Chinese Cybersecurity Body Urges Greater Surveillance

China's top cybersecurity body reaffirmed its commitment to heightened cybersecurity surveillance, calling for increased scrutiny of local and foreign technology used in industries deemed critical to the national interest. A strategy document, released by the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), laid out the framework for a controversial cybersecurity law released in November, which foreign business groups say could bar overseas firms from competing in the market.

FBI Investigating How Hackers Infiltrated FDIC Computers

The FBI is investigating how hackers infiltrated computers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for several years beginning in 2010 in a breach senior FDIC officials believe was sponsored by China's military, people with knowledge of the matter said. The security breach, in which hackers gained access to dozens of computers including the workstation for former FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, has also been the target of a probe by a congressional committee.

U.S. Adds China's Taobao to List of Top Counterfeit Markets

American trade officials said that they had added Taobao, the Alibaba Group’s sprawling online shopping bazaar in China, to their list of the world’s most notorious markets for counterfeit goods. The addition -- an embarrassing setback four years after Alibaba successfully lobbied American officials to drop the platform from the list -- comes as the owners of brands increasingly complain about the proliferation of fakes on the company’s sales platforms.

Report Ties DNC Hacking to Russian Attack on Ukranian Military

Malicious software used in a hack against the Democratic National Committee is similar to that used against the Ukrainian military, a computer-security firm has determined, adding evidence to allegations that the hackers who infiltrated the DNC were working for the Russian government. The malware used in the DNC intrusion was a “variant” of one designed to help locate the position of Ukrainian artillery units over the past two years, the security company, CrowdStrike, said in a report.

Canadian Commission Says All Residents Entitled to Broadband

In a much-anticipated decision, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared that all residents are entitled to access voice and broadband Internet services on fixed and mobile wireless networks. The ruling compels telecommunications providers to help fund $750-million in broadband infrastructure in rural and remote areas over the next five years, sets ambitious speed targets and requires them to offer an unlimited data plan.

U.S. Tech Trade Groups Warn About EU Copyright Proposal

Tech trade groups penned a letter to U.S. regulators warning against a European Union copyright proposal. “The Commission’s Proposal on copyright in the Digital Single Market risks undermining trans-Atlantic commerce and internet openness,” the groups wrote in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman.

Employee Sues Google for Using Worker 'Spying Program'

A Google product manager has sued the company, accusing it of unlawfully prohibiting employees from sharing concerns with coworkers, shareholders or the press, and maintaining a "spying program" to prevent leaks. In the class action lawsuit filed in California state court in San Francisco, the employee, identified only as "John Doe," says Google's employment agreements are illegally broad and violate various state labor laws.

Immigrants Attracted to WhatsApp for Privacy, Security

Because it’s free, has a relatively good record on privacy and security, and is popular in so many parts of the world, WhatsApp has cultivated an unusual audience: It has become the lingua franca among people who, whether by choice or by force, have left their homes for the unknown. This is happening as the world is increasingly at war over migration; 2016 was, among other things, a prolonged and pitched battle over the rights and privileges of migrant people, whether Syrians in Europe, Europeans in Britain’s fight over Brexit, or the issue of Mexican and Muslim immigration that dominated the American presidential race.

Russian Scam Uses Bots to Defraud Advertisers

In a twist on the peddling of fake news to real people, researchers say a Russian cyberforgery ring has created more than half a million fake internet users and 250,000 fake websites to trick advertisers into collectively paying as much as $5 million a day for video ads that are never watched. The fraud, which began in September and is still going on, represents a new level of sophistication among criminals who seek to profit by using bots -- computer programs that pretend to be people -- to cheat advertisers.

Europe Accuses Facebook of Misleading on WhatsApp Takeover

The European Commission has charged Facebook with providing misleading information during its takeover of the online messaging service WhatsApp, opening the company to a possible fine of 1 percent of its turnover. However, the statement of objections sent to Facebook will not affect the EC's approval of the $22 billion merger in 2014, the Commission said in a statement.

South Carolina Bill Would Require Blocking of Obscene Content

People buying computers in South Carolina would be limited in their access to porn online under newly proposed legislation. A bill pre-filed this month by state Rep. Bill Chumley would require sellers to install digital blocking capabilities on computers and other devices that access the internet to prevent the viewing of obscene content.

Nigerian Man Arrested for Hacking Los Angeles County Emails

A Nigerian national has been charged, and others are being sought, in connection with a hack of Los Angeles County emails that might have exposed personal data from hundreds of thousands of people who had business with county departments, officials said. Kelvin Onaghinor, 37, of Nigeria faces nine counts related to the breach, including unauthorized computer access and identity theft, according to the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Patent Jurisdiction

In a move that may shake-up U.S. patent law, the Supreme Court decided to hear a case about where patent owners can file lawsuits -- a case that will likely put an end to a special Texas cottage industry that has been a thorn in the side of big business. The case will affect a judicial region known as the Eastern District of Texas, which for years has been a hothouse of patent lawsuits thanks to plaintiff-friendly laws and juries that have a reputation for handing out outsize damages awards.

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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.