As part of a one-on-one interview with Re/code on a wide range of technology topics, Kara Swisher asked President Obama whether American citizens should be entitled to control their data, just as the president controls his own private conversations through encrypted email. It’s an issue that’s increasingly important as people move their conversations and payments to newer, more secure alternatives on mobile phones.
A wave of new regulation across Europe is roiling the $37 billion global online gambling industry and driving a spate of deal talks in recent weeks. The U.K.’s 888 Holdings Ltd. , one of the sector’s biggest competitors, said that it had ended talks over a proposed £720 million ($1.1 billion) takeover by U.K. bookmaker William Hill PLC. 888, based in Gibraltar, said talks broke down after a key shareholder couldn’t agree on price.
The Alibaba Group’s dust-up with one of its Chinese regulators may have settled down, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is still interested in more information about the dispute. Alibaba disclosed that it had received a request from the SEC for more information about the clash with China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
Facebook said it has finally decided how to handle the photos and friend requests of its deceased users. The decision was applauded by estate planners -- especially because it gets around the issue of needing a password to get into people's accounts, yet it doesn't solve all the problems around online information after death.
President Barack Obama asked U.S. executives for closer cooperation in defending against hackers after high-profile attacks on companies like Sony that exposed weaknesses in America's cyber defenses. Speaking at Stanford University, Obama told Silicon Valley and financial services CEOs that they needed to share more information more quickly both with each other and with his administration.
French telecommunications equipment company Alcatel-Lucent has published a report compiled by its Motive Security Labs division, which found that malware infections in mobile devices increased by 25 percent in 2014, compared to a 20 percent increase in 2013. According to Alcatel-Lucent, the current malware infection rate for mobile devices stand at 0.68 percent, a figure which the company's Motive Labs used to estimate that around 16 million devices worldwide were likely to have been infected by malicious software as at the end of 2014.
Kaspersky Lab says that the scope of an attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever -- and one conducted without the usual signs of robbery. Malicious software lurked for months at a bank in Kiev, sending back video feeds and images that told a criminal group -- including Russians, Chinese and Europeans -- how the bank conducted its daily routines, according to the investigators.
A new piece of legislation introduced in the House looks to officially outlaw federal employees from viewing pornographic materials while on the job. There is currently no nation-wide regulation definitively prohibiting NSFW behavior by employees of the state.
The British Parliament has passed legislation that says anyone who distributes sexual images without the subject’s consent – and with the intent to cause harm – could be punished with a fine and up to two years in prison. The debate has grown over the years along with the proliferation of digital cameras and smartphones, and the ease of distribution online.
President Barack Obama is expected to announce an executive order directing the government and companies to share more information about cybersecurity threats in response to attacks like that on Sony Entertainment. As in other policy areas where Obama has been unable to get legislation through the now Republican-controlled Congress, the White House is turning to more limited administrative actions to advance its agenda as much as it can.
During the talent show portion of a Lunar New Year celebration held by the Beijing Internet Association and attended by many of the country’s leading media figures and Internet executives, the Cyberspace Administration debuted what can only be described as a semiofficial anthem. A throwback to revolutionary songs glorifying the state, the piece uses rich, if mixed, metaphors to boast of China’s influence over the Internet and its innovative prowess.
The U.S. government has raised concerns with China over planned cybersecurity rules that would hurt foreign companies' access to information technology markets, a senior U.S. official said.
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission is investigating Qualcomm Inc, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding to antitrust woes for the U.S. chipmaker following a record fine it agreed to pay in China. South Korea's Maeil Business newspaper, without citing direct sources, reported that the commission will look into whether Qualcomm is abusing its dominant market position.
Bipartisan leaders in the Senate are pushing for a long-term ban on state and local taxation of Internet access. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), reintroduced the Internet Tax Freedom Forever Act along with 38 co-sponsors -- 28 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Security experts are warning healthcare and insurance companies that 2015 will be the "Year of the Healthcare Hack," as cybercriminals are increasingly attracted to troves of personal information held by U.S. insurers and hospitals that command high prices on the underground market. Anthem Inc., the No. 2 U.S. health insurer, last week disclosed a massive breach of its database containing nearly 80 million records, prompting investigations by state and federal authorities.
A week after the head of the Federal Communications Commission said he wants to apply strong rules on Internet providers, a Republican strategy is emerging to undermine the proposal. The Republicans' new strategy looks much like the old: Argue that the FCC's proposed rules will stifle investment, hurt innovation and raise prices for consumers.
A U.S. judge ruled in favor of the National Security Agency in a lawsuit challenging the interception of Internet communications without a warrant, according to a court filing. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California wrote the plaintiffs failed to establish legal standing to pursue a claim that the government violated the Fourth Amendment.
A Russian agency that regulates media said the micro-blogging site Twitter had refused 108 requests for account information and was "consistently not satisfying the requirements of the Russian law", the state-run news agency TASS reported. Alexander Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor, was also quoted as saying Twitter had refused its requests to block some accounts.
Users of Microsoft’s flagship Internet browser who visited Forbes.com on the four days following Thanksgiving were open to be hacked, two cybersecurity firms said. The companies, iSight Partners and Invincea, said hackers who appear to be linked to China had reprogrammed Forbes’ “Thought of the Day” widget to send malicious computer code to readers’ computers.
Newsweek magazine's Twitter account was the victim of hackers who posted a threat to U.S. President Barack Obama and his family and the words "CyberCaliphate" and "Je suis IS," a reference to Islamic State and the French magazine Charlie Hebdo. It also posted a message intended for the United States in retaliation for its actions in the Muslim world.
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