Two Convicted Russian Hackers Released as Part of Prisoner Exchange

Two Russians serving time in U.S. prisons for computer hacking and multi-million dollar credit card theft have been included in a headline-grabbing prisoner swap deal with Moscow. The two men — Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznev — were sentenced to a combined 36 years in prison for hacking computer networks, insider trading and financial crimes.

Senators Introduce Bill to Prohibit Unauthorized Use of AI Voices

Actress Scarlett Johansson sparked national debate in May when she accused start-up OpenAI of copying her voice to create a conversational artificial intelligence system. But a bipartisan group of senators are trying to head off the next Johansson-esque episode, unveiling legislation that would prohibit people from making unauthorized AI replicas without the consent of whomever they mimic.

Chinese Hackers Accused of Stealing from Taiwanese Research Center

A hacking group believed to be linked to the Chinese government stole passwords and documents from a Taiwanese government-affiliated research center that specializes in computing, cybersecurity researchers at Cisco Systems Inc. said. The attackers used a kind of malicious software tool that’s almost entirely used by China-based groups, after they gained access to the unnamed research center as early as July 2023, Cisco’s Talos threat intelligence group said in a report shared exclusively with Bloomberg News.

U.S. Considers Restricting China's Access to AI Memory Chips

The U.S. is considering unilateral restrictions on China’s access to AI memory chips and equipment capable of making those semiconductors as soon as next month, a move that would further escalate the tech rivalry between the world’s biggest economies. The measure is designed to keep Micron Technology Inc. and South Korea’s leading memory chipmakers SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. from supplying Chinese firms with so-called high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips, according to people familiar with the matter, who emphasized that no final decision has been made.

Google Launches Feature to Remove Explicit Nonconsensual Fake Content

Google is rolling out new online safety features that make it easier to remove explicit deepfakes from Search at scale and prevent them from appearing high up in search results in the first place. When users successfully request the removal of explicit nonconsensual fake content that depicts them from Search, Google’s systems will now also aim to filter out all explicit results on similar searches about them and remove any duplicate images.

Microsoft Blames Global Azure Outage on Denial-of-Service Cyberattack

A global Microsoft Azure outage that impacted a range of services for consumers — from reports of stalling Outlook emails to trouble ordering on Starbucks’ mobile app — was triggered by a distributed denial of service cyberattack, according to the tech giant. Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing platform used by companies and organizations worldwide, confirmed the attack in a status update — and said an error in the platform’s defense response may have “amplified the impact” rather than initially mitigating it.

Britain's Antitrust Watchdog Probing Alphabet's Relationship with OpenAI

Britain's antitrust watchdog is scrutinizing Google-parent Alphabet's partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic and its impact on competition, the regulator said. More than 18 months after Microsoft-backed OpenAI triggered an AI boom with the release of ChatGPT, antitrust regulators around the world have been increasingly concerned by multiple deals struck between smaller industry startups and big tech giants.

Microsoft Wants Congress to Pass Law to 'Combat Deepfake Fraud'

Microsoft Corp. is calling on Congress to pass a comprehensive law to crack down on images and audio created with artificial intelligence — known as deepfakes — that aim to interfere in elections or maliciously target individuals. Noting that the tech sector and nonprofit groups have taken steps to address the problem, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, “It has become apparent that our laws will also need to evolve to combat deepfake fraud.” He urged lawmakers to pass a “deepfake fraud statute to prevent cybercriminals from using this technology to steal from everyday Americans.”

Meta Agrees to Settle Texas Face-Recognition Lawsuit for $1.4 Billion

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to Texas to resolve the state’s lawsuit accusing the Facebook parent of illegally using facial-recognition technology to collect biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent. The terms of the settlement mark the largest accord ever by any single state, according to the lawyers for Texas, whose legal team included the plaintiffs firm Keller Postman.

Meta's Oversight Board Faults Rules on Sexually Explicit AI-Generated Images

Meta's Oversight Board said the company's rules were "not sufficiently clear" in barring sexually explicit AI-generated depictions of real people and called for changes to stop such imagery from circulating on its platforms. The board, which is funded by the social media giant but operates independently, issued its ruling after reviewing two pornographic fakes of famous women created using artificial intelligence and posted on Meta's Facebook and Instagram.

U.S. Indicts North Korean Man for Ransomware Attacks on Hospitals, NASA

A North Korean man is accused of using ransomware to attack computer systems at American hospitals, generating money that allegedly paid for a second cyber campaign to hack NASA and U.S. military bases, Justice Department officials announced. An indictment unsealed in Kansas describes a long-running computer crime wave by Rim Jong Hyok, who allegedly worked for North Korea’s military intelligence agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

Congressional Committee Seeks Testimony from CrowdStrike CEO

A Congressional committee called on the chief executive of CrowdStrike to testify at a hearing about its role in a tech outage that roiled the global economy, in one of the first attempts to hold the cybersecurity company responsible. CrowdStrike sent a faulty security update to its customers, resulting in millions of Microsoft Windows devices shutting down and disruptions to airlines, hospitals, logistics companies and others.

Meta Removes 63,000 Accounts in Nigeria Linked to Sex Extortion Scams

Meta Platforms it had removed about 63,000 accounts in Nigeria that attempted to engage in financial sexual extortion scams mostly aimed at adult men in the United States. Nigerian online fraudsters, known as "Yahoo boys," are notorious for scams that range from passing themselves off as people in financial need or Nigerian princes offering an outstanding return on an investment.

Senate Passes Bill Allowing Victims to Suer Over Deepfake Porn Images

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill designed to hold accountable those who make or share deepfake porn. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act) would allow victims to sue those who create, share or possess AI-generated sexual images or videos using their likeness. The issue took root in the public consciousness after the infamous Taylor Swift deepfake that circulated among online lowlifes early this year.

DOJ Inspector General Urges Better Communication About Foreign Influence

A 53-page report, published by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, affirmed that U.S. law enforcement agencies need to communicate with tech firms about foreign influence operations, such as Russia’s campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. But it warned that officials need to be more systematic and careful about the nature of those communications to ensure they don’t cross the line into government censorship.

Spanish Antitrust Officials Launch Investigation Over Apple's App Store

Spanish antitrust officials launched an investigation into Apple, saying the iPhone maker might be imposing unfair conditions on developers who rely on its App Store to distribute their applications. The country’s National Markets and Competition Commission, known as CNMC, said it is probing Apple’s treatment of developers to ascertain whether the tech giant is engaging in anti-competitive practices in breach of Spanish and European Union legislation.

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.