Antitrust Officials Studying Google's Digital Advertising, Search Operations

The Justice Department is scrutinizing Google’s digital advertising and search operations as authorities gear up a broad antitrust review of the market power of giant internet companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Antitrust officials have been actively meeting over the past month with third-party companies that could have grievances against Google, including publishers and consumer-facing websites, said two people familiar with the matter.

Lawsuit Accuses Apple of Privacy Violations for Listening to Siri Recordings

Apple Inc. was sued over claims that the privacy of Siri users was violated when human reviewers listened to customer recordings. The lawsuit was filed as a class action, just days after Apple said it would pause its program in which company contractors would listen to a small portion of Siri inputs to improve the voice recognition service.

Senators Question Zuckerberg About Privacy Protection in Messenger Kids

Democratic U.S. senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal have written to Facebook Inc. questioning whether there was a “worrying pattern” of poor privacy protection for children using its Messenger Kids app. The senators were "disturbed" to learn that the application allowed thousands of children to join group chats in which not all members of the group were approved by their parents, they said in a letter addressed to Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.

Appeals Court Strikes Down Google's Class-Action 'Cookies' Settlement

A federal appeals court struck down Google’s class-action settlement meant to resolve claims it invaded the privacy of millions of computer users by installing “cookies” in their browsers, but paying those users nothing for their troubles. In a 3-0 decision, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said it could not tell whether the $5.5 millionsettlement was fair, reasonable and adequate, and said a lower court judge should revisit the case.

Electric Utilities Face Unique Threats from Cyber Attacks, Experts Say

Electric utilities are particularly vulnerable to cyber threats, experts say, in part because fixing security flaws can interrupt services and few of their employees have security clearances that let them receive timely government alerts. Like other organizations, utilities worry about threats including targeted hacking campaigns and ransomware attacks.

White House Hosts Tech Companies to Discuss Violent Online Extremism

The White House will host top tech companies to discuss the rise of violent online extremism, marking the Trump administration’s first major engagement on the issue days after a mass shooting in Texas left 22 people dead. The gathering will include “senior administration officials along with representatives of a range of companies,” deputy White House press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

Owner of 8chan Calls Website 'Peacefully Assembled Group of People'

The owner of online forum 8chan defended his company in a YouTube video against the Internet-services provider that effectively took it offline and against attempts to silence platforms of speech. Jim Watkins, an internet entrepreneur who took control of 8chan in 2015, said the forum has been helping law enforcement with its investigation into a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart store that left 22 people dead and more than 20 injured.

Researcher Links Rise in Hate Groups Online to 'Frequent Attacks'

Despite efforts from major social media companies to try to weed out hate groups that use their platforms, the reality is they are still all over the networks, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center advocacy group. "There is a direct correlation between the rise of hate groups on social media and the frequent attacks," like the El Paso and Dayton weekend killings, says Keegan Hankes, a senior research analyst for the SPLC.

Trump Accuses Google of Favoring Negative News Stories About Him

President Trump accused Google of favoring negative news stories about him in the 2016 presidential election, apparently in response to a report on Fox News. In a series of three tweets, Trump said he had met in the Oval Office with Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, who told him the company didn’t boost Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, wouldn’t interfere with the 2020 election and wasn’t involved with the Chinese military.

Cyber Attacks Designed to Cause Damage Double in Six Months

Cyberattacks designed to cause damage have doubled in the past six months and 50 percent of organizations affected are in the manufacturing sector, researchers say. IBM's X-Force IRIS incident response team published new research based on recent cyberattacks they have been called in to assist with, and the main trend the group is witnessing is the rise of destructive malware.

North Korea Using Cyber Attacks to Fund Weapons Program, UN Report Says

North Korea has generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using “widespread and increasingly sophisticated” cyber attacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters. Pyongyang also “continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programs although it did not conduct a nuclear test or ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) launch,” said the report to the U.N. Security Council North Korea sanctions committee by independent experts monitoring compliance over six months.

CafePress Asks Customers to Reset Passwords After 23.2M Accounts Exposed

T-shirt seller CafePress has been asking customers to choose new passwords as part of an updated "password policy," but the news came soon after reports that the site had been the victim of a data breach in February. Have I Been Pwned claimed that over 23.2 million accounts had been exposed, including email addresses, names, physical addresses and phone numbers.

Senator Questions Amazon About Its Role in Capital One Hacking

A Democratic senator is pressing Amazon.com Inc. for answers on its cloud-computing technology at the heart of the Capital One hack, one of the biggest-ever bank-data thefts. Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) sent a letter to Chief Executive Jeff Bezos requesting details about the security of Amazon’s cloud service, which stored the 106 million Capital One Financial Corp. credit-card records allegedly stolen by an accused hacker.

Russian Government Hackers Using Internet-Connected Devices, Microsoft Says

Hackers working for the Russian government have been using printers, video decoders, and other so-called Internet-of-things devices as a beachhead to penetrate targeted computer networks, Microsoft officials warned. “These devices became points of ingress from which the actor established a presence on the network and continued looking for further access,” officials with the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center wrote in a post.

Britain's Data Protection Watchdog Questions Facebook's Libra Currency

Britain’s data protection watchdog said that it had joined with its counterparts from around the world in calling for more openness about Facebook’s proposed Libra digital currency. Facebook’s plans to launch Libra next year have prompted warnings from politicians, regulators and central bankers that it must be closely regulated to avoid any disruption to the international financial system.

Read the article: Reuters

After El Paso Shooting, Cloudflare Stops Service for 8chan Website

A San Francisco-based Web company announced it would no longer provide services to 8chan, a website notorious for hosting lawless message boards where manifestos have appeared before mass shootings. The move came after a screed against immigrants was posted to 8chan shortly before a mass shooter killed 20 and wounded 26 at an El Paso Walmart and shopping center.

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