FBI Investigating Reports of Hacking Attempt on Ohio Election Board

A commissioner in Lake County, Ohio, whose government office was used to plug a private laptop into the county network during the spring primary said that he was not aware of an attempt to breach the local election board’s computers. John Hamercheck (R), president of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, spoke publicly for the first time about the incident, which is under investigation by the FBI and state officials.

Italy's Antitrust Authority Fines Amazon, Apple $225 Million

Italy's antitrust authority has fined U.S. tech giants Amazon.com and Apple Inc. a total of more than 200 million euros ($225 million) for alleged anti-competitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Contractual provisions of a 2018 agreement between the companies meant only selected resellers were allowed to sell Apple and Beats products on Amazon.it, the watchdog said, adding that this was in violation of European Union rules and affected competition on prices.

Apple Sues Surveillance Company NSO Group, Seeking Software Ban

Apple sued the NSO Group, the Israeli surveillance company, in federal court, another setback for the beleaguered firm and the unregulated spyware industry. The lawsuit is the second of its kind — Facebook sued the NSO Group in 2019 for targeting its WhatsApp users — and represents another consequential move by a private company to curb invasive spyware by governments and the companies that provide their spy tools.

Cybersecurity Programs Get $500 Million in Bill Approved by House

The House approved more than $500 million in cybersecurity funding as part of its version of President Biden’s roughly $2 trillion Build Back Better package. The social and climate spending bill, passed by a narrow vote of 220-213, would mostly funnel those funds to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to help address issues including cybersecurity workforce training as well as state and local government cybersecurity.

Google Questions Impartiality of Justice Department's Top Antitrust Official

Google asked the Justice Department to investigate whether its new top antitrust official, who has represented Google rivals, needs to step back from inquiries and lawsuits against the company. In a letter to Justice Department leaders, an outside lawyer for Google said the “reality, and the appearance, of partiality are fairly called into question” by Jonathan Kanter’s past work for the company’s critics.

European Data Protection Board Warns of Rights Threats from Digital Regulations

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB), an expert steering body which advises EU lawmakers on how to interpret rules wrapping citizen’s personal data, has warned the bloc’s legislators that a package of incoming digital regulations risks damaging people’s fundamental rights — without “decisive action” to amend the suite of proposals. The reference is to draft rules covering digital platform governance and accountability (the Digital Services Act; DSA); proposals for ex ante rules for internet gatekeepers (the Digital Markets Act; DMA), the Data Governance Act (DGA), which aims to encourage data reuse as an engine for innovation and AI; and the Regulation on a European approach for Artificial Intelligence (AIR), which sets out a risk-based framework for regulating applications of AI.

Indian Police Charge Amazon Executives in Case Involving Marijuana Smuggling

Indian police said they had charged senior executives of Amazon.com's local unit under narcotics laws in a case of alleged marijuana smuggling via the online retailer. Police in the central Madhya Pradesh state arrested two men with 20 kg of marijuana on Nov. 14 and found they were using the Amazon India website to order and further smuggle the substance in the guise of stevia leaves, a natural sweetener, to other Indian states.

Justice Department Indicts Two Iranians for 2020 Election Hacking

Two Iranian men were indicted by the U.S. Justice Department, accused of a brazen hacking and disinformation campaign that targeted American voters in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Seyyed Kazemi, 24, and Sajjad Kashian, 27, allegedly sent threatening emails to try to scare voters, attempted to break into several states’ voting-related websites and gained access to a U.S. media company’s computer network.

Banking Regulators Require Cybersecurity Incident Reports Within 36 Hours

U.S. banking regulators finalized a rule that directs banks to report any major cybersecurity incidents to the government within 36 hours of discovery. Separately, the banking industry said it had successfully completed a massive cross-industry cyber security drill that aims to ensure Wall Street knows how to respond in the event of a ransomware attack that threatens to disrupt a range of financial services.

State Attorneys General Investigating Instagram's Impact on Children

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general said it is investigating how Instagram attracts and affects young people, amping up the pressure on parent company Meta Platforms Inc. over potential harms to its users. Led by eight states, including Massachusetts and Nebraska, the coalition is focused on “the techniques utilized by Meta to increase the frequency and duration of engagement by young users and the resulting harms caused by such extended engagement.”

Miramax Sues Tarantino Over Plans to Auction 'Pulp Fiction' Script as NFT

Miramax is taking legal action against Quentin Tarantino over his plans to auction off script pages for seven scenes that didn’t make the final cut and other artifacts from the cult classic “Pulp Fiction” as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Miramax, which produced the 1994 film, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California against Mr. Tarantino, alleging copyright infringement and breach of contract.

Australia to Invest in Quantum Technology to Counter Chinese Threats

Australia will strengthen its capabilities in quantum science and other technologies that could be used to counter threats from China, providing more detail on the type of innovations Australia might develop alongside the U.S. under a new security partnership. Australia will invest the equivalent of about $81 million (111 million Australian dollars) in quantum technology, including for a hub that will foster strategic partnerships with like-minded countries to commercialize Australia’s quantum research, officials said.

Apple Cedes to 'Right to Repair,' Will Offer Parts for iPhone Fixes

Apple delivered an early holiday gift to the eco-conscious and the do-it-yourselfers: It said it would soon begin selling the parts, tools and instructions for people to do their own iPhone repairs. It was a major victory for the “right to repair” movement, which has demanded that tech manufacturers provide the necessary components and manuals for customers to fix their own smartphones, tablets and computers.

FTC Urges Court to Allow Facebook Antitrust Suit to Proceed

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing that a federal court should allow an antitrust lawsuit it filed against Facebook to go forward as the company has "interfered with the competitive process by targeting nascent threats through exclusionary conduct." In August the FTC refreshed its antitrust case against Facebook, adding more detail on the accusation the social media company crushed or bought rivals and asked a judge to force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp.

Google, Sonos Argue Over Patent Rights to Music Playlists in Cloud

Alphabet Inc.’s Google said it’s the rightful owner of patents on ways to keep music playlists in the cloud that form a key component of a lawsuit Sonos Inc. filed over the Google Play Music system. Sonos called that contention “nonsense.” Sonos, an early proponent of connected home speakers, has claimed that Google gained knowledge of the technology through a partnership to integrate Google Play into the Sonos platform, and then decided to sell its own product line and undercut Sonos on price.

Senate Confirms Google Critic to Lead Justice Department's Antitrust Division

The Senate confirmed Google critic and competition lawyer Jonathan Kanter to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division, marking yet another progressive win in antitrust enforcement under the Biden administration. Kanter has a long history representing tech companies, like Yelp and Microsoft, in lawsuits accusing Google of anti-competitive behavior.

Hackers from Pakistan Targeted People in Afghanistan During Taliban Takeover

Hackers from Pakistan used Facebook to target people in Afghanistan with connections to the previous government during the Taliban's takeover of the country, the company's threat investigators said in an interview with Reuters. Facebook said the group, known in the security industry as SideCopy, shared links to websites hosting malware which could surveil people's devices.

After Threatening to Leave, Google to Expand Cloud Infrastructure in Australia

Google will spend A$1 billion ($736 million) in Australia over five years, the tech giant said, just months after it threatened to pull its services from the country in response to tougher government regulation. The main operating unit of Alphabet Inc. said it planned to expand cloud infrastructure, set up a research hub staffed by Australian researchers and engineers and partner with science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

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.