Fraudsters Pose as Dell Technicians, Ask for Payment

Scammers are contacting Dell customers with detailed account information that should only be available to the company, reports SCMagazine, a publication for IT security pros. Fraudsters pose as a computer technician (in this case from Dell) and claim there is a virus or malware on your computer that needs to be fixed immediately. The scammer inevitably asks for hundreds of dollars in payment to fix the problem.

51% Oppose Targeted Ads in Free Social Media

A new poll found more people are comfortable with office surveillance cameras than they are with a social media company using their information to serve up targeted ads. Despite the widespread adoption of social media, a majority of people, 51 percent, said they do not see it as an acceptable trade-off to get free access to a social media service in exchange for that company using their information to deliver targeted ads.

German Court Calls Facebook's Invitation Process Illegal

A German court has ruled that Facebook Inc.’s current find-a-friend function is illegal, labeling it an unacceptable and intrusive form of advertising. The decision by the Federal Court of Justice upholds a previous ruling by a lower court against Facebook, which has faced a number of legal disputes in Europe regarding privacy protection.

Woman Sues Twitter for Husband's Death by Militants

The widow of an American killed in a shooting attack at a Jordanian police training center has sued Twitter Inc, blaming the social media company for making it easier for Islamic State to spread its message. Tamara Fields, a Florida woman whose husband Lloyd died in the Nov. 9 attack, accused Twitter of having knowingly let the militant Islamist group use its network to spread propaganda, raise money and attract recruits.

'Anonymous' Attacks Thai Gov't Sites Over Death Sentences

International hacking movement Anonymous said it attacked hundreds of Thai government websites over death sentences handed down to two migrant workers for the murder of two British tourists. A court sentenced Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 22, to death on Dec. 24 after finding them guilty of murdering tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in 2014.

Hacker Targets Director of National Intelligence

One of the hackers who boasted last fall of breaking into the private email account of the CIA director apparently has struck again — this time targeting the director of national intelligence. A prankster who goes by the nickname “Cracka” told a reporter for the online magazine Motherboard that he had broken into a series of accounts linked to National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper.

Cyber Attacks on Industrial Control Systems Increase

A U.S. government cyber security official warned that authorities have seen an increase in attacks that penetrate industrial control system networks over the past year, and said they are vulnerable because they are exposed to the Internet. Industrial control systems are computers that control operations of industrial processes, from energy plants and steel mills to cookie factories and breweries.

European Court Lets Employers Monitor Personal Messages at Work

Bosses can snoop on workers’ e-mails including personal messages with loved ones during working hours, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in a case brought by a Romanian man fired after his employer spied on his private Yahoo! Inc. chats. “It is not unreasonable for an employer to want to verify that the employees are completing their professional tasks during working hours,” the court in Strasbourg, France, ruled.

Qualcomm Asks Court to Disclose Documents in S. Korea Probe

Qualcomm Inc. asked a U.S. federal court to compel some of its biggest customers and competitors — including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. — to hand over any documents they provided to South Korean antitrust authorities investigating the U.S. chip maker. The maneuver, which some legal experts called unusual, risks setting off court battles with companies that include two major purchasers of Qualcomm chips.

Groups From 40 Countries Push for Strong Encryption

Nearly 200 experts, companies and civil society groups from more than 40 countries are asking governments around the world to support strong encryption — and reject proposals that would undermine the digital security it provides. “The internet belongs to the world’s people, not its governments. We refuse to let this precious resource become nationalized and broken by any nation," Brett Solomon, executive director of Access Now, the online advocacy group that organized the open letter, said in a news release.

Court Lets DraftKings, FanDuel Continue in New York

An appellate panel has ruled in favor of daily fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel, allowing both to continue operating in the state of New York while their appeal is being heard, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN. The sites are currently appealing a ruling by the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman who said daily fantasy sports is a form of gambling.