U.S. Blames Iran for Hacking Attempts of Trump, Harris Campaigns

The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed Iran was responsible for recent attempted hacks into the Trump and Biden-Harris presidential campaigns, the agencies said in a joint statement. Campaign staffers received phishing emails that were designed to appear legitimate but could give an intruder access to the recipients’ communications, The Washington Post has previously reported, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.

Russian Spy Agencies Reportedly Using Phishing Attacks

Russian spy agencies are using deep knowledge about foreign and domestic opponents, reporters and human rights groups to target them with well-crafted phishing attacks, in some cases successfully, according to the groups and security researchers. Reports published by digital rights group Access Now and Canadian research nonprofit Citizen Lab include samples of the emails sent during the past two years to targets such as Russian rights organization First Department, which represents Russians accused of treason or espionage.

San Francisco Sues Companies That Create 'Deepfake Nudes'

The San Francisco City Attorney's office is suing companies that create "deepfake nudes," where artificial intelligence is used to turn photos of adults and children into pornography. City Attorney David Chiu announced a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against 16 of the most visited websites creating AI-generated nonconsensual explicit images, often of women and girls.

Google Accused of Selling Phones with 'Unvetted Insecure Software'

Google’s master software for some Android phones includes a hidden feature that is insecure and could be activated to allow remote control or spying on users, according to a security company that found it inside phones at a U.S. intelligence contractor. The feature appears intended to give employees at stores selling Pixel phones and other models deep access to the devices so they can demonstrate how they work, according to researchers at iVerify who shared their findings with The Washington Post.

Justice Department Officials Consider Asking Court to Break Up Google

Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against Google, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving the agency and state attorneys general who helped to bring the case. They are discussing various proposals, including breaking off parts of Google, such as its Chrome browser or Android smartphone operating system, two of the people said.

Lawmakers Want U.S. to Probe China's TP-Link for National Security Risks

Two U.S. lawmakers want the Biden administration to probe China's TP-Link Technology Co and its affiliates for potential national security risks from their widely used WiFi routers over fears they could be used in cyber attacks against the U.S. Republican Representative John Moolenaar and Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who lead the House Select Committee on China, requested a Commerce Department probe in a letter seen by Reuters.

Hacking Group Claims It Stole Almost 3 Billion Personal Records

Public advocates fear a possible tsunami of identity theft could be coming after a hacking group claims it was able to steal nearly 3 billion personal records, including Social Security numbers. The theft happened in April, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It says the hacking group known as USDoD stole the records from National Public Data, which offers personal information to employers, private investigators and others who do background checks.

Meta Removes Accounts Promoting Fake Political Advocacy Group

A network of social media accounts used Meta to promote a fictitious political advocacy group that attempted to recruit conservative candidates to run as independents — part of a rush of campaigns infiltrating the platform ahead of the 2024 election. Meta removed dozens of social media accounts and pages amplifying Patriots Run Project, a group that purported to be a national grassroots organization but that appeared to be run by a small U.S.-based group, the RT Group.

Lawmakers Ask Meta to Explain Ads for Illegal Drugs on Instagram

A bipartisan group of 19 lawmakers sent a letter to Meta Platforms asking why ads for illicit drugs on Instagram and other apps have continued to proliferate while the company is facing a federal probe over the practice. The letter cited an article in The Wall Street Journal published in July revealing that the social media giant has collected revenue from hundreds of ads for cocaine, opioids and other drugs.

California Lawmakers Amend Bill Putting Restrictions on AI Technology

California lawmakers have amended a bill that would create new restrictions for artificial intelligence, paving the way for first-of-their-kind safety rules that could set new standards for how tech companies develop their systems. The State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee voted to endorse an amended version of the bill, S.B. 1047, which would require companies to test the safety of powerful AI technologies before releasing them to the public.

TikTok Tells Court Justice Department Misstated Ties to China

TikTok told a federal appeals court that the U.S. Department of Justice has misstated the social media app's ties to China, urging the court to overturn a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. assets or face a ban. TikTok, which has sued to overturn the law, said the Justice Department has made factual errors in the case. The department's lawyers said last month that the app poses a national security risk by allowing the Chinese government to collect the data of Americans and covertly manipulate what content they see.

Iranian Hackers Reportedly Targeting U.S. Presidential Campaigns

When Donald Trump's presidential campaign publicly stated that it had been successfully targeted by Iranian hackers, the news may have initially seemed like a sign that the Middle Eastern country was particularly focused on the candidate whom it perceived to take the most hawkish approach to its regime. It's since become clearer that Iran has had the Democrats in the sights of its cyber operations, too. Now Google's cybersecurity analysts have confirmed that both campaigns were targeted not simply by Iran but by the same group of hackers working in service of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

X Files Antitrust Suit Against Advertising Industry Coalition Over Boycott

X filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against an advertising industry coalition and its members — including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever — alleging the group abused its influence over marketers and ad agencies to discriminate unfairly against X, prompting an ad boycott. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, argues GARM "conspired, along with dozens of non-defendant co-conspirators, to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue from Twitter, Inc. (‘Twitter,’ now X Corp.)."

Fives States Urge Musk to Change AI Chatbot to Avoid Fake Election Info

Five secretaries of state plan to send an open letter to billionaire Elon Musk on Monday, urging him to “immediately implement changes” to X’s AI chatbot Grok, after it shared with millions of users false information suggesting that Kamala Harris was not eligible to appear on the 2024 presidential ballot. The letter, spearheaded by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and signed by his counterparts Al Schmidt of Pennsylvania, Steve Hobbs of Washington, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico, urges Musk to “immediately implement changes to X’s AI search assistant, Grok, to ensure voters have accurate information in this critical election year.”

Google Violated Antitrust Law in Online Search, Federal Judge Rules

Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, a federal judge ruled, a landmark decision that strikes at the power of tech giants in the modern internet era and that may fundamentally alter the way they do business. Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in a 277-page ruling that Google had abused a monopoly over the search business.

Justice Department Sues TikTok for Illegally Collecting Children's Data

The Justice Department sued TikTok, accusing it of illegally collecting children’s data and escalating a long-running battle between the U.S. government and the Chinese-owned app. TikTok broke the law by gathering personal information from users under the age of 13 without their parents’ permission, according to the government’s complaint.

Appeals Court Blocks FCC's Reinstatement of Net Neutrality Rules

A U.S. appeals court blocked the Federal Communications Commission's reinstatement of landmark net neutrality rules, saying broadband providers are likely to succeed in a legal challenge. The FCC voted in April along party lines to reassume regulatory oversight of broadband internet and reinstate open internet rules adopted in 2015 that were rescinded under then-President Donald Trump.

Apple Asks Judge to Dismiss Justice Department's Antitrust Suit

Apple is asking a federal judge to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 16 state attorneys general against the iPhone maker, which they allege maintains an illegal monopoly over the smartphone market. The tech giant argued in a filing that it is not a monopolist and that its design choices have not had any anticompetitive effects on the market.

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.