After Criticism, Trump Says U.S., Russia Won't Cooperate on Cyber Security

U.S. President Donald Trump backtracked on his push for a cyber security unit with Russia, tweeting that he did not think it could happen, hours after his proposal was harshly criticized by Republicans who said Moscow could not be trusted. The idea appeared to be a political non-starter. It was immediately scorned by several of Trump's fellow Republicans, who questioned why the United States would work with Russia after Moscow's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Google, Facebook to Join 'Day of Action' on Net Neutrality

The fight over net neutrality just got more interesting as two tech giants said they will step off the sidelines and join a so-called "day of action" on July 12, which aims to preserve rules that forbid Internet providers from favoring some websites over others. The participation of Google and Facebook in the day-of-action campaign could be a game-changer because their sites are visited by hundreds of millions of Americans, and a message from them could rally new opposition to the FCC plan.

Waymo Drops Most Patent Claims in Suit Against Uber

Waymo, Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car division, dropped three of four patent-infringement claims in its lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. over the startup’s autonomous vehicle program.Waymo’s decision to include patent claims in its complaint against Uber was a surprise move for Google parent Alphabet, which normally prides itself on limiting patent fights. 

German Cyber Agency Reports 'Millions of Euros of Damage'

Germany's BSI federal cyber agency said that the threat posed to German firms by recent cyber attacks launched via a Ukrainian auditing software was greater than expected, and some German firms had seen production halted for over a week. Analyses by computer experts showed that waves of attacks had been launched via software updates of the M.E.Doc accounting software since April, the BSI said in a statement.

Hackers Penetrate Nuclear Power Stations, Says Report from DHS, FBI

Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries.Among the companies targeted was the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation, which runs a nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan., according to security consultants and an urgent joint report issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Judge Rules for Twitter in Lawsuit Over Surveillance Requests

A U.S. judge ruled on that Twitter Inc. could move forward with a lawsuit that aims to free technology companies to speak more openly about surveillance requests they receive from the U.S. government. The U.S. government had failed to show the kind of "clear and present danger" that could possibly justify restraints Twitter's constitutional right to talk about surveillance requests, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said in a written order.

Hacker Gets Two Years in Jail for Accessing Russian Gov't Accounts

A Russian court sentenced a prominent hacker to two years in jail after a secret trial which heard how he had accessed and leaked the email accounts of top government officials, Russian news agencies reported. The court found Vladimir Anikeyev, named as head of a famous hacking collective called Shaltai Boltai (Humpty Dumpty), guilty of illegally accessing computer data in collusion with a criminal group.

New 'Smishing' Scams Try to Trick Users via Text Messages

Similar to a “phishing” scam — where computer users receive an authentic-looking email that appears to be from their bank, Internet Service Provider (ISP), favorite store, or other organization – “smishing” messages are sent via SMS (text message) on a mobile. “Criminals like smishing because users tend to trust text messages, as opposed to email, of which many people are more suspicious, due to phishing attacks,” says Stephen Cobb, a security researcher at ESET, a global cybersecurity company.

EU Antitrust Regulators Consider Second Record Fine Against Google

EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system and have set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said. Assuming the panel agrees with the initial case team's conclusions, it could pave the way for the European Commission to issue a decision against Alphabet's Google by the end of the year.

Ukrainian Police Seize Servers Linked to Spread of Malware Virus

Ukrainian police seized the servers of an accounting software firm suspected of spreading a malware virus which crippled computer systems at major companies around the world last week, a senior police official said. The head of Ukraine's Cyber Police, Serhiy Demedyuk, told Reuters the servers of M.E.Doc -- Ukraine's most popular accounting software -- had been seized as part of an investigation into the attack.

U.S. Intervenes in Apple's Appeal of EU Order Over Irish Taxes

The U.S. government has sought to intervene in Apple's appeal against an EU order to pay back up to 13 billion euros ($14.8 billion) in Irish taxes, a source familiar with the matter said. iPhone maker Apple took its case to the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, in December after the European Commission issued the record tax demand saying the U.S. company won sweetheart tax deals from the Irish government which amounted to illegal subsidies.

U.S. Officials Lift Laptop Ban on Flights from Abu Dhabi Airport

American officials exempted Etihad Airways from a ban on laptops and other types of electronics on some flights bound for the United States, restrictions instituted in March because of concerns that the Islamic State was developing a bomb that could be hidden in portable devices. The flights were cleared, according to Etihad and American officials, because the airline had begun conducting more rigorous passenger screening at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where it is the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

Judge Dismisses Suit Against Facebook for Tracking Users

A federal judge has dismissed an Internet tracking lawsuit against Facebook in a decision with potentially broad impact for many of the social media giant's users. The decision, filed in California, gave Facebook a win in a lawsuit that accused the company of improperly tracking users' Internet usage between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011, even after they had logged out of their Facebook accounts.

U.S. Tech Firms Pushed Against Ban on Work with Russian Spy Agency

As U.S. officials investigated in January the FSB's alleged role in election cyber attacks, U.S. technology firms were quietly lobbying the government to soften a ban on dealing with the Russian spy agency, people with direct knowledge of the effort told Reuters. New U.S. sanctions put in place by former President Barack Obama last December -- part of a broad suite of actions taken in response to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election -- had made it a crime for American companies to have any business relationship with the FSB, or Federal Security Service.

German Law Requires Social Media Firms to Delete Hate Speech

Social media companies operating in Germany face fines of as much as $57 million if they do not delete illegal, racist or slanderous comments and posts within 24 hours, under a new law. The law reinforces Germany’s position as one of the most aggressive countries in the Western world at forcing companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to crack down on hate speech and other extremist messaging on their digital platforms.

DLA Piper Law Firm Struggles to Recover from 'Petya' Cyberattack

One of the world’s largest law firms is still reeling from this week’s “Petya” ransomware attack, which hit computer systems across Europe and the U.S.DLA Piper, which commands an army of thousands of lawyers across dozens of countries and represents some of the largest companies, has been at a virtual standstill for more than two days.

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.