Hackers Look to Bitcoin for Ransom Payments

In a modern day version of a mob shakedown, hackers around the world have seized files on millions of computers, taken down public websites and even, in a few cases, threatened physical harm. The victims -- who have ranged from ordinary computer users to financial firms and police departments -- are told that their only way out is through a Bitcoin payment that is sometimes more than $20,000.

Clinton Sent Classified E-mails via Personal Account, Review Finds

An internal government review found that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent at least four emails from her personal account containing classified information during her time heading the State Department. In a letter to members of Congress, the inspector general of the intelligence community concluded that Mrs. Clinton’s email contains material from the intelligence community that should have been considered “secret” -- the second-highest level of classification -- at the time it was sent.

Fiat Chrysler Recalls 1.4 Million Autos Over Hacking Flaw

Fiat Chrysler issued a sweeping recall of 1.4 million vehicles to fix a software flaw that could allow hackers to remotely gain control of the vehicle, including cutting off the engine and brakes, and even the steering. The vulnerability was revealed by two technology researchers who demonstrated how they successfully hacked a Jeep Cherokee through Chrysler’s Uconnect entertainment and connectivity system.

Democrats Fail to Strip Net Neutrality Pricing Rider

Democrats were unsuccessful in stripping out a net neutrality rider in a Senate spending bill that would bar the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the rates that Internet service providers charge their customers. Democrats urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to give net neutrality negotiations time to breath in the Commerce Committee, where Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) and ranking member Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have been trying to come up with a legislative solution.

U.S. Treasury's Computer System Exposed to Hackers

Lax security left the U.S. Treasury's computer system for tracking overseas threats to America's financial system vulnerable to hackers, according to a government audit prepared in late 2014 and obtained by Reuters. The Treasury Foreign Intelligence Network is used by U.S. spy agencies to share top-secret information and to keep tabs on the impact of sanctions against countries such as Iran and Russia, as well as militant groups like Hezbollah.

Mobile Fraud Costs Advertisers $1 Billion, Report Says

As mobile devices proliferate, app advertising has become a huge business, worth an estimated $20 billion in the U.S. alone. But how much of that is being wasted? According to a new report from fraud-detection firm Forensiq, as much as $1 billion of that advertising money is being lost to fraud in a number of ways -- including malicious apps that hijack mobile phones and turn them into an ad-viewing botnet.

Google Giving Away Patents to Start-Up Companies

Google has started a program for startups to give away up to two non-organic patent families off Google, as well as potentially make offers to buy patents from it in the future. It’s tying up the offer with a requirement to join the LOT Network, a cross-company licensing push (others in the group include Dropbox, SAP and Canon) aimed at driving down the number of patent trolling suits.

Senator Wants Antitrust Probe of Apple Music

Sen. Al Franken wants federal regulators to investigate whether Apple's new music-streaming service runs afoul of antitrust law, marking the latest escalation in an ongoing, multipronged battle for dominance in the crowded online market. In a letter addressed to the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission, the Minnesota Democrat warned that the Apple Music platform may be harming consumers by limiting competition and driving up the price of access to streaming music.

'Spy Car Act' Would Protect Vehicles from Hackers

A pair of Democratic senators want rules requiring automakers to develop hacking and privacy protections for their cars and trucks. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) introduced the Spy Car Act, which would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop standards to protect drivers' privacy and to guard against a potentially deadly hack of a vehicle.

Bill Would Give Homeland Security Role in '.gov' Domain Names

Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation to give the Department of Homeland Security more authority to protect government Internet addresses, hoping to prevent more cyber attacks like recent massive breaches at the government's hiring office. Among other things, the legislation would give the DHS the authority to monitor all federal agencies in the "dot-gov" Internet domain, and operate defensive countermeasures.

Computer Consultant Gets 2.5 Years in Silk Road Case

A New York computer consultant who appeared as a key government witness against the founder of the underground black market website Silk Road was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison. Michael Duch, who earned $60,000 to $70,000 a month selling heroin on Silk Road using the alias “deezletime,” pleaded guilty in December 2014 to conspiring to sell drugs and testified against the site’s operator, Ross Ulbricht, at trial last year.

Four Arrested in U.S., Israel for JPMorgan Chase Hacking

Law enforcement authorities arrested four people in Israel and Florida and revealed a complex securities fraud scheme tied to the computer hacks of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other financial institutions. The arrests are the culmination of a months-long investigation of several friends who met more than a decade ago at Florida State University and are linked by an FBI memo to one of the largest U.S. bank hacks in history -- one that JPMorgan officials argued initially was the work of the Russian government.

Judge Rules Against Facebook Over Search Warrants

Facebook Inc. lost a bid to block the biggest set of search warrants the company said it ever received in a case that might affect the amount of information social-media sites turn over to law enforcement. The trove of digital information held by social-media companies has sparked privacy concerns across the U.S., especially as law enforcement officials increasingly use the information as evidence of wrongdoing.

Security Experts Control Jeep Cherokee Remotely

Wired magazine reports on how it engaged two hackers to see if they could take control of a Jeep Cherokee from the comfort of their living room while writer Andy Greenberg sat nervously at the wheel while the SUV cruised the highway at 70 mph. The security experts, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, accessed the Jeep's computer brain through its Uconnect infotainment system and rewrote the firmware to plant their malicious code.

Retailers Disable Photo Printing Sites After Hacking

Costco Wholesale Corp., Sam's Club and a handful of other large retailers have disabled their online photo printing stores in recent days, on concerns about a possible data breach at PNI Digital Media, which manages and/or hosts photo services sites. Last week CVS Health Corp disabled its CVSphoto.com site, and the week before Walmart Canada's walmartphotocentre.ca took a similar action after it was informed that customer credit card data had been potentially compromised.

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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.