Federal, State Officials Prepare for Cyber Attack on Election Day

Federal and state authorities are beefing up cyber defenses against potential electronic attacks on voting systems ahead of U.S. elections on Nov. 8, but taking few new steps to guard against possible civil unrest or violence. The threat of computer hacking and the potential for violent clashes is darkening an already rancorous presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, amid fears that Russia or other actors could spread political misinformation online or perhaps tamper with voting.

Security Flaw Reported in Internet-Connected Lightbulbs

Less than two weeks after a massive botnet attack powered largely by insecure web-connected home devices brought much of the internet to a temporary standstill, researchers are detailing an apparent security flaw with Philips Hue smart bulbs, and potentially other devices that communicate using ZigBee transmissions, too. The report, titled "IoT Goes Nuclear," explains how researchers from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, were able to remotely hack Philips Hue bulbs from either a car or a drone at a distance of 229 feet (about 70 meters).

  • Read the article: CNET

Google Files Response Disputing EU Antitrust Objections

Google poured scorn on European Union allegations it skewed shopping search results to favor its own services and said regulators have failed to see that the search-engine giant is competing head on with e-commerce giants Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc. Google said that the EU’s allegations lack evidence and would ultimately harm users in favor “of a small number of websites,” in a blog posting detailing its response to European Commission antitrust objections over its comparison-shopping and AdSense services.

Violence Concerns Lead to Removal of 'Vigilante' App

A controversial crime-reporting app called Vigilante has been kicked out of the App Store for an app that encouraged, well – vigilantism – and led to the potential for violent responses and racial profiling. The app had only been live for a week in New York before getting the boot, after promising a tool that opened up the 911 system, bringing near real-time reports of criminal activity to its digital display.

French Privacy Groups Challenge EU-U.S. Data Pact

A new EU-U.S. pact governing the transfer of personal data faces a second legal challenge, putting the details of the deal which underpins billions of dollars of transatlantic trade in digital services under further scrutiny. French privacy advocacy group La Quadrature du Net, non-profit Internet service provider French Data Network and its Federation FDN industry association have now challenged the adoption of the Privacy Shield pact by the European Commission at the Luxembourg-based General Court, following in the steps of Irish group Digital Rights Ireland.

YouTube, German Music Group Sign Licensing Agreement

Google’s YouTube struck a deal with German royalty-collection group Gema to pay licensing fees and unblock thousands of music videos in Europe’s biggest economy after seven years of legal battles. The agreement means that about 70,000 musicians and songwriters represented by Gema will get paid if their content is watched on YouTube, Gema said in a statement.

Chinese Parliament Advances Cybersecurity Law

A controversial Chinese cybersecurity law that has sparked protests from foreign governments and business groups neared approval as parliament held the third reading of the draft bill. The official Xinhua news agency said parliament had fully taken on board the views of the its standing committee and other parties, and had proposed passing the third and typically final reading at its current meeting to Nov. 7.

70 Rights Groups Ask Facebook to Clarify Take-Down Policies

Facebook will allow more content on its platform that it would have earlier removed because it violated its standards, with new criteria being worked out, a senior executive said, following a row over the removal of an iconic Vietnam War photo. His comments came on the same day that more than 70 rights groups asked Facebook to clarify its policies for removing content, especially at the behest of governments, alleging the firm had repeatedly censored postings that document human rights violations.

Music Labels Face Increase in Counterfeit CD Sales Online

In the latest challenge for the battered music industry, pirates are flooding Amazon.com Inc. and other online retailers with counterfeit CDs that often cost nearly as much as the official versions and increasingly are difficult to distinguish from the real goods. One major record company said that in some European markets its direct-to-consumer CD sales were flat, while its Amazon account sales were down 17% or more this year due to counterfeits.

Italy Opens Antitrust Investigation of WhatsApp

Italy's antitrust watchdog said it had opened a probe into whether messaging service WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with its parent company Facebook and imposed "unfair" conditions on users. WhatsApp said in August it would start sharing phone numbers with the social network, prompting European regulators to declare they would put the matter under close scrutiny.

Hacker Behind Nude Celebrity Photos Gets 18-Month Sentence

The hacker who stole nude photos of female celebrities in 2014 has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, officials announced. In a court in May, Ryan Collins, a 36-year-old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to federal hacking charges and admitted to a two-year phishing scam to gain passwords of more than 100 people, including actors Jennifer Lawrence and Aubrey Plaza and singers Rihanna and Avril Lavigne.

EU Tells Facebook to Stop Processing WhatsApp User Data

European Union privacy chiefs said Facebook Inc. must stop processing user data from its WhatsApp messaging service while they are investigating the privacy policy changes the company announced in August. The Article 29 Working Party, made up of privacy chiefs from across the 28-nation EU, told Facebook it had “serious concerns” about the sharing of WhatsApp users’ data for purposes that were not included in the terms of service and privacy policy when existing users signed up to the service, according to a statement.

Senators 'Concerned' About Government's Hacking Powers

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Congress asked the Justice Department to clarify how a looming rule change to the government's hacking powers could impact privacy rights of innocent Americans. The change, due to take place on December 1, would let judges issue search warrants for remote access to computers located in any jurisdiction, potentially including foreign countries.

FCC Requires ISPs to Get Users' Permission to Gather Data

Federal officials approved broad new privacy rules that prevent companies like AT&T and Comcast from collecting and giving out digital information about individuals — such as the websites they visited and the apps they used — in a move that creates landmark protections for internet users. The Federal Communications Commission's new rules require broadband providers to obtain permission from subscribers to gather and give out data on their web browsing, app use, location and financial information.

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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.