Most Presidential Candidates Not Using Email Security Feature

Just one-third of the 2020 U.S. presidential candidates are using an email security feature that could prevent a similar attack that hobbled the Democrats during the 2016 election. Out of the 21 presidential candidates in the race according to Reuters, only seven Democrats are using and enforcing DMARC, an email security protocol that verifies the authenticity of a sender’s email and rejects spoofed emails, which hackers often use to try to trick victims into opening malicious links from seemingly known individuals.

Singapore Requires Facebook to Post Correction Under 'Fake News' Law

Singapore instructed Facebook to publish a correction on a user’s social media post under a new “fake news” law, raising fresh questions about how the company will adhere to government requests to regulate content. The government said in a statement that it had issued an order requiring Facebook “to publish a correction notice” on a Nov. 23 post which contained accusations about the arrest of a supposed whistleblower and election rigging.

Twitter Permanently Suspends Account for Republican Congressional Candidate

A Republican candidate running to challenge Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota had her Twitter account permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitter rules, according to a Twitter spokesperson. Danielle Stella says she was banned for a tweet in which she spread a baseless claim about Omar and said if the claim is true, Omar should be tried for treason and hanged, according to a post to her Facebook account.

  • Read the article: CNN

Judge Denies Facebook Users Class-Action Status for Damages in Privacy Case

A federal judge said up to 29 million Facebook Inc. users whose personal information was stolen in a September 2018 data breach cannot sue as a group for damages, but can seek better security at the social media company after a series of privacy lapses. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco said neither credit monitoring costs nor the reduced value of stolen personal information was a “cognizable injury” that supported a class action for damages.

More Than One-Third of Online Reviews Identified as Fraudulent

More than a third of online reviews on major websites, including those on Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and Sephora, are fake, meaning they are generated by robots or people paid to write them, according to Fakespot Inc., which identifies fraudulent reviews. The problem has become so pervasive that the Federal Trade Commission has started cracking down on violators, and lawmakers are pressing Amazon to do a better job of policing reviews on its website.

Civil Rights Groups Want Congress to Probe Ring's Video Recording System

A coalition of more than a dozen civil rights groups called for a congressional investigation into Amazon's "surveillance empire" amid escalating scrutiny of the tech giant's home security subsidiary, Ring. Advocacy groups such as Demand Progress, Color of Change and the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Congress to invite Amazon executives to testify publicly about "the threats their nationwide surveillance network pose."

Berners-Lee Launches 'Contract for the Web' to Protect Against Abuse

Sir Tim Berners-Lee has launched a global action plan to save the web from political manipulation, fake news, privacy violations and other malign forces that threaten to plunge the world into a “digital dystopia.” The Contract for the Web requires endorsing governments, companies and individuals to make concrete commitments to protect the web from abuse and ensure it benefits humanity.

China's Central Bank Warns Investors About Virtual Currencies

China’s central bank told businesses involved with cryptocurrencies to correct any improper actions, and warned investors to be wary of virtual currencies. Speculation over cryptocurrencies has revived following the recent promotion of blockchain technology, the Shanghai Bureau of the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

Unprotected Server Exposed 1.2 Billion Records of Personal Data

Security researchers found an unprotected server that exposed 1.2 billion records of personal data, including email addresses, employers, locations, job titles, names, phone numbers and social media profiles, according to a notification sent Friday to people affected by the exposure. "In October 2019, security researchers Vinny Troia and Bob Diachenko identified an unprotected Elasticsearch server," according to the email.

  • Read the article: CNET

U.S. Utilities Targeted in Wave of Cyberattacks Operate in 18 States

More than a dozen U.S. utilities that were targets in a recent wave of cyberattacks have been identified by The Wall Street Journal. Some of the utilities, most of which are relatively small, are located near dams, locks and other critical infrastructure. The targeted utilities, which operate in 18 states from Maine to Washington, include Cloverland Electric Cooperative in Michigan, which sits next to the Sault Ste. Marie Locks, a critical juncture for the transport of iron ore to U.S. steel mills; Klickitat Public Utility District in Washington state, which is near major federal dams and transmission lines that funnel hydroelectricity to California; and Basin Electric Power Cooperative in North Dakota, one of the few utilities that is capable of delivering electricity to both the nation’s eastern and western grids.

YouTube Warns Creators About Changes to Monetization for Children's Content

YouTube starting this month is requiring all creators, regardless of location and whether or not they produce content intended for children, to designate whether their videos are made for kids. And many YouTubers are concerned that the new rules will hurt their monetization — or even expose them to fines if their content is mislabeled.

Court of Appeals Voids VirnetX's $503 Million Patent Award Against Apple

A U.S. appeals court voided a jury’s calculation that Apple should pay $503 million for infringing patents owned by licensing firm VirnetX Holdings Corp , setting the stage for another potential trial in a decade-old legal battle. In a partial victory for VirnetX, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit left in place a Texas jury’s finding that Apple iPhones infringed two VirnetX patents relating to secure communications technology.

Court Says Fifth Amendment Allows Suspect to Keep Password Secret

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars people from being forced to turn over personal passwords to police, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled. In a 4-3 ruling, justices from Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned a lower-court order that required the suspect in a child-pornography case to turn over a 64-character password to his computer.

Senators Want Trump to Suspend Approvals of Tech Sales to Huawei

A bipartisan group of senators wants President Trump’s administration to suspend its approval of U.S. technology sales to China’s Huawei, saying the manufacturer of cellphones and 5G network equipment poses risks to national security. In a letter to Trump, 15 senators expressed concern about the Commerce Department’s move to begin issuing licenses allowing some sales of semiconductors and other parts, despite Huawei’s remaining on a U.S. trade blacklist.

Facebook Agrees to Turn Over More Documents in Calif. Privacy Probe

Facebook Inc. has agreed to turn over additional documents after the California state attorney general’s office went to court earlier this month to compel the social media firm to comply with requests for information in its privacy investigation. Under a joint stipulation filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the company agreed by Nov. 26 to respond some of the document requests.

Senate Democrats Question Amazon About 'Sensitive' Video Footage

A group of Senate Democrats raised concerns around the data security practices of Amazon's home security company, Ring. In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (Md.), Chris Coons (Del.), Gary Peters (Mich.), and Edward Markey (Mass.) questioned Amazon having access to the personal data of millions of Americans who use the Ring system in their homes.

Subscribe

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.