, which turns the user's screen black if the installed software fails a validation test, is Microsoft's latest weapon in its war on piracy in China, where the vast majority of 200 million computer users are believed to be using counterfeit software, unwittingly or not.
