Tech Execs See 'Severe' Impact from U.S. Surveillance

The impact of U.S. government surveillance on tech firms and the economy is going to get worse before it gets better, leaders at some of the biggest tech firms warned US Sen. Ron Wyden on Wednesday during a roundtable on the impact of US government surveillance on the digital economy. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who has been outspoken on the topic, pulled no punches with his assessment of how the spying scandal has and will continue to impact Google and other tech companies.

Hundreds of Thousands of Internet Bank Accounts Exposed

A mistake by a suspected Russian-speaking cybercriminal group allowed a security vendor to peep on a campaign that stole login credentials for hundreds of thousands of online bank accounts. In a new report, Proofpoint said it found a large number of WordPress websites that had been compromised to perform a drive-by download of Qbot, also known as Qakbot, a malicious software program.

Google Wants Supreme Court to Decide Java Copyright Case

Google Inc. has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into contentious litigation against Oracle Corp. arguing that the high court must act to protect innovation in high tech. Google's request seeks to overturn an appeals court ruling that found Oracle could copyright parts of the Java programming language, which Google used to design its Android smartphone operating system.

Twitter Sues U.S. Over National Security Requests

Twitter, the world’s largest microblogging platform, sued the U.S. government, alleging that the Justice Department’s restrictions on what the company can say publicly about the government’s national security requests for user data violate the firm’s First Amendment rights. With its lawsuit, the San Francisco-based firm is seeking to go further than five other technology companies that earlier this year reached a settlement with the government on the permissible scope of disclosure at a time of heightened concern about the scale of government surveillance.

EU Opens Formal Probe of Amazon's Tax Issues

European Union regulators opened a formal probe into Amazon.com Inc.’s tax arrangements in Luxembourg, snaring another major U.S. company in a high-profile investigation that has already targeted Apple Inc. and Starbucks Corp. The investigation marks the latest phase in a broader clampdown on tax avoidance by multinationals in Europe, where governments and regulators are seeking to bolster revenues and address concerns that big international groups have an unfair advantage over local companies.

Samsung Files Arbitration in Microsoft Patent Dispute

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd initiated an arbitration proceeding in Hong Kong against Microsoft Corp, amid ongoing U.S. litigation over smartphone patent royalties. The arbitration was disclosed in a court filing as part of a lawsuit Microsoft filed in August in New York federal court accusing Samsung of refusing to make royalty payments to Microsoft after the software company announced its intention to acquire Nokia's handset business.

Justice Dep't Defends Right to Facebook Impersonation

The Justice Department is claiming, in a little-noticed court filing, that a federal agent had the right to impersonate a young woman online by creating a Facebook page in her name without her knowledge. Government lawyers also are defending the agent’s right to scour the woman’s seized cellphone and to post photographs -- including racy pictures of her and even one of her young son and niece -- to the phony social media account, which the agent was using to communicate with suspected criminals.

EU Nominee Warns U.S. Tech Companies About Sharing Data

Europe may suspend data-sharing agreements with the United States if American policy makers do not improve how Europeans’ online information is protected, according to Andrus Ansip, the nominee to lead Europe’s digital agenda. His statements could have major implications for American tech giants like Google and Facebook, which routinely compile data generated by their European customers through web searches and other online activities.

AT&T Informs 1,600 Customers About Data Breach

AT&T Inc. informed about 1,600 customers that an employee gained unauthorized access to their personal data in August, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, the latest in a flurry of data breaches in recent months. According to a letter posted on the website of the Attorney General of Vermont on Oct. 1, the company said the person may have obtained Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and AT&T services customers subscribed to.

ITC to Investigate Patent Case Against Samsung, Qualcomm

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted to investigate Nvidia's patent complaints against Samsung and chipmaker Qualcomm. The group will determine whether certain Samsung devices -- including the Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 -- should be banned from sale in the U.S. because the chips powering the products infringe graphics patents owned by Nvidia.

JPMorgan Chase Hackers Also Hit Nine Other Firms

The huge cyberattack on JPMorgan Chase that touched more than 83 million households and businesses was one of the most serious computer intrusions into an American corporation. Also troubling is that about nine other financial institutions -- a number that has not been previously reported -- were also infiltrated by the same group of overseas hackers, according to people briefed on the matter.

Samsung Pays Microsoft $1 Billion Annually for Phone Patents

In a glimpse of the financial stakes in the smartphone-patent wars, Microsoft Corp. said that Samsung Electronics Ltd. paid the software giant more than $1 billion for an annual fee to use Microsoft technology in Samsung phones. Microsoft has said some of its patents are included in Android technologies, such as methods for displaying multiple windows in a Web browser.

Marriott Pays FCC Fine for Blocking Wi-Fi Hotspots

Marriott International agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a federal complaint that it illegally blocked rival Wi-Fi networks at a Nashville resort so consumers would have to buy access from the hotel, the Federal Communications Commission announced. Consumers with personal Wi-Fi hotspots found they couldn’t use them at Marriott’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center, FCC investigators said, because the hotel giant deliberately tampered with the Wi-Fi signals.

Lawyer Threatens Google with $100M Nude Photos Suit

Marty Singer, representing over a dozen celebrities whose iCloud accounts were hacked and whose nude photos were stolen in late August, is excoriating Google in a letter that threatens a $100 million lawsuit. According to Singer, Google hasn't been expeditiously removing owned work from its platforms pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

EFF Finds Flaws in Software Distributed by Law Enforcement

A new investigation by the Electronic Frontier Foundation says that software distributed by law enforcement around the country aimed at protecting children online could actually make it worse. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the ComputerCOP, a piece of software targeted at helping parents monitor the online activities of their children, have been handed out to families by local law enforcement, typically as part of "Internet Safety" initiatives and usually in packaging with the agency's official seal, according to EFF.

JPMorgan Chase Attack Hit 76 Million Households

A cyberattack this summer on JPMorgan Chase compromised the accounts of 76 million households and seven million small businesses, a tally that dwarfs previous estimates by the bank and puts the intrusion among the largest ever. The details of the breach -- disclosed in a securities filing -- emerge at a time when consumer confidence in the digital operations of corporate America has already been shaken.

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