Chinese Telecom Firm Blamed for U.S. Military Attack

A Chinese state-run telecom provider was the source of the redirection of U.S. military and corporate data that occurred this past April, according to excerpts of a draft report sent to CNET by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The current draft of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's (USCC's) 2010 annual report, which is close to final but has not yet been officially approved, finds that malicious computer activity tied to China continues to persist following reports early this year of attacks against Google and other companies from within the country.

Government, Private Sector Hiring Cybersecurity Experts

Official pronouncements from economists that the recession is officially over may have done little to lift the national mood while unemployment remains perilously high. But in one field, cybersecurity, the supply-demand imbalance of the broader labor market is upside down, with government agencies and private-sector firms aggressively recruiting and hiring experts in the field faster than universities can churn them out.

Groups Urge Senator to Push Anti-Piracy Bill

A group of 40 companies and business groups wrote Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to push for action on his legislation aimed at cracking down on online piracy and counterfeiting. The coalition urged Leahy to push for Senate approval of the legislation when Congress returns in mid-November for a lame-duck session after the November midterm elections.

Facebook's Ad System May Disclose Gay Users

Facebook's privacy problems continue after researchers discovered that Facebook may inadvertently be outing gay users to its advertisers. Saikat Guha from Microsoft and Bin Cheng and Paul Francis from the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems set out to study the challenges in targeted advertising systems online, but found that advertisers can ferret out gay users from straight users just by looking at who's clicking -- even when that sexual preference is hidden.

  • Read the article: Wired

Wireless Spectrum Shortage Possible, FCC Warns

Mobile data traffic in the U.S. will be 35 times higher in 2014 than it was in 2009, leading to a massive wireless spectrum shortage if the government fails to make more available, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said. While the paper may not get the projections exactly right, the U.S. government needs to act fast to free up more spectrum for mobile broadband, John Leibovitz, deputy chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, said during a spectrum summit at the FCC.

Accused File Sharers Refuse to Settle with Movie Studios

The independent film studios suing thousands of alleged file sharers for copyright violations may soon face their own version of Jammie Thomas-Rasset. Attorneys representing some of the people accused of illegal file sharing told CNET that several have refused to settle with the indie studios -- which is what Thomas-Rasset did when she was accused of illegal file sharing by the music industry.

Facebook Files Three Suits for Pushing Spam Offers

Facebook announced that it has filed suit against two individuals and a company that it says are responsible for propagating deceptive spam offers across the massive social network, including some that encouraged members to spam their friends in turn. "This week, in a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California, we filed three lawsuits alleging violations of our terms and applicable law by defendants attempting to trick people on Facebook into signing up for mobile subscriptions and sending spam to their friends," a blog entry posted by Facebook's security team explained.

Net Neutrality Law Aids First Amendment, ACLU Says

The American Civil Liberties Union argued that network neutrality rules barring broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content are "crucial" to protecting First Amendment rights. The ACLU released a new report that argued for rules that would bar broadband providers from "discriminating against information by halting, slowing, or otherwise tampering with the transfer of any data (other than for legitimate network management purposes)."

Law Enforcement Seeks New Online Surveillance Law

Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, citing lapses in compliance with surveillance orders, are pushing to overhaul a federal law that requires phone and broadband carriers to ensure that their networks can be wiretapped, federal officials say. The officials say tougher legislation is needed because some telecommunications companies in recent years have begun new services and made system upgrades that caused technical problems for surveillance.

California Demands Website Stop Selling Class Notes

Students at California state universities are expressing frustration following news that the university system sent a cease-and-desist letter to a new Web site that lets pupils sell their class notes -- in violation of California law, the chancellor's office says. On NoteUtopia, students from about 100 colleges and universities around the country can buy, sell, or simply share their original class notes and reports, as well as handouts, exams released by the professor, and completed study guides.

Google Stops Using Street View for WiFi Info

Google has no plans to resume using its Street View cars to collect information about the location of Wi-Fi networks, a practice that led to a flurry of privacy probes after the company said it unintentionally captured fragments of unencrypted data. The disclosure appeared in a report on Street View released by Canadian privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, who said that "collection is discontinued and Google has no plans to resume it."

Most Parents Monitor Teens' Social Networking Accounts

A new study on parent-teen attitudes towards online privacy conducted by San Francisco-based privacy group Truste showed that 72 percent of the 1,037 parents with social-networking accounts monitored their teen's social-networking accounts regularly, with 35 percent checking every day. Another 10 percent of parents were even secretly logged into their teen's accounts.

U.S. Studying Australia's Internet Safety Plan

The U.S. government is reviewing an Australian program that will allow Internet service providers to alert customers if their computers are taken over by hackers and could limit online access if people don't fix the problem. Obama administration officials have met with industry leaders and experts to find ways to increase online safety while trying to balance securing the Internet and guarding people's privacy and civil liberties.

Lawmakers Want Privacy Info from Facebook

Two congressmen asked Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg for more details about the way applications on the social network handle user information, which has raised privacy concerns. U.S. Reps. Edward Markey (D., Mass.) and Joe Barton (R., Texas) sent Mr. Zuckerberg a letter expressing concerns that "third-party applications gathered and transmitted personally identifiable information about Facebook users and those users' friends."

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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.