According to Lookout, a U.S.-based security firm, more than 80 Google Android wallpaper apps were collecting mobile phone numbers and personal details, including unique subscriber numbers. Many of the apps also "dialed home" to their developers, transmitting unencrypted sensitive data back to remote servers.
Google did not grab "significant" personal details when collecting data from wi-fi networks, according to the UK's Information Commissioner Office. The finding came after the body reviewed some of the data Google scooped up from unsecured networks.
The U.S. needs to consider working with other leading nations to develop rules of engagement in cyberspace, retired general and former director of the CIA Michael Hayden said during a keynote address at the Black Hat conference. As the country with the largest stakes on the Internet, the U.S. has been somewhat reluctant to engage in such discourse because of concerns that any international negotiations will force it to reveal or limit its cyber capabilities, Hayden said.
Google said that its search engine was "fully blocked" in China, along with Google ads and mobile search. This is the first time that Google has been blocked since March, when it closed its search service in China and began automatically redirecting users to an uncensored search engine in Hong Kong after a standoff over censorship.
The nonprofit group that manages the Internet's address system said that it was working with the Commerce Department and security provider VeriSign to deploy a new tool aimed at curbing Internet crime. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced it was deploying the Deployment of Domain Name System Security Extensions, or DNSSEC, at the Internet's root, the huge database of Internet addresses, or domain names.
A High Court has ruled that devices that allow gamers to play pirated video games are illegal in the UK. The ruling specifically targets a range of popular devices which can be used to store and play copied games on the Nintedo DS handheld console.
A security expert showed off techniques for breaking into ATMs, causing machines to spit out cash to a cheering crowd at an annual gathering of hackers. At the annual Black Hat conference, Barnaby Jack showed how he could upload his home-brewed piece of software dubbed Dillinger -- named after the infamous bank robber -- to an ATM made by privately held Tranax Technologies.
With pressure mounting on the federal government to find new revenues, Congress is considering legalizing, and taxing, an activity it banned just four years ago: Internet gambling. The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would effectively legalize online poker and other nonsports betting, overturning a 2006 federal ban that critics say merely drove Web-based casinos offshore.
A security researcher released a file containing the names, profile addresses and unique identification numbers of more than 100 million Facebook users. The information was corralled via a public directory Facebook makes available that lists users who are sharing at least some of their profile information with everyone on the Internet.
Organized criminals were responsible for 85 percent of all stolen data last year and of the unauthorized access incidents, 38 percent of the data breaches took advantage of stolen login credentials, according to the 2010 Verizon Data Breach Investigations report.
Microsoft said that Google's deal with Yahoo Japan to replace its search service with Google's is more anti-competitive than a failed 2008 U.S. advertising deal between Yahoo and Google that the Justice Department said would violate U.S. antitrust laws.
After a string of online privacy problems this year, legislators grilled Google Inc., Apple Inc., Facebook and AT&T Inc., seeking assurance that user information will be protected in the future. Senators questioned whether new legislation is needed to protect people's personal information online during a hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee.
Apple Inc., the world's most valuable technology company, was sued over claims its iPad tablet overheats and fails to operate properly in warm conditions. The complaint, filed July 23 in federal court in Oakland, California, seeks unspecified damages and class action, or group, status.
The European Union said that it has launched an antitrust probe against IBM Corp. related to allegations that the technology giant abused its dominant position in the mainframe computer market. IBM denied the charges, arguing that they are being driven by some of its rivals, led by Microsoft Corp.
Citigroup Inc. said its free U.S. mobile-banking application for Apple Inc.'s iPhone contained a security flaw and advised its customers to upgrade to a newer version that corrects the problem. In an incident that highlights the growing security challenges around wireless apps, Citi said its iPhone app accidentally saved information -- including account numbers, bill payments and security access codes -- in a hidden file on users' iPhones.
Jailbreaking your iPhone or other mobile device will no longer violate federal copyright law, the U.S. Copyright Office ruled. The decision, part of a process that takes place every three years, said that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to allow "handsets to execute software applications" is permissible.
The website Chatroulette -- which unites people all over the world for live, random video chats -- has been plagued by awkward, and possibly illegal, nudity since it became wildly popular in February of this year. Now, the site's founder has proposed a solution: Track down the naked offenders and turn them in to the cops.
Google Inc. has missed the deadline on its high-profile contract to take over Los Angeles' e-mail system, leaving nearly 20,000 city employees on an aging system that the city is paying the Internet search giant $7.25 million to replace. Since winning a battle for the contract with rival Microsoft Corp. last year, Google has run into roadblocks at the Los Angeles Police Department, which has strict rules about the way its data is secured.
The Obama administration proposed trying to enhance access for people with disabilities to websites for hotels, retail stores and other public sites as well as improve access to movie theaters. Most of the proposals are aimed primarily at improved access for the deaf and the blind.
According to San Francisco police, a 31-year-old city resident rode a bicycle up to a woman in the South of Market neighborhood, snatched an iPhone out of her hands, and then pedaled away. Problem was, the woman was carrying the phone as part of a company's demonstration of a real-time GPS tracking program.
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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.