GoDaddy to Stop Registering Chinese Domain Names

GoDaddy.com Inc., the world's largest domain name registration company, told lawmakers that it will cease registering Web sites in China in response to intrusive new government rules that require applicants to provide extensive personal data, including photographs of themselves. The rules, the company believes, are an effort by China to increase monitoring and surveillance of Web site content and could put individuals who register their sites with the firm at risk.

Documents Shed Light on Battle Against Cybercrime

An examination of the FTC's complaint and documents from a legal dispute among Innovative Marketing Ukraine's executives offer a rare glimpse into a dark, expanding -- and highly profitable -- corner of the Internet, cybercrime. IMU was at the center of a complex underground corporate empire with operations stretching from Eastern Europe to Bahrain; from India and Singapore to the United States.

Senate Bill Targets "Countries of Cyber Concern"

Foreign countries that fail to crack down on cyber criminals operating within their borders could face a host of new economic penalties if a Senate bill becomes law. That legislation, authored by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), aims to cut down on the growing number of "countries of cyber concern" -- states in which fraud schemes, cyber attacks and computer hacks targeting the United States are routinely plotted, they said.

Officials Suggest Ambassador-Level Cybersecurity Post

The alleged Chinese cyber attacks on Google have spurred proposals at the State Department and on Capitol Hill to establish an ambassador-level cybersecurity post and to tie foreign aid to a country's ability to police cybercrime. In the wake of the cyber attacks on Google, officials at the State Department circulated a proposal to create an ambassador-like post, according to officials briefed on the proposal.

TJX Hacker Could Face Up to 25-Year Sentence

A computer hacker who helped orchestrate one of the largest thefts of credit and debit card numbers in U.S. history faces sentencing for hacking into computer systems of major retailers, including TJX, BJ's Wholesale Club and Sports Authority. Prosecutors plan to ask for a 25-year prison sentence for Albert Gonzalez, a former federal informant from Miami who pleaded guilty last year in three separate hacking cases brought in Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

IRS Computer System Called Vulnerable

The Internal Revenue Service's failure to use strong passwords, install patches quickly, and adequately control access to computer systems and information makes the system vulnerable to insider threats and attacks from outside, a new government report concludes. The IRS has failed to fix almost 70 percent of control weaknesses and program deficiencies identified a year ago, the Government Accountability Office said in a report.

Google Still Facing Pressure, Censorship in China

As Google began redirecting tens of millions of Chinese users to its uncensored Web site in Hong Kong, the company’s remaining mainland operations came under pressure from its Chinese partners and from the government itself. Mainland Chinese users still could not see much of the unfiltered Hong Kong search results because government firewalls either disabled searches for highly objectionable terms completely or blocked links to certain results.

EU Court Rules on Trademarks in Google Ads

The European Union’s highest court ruled that brand owners may have the right to block Google from selling their trademarks as keywords that generate advertisements on Google’s search engine. In a case brought by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods company, the European Court of Justice said that Google, the U.S. Internet company, should not be automatically required to block all such sales of brand names.

Russia to Verify Identities for Domain Registrations

The organization that administers Russia's .ru top-level domain names will soon begin verifying the identity of its customers in an attempt to crack down on cybercrime, according to reports. Starting April 1, Russia's Coordination Center for will require individuals and businesses applying for a .ru domain address to provide a copy of a passport or legal registration papers.

EU Court to Rule on Keyword Ads

A landmark ruling at Europe's highest court will determine whether advertisements that pop up alongside Internet search results when consumers search for brand names such as Louis Vuitton violate European trademark laws. The court will also rule whether Internet giant Google can be held liable for any breaches of trademarks in advertisements that appear on its Web site.

Google Closes China-Based Search Engine

Just over two months after threatening to leave China because of censorship and intrusions by Chinese hackers, Google said that it was closing its China-based Internet search service and instead directing Chinese users to a Hong Kong-based uncensored version of its search engine, which may get blocked in mainland China. In a blog post, Google also said that it would retain much of its existing China operations, including its research and development team and its local sales force.

Malware Found in Internet Ad Delivery Platforms

Malware that exploits holes in popular applications is being delivered by big ad delivery platforms including those run by Yahoo, Fox, and Google, according to Prague-based antivirus firm Avast. Viruses and other malware were found to be lurking in ads last year on high-profile sites like The New York Times and conservative news aggregator Drudge Report.com, and this year on Drudge, TechCrunch and WhitePages.com.

Senators Form Caucus to Promote Online Freedom

Several senators have formed a caucus to promote online freedom in Iran, China and other countries as the Obama administration pushes for greater access to an unfettered Internet. Ted Kaufman, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sam Brownback, a Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, will co-chair the Senate Global Internet Freedom Caucus, a Kaufman aide said.

Government Computers Called at Risk for Attacks

Congress has a cybersecurity problem that ranges from foreign governments stealing information off BlackBerrys to unwitting aides e-mailing sensitive information from their secure office computers to more-vulnerable terminals at home. Government computers are attacked an average of 1.8 billion times a month, according to recent remarks by Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Terrance Gainer.

Confusion, Change Surrounds "Sexting" Laws

In most states, teenagers who send or receive sexually explicit photographs by cellphone or computer — known as “sexting” — have risked felony child pornography charges and being listed on a sex offender registry for decades to come. But there is growing consensus among lawyers and legislators that the child pornography laws are too blunt an instrument to deal with an adolescent cyberculture in which all kinds of sexual pictures circulate on sites like MySpace and Facebook.

China Accuses Google of "Groundless" Attacks

China's state media accused Google  of pushing a political agenda by "groundlessly accusing the Chinese government" of supporting hacker attacks and by trying to export its own culture, values and ideas. In a commentary signed by three Xinhua writers, the state news agency also sought to defend the government's Internet censorship, which Google has cited as one reason the world's largest search engine may quit China.

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The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.