Creator of Failed Kickstarter Project Agrees to Settlement with FTC

Doug Monahan, the creator of the failed iBackPack crowdfunding project, is settling with the Federal Trade Commission and has agreed to never crowdfund again. The agreement comes after more than a year of back-and-forth between the agency and Monahan, who the FTC said misused the nearly $800,000 he raised on Kickstarter and Indiegogo to bring the backpacks to life and instead spent the money on personal expenses and bitcoin.

Facebook Removes Michigan Group Promoting Violence Over Coronavirus

Dozens of angry Michiganders, fueled by conspiracy theories and disinformation about the coronavirus, are promoting violence and mobilizing armed rallies against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Facebook, in violation of the social media company’s policies. after being contacted by Metro Times, Facebook removed one of the groups, Michigan United for Liberty, and deleted posts on others for violating the company’s policy against inciting violence.

'ShinyHunters' Hacking Group Selling Database of 91 Million User Records

A hacker group going by the name of ShinyHunters claims to have breached ten companies and is currently selling their respective user databases on a dark web marketplace for illegal products. Hackers initially leaked 15 million user records online, for free, but later put the company's entire database of 91 million user records on sale for $5,000.

Cybersecurity Firms Offer Free Help to Hospitals During Pandemic

Cybersecurity companies and professionals are banding together to offer free digital defenses to hospitals that are being pummeled with digital attacks during the coronavirus pandemic. The group, which calls itself the Cyber Alliance to Defend our Healthcare, struck deals with 87 hospitals and four national health-care services in Europe over the past month.

EU Regulators Gathering Evidence of Large Tech Companies' Influence

U.S. tech giants such as Facebook and Amazon could face tougher rules as European Union regulators seek evidence to curb their role as gatekeepers to the internet and access to people, information and services, according to an EU tender seen by Reuters. The outcome could force Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple to separate their competing businesses, provide rivals access to their data and open up their standards to them.

Chinese Hackers Allegedly Trying to Steal U.S. Coronavirus Vaccine Research

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are preparing to issue a warning that China’s most skilled hackers and spies are working to steal American research in the crash effort to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus. The efforts are part of a surge in cybertheft and attacks by nations seeking advantage in the pandemic.

Social Media Companies Remove 'Plandemic' Conspiracy Video

Social media companies including YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook are removing a viral conspiracy theory video because of its claims regarding the coronavirus pandemic. The roughly 26-minute video was presented as an extremely long “trailer” for a full-length film titled “Plandemic,” and features an extended interview with Judy Mikovits, a well-known figure in the anti-vaccine movement, who has made various discredited claims about the effects of vaccines.

WeChat Subjects International Users to Surveillance to Aid Censorship

WeChat, the Chinese do-everything app with more than one billion users world-wide, is subjecting its international users to surveillance to bolster the censorship machinery it employs to control users inside China, according to a new report. A mainstay of everyday life in China, WeChat is one of the country’s most popular apps, enabling people to chat with friends, order food delivery, exchange money, hail a car and even pay electricity bills.

Blockchain Adviser Sues 15-Year-Old for Stealing $24M in Cryptocurrency

An adviser to blockchain companies is claiming a 15-year-old and his crew of “evil computer geniuses” stole $24 million in cryptocurrency from him by hacking into his phone. Michael Terpin — the founder and chief executive officer of Transform Group, a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based company that advises blockchain businesses on public relations and communications — sued Ellis Pinsky, accusing the teenager of masterminding a “sophisticated cybercrime spree” that targeted him in 2018.

Bill Would Increase FBI, DOJ Agents Protecting Children Online

Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to protect children against online exploitation and crackdown on predators. The Invest in Child Safety Act would increase the number of agents at the FBI and the Department of Justice investigating child exploitation and obscenity, along with doubling funding for the Justice Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Online Retailers Plan Ad Campaign Opposing Postal Service Hikes

A coalition of online retailers backed by Amazon plans to start a seven-figure advertising blitz opposing President Trump’s demand that the beleaguered United States Postal Service ratchet up its package delivery rates to avoid bankruptcy during the coronavirus crisis, its top lobbyist said. The coalition intends to spend more than $2 million on the campaign in an effort to whip up Republican opposition to Mr. Trump’s idea, pressing lawmakers to support instead a multibillion-dollar rescue package proposed by Democrats that would help the Postal Service survive the sharp drop in revenue and mail volume caused by the pandemic.

Senators Urge Trump to Avoid Hurting U.S. Chipmakers Amid Pandemic

A group of Senate Republicans is urging U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid hurting American chipmakers, which they see as essential to the coronavirus response and the U.S. economy, as the administration cracks down on chip exports to China. In a letter, six senators, including Susan Collins, John Cornyn and Todd Young, expressed concern over rules released by the Commerce Department last week that could curb exports of chips and other technology to China in a bid to keep them from its military.

Facebook Announces First Members of Oversight Board

Facebook announced the first 20 members of its Oversight Board, an independent body that can overturn the company’s own content moderation decisions. The oversight board will govern appeals from Facebook and Instagram users and questions from Facebook itself, although it admitted it will have to pick and choose which content moderation cases to take due to the sheer volume of them.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Twitter to Notify Users Replying to Tweets with 'Offensive or Hurtful Language’

Twitter Inc. will test sending users a prompt when they reply to a tweet using “offensive or hurtful language,” in an effort to clean up conversations on the social media platform, the company said in a tweet. When users hit “send” on their reply, they will be told if the words in their tweet are similar to those in posts that have been reported, and asked if they would like to revise it or not.

Facebook Removes 'Threat Actors' That Leveraged Coronavirus Pandemic

Facebook removed 1,887 accounts, pages and groups tied to Russia, Iran, the U.S. and other countries in April that misled users about their identity and purpose, and some of these users shared posts about the coronavirus pandemic to attract more followers. "We have seen threat actors leverage the coronavirus pandemic and discussion about the coronavirus pandemic in the same way that we've seen threat actors leverage other types of major events around the world," said Nathaniel Gleicher, who heads cybersecurity policy at Facebook.

  • Read the article: CNET

GoDaddy Breach Compromised Data on 28,000 Hosting Customers

A breach at GoDaddy.com LLC, the domain name registrar and website hosting company, compromised usernames and passwords of approximately 28,000 of the company’s 19 million customers. GoDaddy “immediately reset the affected usernames and passwords,” which were used only by customers for accessing remotely hosted servers, rather than their main GoDaddy accounts, according to a company statement.

Facebook Says Iran's State Broadcaster Spread Info via Fake Accounts

Iran’s state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said. In a monthly report of accounts suspended for so-called “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”, Facebook said it had removed eight networks in recent weeks, including one with links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB).

Judge Orders FCC to Disclose Info About Fake Net Neutrality Comments

The Federal Communications Commission may be forced to disclose more information to reporters about the fraudulent comments filed in the agency's 2017 net neutrality repeal after a federal judge in New York ordered the agency to turn over records about the comments to The New York Times. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai acknowledged in late 2018 that roughly 500,000 comments submitted during the debate over the controversial repeal of Obama-era net neutrality rules were fraudulent and linked to Russian email addresses.

  • Read the article: CNET

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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.