24 Million Financial, Banking Documents Exposed in Security Lapse Online

A trove of more than 24 million financial and banking documents, representing tens of thousands of loans and mortgages from some of the biggest banks in the U.S., has been found online after a server security lapse. The server, running an Elasticsearch database, had more than a decade’s worth of data, containing loan and mortgage agreements, repayment schedules and other highly sensitive financial and tax documents that reveal an intimate insight into a person’s financial life.

Private Counterespionage Groups Prove More Effective Than Governments

Staffed partly by former government agents, counterespionage groups at companies including Google, Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. play a central role keeping criminals and spies away from the ocean of personal information online as people rely more on their products. The tech giants’ access to that data and their huge user networks mean they are in some ways more effective in fighting intrusions than governments, executives say.

Cyberspace Administration of China Deletes 7 Million Pieces of Online Information

China’s cyber watchdog said it had deleted more than 7 million pieces of online information as well as 9,382 mobile apps, and it criticized tech giant Tencent’s news app for spreading “vulgar information”. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on its website the action was part of a clean-up of unacceptable and harmful information that started this month, adding that it had also shut down 733 websites.

Google Says Copyright Directive May Kill Its News Service in Europe

Google is considering pulling its Google News service from Europe as regulators work toward a controversial copyright law. The European Union’s Copyright Directive will give publishers the right to demand money from the Alphabet Inc. unit, Facebook Inc. and other web platforms when fragments of their articles show up in news search results, or are shared by users.

DHS Issues Emergency Directive to Secure Domain Name Records

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a rare “emergency” directive ordering federal civilian agencies to secure the login credentials for their Internet domain records. DHS issued the order out of concern that federal agencies could be vulnerable to cyberattacks intended to gain access to the platforms used to manage domain name system (DNS) records.

U.S. Supreme Court Lets Defamation Ruling for Yelp Remain in Place

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case regarding whether Yelp is culpable for removing defamatory reviews from its site, resolving a case that could have affected web platforms’ legal protections. The list of Supreme Court orders denies a complaint brought by Dawn Hassell, an attorney who requested that Yelp take down false, negative reviews about her practice. This means that a California Supreme Court decision will stand, and Yelp isn’t liable for the reviews.

Google Spent $21.2 Million Lobbying U.S. Government in 2018

Alphabet Inc.’s Google disclosed that it spent a company-record $21.2 million on lobbying the United States government in 2018, topping its previous high of $18.22 million in 2012, as the search engine operator fights wide-ranging scrutiny into its practices. Google said in a quarterly disclosure to Congress that it spent $4.9 million on lobbying activities during the fourth quarter, slightly above $4.4 million in the same period a year ago.

Australian Law Allows Technology Companies to Circumvent Encryption

A new law in Australia gives law enforcement authorities the power to compel tech-industry giants like Apple to create tools that would circumvent the encryption built into their products. The law, the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018, applies only to tech products used or sold in Australia.

National Intelligence Strategy Emphasizes Threats from New Technology

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released the strategy meant to guide the U.S. intelligence community over the next four years, placing an emphasis on threats posed by new and emerging technologies. The 2019 National Intelligence Strategy released by the Trump administration sets forth objectives for the intelligence community in a rapidly changing strategic environment where the United States faces both more traditional threats from nation states and extremist groups as well as burgeoning challenges posed by artificial intelligence, automation and other technologies.

Russia Launches 'Administrative Proceedings' Against Facebook, Twitter

Russia launched administrative action against Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. for failing to comply with its data laws, a move that comes just days after Facebook removed the accounts of what it said were two misinformation campaigns based in the country. Communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, the federal executive body responsible for censorship in media and telecommunications, said the social-media networks hadn’t submitted any formal and specific plans or submitted an acceptable explanation of when they would meet the country’s requirements that all servers used to store Russians’ personal data be located in Russia.

EU Lawmakers Delay Meeting on Copyright Reform Google Opposes

EU efforts to reform copyright rules hit a roadblock as a meeting of lawmakers and officials was called off, prompting criticism of Google from publishers after it and other tech giants lobbied against the changes. The European Commission, which launched the debate two years ago, says the overhaul is necessary to protect Europe’s cultural heritage and level the playing field between big online platforms and publishers, broadcasters and artists.

French Regulators Fine Google $57 Million for Violating GDPR

Google has been fined nearly $57 million by French regulators for violating Europe’s tough new data-privacy rules, marking the first major penalty brought against a U.S. tech giant since the region-wide regulations took effect last year. France’s top data-privacy agency, known as the CNIL, said that Google failed to fully disclose to users how their personal information is collected and what happens to it.

DNC Says It Was Targeted by Russian Hackers After Midterm Elections

The Democratic National Committee believes it was targeted in a hacking attempt by a Russian group in the weeks after the midterm elections last year, according to court documents. On Nov. 14, the documents say, dozens of DNC email addresses were on the receiving end of a so-called spearphishing campaign by one of two Russian organizations believed to be responsible for hacking into the committee’s computers during the 2016 presidential race.

Internet Celebrities Use Hackers to Recover Instagram Accounts from Hackers

Internet celebrities who have seen their Instagram accounts hacked and personal information compromised say they've had to hack back in order to get their profiles returned. Several "influencers" told VICE's Motherboard that Instagram's process to regain control of their accounts is so slow and difficult they've been forced to find alternative means to recover their profiles.

U.S. Regulators Consider Record-Setting Fine Against Facebook

U.S. regulators have met to discuss imposing a record-setting fine against Facebook for violating a legally binding agreement with the government to protect the privacy of its users' personal data, according to three people familiar with the deliberations but not authorized to speak on the record. The fine under consideration at the Federal Trade Commission, a privacy and security watchdog that began probing Facebook last year, would mark the first major punishment levied against Facebook in the United States since reports emerged in March that Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, accessed personal information on about 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge.

Data Privacy Activist Sues Eight Tech Firms Over GDPR Compliance

Apple and Amazon are among eight tech firms named in a complaint filed in Austria by non-profit organization noyb, which cited their failure to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The action by noyb, chaired by data privacy activist Max Schrems, also named Netflix, Spotify and Youtube, after it tested them by requesting private data the companies hold about the user.

ACLU Sues Federal Agencies for Records on Social Media Surveillance

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued seven federal agencies, seeking to obtain records on how the government surveils people on social media. The lawsuit seeks to compel the Justice Department (DOJ), FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), State Department and others to turn over documents related to their social media surveillance, including the guidelines they use and their communications with social media platforms and private businesses.

Facebook Extending Political Advertising Rules to EU, Other Countries

Facebook Inc. told Reuters that it would extend some of its political advertising rules and tools for curbing election interference to India, Nigeria, Ukraine and the European Union before significant votes in the next few months. As the largest social media service in nearly every big country, Facebook since 2016 has become a means for politicians and their adversaries to distribute fake news and other propaganda.

Facebook Removes Hundreds of Pages from Russia Linked to State-Owned Media

Facebook said it had removed hundreds of pages that originated in Russia for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” on its site, including a network of accounts that touched on regional weather and sports but actually served as a way for Russian state-owned media to secretly reach social media users. The tech giant’s latest takedown included more than 300 pages that primarily targeted regions including Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

  • Read the article: The Washington Post

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.