U.S. Voting Software Supplier Targeted by Russia Before Election

Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept. The top-secret National Security Agency document, which was provided anonymously to The Intercept and independently authenticated, analyzes intelligence very recently acquired by the agency about a months-long Russian intelligence cyber effort against elements of the U.S. election and voting infrastructure.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Privacy of Cellphone Location Data

Police officers for the first time could be required to obtain warrants to get data on the past locations of criminal suspects based on cellphone use under a major case on privacy rights in the digital age taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices agreed to hear an appeal by a man convicted in a series of armed robberies in Ohio and Michigan with the help of past cellphone location data who contends that without a warrant from a court such data amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment.

Harvard Revokes Admission for 10 Students Over Offensive Facebook Posts

Harvard University revoked admission offers to at least 10 incoming students after the school discovered the individuals were posting explicit and obscene memes in a Facebook chat group that advocated sexual assault and mocked the death of children. The potential students began sharing posts in a private chat group that splintered off from a larger one of about 100 students who contacted each other through the school's official Class of 2021 Facebook page that was meant for new students to meet each other, the Harvard Crimson first reported.

Facebook Vows to Become 'Hostile Environment' for Terrorists

Facebook said it wanted to make its social media platform a "hostile environment" for terrorists in a statement issued after attackers killed seven people in London and prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to demand action from internet firms. Three attackers rammed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby in Britain's third major militant attack in recent months.

U.K. Prime Minister Wants 'Safe Spaces' for Terrorists Online Eradicated

Theresa May has called on internet companies to do more to tackle the spread of extremist material in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack as a former cabinet minister said online giants must “face up to their responsibilities.” The Prime Minister said said that there must now be greater regulation of the internet and that existing online “safe spaces” that allow terrorism to “breed” must be eradicated.

New U.S. Visa Questionnaire Asks for Social Media Handles

The Trump administration has rolled out a new questionnaire for U.S. visa applicants worldwide that asks for social media handles for the last five years and biographical information going back 15 years. The new questions, part of an effort to tighten vetting of would-be visitors to the United States, was approved on May 23 by the Office of Management and Budget despite criticism from a range of education officials and academic groups during a public comment period.

Twitter Fails to Meet European Standard for Removing Hate Speech

Twitter has failed to meet European standards for removing hate speech online, figures show, as pressure mounts, particularly on the Continent, for tech companies to do more to tackle such harmful material. The battle between European policy makers and tech companies over what should be permitted online has pitted freedom of speech campaigners against those who say hate speech — in whatever form — has no place on the internet.

EU Antitrust Regulators Plan to Fine Google Over Shopping Service

EU antitrust regulators aim to slap a hefty fine on Alphabet unit Google over its shopping service before the summer break in August, two people familiar with the matter said, setting the stage for two other cases involving the U.S. company. The European Commission's decision will come after a seven-year investigation into the world's most popular internet search engine triggered by scores of complaints from both U.S. and European rivals.

Putin Suggests Independent Hackers May Have Played Election Role

Shifting from his previous blanket denials, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said that “patriotically minded” private Russian hackers could have been involved in cyberattacks last year to help the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump. While Mr. Putin continued to deny any state role, his comments to reporters in St. Petersburg were a departure from the Kremlin’s previous position: that Russia had played no role whatsoever in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and that, after Mr. Trump’s victory, the country had become the victim of anti-Russia hysteria among crestfallen Democrats.

Court Affirms Life Sentence for Mastermind of 'Silk Road' Drug Site

Silk Road darknet mastermind Ross Ulbricht has lost his appeal of the life-behind-bars sentence he received for founding and running an online marketplace that made illegal drug purchases virtually a mouse click away. A federal appeals court rejected arguments by defense lawyers that Ulbricht was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial and subjected to a "demonstrably unreasonable" punishment.

Security Experts Ponder 'Attribution Problem' in Blame for Cyber Attacks

Military officials and private security researchers are examining the dangers of jumping to conclusions in the murky world of cyber attack and defense, as tools once only available to government intelligence services find their way into the computer criminal underground. Security experts refer to this as "the attribution problem", using technical evidence to assign blame for cyber attacks in order to take appropriate legal and political responses.

U.S., EU Officials Discuss Banning Laptops on International Flights

The U.S. administration has held another round of high-level talks with European Union counterparts on possibly banning laptop computers from cabins on all international flights. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly called European transport commissioner Violeta Bulc and home affairs commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos as part of ongoing talks with the EU about security concerns that would merit such a measure, said representatives for both sides.

NSA Hackers 'Shadow Brokers' Plan to Sell More Stolen Code

A group that published hacking tools that security experts believe were stolen from the U.S. National Security Agency said it plans to sell a new batch of stolen code in July to customers willing to pay more than $22,000 for it. The Shadow Brokers group said in an announcement on the internet that it has not yet determined what files will be in the collection.

Supreme Court Rules Against Lexmark in Patent Case on Printer Cartridges

The U.S. Supreme Court said companies give up their patent rights when they sell an item, in a ruling that puts new limits on businesses’ ability to prevent their products from being resold at a discount. The ruling is a defeat for Lexmark International Inc., which was trying to stop refurbished versions of its printer cartridges from undercutting its U.S. sales.

Hackers Find New Way to Attack – Through Social Media Accounts

While corporations and government agencies around the world are training their staff to think twice before opening anything sent by email, hackers have already moved on to a new kind of attack, targeting social media accounts, where people are more likely to be trusting.Pentagon officials are increasingly worried that state-backed hackers are using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to break into Defense Department computer networks. 

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.