'Gooligan' Malware Seized Control of 1 Million Google Accounts

Malicious software disguised as legitimate apps for Android smartphones and tablets has seized control of more than one million Google accounts since August, according to research from security firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. The apps had innocent-sounding names, such as StopWatch, Perfect Cleaner and Wi-Fi Enhancer, but they exploited known flaws in older versions of the Android operating system to take control of devices and install other apps and ad-spewing software without permission.

ICANN CEO Says 'Grassroots in Charge' After Change in U.S. Role

The Internet address system gatekeeper, independent after a split from the U.S. government, is now in a phase where "the grassroots are in charge," its top executive said. Goran Marby, president and chief executive of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said in an interview that nothing has changed for people using the internet after the expiration of its contract with the U.S. Commerce Department.

Fearing Trump's Moves, Internet Archive Creates Canadian Backup

The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that saves copies of old web pages, is creating a backup of its database in Canada, in response to the election of Donald Trump. During his campaign, Trump sparked fear among free speech advocates with threats to close up “certain areas” of the internet in an effort to prevent terrorists from communicating or recruiting online.

Germany's Spy Chief Warns of Misleading Russian Hackers

Germany's spy chief has warned that Russian hackers are pelting his country with disinformation that could undermine the democratic process, echoing concerns already voiced by his domestic intelligence counterpart. Bruno Kahl, the new head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence service, compared the campaign in an interview to misleading reports on social media before Donald Trump's election as United States president.

Uber Argues Its Case at European Court of Justice

Uber asserted that it was helping to bolster Europe’s digital economy as part of its defense in a long-awaited hearing to decide how the popular ride-hailing service should be able to operate across the region. The case at the European Court of Justice comes as the American company continues to push aggressively into overseas markets, often butting heads with local lawmakers and taxi associations that say the company flouts transportation and competition rules.

U.K. Internet Surveillance Bill Becomes Law

The “snooper’s charter” bill extending the reach of state surveillance in Britain was given royal assent and became law as signatures on a petition calling for it to be repealed passed the 130,000 mark. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, hailed the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 as “world-leading legislation” that provided “unprecedented transparency and substantial privacy protection.”

Trump's Unsupported Tweet Prompts Calls to Delete Account

President-elect Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated tweet that millions of people voted illegally for Democratic rival Hillary Clinton is fueling renewed calls that Twitter delete his account. Trump alleged in a tweet that he “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally” even though there isn’t any evidence that widespread voter fraud occurred during the election.

California Cities Consider Taxing Video Streaming Services

Dozens of California cities looking to shore up revenues are flirting with a new idea -- taxing video streaming services like Netflix, a step that could make up for lost tax revenue from growing numbers of cord-cutters. The move in Pasadena, with a population of about 140,000, has drawn consternation from technology companies and consumers who worry that it could be copied across the state.

Amazon Increasing Efforts to Fight Counterfeit Merchandise

Amazon has made fighting phonies a major goal for 2017, building teams in the U.S. and Europe to work with major brands on a registry to prevent fakes, according to a person familiar with the initiative, who was not authorized to speak about the matter and requested anonymity. Discussions with Major League Baseball and the National Football League about selling merchandise on Amazon hit a standstill earlier this year due to concerns about Amazon's lack of control over fakes, the person said.

S.F. Transportation Agency Suffers Cyber Attack

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it had contained a cyber attack, which local media reported had crippled its ticketing systems and forced it to offer free service to some customers during the Thanksgiving weekend. The agency, known widely as Muni, said it was the victim of a ransomware attack that disrupted some internal computer systems, including email, but had no impact on safe operation of its transit services.

Russian Propaganda Campaign Helped Spread Fake Clinton News

The flood of “fake news” this election season got support from a sophisticated Russian propaganda campaign that created and spread misleading articles online with the goal of punishing Democrat Hillary Clinton, helping Republican Donald Trump and undermining faith in American democracy, say independent researchers who tracked the operation. Russia’s increasingly sophisticated propaganda machinery — including thousands of botnets, teams of paid human “trolls,” and networks of websites and social-media accounts — echoed and amplified right-wing sites across the Internet as they portrayed Clinton as a criminal hiding potentially fatal health problems and preparing to hand control of the nation to a shadowy cabal of global financiers.

Google Warns Journalists, Professors of State-Sponsored Hackers

Google is warning prominent journalists and professors that nation-sponsored hackers have recently targeted their accounts, according to reports delivered over social media. The people reportedly receiving the warnings include Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Stanford University professor and former U.S. diplomat Michael McFaul, and GQ correspondent Keith Olbermann.

U.S., Russia Want Hacker Arrested in Prague Extradited

The United States and Russia have both requested the extradition of a Russian arrested in Prague and indicted in the U.S. for hacking computers of social media companies, the Czech justice ministry said. The ministry will review the requests for the extradition of Yevgeniy Nikulin, who a U.S. federal grand jury said had hacked into the U.S.-based social media companies LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring.

Facebook Develops Filtering Software in Effort to Return to China

Facebook has quietly developed software to suppress posts from appearing in people’s news feeds in specific geographic areas, according to three current and former Facebook employees, who asked for anonymity because the tool is confidential. The feature was created to help Facebook get into China, a market where the social network has been blocked, these people said. Mr. Zuckerberg has supported and defended the effort, the people added.

Government Malware Targeted 8,000 Users in 120 Countries

A newly released federal court hearing transcript reveals that one warrant issued as part of a massive child porn investigation in the U.S. was also used to authorize government malware that targeted more than 8,000 users across 120 countries, including a “satellite provider.” As Vice Motherboard first reported, the remarks came from the November 1 hearing in the case of United States v. Tippens and two other related cases, which are ongoing in Tacoma, Washington.

ACLU, Google Ask U.S. Delay Expansion of Hacking Authority

A coalition of 26 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Google, signed a letter asking lawmakers to delay a measure that would expand the government’s hacking authority. The letter asks Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), plus House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to further review proposed changes to Rule 41 and delay its implementation until July 1, 2017.

Trump Appointees for FCC Transition Oppose Net Neutrality

President-elect Donald Trump appointed Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison, two vocal opponents of net neutrality, to run his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) transition team. Both Eisenach and Jamison will come to the roll as industry insiders: Eisenach is a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and has been a paid consultant for Verizon Wireless, while Jamison runs the Public Utility Resource Center at the University of Florida and is a former lobbyist for Sprint.

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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.