The Internet is on the brink of the "biggest change" to its working "since it was invented 40 years ago", the Net regulator ICANN has said. The body said it that it was finalising plans to introduce web addresses using non-Latin characters.
Judge Rejects Settlement Over Stolen Brokerage Data
A federal judge has refused to approve a class-action settlement over contact information stolen from online brokerage TD Ameritrade. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco says the deal offers little significant benefit to the more than 6 million current and former customers affected.
Man Gets Three Years for Illegal Software Sales on eBay
A Virginia man was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for selling more than $1 million in pirated software on eBay. Gregory W. Fair, 46, pleaded guilty in April to charges of criminal copyright infringement and mail fraud for selling pirated copies of Adobe Systems programs between 2001 and 2007.
Defense Department to Lift Ban on USB Thumb Drives
The U.S. Department of Defense ban on USB thumb drives instated nearly a year ago will eventually be partially lifted to allow authorized people to use official flash drives for mission-critical functions, according to a top military official.
FCC Chair Worries About iPhone's Demand on Spectrum
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has expressed concerns about the available wireless spectrum for broadband devices. "The demands that are being created by the iPhone and other mobile broadband technologies threaten to outstrip the amount of spectrum that's available for commercial mobile, and it's important for the country that we get long-term planning right here because it takes time to identify spectrum and put it on the market," he said.
Two Groups Want to Seek .gay Top-Level Domain
Should there be a .gay Internet suffix? Two for-profit groups are pushing for one. The Dot Gay Alliance (dotgay.org), out of New York City, is being led by a longtime gay activist. And dotGay (dotgay.com) is being spearheaded by a heterosexual German man in Riga, Latvia, who has incorporated a company in San Francisco.
Court Gives Early OK to Facebook's Beacon Settlement
A class action suit over Facebook's controversial Beacon program received preliminary approval in U.S. District Court, allowing the company to clear the matter without long -- and expensive -- court proceedings. The proposal (PDF), which was made public last month, calls for Facebook to discontinue Beacon and cough up $9.5 million to set up a nonprofit foundation to "fund projects and initiatives that promote the cause of online privacy, safety and security."
FCC Moves Forward with Rule Supporting Net Neutrality
U.S. communications regulators voted unanimously to support an open Internet rule that would prevent telecom network operators from barring or blocking content based on the revenue it generated. The proposed rule now goes to the public for comment until January 14, after which the Federal Communications Commissions will review the feedback and possibly seek more comment.
Nokia Files Patent Suit Against Apple Over iPhone
Top global cellphone maker Nokia Oyj charged Apple with infringing Nokia patents, accusing the iPhone maker of trying to hitch a "free-ride" on Nokia's technology investments. The 10 patents in the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. state of Delaware, relate to technologies fundamental to devices using GSM, UMTS and/or wireless local area network standards, Nokia said.
Report Outlines China's Abilities for Cyberwarfare
In war and possibly in peace, China will wage cyberwar to control the information flow and dominate the battle space, according to a new report compiled for a congressional commission.
AAA Gets aaa.net Domain Name in Consent Order
A man accused of cybersquatting has agreed to end a federal lawsuit by relinquishing an Internet domain name to AAA. A newly filed consent order requires James M. Van Johns to transfer the site AAA.net to the auto club, whose legitimate site is AAA.com.
Judge Dismisses Prostitution Suit Against Craigslist
U.S. District Judge John Grady tossed out a civil complaint, filed in March by the sheriff of Illinois' Cook County, which accused Craigslist of being a public nuisance and of violating federal, state and local prostitution laws. Sheriff Tom Dart even alleged in his lawsuit that Craigslist "solicits for a prostitute... by arranging meetings of persons for purposes of prostitution."
EU Shows Concern About Oracle's Purchase of Sun
Oracle has so far failed to produce evidence to ease concerns that its purchase of Sun Microsystems would be anti-competitive, the EU has said. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said she was "disappointed" by the lack of proposals to placate EU worries.
AT&T, Verizon Support FCC's Open Internet Principles
AT&T and Verizon Communications are among the most vocal opponents to Net neutrality regulation, but the phone companies' top lobbyists reiterated at the Supercomm 2009 trade show that they would be alright with some regulation, so long as it isn't too far-reaching. Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president at AT&T, and Tom Tauke, senior vice president for Public Policy at Verizon Communications, said their companies support the Federal Communications Commission's existing open Internet principles.
ChoicePoint to Pay $275,000 Fine for Data Breach
ChoicePoint Inc., one of the nation's consumer data brokers, agreed to pay $275,000 to federal regulators as a result of a data breach last year that exposed Social Security numbers and other personal information on 13,750 people. The agreement comes in response to claims by the Federal Trade Commission that ChoicePoint violated the terms of a settlement reached following a separate data breach at the company in 2005 that led to hundreds of cases of identity theft.
AT&T Urges Managers to Oppose Net Neutrality
Advocacy groups say AT&T has gone too far in its lobbying efforts to oppose the Federal Communications Commission's new proposed Net neutrality regulations. AT&T's top lobbyist Jim Cicconi sent a memo to managers urging them to encourage their families and friends "to join the voices telling the FCC not to regulate the Internet."
Twitter Lifts Veil on Documents Otherwise Kept Secret
After prevailing in a legal fight over the publication of secret documents, the editor of The Guardian in London, Alan Rusbridger, wrote that "the Twittersphere blew away conventional efforts to buy silence," as a headline on his column put it. Last month, a British judge ruled that material obtained by Guardian journalists about a multinational corporation had to be kept secret.
Political Advertising Online Raises New Questions
So far, the Federal Elections Commission has taken a mostly hands-off approach to Internet advertising, as campaigns still spend far more money reaching voters through television, radio and direct mail. The commission ruled in 2006 that campaign regulations do not apply to most Internet activity, except for paid political advertising on someone else's website. Bloggers are exempt as long as they write voluntarily and are not paid by a campaign.
Fake Anti-Virus Software Helps Cybercriminals Profit
Tens of millions of U.S. computers are loaded with scam security software that their owners may have paid for but which only makes the machines more vulnerable, according to a new Symantec report on cybercrime. Cyberthieves are increasingly planting fake security alerts that pop up when computer users access a legitimate website.
More Cybercriminals Targeting Social Networking Sites
If you're on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site, you could be the next victim. That's because more cyberthieves are targeting increasingly popular social networking sites that provide a gold mine of personal information, according to the FBI.
