Security Researchers Take Down 'Kelihos Botnet'

Security researchers from four different organizations brought down a botnet by turning a supposed strength of the criminals' spamming network into a fatal weakness. Experts from CrowdStrike, Dell SecureWorks, the Honeynet Project and Kaspersky Lab crippled the second-coming of the Kelihos botnet on March 21 by "sinkholing" about 118,000 bot-infected computers using the hackers' own peer-to-peer network.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/us-greentech-ipo-idUSBRE82S19N20120329

Online Advertisers Urged to Self-Regulate on Privacy

Online advertisers facing scrutiny from governments wanting to give Internet users more control over personal data online were urged at an industry conference on Wednesday to avoid privacy blunders that could undermine calls for self-regulation. "If you don't want to be regulated, do it yourself," the Council of Better Business Bureau's Genie Barton warned participants at a conference held by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

Oracle Rejects Google's Offer in Android Patent Case

Google proposed to pay Oracle a percentage of Android revenue if Oracle could prove patent infringement of the mobile operating technology at an upcoming trial, but Oracle rebuffed the offer as too low, according to a court filing late. Oracle Corp sued Google Inc in 2010, claiming the Internet search leader's Android technology infringed Oracle's Java patents.

FBI Official Offers Grim Perspective on Hacking

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's top cyber cop offered a grim appraisal of the nation's efforts to keep computer hackers from plundering corporate data networks: "We're not winning," he said. Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is "unsustainable.''

Six Smartphone Makers Sued for Patent Infringement

Top mobile device makers including Apple and Samsung were sued by Graphics Properties Holdings, which is alleging that the smartphone vendors infringed on a single graphics-related patent in their smartphones and other consumer electronics. Formerly known as Silicon Graphics, Graphics Properties Holdings is seeking damages and has filed six separate cases against Apple, Samsung, Research In Motion, HTC, Sony and LG with the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Video Privacy Law Keeps Netflix Away from Facebook

Several big-name brands have Facebook apps that instantly blast out users' activity -- the latest song they've listened to, or a story they just read. But in the U.S., there's one notable exception: Netflix. The video streaming service is blocked from creating a Facebook app in America because of a 1980s law meant to protect consumers' privacy -- and lawmakers are tussling over how to update it.

Hacker Group 'LulzSec' Exposes Military Accounts

The hacker group known as LulzSec appears to be back after many months of laying low, claiming to have exposed the accounts of nearly 171,000 members of the military. The group, which in 2011 went after government agencies and companies including the FBI, CIA, Sony and even PBS, claims to have exposed the email accounts of thousands of members on the website MilitarySingles.com.

ACLU, High School Fight Over Internet Filtering System

Over the last year, the American Civil Liberties Union has asked officials from hundreds of school districts around the country to make changes in their Internet screening systems to eliminate bias, said Anthony Rothert, a civil liberties lawyer based in St. Louis. All have agreed to, he said, except Camdenton High School in central Missouri, which the ACLU sued last summer.

FTC Seeks More Privacy Regulations on Data Collection

The Federal Trade Commission called for greater regulation of the data collection companies that compile a wide range of personal and financial information about millions of consumers, and asked for a provision that would allow people access to the information collected on them. The recommendation was part of a sweeping set of guidelines put forth in the commission’s final report on online consumer privacy.

Antitrust Chief Appears to Target E-Book Pricing

The Justice Department's top antitrust official says she won't stand by quietly if companies make agreements with rivals on price, signaling a stern stance as the department conducts a high-profile probe into electronic-book publishing. Without mentioning Apple Inc. or the five publishers that are the target of the investigation, Sharis Pozen says she won't hesitate to act against "collusive behavior at the highest levels of companies."

Japanese Court Orders Google to Stop Autocomplete Feature

The Tokyo District Court approved a petition demanding that Google Inc. suspend its autocomplete search feature for Internet browsers after a man alleged that it breached his privacy and got him fired, his lawyer said. Google is refusing to suspend the feature, saying that its headquarters in the United States will not be regulated by Japanese law and that the case does not warrant deleting the autocomplete suggestions related to the petition under its in-house privacy policy, lawyer Hiroyuki Tomita said.

Microsoft, U.S. Marshals Raid Offices in Botnet Probe

Microsoft employees, accompanied by United States marshals, raided two nondescript office buildings in Pennsylvania and Illinois, aiming to disrupt one of the most pernicious forms of online crime today — botnets, or groups of computers that help harvest bank account passwords and other personal information from millions of other computers. With a warrant in hand from a federal judge authorizing the sweep, the Microsoft lawyers and technical personnel gathered evidence and deactivated Web servers ostensibly used by criminals in a scheme to infect computers and steal personal data.

Black Market for Apple Products Grows, Struggles in China

Demand for Apple products, coupled with severe constraints on local supply, has created a thriving black market. But it's getting tougher and costlier to smuggle the devices into China as the Chinese customs authority has told some U.S.-based shipping agents not to accept orders of iPads, and warned travelers to declare their gadgets at the border and pay a 10 percent import duty on electronics.

French President Wants to Outlaw Visiting Terrorist Sites

The terrorist attacks by an Al Qaeda-influenced gunman may signal a new wave of Internet surveillance in France. New laws have been proposed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy in his effort to create a "civilized Internet." Sarkozy used a televised address to propose a new set of laws that criminalize the use of websites affiliated with terrorist sympathizers and hate groups.

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