Chinese Hackers Targeted Data on Phones Used by Trump, Vance

Chinese hackers targeted data from phones used by former President Donald J. Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, as part of what appears to be a wide-ranging intelligence-collection effort, people familiar with the matter said. Investigators are working to determine what communications data, if any, was taken or observed by the sophisticated penetration of telecom systems, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an active and highly sensitive national security case.

Hackers Linked to Iranian Government Reportedly Probe U.S. Election Websites

Iranian government-linked hackers have researched and probed election-related websites in multiple U.S. swing states, in a possible effort to discover vulnerabilities that could be used to influence the presidential election, Microsoft said in a report. Officials from multiple federal agencies are looking closely at the Iranian activity, a U.S. official told CNN.

  • Read the article: CNN

Film Company Behind 'Blade Runner' Sues Tesla Over Image

A film production company that helped make “Blade Runner 2049” has sued Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk for using an AI-generated image resembling a scene from the science fiction movie to market Tesla’s new robotaxis. Alcon Entertainment said it refused all permissions but Tesla allegedly used artificial intelligence to “do it all anyway” when the carmaker unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi on Oct. 10 during a live-streamed event at a Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California.

More Tensions Expected in U.S.-China Tech War Whoever Wins Election

The U.S.-China tech war is all but certain to heat up no matter whether Republican Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris wins the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, with the Democrat likely to come out with targeted new rules and Trump a blunter approach. New efforts to slow the flow of less-sophisticated Chinese chips, smart cars and other imports into the U.S. are expected, alongside more curbs on chipmaking tools and highly-prized AI chips headed to China, according to former officials from the Biden and Trump administrations, industry experts and people close to the campaigns.

Meta Oversight Board Voices 'Serious Concerns' About Election Moderation

Two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, the Oversight Board says it has “serious concerns” about Meta’s content moderation systems in “electoral contexts,” and that the company risks the “excessive removal of political speech” when it over-enforces its rules. The admonishment came as the board weighed in on a case involving a satirical image of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Meta Suspends Accounts Tracking Private Jets of Public Figures

The tech giant Meta suspended Instagram and Threads accounts tracking the flights of private jets owned by Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, former president Donald Trump and other public figures, echoing a move by Elon Musk’s X to crack down on such accounts that drew criticism over social networks’ suppression of public data. The accounts drew from publicly broadcast flight data to post the takeoff and landing airports of planes used by Zuckerberg, Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) alongside estimates of the carbon dioxide emissions from each trip.

Dow Jones, New York Post Sue Perplexity for AI Copyright Infringement

News Corp‘s Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post have sued Perplexity, a startup that calls itself an “AI-powered Swiss Army Knife for information discovery and curiosity,” alleging copyright infringement. “Perplexity is a generative artificial intelligence company that claims to provide its users accurate and up-to-date news and information in a platform that, in Perplexity’s own words, allows users to ‘Skip the Links’ to original publishers’ websites,” the companies said in the federal lawsuit.

Alabama Man Arrested for Hacking SEC's X Account

An Alabama man was arrested for his alleged role in the January hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission social media account that led the price of bitcoin to spike, the Justice Department said. Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, is accused of helping to break into the SEC’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter, allowing the hackers to prematurely announce the approval of long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

U.S. Prosecutors Pursuing More Suspects Using AI to Create Child Porn

U.S. federal prosecutors are stepping up their pursuit of suspects who use artificial intelligence tools to manipulate or create child sex abuse images, as law enforcement fears the technology could spur a flood of illicit material. The U.S. Justice Department has brought two criminal cases this year against defendants accused of using generative AI systems, which create text or images in response to user prompts, to produce explicit images of children.

China's Cybersecurity Association Wants Security Review for Intel Products

Intel sold in China should be subject to a security review, the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said, alleging the U.S. chipmaker has "constantly harmed" the country's national security and interests. While CSAC is an industry group rather than a government body, it has close ties to the Chinese state and the raft of accusations against Intel, published in a long post on its official WeChat account, could trigger a security review from China's powerful cyberspace regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

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.

  • Read the article: NPR

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.

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.