Phishing, Not Hacking, Blamed for Exposed iTunes Accounts

It's unlikely that consumers' iTunes accounts were hacked by a Vietnamese iPhone developer, a security researcher said. Instead, it's more probable that users' credit cards were obtained through standard phishing tactics or keyloggers that were secretly installed on people's machines, or that iTunes accounts were accessed because of poor password practices.

Law Firm Working on Class-Action Facebook Privacy Case

A Toronto-based law firm with a history of targeting litigation at corporations as varied as chocolate companies and silicone breast implant manufacturers has a new company in the crosshairs: Facebook. Merchant Law Group, which has offices in 10 Canadian cities, launched litigation seeking class action status against the massive social-networking site, alleging the mishandling of sensitive user data -- the latest development in a resurgence of action against the social network's privacy policies, after it looked for a while as if all the fuss had calmed down.

Europe Studying Competition Among Search Engines

The European Commission's top antitrust official said that he is closely examining allegations of anticompetitive behavior related to Internet search services. In a speech at an e-commerce antitrust conference in London, Joaquin Almunia, the commission's vice president for competition policy, did not specifically name Google, but the Internet search and advertising firm was the subject of antitrust complaints filed in February by three Internet competitors.

Electronics Companies Worried About Driving Laws

The Obama administration's push to curb distracted driving is raising concerns in the electronics industry about how far the government will go to restrict the use of electronic gadgets in cars. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has called for a federal ban on texting-while-driving, said that his campaign against distracted driving is focused on cell phones, and that the administration hasn't developed a policy on hands-free phones and other devices found in vehicles.

Army Analyst Charged for Giving Video to WikiLeaks

An Army intelligence analyst serving in Iraq has been charged with leaking classified information, including a controversial video shown on the website WikiLeaks of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack that killed 12 civilians in Baghdad. Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, 22, was charged with improperly downloading the video, 150,000 State Department cables and a classified PowerPoint presentation to his personal computer between November and May, according to a charge sheet released by the Army in Baghdad.

Apple Removes Developer from App Store for Fraud

Apple said it has taken steps to remedy a situation that arose over the weekend with one of its iPhone developers, who it said used other people's iTunes accounts to purchase his apps. "The developer Thuat Nguyen and his apps were removed from the App Store for violating the developer Program License Agreement, including fraudulent purchases," Apple said in an e-mail.

Greece Drops Proposed Tax on News Sites

Though it faces budget shortfalls and holes in its pension system, Greece has withdrawn a proposed levy on Internet advertising that aimed to finance the retirement of journalists working in online media. Succumbing to intense lobbying from media companies and advertisers, the government withdrew its plans for a 21.5 percent tax on the Internet ad revenue of news Web sites based in Greece.

Vietnamese Developer Blamed for Hacking iTunes Accounts

A rogue Vietnamese developer called Thuat Nguyen reportedly hacked into iTunes accounts and gamed the Books category in the Apple App Store to artificially inflate the ratings and sales for his book apps. Both The Next Web and Engadget websites reported that Nguyen apps accounted for 42 of the top 50 books by revenue in the Books section of the iTunes App Store.

"Voluntary Trusted Identity" System Praised, Criticized

Howard Schmidt, the nation’s cyberczar, offered the Obama administration’s proposal to make the Web a safer place -- a "voluntary trusted identity" system that would be the high-tech equivalent of a physical key, a fingerprint and a photo ID card, all rolled into one. The system might use a smart identity card, or a digital credential linked to a specific computer, and would authenticate users at a range of online services.

Subscription Services Help Parents Protect Children Online

After years of headlines and horror stories about predators, cyberbullies and other dangers to children online, a crop of subscription services has emerged to help parents monitor their child’s activities on social networks. These start-ups aim to distinguish themselves from the older category of software products that sit on a user’s hard drive, primarily to block various Web sites.

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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.