Chinese Malware Found on Free Cell Phones for Low-Income Households

Assurance Wireless, offers a free Android device to low-income households along with free data, texts and minutes. But according to security researchers, there’s a catch: the Android phones come with preinstalled Chinese malware, which effectively opens up a backdoor onto the device and endangers their private data. One of the malware types is impossible to remove, according to the researchers.

'PROTECT Kids Act' Would Update COPPA for New Technologies

A pair of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill to protect children's privacy online, responding to growing concern that minors are being manipulated and exploited on the internet without any recourse in existing law. The Preventing Real Online Threats Endangering Children Today (PROTECT) Kids Act, introduced by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), would strengthen a decades-old children's online privacy law to account for new innovations in technology and close loopholes that leave teenagers exposed.

Facebook to Continue Allowing False Political Ads That Target Voters

Defying pressure from Congress, Facebook said that it would continue to allow political campaigns to use the site to target advertisements to particular slices of the electorate and that it would not police the truthfulness of the messages sent out. The stance put Facebook, the most important digital platform for political ads, at odds with some of the other large tech companies, which have begun to put new limits on political ads.

Executives Defend Ring Doorbells, But Critics Maintain Privacy Concerns

The executives in charge of Amazon's Ring doorbells insist their products are making the world better and safer, largely dismissing concerns they are helping lay the foundation for a police surveillance state. But critics disagreed, with Fight for the Future's Evan Greer saying, "Ring's business model is fundamentally incompatible with democracy and basic human rights."

TikTok Updates Community Guidelines to Ban Harmful Misinformation

The hugely popular social media app TikTok tightened its rules around what kind of content it permits, clarifying that it will take down videos that contain misinformation, promote terrorism or incite hatred against minorities. The Chinese-owned app, which revolves around short-form videos set to music, is overhauling its previously sparse community guidelines as it continues to face scrutiny over its ties to Beijing and questions about whether it censors content according to the Chinese government's sensibilities.

Lawmakers Say Facebook's Changes on 'Deepfakes' Not Enough

Facebook Inc. laid out a series of changes it has made to combat the spread of false information on its website, such as removing “deepfake” and other manipulated videos, but lawmakers said the changes do not go far enough. A hearingby the House Energy & Commerce committee marks the latest effort by House lawmakers to probe Facebook’s digital defenses ahead of the 2020 presidential election in November and four years after Russia weaponized the site to spread disinformation during the 2016 race.

New Organization Presents Alternative for Managing .org Domain

A group of respected internet pioneers and nonprofit leaders is offering an alternative to Ethos Capital’s bid to take over the .org top-level domain: a nonprofit cooperative corporation. The goal of the Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants is not only to persuade the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees internet domain names, to stop the sale. It is also to persuade ICANN to hand it the management of dot-org instead.

Facebook to Delete Some 'Deepfakes,' Videos with Manipulated Media

Facebook Inc. said it will remove deepfakes and other manipulated videos from its platform if they have been edited, but not content that is parody or satire, in a move aimed at curbing misinformation ahead of the U.S. presidential election. It would also remove misleading media if it was a result of technologies like AI that "merges, replaces or superimposes content on to a video, making it appear to be authentic", the California-based company said in a blog post.

FBI Asks Apple to Help Unlock iPhones Owned by Shooter at Air Force Base

The FBI has asked Apple to help investigators access two iPhones believed to be owned by a 21-year-old man who killed three sailors in a shooting last month at a Pensacola Air Force base, a person familiar with the investigation said. Investigators believe Mohammed Alshamrani, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer, left one phone in the car and was carrying the second phone while he fired on individuals at the base.

  • Read the article: CNN

ToTok App Returns to Google Play Store After Surveillance Accusations

Popular messaging app ToTok is back in the Google Play Store after it was removed when the app was accused of being a surveillance tool used by the United Arab Emirates to track the activities of people who download it. A "what's new" section on the Google Play app page says the app made several updates, including how it makes requests for user data and syncs contact list info.

  • Read the article: CNET

Iranian Hackers Seen as Aggressive Adversary After Fatal Airstrike

As Iran vows revenge for a recent airstrike that killed a top general, the U.S. faces an aggressive adversary in which digital warfare may be among its best options to strike directly at the American population. In recent years, Iranian hackers have continued their attacks, targeting a U.S. presidential campaign, universities, journalists, and even a dam in suburban New York.

YouTube Rolls Out Changes Limiting Targeted Ads on Children's Videos

YouTube executives have warned creators over the last few months that changes are coming to the platform to comply with a federal children’s privacy law. Now, those changes enter full effect: targeted ads will now be restricted from running on kids’ videos, and kids’ videos will lose access to comments and some other community features.

DHS Cybersecurity Chief Urges 'Close Attention' After Iranian Leader Killed

Soon after Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s top military leader, was killed in a drone strike, the chief of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security warned the public that it was “time to brush up” on Iran’s efforts to attack computer systems in the United States, even as the department’s acting secretary said that “no specific, credible threats” to the country had emerged since the general’s death. Chad F. Wolf, the department’s acting chief, convened senior officials to discuss how to respond to Iran’s threat of a “forceful revenge” against the United States for the death of the country’s second most powerful official.

Apple Sues Virtualization Vendor for Trafficking in Copyright-Protected Goods

Apple is suing an iOS virtualization vendor called Corellium for trafficking under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Apple initially sued the company for copyright infringement in August, alleging that Corellium’s virtualization of iOS was violating Apple’s ownership of the code. The more recent filing expands the case, alleging that Corellium’s sale of the virtualization software counts as trafficking in copyright-protected goods.

Southwire Files Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Suit Over Ransomware Attack

A Georgia wire and cable manufacturer has filed a federal lawsuit in Atlanta after its confidential business information was taken and posted online in the wake of a ransomware attack. The redacted complaint, filed Dec. 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, said the unknown defendant demanded several million dollars to keep the information stolen from Southwire Co. private.

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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.