U.S. Charges Sudanese Brothers with Running Cyberattack-for-Hire Gang

Federal prosecutors charged two Sudanese brothers with running one of the most prolific cyberattack-for-hire gangs of all time, a small group they blamed for a stunning 35,000 denial-of-service attacks in a single year. A grand jury indictment charged Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer with conspiracy and impairing computers, including in at least one hospital in the United States. Convictions could lead to potential life sentences.

FCC Opening Formal Inquiry on Broadband Providers' Data Caps

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said it was opening a formal inquiry into why broadband providers cap data use by some customers, and how it impacts consumers and competition. "For most people in the United States, rationing their internet usage would be unthinkable and impractical. But, for millions, limitations on how much data they can use online is a constant concern," said FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.

Automattic Planned 'Multi-Pronged Strategy' to Protect WordPress Trademark

Matt Mullenweg, the WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO, has been embroiled in a very public and legal fight with WP Engine these last few weeks over the use of WordPress as a trademark, and fees Automattic believes WP Engine owes to the WordPress project — sparring that has resulted in WP Engine issuing legal demands of its own. According to an internal blog post a source shared with TechCrunch, Automattic was crafting a plan to get significantly stricter about trademark enforcement across WordPress and its e-commerce platform WooCommerce since at least the beginning of the year.

Microsoft Says Russia, China, Iran Collaborating with Cybercrime Networks

Russia, China and Iran are increasingly collaborating with cybercrime networks to launch a variety of attacks against their adversaries, including the U.S., Microsoft said in a report. The attacks, ranging from ransomware to phishing, were carried out for “espionage, destruction or influence” and involved cybercrime gangs working with these nations to share hacking tools and tactics, Microsoft said in its new Digital Defense Report.

New York Times Demands AI Startup Perplexity Stop Using Its Content

The New York Times has sent generative-AI startup Perplexity a “cease and desist” notice demanding that the firm stop accessing and using its content, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Perplexity, which was launched two years ago and is backed by Jeff Bezos, is trying to mount a challenge against search behemoth Google.

TikTok Communications Show Company Unconcerned with Teen Harms

For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers. This is despite its own research validating many child safety concerns. The confidential material was part of a more than two-year investigation into TikTok by 14 attorneys general that led to state officials suing the company.

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U.S. Officials Studying Impact of Chinese Group's Broadband Hacking

U.S. officials are racing to understand the full scope of a China-linked hack of major U.S. broadband providers, as concerns mount from members of Congress that the breach could amount to a devastating counterintelligence failure. Federal authorities and cybersecurity investigators are probing the breaches of Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies.

Breach at Internet Archive Exposes Data on 31 Million Users

The Internet Archive, the nonprofit organization that digitizes and archives materials like web pages, came under attack. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), a data breach notification site, later confirmed the breach, saying that 31 million unique email addresses and usernames were stolen; so did Brewster Kahle, the self-described digital librarian who founded the Internet Archive in 1996.

Marriott Settles FTC Charges After Data Breaches Hit 344M Customers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it will require Marriott International and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to put in place an information security program to settle charges over multiple data breaches from 2014 to 2020. The three large data breaches, which took place from 2014 to 2020, affected more than 344 million customers worldwide, the FTC said.

Supreme Court in Brazil Lifts Ban on X After Free Speech Claims Settled

The Brazilian Supreme Court’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized the restoration of social media platform X´s service in Brazil, over a month after its nationwide shutdown, according to a court document that was made public. Elon Musk’s X was blocked on Aug. 30 in the highly online country of 213 million people — and one of X’s biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 to 40 million.

Judge Orders Google to Open Android App Store to Competitors

A federal judge ordered Google to pry open its Android app store to competition, continuing a wave of challenges to its power and that of other U.S. technology giants. U.S. District Judge James Donato largely sided with Epic Games, creator of the Fortnite video games, which won a jury verdict last year that found the Google Play app store operated as an illegal monopoly.

Chinese Hackers Reportedly Breach Three Major U.S. Telecoms

Chinese hackers have breached at least three major U.S. telecommunications providers in what appears to be an audacious espionage operation likely aimed in part at discovering the Chinese targets of American surveillance, according to U.S. officials. The full scope of the compromises and their impact is not yet known, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

Crypto.com Sues SEC Over Regulating Cryptocurrency Industry

Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that the federal agency is overstepping its jurisdiction by regulating the cryptocurrency industry. The crypto trading platform said its move follows the receipt of a "Wells notice" from the top U.S. markets regulator on the grounds that tokens traded on its platform qualified as securities.

Attorneys General Sue TikTok for Damaging Young Users' Mental Health

Fourteen attorneys general, led by officials in New York and California, filed lawsuits accusing the social media platform TikTok of damaging young users’ mental health and collecting their data without consent. The legal broadside, organized by a bipartisan coalition of 14 law enforcement officers, alleges TikTok violated state laws by falsely claiming its service is safe for young people. The lawsuits were filed individually.

U.S. Seizes Domain Names Used by Russian Intelligence Agents

U.S. authorities have seized dozens of Internet domains used by Russian intelligence agents and their proxies to steal valuable information from U.S. government computers and email accounts, the Department of Justice revealed. In a warrant, the department accused the "Callisto Group," a unit under Russia's FSB security service, of orchestrating an "ongoing and sophisticated spear phishing campaign" aimed at gaining unauthorized access to the computers and email accounts of victims.

EU Commission Requests Info from Social Media About Algorithms

The EU Commission requested information from YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok on the parameters used by their algorithms to recommend content to users and their role in amplifying some systemic risks, including those related to the electoral process, mental health and protection of minors. The requests, made under the Digital Services Act (DSA), "also concern the platforms' measures to mitigate the potential influence of their recommender systems on the spread of illegal content, such as promoting illegal drugs and hate speech," the EU Commission said in a statement.

Russian Efforts to Influence Election for Trump Growing, Researchers Say

Russia’s attempts to influence the 2024 election in favor of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are accelerating, federal officials and researchers say, adding to a sea of misinformation about immigration and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, despite U.S. efforts to blunt the onslaught with indictments, seizures and public warnings. After a group of prominent far-right influencers was exposed last month for taking money provided by Russian state media figures, they continued to promote falsehoods to their large followings, including debunked claims about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets.

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.