Adidas Websites Offline Following Cyber Attack

Some Adidas Web sites remain offline as a result of a "sophisticated" cyber attack, the German sportswear company said. "On November 3, 2011, the adidas Group found out that it was the target of a sophisticated, criminal cyber-attack. Our preliminary investigation has found no evidence that any consumer data is impacted," the company said in a statement on its news stream site.

India Probing Server for Links to Duqu Virus

Indian authorities are investigating a computer server in Mumbai for links to the Duqu malicious software that some security experts warned could be the next big cyber threat. Web Werks, a Mumbai-based Web-hosting company, said it had given an image of the suspicious virtual private server to officials from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), after security firm Symantec Corp found the server was communicating with computers infected with the Duqu virus.

DARPA to Increase Spending on Cyber Research

The Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, birthplace of the Internet, plans to increase its spending on cyber research 50% over the next five years, and will increasingly focus on offensive cyber capabilities as well as defensive capabilities, agency director Regina Dugan said. "Modern warfare will demand the effective use of cyber, kinetic, and combined cyber and kinetic means," Dugan said, speaking before the DARPA Cyber Colloquium, a gathering of cyber professionals.

Ex-General Says U.S. Should Discuss Cyber Weapons

The United States should be more open about its development of offensive cyber weapons and spell out when it will use them as it grapples with an increasing barrage of attacks by foreign hackers, the former No. 2 uniformed officer in the U.S. military said. "We've got to step up the game; we've got to talk about our offensive capabilities and train to them; to make them credible so that people know there's a penalty to this," said James Cartwright, the four-star Marine Corps general who retired in August as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Law Enforcement Use Online Data to Track Criminals

Law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are increasingly relying on information from the Web and electronic records to help solve crimes and evaluate threats, producing a stream of new business for companies that can help them crunch the data. From big defense contractors to smaller, specialized start-ups, companies are cashing in on healthy demand for software and other technology that can sort through and analyze mountains of government and private-sector data to help track down criminals or look for signs of terrorist activity.

U.S. Accuses China of Economic Spying

The U.S. government accused the Chinese of being the world's "most active and persistent" perpetrators of economic spying, an unusual move designed to spur stronger U.S. and international action to combat rampant industrial espionage threatening U.S. economic growth. Russian intelligence agents also are conducting extensive spying to collect U.S. economic data and technology, according to a U.S. intelligence report released Thursday that concluded China and Russia are "the most aggressive collectors" of U.S. economic information and technology.

CIA Analysts Study Tweets, Facebook Posts

In an anonymous industrial park, CIA analysts who jokingly call themselves the "ninja librarians" are mining the mass of information people publish about themselves overseas, tracking everything from common public opinion to revolutions. The group's effort gives the White House a daily snapshot of the world built from tweets, newspaper articles and Facebook updates.

Google Doesn't Dominate Search, Schmidt Tells Senators

Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, isn’t “dominant” in Internet search and competes against companies such as Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., Chairman Eric Schmidt said in a written response to lawmakers’ questions. Schmidt submitted his comments to address follow-up questions from lawmakers after a Sept. 21 hearing where he conceded that Google fits one of the legal criteria used to determine whether a company has enough market share, or monopoly power, to quash competition.

Motorola Gets Injunction Against Apple in Germany

Motorola Mobility has secured an injunction against the sale of Apple mobile products in Germany, according to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller. Citing “a copy of what purports to be a default judgment by the Mannheim Regional Court,” this would mean that Apple is prohibited from selling any mobile devices that infringe upon on two Motorola patents in Germany.

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Report Outlines Risks of 'Economic Secrets' Online

So much sensitive information and research is on computer networks that foreign intruders can collect massive amounts of data quickly and with little risk because they are difficult to detect, according to the report to Congress titled "Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace." Foreign intelligence services, corporations and individuals increased their efforts to steal US technologies which cost millions of dollars to develop, according to a report by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, a US government agency.

Hackers Use Server in Belgium Infected by Duqu

Hackers used a server in Belgium to collect data stolen from machines infected with the Duqu computer virus, after authorities shut down another rogue collection system in India, according to security experts. Governments and security experts around the globe are working to unlock the secrets of the elusive malware, which some say could be the next big cyber threat after the Stuxnet virus that was believed to have infected Iran's nuclear program.

Tech Firms Urge Free Trade Rules for Internet

Google, Microsoft, Citigroup, IBM, GE and other top-tier American companies urged the United States to fight for trade rules that protect the free flow of information over the Internet. The unveiling of principles hashed out by the companies over the last nine months comes at a crucial moment, Rick Johnston, senior vice president for international government affairs at Citigroup, told reporters.

Cerf, Dyson Voice Concerns About Domain Expansion

Two key former officials with the nonprofit group that manages the Internet's domain name system are raising concerns with its plan to allow an unlimited number of generic Internet addresses, the top-level domain name suffixes that come after the dot like .com or .org. Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf and tech investor Esther Dyson -- who chaired the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers during its early years -- now said they see several potential problems with ICANN's latest domain name plan, which has sparked strong opposition from major trademark owners.

Germany Suspects Facebook of Illegal Tracking

Facebook may be tracking the Internet activity of users even after they cancel their accounts, the German data privacy watchdog said. After an investigation of the way cookies are installed after a user opens and then closes a Facebook account, the Hamburg Data Protection agency said on its Web site that it suspected the company was unlawfully tracking subscribers.