It will take several more years for the government to fully install high-tech systems to block computer intrusions, a drawn-out timeline that enables criminals to become more adept at stealing sensitive data, experts say. As the Department of Homeland Security moves methodically to pare down and secure the approximately 2,400 network connections used every day by millions of federal workers, experts suggest that technology already may be passing them by.
LimeWire, the popular music file-sharing service that ran afoul of the music industry, has reached its end and will be shutting down by the end of the year and closing its sole office in New York. “As a result of our current legal situation, we have no choice but to wind down LimeWire Store operations,” LimeWire said in a statement.
In potentially the most significant attack on WikiLeaks to date, PayPal froze the account of the German foundation accepting donations for the secret spilling website, claiming that WikiLeaks was in violation of PayPal’s terms of service. “PayPal has permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks due to a violation of the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity,” reads a statement on PayPal’s website.
Legislation that makes it illegal for Web merchants and so-called post-transaction marketers to charge credit cards without the card owners' say-so came closer to becoming law as the "Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act" passed in the U.S. Senate. The law will make it illegal to use "misleading post-transaction advertisements" and require marketers to clearly disclose the terms of their offers.
WikiLeaks scrambled to stay online as companies and governments either pulled or threatened to pull Internet-support services to the controversial document-leaking website. WikiLeaks' Internet domain name, wikileaks.org, was inaccessible after a U.S. domain-name service provider, EveryDNS.net, said it had withdrawn service to WikiLeaks.
Lawmakers examining the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendation for a “do not track” mechanism to restrict the monitoring of Internet users said that they supported stricter safeguards for consumer privacy, but raised questions on how the system would work. Many also expressed concern that it would undermine one of the main pillars of the Internet’s growth -- the development of free, advertising-supported content.
A Russian man the FBI believes has been responsible for one-third of the spam you get in your inbox is scheduled to be arraigned in a court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According court documents and FBI affidavits, researchers began tracking down the "Mega-D" spam automated botnet as a prime source of selling counterfeit goods, and the mastermind of it all is Oleg Nikolaenko.
Seeking to head off escalating scrutiny over Internet privacy, a group of online tracking rivals are building a service that lets consumers see what information those companies know about them. Called the Open Data Partnership, it will allow consumers to edit the interests, demographics and other profile information collected about them.
Google announced that it will be more aggressive about booting AdSense partners who use their sites to post pirated content. In a post on its public policy blog, Google said that it's taking a stricter stance against piracy on its own sites and the sites of its partners.
Viacom Inc. says a new wave of digital piracy could threaten the U.S. media business unless federal courts overturn its defeat in a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google Inc.'s YouTube video-sharing site. The New York-based owner of MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures is expected to file its appeal of the June decision with the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Spam may be down but malware marches merrily on. That's the message from the "November Threat Landscape Report" released by security vendor Fortinet.
Opening statements in the first-of-its kind Xbox 360 criminal hacking trial were delayed after a federal judge unleashed a 30-minute tirade at prosecutors in open court, saying he had "serious concerns about the government's case." Judge Philip Gutierrez slammed the prosecution over everything from alleged unlawful behavior by government witnesses, to proposed jury instructions harmful to the defense.
Google announced that it had changed the way it ranks search results so that unscrupulous merchants would find it hard to appear prominently in searches. The change was prompted by an article in The New York Times about Vitaly Borker, a Brooklyn-based online seller of eyeglasses who claimed that he purposely shouted at and frightened some of the customers at DecorMyEyes.com because the online complaints actually worked in his favor in Google search results.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. has sued Kik Interactive Inc., a start-up whose instant-messaging service was downloaded by more than a million BlackBerry users in a matter of weeks, for patent infringement and misuse of trademarks. RIM is seeking a permanent injunction banning the use of Kik's messaging application on its BlackBerry devices, as well as unspecified damages.
Amazon.com has taken down the Wikileaks web site under what appears to be pressure from the U.S. government. Senator Lieberman issued a statement saying that Amazon.com has informed his staff that the company has ceased hosting Wikileaks.
The Federal Trade Commission advocated a plan that lets consumers on the Internet choose whether they want information about their browsing habits to be collected, an option known as "do not track." The FTC's proposal, a framework for commercial use of consumer data, would make consumer privacy the default position and would let Web users decide whether Internet sites and advertisers can build profiles of their browsing and buying habits as well as collect other personal information.
The top U.S. telecommunications regulator endorsed the use of metered-broadband Internet pricing as he formally unveiled proposed rules to prevent Internet providers from interfering with traffic. Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said the rules would "preserve the freedom and openness of the Internet" by providing more transparency, requiring basic no-discrimination rules for Internet providers.
The top U.S. telecommunications regulator said he wants more information about a complaint lodged by Level 3 Communications Inc. against Comcast Corp. over fees the broadband provider is charging Level 3 for streaming movies over its network. Level 3 hasn't filed a formal complaint with the agency yet, however the FCC doesn't need a complaint to look into the issue.
The Federal Trade Commission said it has reached a settlement with a firm over charges that it failed to inform parents that information it was collecting about their children would be disclosed to third-party marketers. The FTC claimed that EchoMatrix did not adequately disclose to parents that information it collected from its Sentry software program allowing parents to monitor their children's online activities also was being shared with marketers through EchoMatrix's Pulse marketing research program.
U.S. telecommunications regulators proposed freeing up more airwaves for wireless services to meet the expanding use of handheld devices. The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to seek public comment on the proposals that include the use of some broadcast television airwaves for wireless devices.
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