Thailand to Designate Certain Places Off-Limits for Pokemon Go

Thailand will make places such as the Royal Palace grounds, Buddhist temples and hospitals off limits to players of Nintendo Co Ltd's wildly popular augmented reality game Pokemon Go, the Thai telecoms regulator said. The measures come after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) met with five telecoms operators to discuss safety measures and the preservation of landmarks, Takorn Tantasith, secretary general of the NBTC, told a news conference.

Iran Bans Pokemon Go, Apparently for Security Problems

Iran has banned the Pokémon Go mobile gaming sensation, becoming the first country to do so over security concerns. “Any game that wants to operate nationwide in Iran needs to obtain permission from the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, and the Pokémon Go app has not yet requested such a permission,” Abolhasan Firouzabadi, the head of Iran’s supreme council of virtual space, told the ISNA news agency.

Facebook Denies Failure to Cooperate with German Investigations

Facebook rejected claims made by Germany’s state authorities that it was reluctant to co-operate with them on criminal investigations, saying many of the requests it received for user data were incorrectly formulated. Several regional interior ministers have complained that the social media group is hesitant to respond to requests for data and have called on the Federal Justice Ministry to introduce new laws.

Secret 'Strider' Hackers Said to Target Russia, China, Europe

A previously undetected, secretive group of hackers has been targeting organizations in Russia, China, and Europe since at least 2011. Antivirus software maker Symantec in a blog post said the group, which it nicknamed "Strider," has developed advanced spyware programs to target "organizations and individuals that would be of interest to a nation state's intelligence services."

FTC Files Online Search Complaint Against 1-800 Contacts

U.S. antitrust enforcers filed a complaint against 1-800 Contacts, alleging that the online contact lens seller reached agreements with 14 rivals which would hamper consumers seeking to compare prices. The Federal Trade Commission alleged in an administrative complaint that 1-800 Contacts had reached agreements with 14 other online contact lens retailers that they would not advertise to customers who had searched online for 1-800 Contacts.

Russian Anti-Monopoly Service Probes iPhone Price-Fixing

Russia’s federal antitrust body has opened a case into possible price-fixing by Apple Inc. and some Russian smartphone retailers, making the Cupertino, Calif., company the latest U.S. tech giant to draw attention from Russian regulators. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said it was investigating a claim that Apple and 16 resellers colluded to fix prices of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus on the local market starting in October 2015.

Japanese Antitrust Regulators Raid Amazon's Office

Japanese antitrust regulators raided the offices of Amazon.com Inc.’s local arm, the latest probe targeting the U.S. e-commerce giant in a reflection of intensifying competition. A spokesman for Japan’s Fair Trade Commission confirmed a report that said Amazon Japan had allegedly forced retailers to set their prices lower on Amazon to give the site an advantage over rival e-commerce sites.

Illegal Drug Sales Online Growing, Study Says

Online trade in illicit drugs via the hidden marketplaces known as cryptomarkets is growing, with revenue having doubled and transactions having tripled since 2013, according to a study carried out by RAND Europe, a policy research institute, and commissioned by the Dutch government. Monthly revenue of these marketplaces is estimated at between $12 million and $21.1 million, based on the listed prices on eight of the largest ones.

Apple to Begin Paying 'Security Bounty' to Hackers

Apple Inc. will start paying hackers who report vulnerabilities in its products, the company said. With its new “security bounty,” the company joins a growing list of technology companies that pay cash for valuable security information. Microsoft Corp., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. have paid out millions of dollars in bug bounties over the past few years.

White House to Elevate Stature of Pentagon's Cyber Command

The Obama administration is preparing to elevate the stature of the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, signaling more emphasis on developing cyber weapons to deter attacks, punish intruders into U.S. networks and tackle adversaries such as Islamic State, current and former officials told Reuters. Under the plan being considered at the White House, the officials said, U.S. Cyber Command would become what the military calls a "unified command" equal to combat branches of the military such as the Central and Pacific Commands.

Philippine President Commits to Returning $81M from Cyber Heist

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has given a commitment that $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and funneled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned, the Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines said. A Bangladesh central bank team visiting Manila to recover the money said earlier that it was close to getting back $15 million of the loot frozen by the Philippines.

FTC to Require Advertisers Ensure Disclosure on Celebrities' Posts

An uptick in celebrities peddling brand messages on their personal social media accounts, light on explicit disclosure about whether they’ve been paid, has not gone unnoticed by the U.S. government. The Federal Trade Commission is planning to get tougher: Users need to be clear when they're getting paid to promote something, and the agency will be putting the onus on the advertisers to make sure they comply, according to Michael Ostheimer, a deputy in the FTC’s Ad Practices Division.

Design Industry Professionals Support Apple in Samsung Case

Apple Inc. deserved the hundreds of millions of dollars in damages Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. paid for infringing patented designs of the iPhone, because the product's distinctive look drives people to purchase it, a group of design industry professionals told the U.S. Supreme Court. Setting up a clash with a number of Silicon Valley companies that have come out on the side of Samsung, more than 100 designers and educators signed on to a new court brief supporting Apple.

Attack Allegedly Compromises Encrypted Sites Via JavaScript

Security researchers at KU Leuven have discovered an attack technique, HEIST (HTTP Encrypted Information can be Stolen Through TCP-Windows), that helps compromise an encrypted website using only a JavaScript file hidden in a maliciously-crafted ad or page. Unlike many similar attacks, you don't need a man-in-the-middle spot to make this work -- it can gauge the size of an encrypted response (and thus enable an attack) all on its own.

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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.