Trump Signs Executive Order on Government Cyber Security

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to bolster government's cyber security and protecting the nation's critical infrastructure from cyber attacks, the White House said, marking his first significant action to address what he has called a top priority. The order seeks to improve the network security of U.S. government agencies, from which hackers have pilfered millions of personal records and other forms of sensitive data in recent years.

U.S. Considers Banning Laptops on All Flights from Europe

The Department of Homeland Security plans to ban laptops in the cabins of all flights from Europe to the United States, European security officials told The Daily Beast. Initially a ban on laptops and tablets was applied only to U.S.-bound flights from 10 airports in North Africa and the Middle East, based on U.S. fears that terrorists have found a way to convert laptops into bombs capable of bringing down an airplane. 

Internet Bot Blamed for Filing Fake Net Neutrality Comments at FCC

An Internet bot may be filing tens of thousands of fake comments to the Federal Communications Commission opposing the agency's net neutrality rules. The purported bot may have filed over 58,000 identical comments against net neutrality, encouraging the FCC to follow through on Chairman Ajit Pai’s proposal to roll back the controversial internet rules.

EU Considers Rules on Tech Companies' Terms of Use

The European Union’s executive body is considering new rules that would prevent web platforms, such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon.com Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc.,  from offering unfair terms to small businesses that use their services to sell or promote products. The European Commission said it wants to address complaints by businesses about unilateral contract changes, lack of access to essential sales and customer data and poor transparency regarding companies’ rankings in search results. Companies also lack possibilities for redress to resolve disputes, the EU said.

U.S. Officials Concerned About Kaspersky Lab's Russian Links

Russia’s growing aggression toward the United States has deepened concerns among U.S. officials that Russian spies might try to exploit one of the world’s most respected cybersecurity firms to snoop on Americans or sabotage key U.S. systems, according to an ABC News investigation.Products from the company, Kaspersky Lab, based in Moscow, are widely used in homes, businesses and government agencies throughout the United States, including the Bureau of Prisons. 

Facebook Fights Fake News in Britain As Elections Approach

Facebook is taking its battle against fake news to Britain ahead of general elections next month.The social network published a series of advertisements in newspapers in Britain, giving advice to its millions of users in the country on how to spot misinformation online, and also said it had removed tens of thousands of possibly fake accounts in Britain.

FBI Paid $900,000 to Unlock iPhone, Senator Reveals

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate committee that oversees the FBI, said publicly that the government paid $900,000 to break into the locked iPhone of a gunman in the San Bernardino, California, shootings, even though the FBI considers the figure to be classified information. The FBI also has protected the identity of the vendor it paid to do the work.

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Hackers Push Malware Via Server for 'HandBrake' Software

Hackers compromised a download server for a popular DVD-ripping software named HandBrake and used it to push stealthy malware that stole victims' password keychains, password vaults, and possibly the master credentials that decrypted them, security researchers said. Over a four-day period ending Saturday, a download mirror located at download.handbrake.fr delivered a version of the video conversion software that contained a backdoor known as Proton, HandBrake developers warned.

Austrian Court Orders Facebook to Remove 'Hate Speech' Posts

Facebook must remove postings deemed as hate speech, an Austrian court has ruled, in a legal victory for campaigners who want to force social media companies to combat online "trolling." The case -- brought by Austria's Green party over insults to its leader -- has international ramifications as the court ruled the postings must be deleted across the platform and not just in Austria, a point that had been left open in an initial ruling.

Seattle Creates Privacy Rule for Internet Service Providers

Hardly anyone was pleased by the rollback of the broadband privacy rule last month, opening up the possibility of ISPs collecting and selling your browsing data — including, as it turns out, cities whose citizens were left out in the cold. Seattle wasted no time taking matters into their own hands, and the result is a local rule that provides a few of the repealed one’s critical protections.

French Candidate Macron Cites 'Massive' Hacking Operation

On the eve of the most consequential French election in decades, the staff of the presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said on that the campaign had been targeted by a “massive and coordinated” hacking operation, one with the potential to destabilize the nation’s democracy before voters go to the polls. The hacking, which involved a dump of campaign documents, including emails and accounting records, emerged hours before a legal prohibition on campaign communications went into effect — a prohibition that makes it extremely difficult for Mr. Macron to mitigate any damaging fallout before the runoff election, in which he faces the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

FBI Reports Surge in Cyber Wire Fraud Attempts

Attempts at cyber wire fraud globally, via emails purporting to be from trusted business associates, have surged in the last seven months of 2016, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a warning to businesses as it bid to curb such crimes. Fraudsters sought to steal some $5.3 billion through schemes known as business email compromise, the FBI said in a report released by its Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Justice Dep't Probes Uber for Using 'Greyball' Software

The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation into Uber Technologies Inc's use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, two sources familiar with the situation said. Uber has acknowledged the software, known as "Greyball," helped it identify and circumvent government officials who were trying to clamp down on Uber in areas where its service had not yet been approved, such as Portland, Oregon.

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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.