Legal, Privacy & Security
23 May 2013
US Legislators: Electric Utilities Dragging Heels on Cybersecurity Mitigations Threat Post
It would seem that what spurs private and public electric grid utility operators to action with regard to cybersecurity isn't the Chinese or Iranians attacking them, but the word "mandatory".
Hackers Find China Is Land of Opportunity New York Times
Name a target anywhere in China, an official at a state-owned company boasted recently, and his crack staff will break into that person's computer, download the contents of the hard drive, record the keystrokes and monitor cellphone communications, too.
Twitter introduces 'two-factor authentication' to stop password hacking The Guardian
Twitter is introducing "two-factor authentication" using mobile phone verification on the social network, after a number of high-profile cases in which passwords were stolen by hackers.
22 May 2013
U.S. Power Companies Under Frequent Cyberattack Network World
A survey of U.S. utilities shows many are facing frequent cyberattacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid supplying more than 300 million people, according to a congressional report.
21 May 2013
Guantanamo wi-fi shut down after Anonymous threat BBC News
The American military has turned off its wi-fi service inside the prison at Guantanamo Bay following threats by the hacker collective Anonymous.
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are secret backers behind European Privacy Association Computerworld
After being accused of a lack of transparency by an independent watchdog, the European Privacy Association has confirmed that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are backers.
Hackers From China Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets New York Times
Three months after hackers working for a cyberunit of China's People's Liberation Army went silent amid evidence that they had stolen data from scores of American companies and government agencies, they appear to have resumed their attacks using different techniques, according to computer industry security experts and American officials.
17 May 2013
Will giving the internet eyes and ears mean the end of privacy? The Guardian
Corporations and governments are turning the internet into a colossal, always-on surveillance tool. Once passive objects are able to report what's happening, where is the power balance?
US Congress Wants Answers From Google on Privacy Impact of Glass All Things D
A group of Congress members has sent a letter to Google seeking answers to a range of questions about the privacy implications raised by its Google Glass project.
German case on embedding YouTube videos referred to EU court PC World
Embedded YouTube videos don't infringe copyright under current German law, but they could violate European rules, the German Federal Court of Justice said on Thursday.
Copyright owners can't sue Google's YouTube as a group - US judge Reuters
A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied class-action status to copyright owners suing Google Inc over the use of material posted on YouTube without their permission.
At Microsoft, a Sharpened Focus on Cybercrime Threat Post
Cybercrime has developed in the last few years into a major concern, not just for the consumers and businesses that are victims, but also for governments around the world. Obama administration officials have called it one of the larger threats to the United States economy. While law enforcement agencies handle the investigative and prosecutorial piece of things, they are increasingly being aided by experts at companies such as Microsoft, Google and others that have unique insights into attackers' activities and the capability to make life more difficult for them.
16 May 2013
British LulzSec 'hactivists' caused websites to crash across the world for their own amusement The Independent
Four "modern day pirates" launched cyber-attacks on the CIA and global corporations stealing huge amounts of sensitive data and causing websites to crash across the world for their own amusement, a court heard today.
Twitter US 'Hate Map' shows where racist, homophobic, and offensive tweets originate Venture Beat
Students at Humboldt State University in California individually reviewed 150,000 geocoded tweets containing racist, homophobic, or otherwise offensive terms to build a "hate map" indicating where people in the U.S. are most bigoted.
Google's New Privacy Policy Display Violates California Privacy Protection Law, Privacy Policy Is Also "Deceptive," Consumer Watchdog Tells Attorney General Consumer Watchdog
A recent change in the way Google presents its privacy policy violates the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) and the policy is "fundamentally deceptive," Consumer Watchdog told Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Consent should be needed for anonymised data sharing to be lawful, say European campaigners Out-Law
Businesses should have to ask for individuals' consent before sharing anonymised personal data with third parties, digital rights campaigners have said.
14 May 2013
FBI says more cooperation with banks key to probe of cyber attacks Reuters
The FBI last month gave temporary security clearances to scores of U.S. bank executives to brief them on the investigation into the cyber attacks that have repeatedly disrupted online banking websites for most of a year.
US porn troll case prompts ISPs to fight to protect customer IDs PC World
Several major ISPs embroiled in a copyright lawsuit with an adult film copyright holder are appealing a ruling in the case that could permit hundreds of innocent subscribers to be harassed by copyright trolls.
13 May 2013
3D printed guns are going to create big legal precedents The Guardian
By now, everyone's heard about the 3D printed gun that Defense Distributed demonstrated last week. The Texas-based group has been steadily working its way up the 3D printed firearms evolutionary ladder, making parts for guns, then guns themselves, then firing a gun, then making the plans for running up your own pistols on a nearby 3D printer. If Defense Distributed had set out to create a moral panic over 3D printing, they could have picked no better project.
Cyberattacks Against U.S. Corporations Are on the Rise New York Times
A new wave of cyberattacks is striking American corporations, prompting warnings from federal officials, including a vague one issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security. This time, officials say, the attackers' aim is not espionage but sabotage, and the source seems to be somewhere in the Middle East.
20 ways to keep your internet identity safe from hackers The Observer
Do you use the same password for all websites? Do you overshare on Facebook? If so, you're a target for cybercriminals - whose computer scams are costing Britain £27bn a year. We asked experts for their top tips to beat the fraudsters
How to Fight Revenge Porn The Atlantic
For those whose privately shared photos have made their way to the web, an argument of implied confidentiality may be a good bet.
10 May 2013
US government orders removal of Defcad 3D-gun designs BBC News
The US government has demanded designs for a 3D-printed gun be taken offline.
In Hours, Thieves Took $45 Million in A.T.M. Scheme New York Times
It was a brazen bank heist, but a 21st-century version in which the criminals never wore ski masks, threatened a teller or set foot in a vault.
Individuals can be identified despite IP address sharing, BT says Out-Law
The use of Internet Protocol (IP) address sharing technology will not prevent individuals from being identified as the perpetrators of illegal online activity, BT has claimed.
