New Virus Can Spy on Financial Transactions

A new cyber surveillance virus has been found in the Middle East that can spy on financial transactions, email and social networking activity, according to a leading computer security firm, Kaspersky Lab. Dubbed Gauss, the virus may also be capable of attacking critical infrastructure and was built in the same laboratories as Stuxnet, the computer worm widely believed to have been used by the United States and Israel to attack Iran's nuclear program, Kaspersky Lab said.

FTC Fines Google Record $22.5 Million

The Federal Trade Commission fined Google $22.5 million to settle charges that it bypassed privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser to show advertisements, and violated an earlier privacy settlement with the agency. The fine is the largest civil penalty ever levied by the commission, which has been cracking down on tech companies for privacy violations and is also investigating Google for antitrust violations.

Lawmakers Want Answers from ICANN on New Domains

Nearly six months after the program was launched, key members of Congress are still raising concerns about a plan to introduce hundreds of new Internet addresses into the domain name systems, saying they want fresh assurances that the new strings will not harm trademark holders and that the public has adequate opportunity to comment. The latest salvo came from the top leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, who wrote the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers about its program to allow for the introduction of new generic top-level domain names to compete with the 22 existing addresses including .com and .net.

Judge Wants Google, Oracle to Disclose Paid Journalists

A judge in the patent battle between Google Inc and Oracle Corp ordered the companies to disclose the names of journalists on their payrolls, stunning the legal and media communities. The highly unusual order was issued by U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who said he was concerned that Google and Oracle or their counsel had retained or paid people who may have published comment on the case.

U.S. Won't Challenge Computer Hacking Decision

The government has decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a divided appeals court ruling in a criminal case that drew attention to a 28-year-old computer hacking law that critics argue is being used too broadly. The decision means that a 9-to-2 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissing criminal charges against a defendant accused of illegally downloading confidential data from his employer will stand.

Microsoft System to Help NYPD with High-Tech Systems

New York police will be able to search for criminal suspects with cameras and license-plate readers through a new system developed in partnership with Microsoft Corp., the city said. The New York Police Department worked with Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, to develop the Domain Awareness System, which aggregates and analyzes information from cameras, license-plate readers, sensors and law enforcement databases, according to a statement today from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office.

NYPD Uses Subpoena Against Twitter in Broadway Threat

The New York Police Department has used a subpoena to force Twitter to disclose information about the source of a tweet saying "people are gonna die" at the Broadway theater staging a one-man show by former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, the department said. The NYPD sought the subpoena after Twitter refused to cooperate in a probe of ominous posts that referenced the shooting deaths last month of 12 people last month at a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.

  • Read the article: NPR

Facebook Allows Real-Money Bingo Game in Britain

Facebook Inc will allow users in Britain to wager real money on its service, opening its doors to gambling for the first time as revenue growth slows at the world's No. 1 social network. Gamesys, an independent gaming company, launched a version of online Bingo for Facebook users in Britain who are at least 18, and which the company said will pay winners real money.

Authors Want Google to Pay $750 Per Book for Copying

Authors suing Google Inc. over the digitizing of books asked a judge to order the company to pay $750 a book for illegal copying and distribution of their works, according to a court filing. Google is being sued over its plan, announced in 2004, to scan millions of books from public and university libraries to provide snippets of text to people who use its Internet search engine.

Baidu Employees Fired After Taking Payments to Delete Content

Baidu Inc. fired three employees suspected of taking payments to delete material from its website, a common form of misconduct on the Chinese Internet. Although the development is unlikely to have a major effect on the Chinese search giant, it offers a look into how Internet companies in China have struggled to keep up with the diffuse illegal practices that have accompanied the rapid growth of Internet use.

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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.