Apple, Amazon Face Pricing Probe Over E-Books

In the e-book price wars, Apple and Amazon might be enjoying an unfair advantage, Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said as he announced an investigation of their contracts with book publishers. Blumenthal fired off letters to each company requesting that their attorneys schedule a meeting with his office to discuss their deals with five of the largest e-book publishers in the U.S.: Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin.

Apple Sues Companies Selling Unauthorized Accessories

Apple sued companies it said are selling unauthorized electronic accessories such as chargers, speakers and cables for the iPod music player, iPhone and iPad tablet computer. "Many are of inferior quality and reliability, raising significant concerns over compatibility with and damage to Apple's products," Apple said in the complaint, citing a user comment that a charger from one of the companies drained his iPod rather than replenishing the battery.

Top Websites Using More Tracking Technology

The largest U.S. websites are installing new and intrusive consumer-tracking technologies on the computers of people visiting their sites -- in some cases, more than 100 tracking tools at a time -- a Wall Street Journal investigation has found. The tracking files represent the leading edge of a lightly regulated, emerging industry of data-gatherers who are in effect establishing a new business model for the Internet: one based on intensive surveillance of people to sell data about, and predictions of, their interests and activities, in real time.

International Cooperation Urged for Cybersecurity

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.

ICANN, Commerce, VeriSign Working on Security Tool

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.

Consultant Shows How to Break Into ATMs

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.

House Committee OKs Bill Legalizing Online Poker

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.

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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.