Lawyers acting for Gary McKinnon say the self-confessed NASA hacker runs the risk of becoming psychotic and suicidal if his extradition to the U.S. goes ahead. Edward Fitzgerald, QC, described the risk during a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
T-Mobile Says Customer Data Leaked But Not Hacked
A T-Mobile spokesman said that data someone posted to a security e-mail list over the weekend was legitimate T-Mobile data but not customer information and that the phone company's network was not hacked or breached as the poster claimed. The statement raises more questions than it answers.
Spam Drops After FTC Shuts Down ISP Pricewert
According to Symantec, the Cutwail botnet -- one of the most notorious botnets, accounting for up to 35 percent of all spam in May across the globe -- experienced a major blow to its track record after the shutdown of Internet service provider Pricewert. The FTC charged that Pricewert's distribution of illegal, malicious, and harmful content and deployment of botnets that compromised thousands of computers caused substantial consumer injury and was an unfair practice, in violation of federal law.
Chinese Internet Users Criticize Filtering Requirement
Some Chinese Internet users criticized a government plan to require personal computer makers to ship Internet-filtering software with all new PCs, after state-run media publicized details of the initiative. Some worried that the program could be used to collect private user data -- something the primary developer says it has no intention of doing, though it is technically possible.
Most Companies Unaware of Plan to Expand Domain System
Two thirds of businesses are unaware they will be able to use their own name in place of domain extensions such as .com, .org, or .net when Internet domains are liberalized next year, according to a survey. The change would let the likes of Nike or Microsoft control their own domain and better exploit their brands, and also counter cyber-squatters who use variations of brands on the 280 or so existing domain extensions.
China to Require Blocking Software on All PCs
China plans to require that all personal computers sold in the country as of July 1 be shipped with software that blocks access to certain Web sites, a move that could give government censors unprecedented control over how Chinese users access the Internet. The government, which has told global PC makers of the requirement but has yet to announce it to the public, says the effort is aimed at protecting young people from "harmful" content.
T-Mobile Investigating Hacker's Allegations
T-Mobile USA is looking into claims that a hacker has broken into its data bases and stolen customer and company information. In a post, the hacker claims to have gotten access to "everything, their databases, confidential documents, scripts and programs from their servers, financial documents up to 2009."
Minnesota Drops Demand for ISPs to Block Gambling
Minnesota regulators may have been outplayed when they bet a decades-old federal law would lend itself to an online gambling crackdown. Following a lawsuit by the gambling industry, which considers the push a violation of federal commerce and free-speech protections, state officials said they'll withdraw a demand that Internet service providers block access to hundreds of sites.
Sweden's "Pirate Party" Gains Seat at European Parliament
Sweden's Pirate Party has won entry to the European Parliament in Brussels in elections. The Pirate Party is focused on three main goals: "to fundamentally reform copyright law, get rid of the patent system, and ensure that citizens' rights to privacy are respected."
Rambus Asks ITC to Drop Patent Prove of Nvidia
Nvidia said that Rambus had filed motions with the U.S. International Trade Commission to terminate an investigation relating to Nvidia's alleged infringement on four patents. Rambus in November filed a complaint with the ITC alleging that Nvidia had infringed nine of its patents relating to memory technology.
ISP Accused of Shielding Criminals Shut Down by FTC
Although a Federal Trade Commission order shut down Internet access for San Jose Web-hosting firm Pricewert based on several complaints, the company says the action was unfair and plans to fight the FTC in court. The FTC has accused Pricewert of shielding clientele said to be engaged in criminal activities that include child pornography.
Twitter Co-Founder Calls La Russa's Suit "Frivolous"
Following the filing of a lawsuit by St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa over fake tweets made in his name, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone has taken to the company blog to respond to the suit and detail Twitter's future plans to combat false accounts. "With due respect to the man and his notable work, Mr. La Russa's lawsuit was an unnecessary waste of judicial resources bordering on frivolous, " Stone wrote in a post.
Hacker Joins Homeland Security Advisory Council
Jeff Moss, founder of the Black Hat and Defcon hacker and security conferences, was among 16 people sworn in to the Homeland Security Advisory Council. The HSAC members will provide recommendations and advice directly to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
Despite Recession, Domain Name Registrations Keep Growing
The domain name business is still adding new registrations even in the midst of the worst recession in at least 50 years. According to the latest Domain Name Industry Brief from VeriSign, at the end of the first quarter of 2009 there was a total 183 million domain names registered across all Top Level Domain names, representing a 12 percent increase on a year-over-year basis.
Lawmakers Want U.S. to Retain Oversight of ICANN
Several U.S. lawmakers and an executive with the world's largest domain-name registrar called on the U.S. government to maintain oversight of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) after a major agreement between two expires in September. The U.S. needs to maintain oversight of ICANN to push the organization to become more transparent and accountable to registrars and Internet users, said Christine Jones, general counsel and corporate secretary for The Go Daddy Group, a huge registrar based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Russia Probing Microsoft Over Windows XP Cuts
Russia's state anti-monopoly service launched a probe of Microsoft over cutbacks in supplies of the Windows XP operating system in Russia, it said. The agency said it thought Microsoft had violated antimonopoly legislation by cutting delivery of Windows XP to Russia both separately and pre-installed on personal computers, as well as in its pricing policy on the product.
Baseball Manager Sues Twitter Over False Account
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is suing the social-networking site Twitter, saying an unauthorized page using his name damaged his reputation and caused emotional distress. The suit filed in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco seeks unspecified damages.
Microsoft Licenses Messaging Patents in Settlement
Group messaging company Paltalk said that it has reached a deal with Microsoft to settle a patent dispute. As part of the deal, Microsoft has taken a license to Paltalk's patents and is paying an undisclosed amount of money, Paltalk said in a press release.
BlackBerry Gets Security Patch After Hacker Warning
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has issued a security patch for the popular device, whose users include U.S. President Barack Obama, warning that it is vulnerable to attacks by hackers. Research in Motion issued the security warning in a bulletin on its web site, but officials could not be reached to comment on details of the patch.
U.S. Probes Tech Firms for Antitrust, Hiring Practices
The Justice Department has launched a preliminary investigation into whether some of the nation's largest technology companies violated antitrust laws by negotiating the recruiting and hiring of one another's employees, according to two people with knowledge of the review. The probe is focused on search engine giant Google Inc., rival Yahoo Inc., iPhone maker Apple Inc., biotech firm Genentech Inc. and others, said the sources, who described the inquiry as "industrywide" and spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
