A U.S. senator has asked 20 of the world's biggest automakers for information on how they secure their vehicles from cyber attacks, in light of reports by security experts who say they have identified ways to hack into cars. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked the companies to respond to a series of questions including how they test electronic components and wireless networks to make sure that attackers cannot gain access to onboard networks.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said that he intended to aggressively promote and protect competition in the telecommunications industry, including making sure that smaller mobile phone companies have a reasonable chance of buying public airwaves in auctions next year. The chairman, Tom Wheeler, also said that the FCC would continue to ensure that the Web remained fully open, allowing users “to access all lawful content” regardless of what company provides the Internet service.
A Wisconsin man was sentenced to two years probation after he admitted taking part in a cyber attack sponsored by the hacker group Anonymous against Kansas conglomerate Koch Industries in February 2011, federal prosecutors said. Eric J. Rosol, 38, also was ordered by the U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas, to pay $183,000 restitution for waging the attack on Koch Industries's, which is led by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch who are prominent contributors to conservative political causes.
The Supreme Court declined to get involved in state efforts to force online retailers such as Amazon.com to collect sales tax from customers even in places where the companies do not have a physical presence. Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses say the online retailers receive an unfair advantage by not collecting sales tax in some areas.
A court in France has ordered Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to block 16 video-streaming sites from their search results. The case was brought by five groups representing film companies, distributors and producers.
Key senior administration officials have advocated splitting the leadership of the nation’s largest spy agency from that of the military’s cyberwarfare command as a final White House decision nears, according to individuals briefed on the discussions. At a White House meeting of senior national security officials, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said he was in favor of ending the current policy of having one official in charge of both the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Attackers could force phones from Google's Nexus line to reboot or fail to connect to the mobile Internet service by sending a large number of special SMS messages to them. The issue was discovered by Bogdan Alecu, a system administrator at Dutch IT services company Levi9, and affects all Android 4.x firmware versions on Google Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 5.
Apple Inc. said a monitor appointed by a judge to oversee antitrust compliance in its electronic books price-fixing case is charging too much money. “Of all known past Apple matters,” no lawyer has had a higher rate than Michael Bromwich’s proposed hourly fee of $1,100, the world’s most valuable technology company said in a Nov. 27 filing in federal court in Manhattan.
Google's practice of combining personal data from its many different online services violates Dutch data protection law, the country's privacy watchdog said after a seven-month investigation. The Dutch Data Protection Authority, or DPA, asked Google to attend a meeting to discuss its concerns, after which it would decide whether to take any action against the cloud services, Internet search and advertising giant, which could include fines.
Vietnam will hand out fines of 100 million dong ($4,740) to anyone criticizing the government on social media, under a new law, the latest measure in a widening crackdown on dissent by the country's communist rulers. Comments that did not constitute criminal offences would trigger fines if held to be "propaganda against the state", or spreading "reactionary ideology", according to the law signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Microsoft is moving toward a major new effort to encrypt its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, said people familiar with the emerging plans. Suspicions at Microsoft, while building for several months, sharpened in October when it was reported that the NSA was intercepting traffic inside the private networks of Google and Yahoo, two industry rivals with similar global infrastructures, said people with direct knowledge of the company’s deliberations.
Brick-and-mortar retailers and online sellers are using the holiday shopping season to step up their lobbying on a bill that would expand collection of billions of dollars in state sales taxes. At least 156 companies, trade groups and lobbying firms are seeking to influence Congress on the Marketplace Fairness Act, according to lobbying disclosures filed with the Secretary of the Senate.
What's bad news for Newegg may be bad news for many other online retailers as well -- and maybe even the whole Web. Newegg, the online electronics retailer that's made a name for itself by taking on patent trolls in court, has just lost a lawsuit instigated by one of the more mysterious and troubling patent trolls out there, according to Ars Technica.
Another Bitcoin company has fallen victim of a massive cyberheist. BIPS, one of the largest European Bitcoin payment processors, lost 1,295 Bitcoin (currently worth $1 million) after a cyberattack. As the price of Bitcoin continues to rise, cybercriminals are targeting companies with large holdings of Bitcoins in their servers.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, cybercriminals have begun to flood e-mail, social media postings and search results with tainted web links, offers for worthless products and pitches for all variety of scams. The crooks count on one in 10 recipients of holiday-themed phishing lures to click on a poisoned link, or fill out a bogus form.
Germany's antitrust watchdog has dropped an investigation into Amazon after the world's biggest Internet retailer agreed to stop forcing third-party merchants to offer their cheapest price when selling products on its platform. Amazon said in August it would stop its policy in the European Union that prevented merchants selling on its Marketplace from offering lower prices on other websites, including their own.
Gamblers across New Jersey will be able to place bets online after state regulators approved 13 Internet gaming websites run by six Atlantic City casinos. If a five-day test phase has been any indication, demand in the state of nearly 9 million people could be high.
Over a music career of more than 25 years, the Beastie Boys evolved from a goofy rap trio to a conscientious band with more nuanced positions on politics and art. But now that group, which says on principle that it does not allow its music to be used in advertisements, has come into conflict with a company that feels just as strongly about its own socially aware messaging, and that has gained wide attention with an online video that parodies the Beastie Boys song “Girls.”
Qualcomm Inc. said it faces an antitrust probe in China, sending its shares lower as investors worried the investigation could hurt the chipmaker's business in the fast-growing smartphone market. The company said it was not aware of any antitrust violations but would cooperate with the probe by China's National Development and Reform Commission.
Microsoft is reportedly trying out potential new names for SkyDrive after losing a legal battle with Sky this past summer, with possible candidates rumored to include NewDrive, BingDrive, and FetchDrive. Windows blogger Paul Thurrott claims the SkyDrive's new name is NewDrive.
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