NSA Nominee Says Military Branches Combat Cyberattacks

All of the major combat commands in the United States military will soon have dedicated forces to conduct cyberattacks alongside their air, naval and ground capabilities, Vice Adm. Michael S. Rogers, President Obama’s nominee to run the National Security Agency, told the Senate. He said the activation of the long-discussed combat units would help counter the perception around the world that the United States is “an easier mark” for cyberattacks because it did not “have the will to respond.”

U.S. Regulator Considers Whether to Address Bitcoin

The U.S. derivatives regulator is studying whether it should regulate electronic currencies such as bitcoin, its chief said, as regulators across the globe start taking the emerging technology more seriously. "We are looking into that," Mark Wetjen, acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told journalists after giving a speech at an industry conference.

McAfee Blames Retail Cyberattacks on Black Market

The cyberattacks that led to the massive data breach at Target last year marked the "coming-of-age" for a black-market service industry that caters to malicious hackers and identity thieves, computer security company McAfee Labs said in a quarterly report. That industry allowed the thieves to not only buy custom-made malware for the theft, but also to quickly sell credit card numbers from 40 million shoppers affected by the breach.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Snowden Talks About Tech Privacy at Conference

Edward J. Snowden wants the technology industry to get serious about protecting the privacy of its users and customers. “When we think about what is happening at the N.S.A. for the last decade, the result has been an adversarial Internet,” Mr. Snowden told a crowd of developers and entrepreneurs at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, speaking by videoconference.

Yahoo Names Security Researcher as New CIO

Yahoo Inc has named well-known security researcher Alex Stamos as its chief information security officer, tapping a vocal critic of the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs for the position. Stamos was one of the primary organizers of TrustyCon, a gathering of prominent technology experts last month who had pulled out of the RSA security conference in San Francisco amid growing discord over some technology companies' cooperation with U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts. Read the article: Reuters

Ukraine Computer Networks Reportedly Infected by Malware

According to a report published by the British-based defense and security company BAE Systems, dozens of computer networks in Ukraine have been infected for years by a cyberespionage “tool kit” called Snake, which seems similar to a system that several years ago plagued the Pentagon, where it attacked classified systems. The malware appeared many more times this year in Ukraine, as the protests in Kiev picked up their pace.

Aereo Shuts Down in Utah After Court Ruling

Aereo, the controversial Internet-based television service that was ordered shut down in Utah pending a court battle over copyright law, will be turning off its service in Utah and Denver on Saturday morning for an unknown amount of time. "We are very sorry for the effect that this decision has on you and we look forward to presenting our case to the U.S. Supreme Court and ultimately restoring your ability to use Aereo," the company’s founder and CEO, Chet Kanojia, wrote in an email to customers.

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Fraud Charges for Facebook Claim

Paul Ceglia, the man who claims he’s entitled to half of Facebook Inc., lost a bid to throw out charges he faked a contract, destroyed evidence and created phony e-mails in a suit against the company’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg. U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr. rejected Ceglia’s argument that he can’t be prosecuted for fraud for using allegedly phony evidence to support his claim that he signed a contract with Zuckerberg in 2003 that gave him a share in what became the world’s biggest social network. Read the article: Bloomberg

Spyware Infecting Government Computers in U.S., Europe

A sophisticated piece of spyware has been quietly infecting hundreds of government computers across Europe and the United States in one of the most complex cyber espionage programs uncovered to date. Several security researchers and Western intelligence officers say they believe the malware, widely known as Turla, is the work of the Russian government and linked to the same software used to launch a massive breach on the U.S. military uncovered in 2008.

Twitter Paid $36 Million for 900 IBM Patents

Twitter paid $36 million to acquire more than 900 patents from IBM, according to a newly published Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Last year, IBM was banging the drums of possible patent-infringement against Twitter, saying that the company's service might have violated three patents it owned related to advertising, "resource locators," and discovery of contacts.

Privacy Groups Want FTC to Block Facebook-WhatsApp Deal

Privacy advocates have asked U.S. regulators to halt Facebook Inc's $19 billion acquisition of messaging service WhatsApp until there is a clearer understanding of how the company intends to use the personal data of WhatsApp's 450 million users. WhatsApp, a service that allows mobile phone users to send each other messages, has had a longstanding commitment to not collect user data for advertising purposes.

Judge Rejects Apple's Request to Ban Samsung Phones

A U.S. judge rejected Apple's request for a permanent sales ban in the United States against some older Samsung smartphones, a key setback for the iPhone maker in its global patent battle. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, ruled that Apple Inc had not presented enough evidence to show that its patented features were a significant enough driver of consumer demand to warrant an injunction.

Mt. Gox Bitcoin Victims Fail to Uncover Answers

Some of those who have lost bitcoins in the collapse of Mt. Gox have turned to internet sleuthing to find out where their money has gone - but they're unlikely to have much luck. That's because the crypto-currency is a lot more complex than it looks, even to those who believed in it enough to invest their savings, bitcoin experts say, illustrating the scale of the challenge facing investigators trying to unravel the multi-million dollar mess at what was once the world's dominant bitcoin exchange.

San Francisco Bar Asks Patrons to Remove Google Glass

The tech/town backlash continues to grow in San Francisco, with at least one bar asking patrons to remove their Google Glass before entering. "Our patrons have expressed concern with being recorded while enjoying themselves at the Willows," a sign reads at The Willows bar in San Francisco's tech/hip SOMA district, above an image of a pair of Google Glass glasses with a big red no symbol over them. "Kindly Remove Before Entering."

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