Legal, Privacy & Security
12 December 2007
Web warning on flirty Russian robot The Times
Be careful next time you get accosted by a flirty stranger in an internet chatroom: it could just be a Russian chat-up bot out to steal your identity. Internet security experts say that Russian programmers have created a piece of software known as CyberLover that can infiltrate dating sites and chatrooms and patiently seduce its victims.
Porn producer sues YouTube knockoff Los Angeles Times
A major porn producer filed a lawsuit Monday against an X-rated knockoff of YouTube, alleging that it profited from piracy by allowing its users to post videos that include copyrighted material.
Ask rolls out search privacy tool BBC
Search engine Ask has launched a feature that it hopes will prove a selling point for consumers concerned about their online privacy. Also includes link to "Ask search engine guarantees privacy" from The Guardian and "Ask.com places a bet on online privacy" from the New York Times/International Herald Tribune.
10 December 2007
More Europeans Are Going Online The Age
More than half of European homes went online this year as the number using a hi-speed broadband connection to connect to the Internet rose sharply, the EU statistical agency Eurostat said Monday. Also includes link to EU statistics for this survey.
China Link Suspected in Lab Hacking New York Times
A cyber attack reported last week by one of the federal government's nuclear weapons laboratories may have originated in China, according to a confidential memorandum distributed Wednesday to public and private security officials by the Department of Homeland Security.
nz: Bot-boy caught in his own net New Zealand Herald
For a young man who has been described by a seasoned cyber policeman as bordering on genius, Owen Walker's immediate prospects are bleak. Extradition to the United States is a distinct possibility for the software whiz who was bullied at Mercury Bay Area Primary, home-schooled from age 13, and five years later finds himself the centre of attention of FBI and Dutch investigators.
09 December 2007
Facebook Doesn't Budge on Beacon's Broad User Tracking PC World
Facebook's CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg has profusely apologized for missteps in the design and deployment of the Beacon ad system, but he remains unrepentant about what privacy advocates consider a particularly egregious feature.
08 December 2007
German Politician files Wikipedia charge over Nazi symbols Reuters
A left-wing German politician has filed charges against online encyclopedia Wikipedia for promoting the use of banned Nazi symbols in Germany.
07 December 2007
Facebook apologises for mistakes over advertising The Guardian
The billionaire founder of Facebook has apologised to the website's 57 million devotees for its handling of a controversial advertising feature which has sparked furious protests about privacy. Also includes links to stories from IDG and the International Herald Tribune.
us: House vote on illegal images sweeps in Wi-Fi, Web sites CNet
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000.
The Chinese cyberoffensive: Computer networks in countries such as the US, the UK and Germany have been targeted LiveMint.com
Britain's intelligence agency MI5 has recently written to 300 companies in that country, warning them of a threat from Chinese hackers. That's just the latest manifestation of a global worry -- cyberattacks originating from Chinese computer networks. Apart from the UK, the US, France and Germany have openly derided these attacks and have also taken the matter up with the Chinese government. Even a few strategic Indian government networks have faced the wrath of Chinese attacks. In mid-August, a couple of our defence websites were attacked and were propagating viruses.
06 December 2007
Many Australian websites may be outside the law Courier Mail
Thousands of Australian businesses are unwittingly breaking copyright laws via their websites, warns a Brisbane intellectual property law specialist. McCullough Robertson partner Malcolm McBratney says recent developments in IP law indicate businesses will be liable for infringements even if they're unaware of them according to a report in The Courier Mail.
05 December 2007
Al Qaeda-linked Web sites number 5,600 Reuters
There are now about 5,600 Web sites spreading al Qaeda's ideology worldwide, and 900 more are appearing each year, a Saudi researcher told a national security conference on Tuesday.
French auction regulator sues to close down eBay France InfoWorld
The French auction regulatory authority is seeking to close down eBay France for operating an online auction without a permit, it announced Monday. Also includes a link to a story from The Times.
Google's War On Cyber-Crime Forbes
"Don't be evil" isn't just Google's corporate mantra. Lately, the search giant has also applied its moral code to real evildoers: Web sites that use shady software to exploit unwitting searchers. Over several days last week, Google removed thousands of pages from its search results that security software maker Sunbelt Software discovered were secretly infecting users with hidden malicious programs.
us: Civil liberties group wants wiretapping legislation changed ComputerWorld
The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has urged the U.S. Congress to make changes to a bill that would extend a controversial wiretapping program. The CDT, a group that focuses on online civil liberties, called for the U.S. Senate to pass a substitute to the FISA Amendments Act, which is likely to be debated on the Senate floor later this week.
Beacon's user tracking extends beyond Facebook, CA says ComputerWorld
If you think that just because you never signed up for Facebook you're immune to the tracking and collecting of user activities outside of the popular social networking site, think again. Facebook Inc.'s controversial Beacon ad system tracks activities from all users in its third-party partner sites, including people who never signed up with Facebook or who have deactivated their accounts, CA Inc. has found.
Court lets T-Mobile sell locked iPhones in Germany InfoWorld
T-Mobile Germany need not sell an unlocked version of Apple's iPhone, a court in Hamburg ruled Tuesday. The decision leaves the German operator free to sell the phone for €399 (US$585) including tax, tied to its network and with a two-year service contract, just as it proposed at the phone's German launch on Nov. 9. Also includes links to stories from CNet, Information Week and Associated Press.
03 December 2007
Google Making Street View Anonymous in Europe PC World
Google is making changes to its European launch of Street View to protect the privacy of those it photographs, may do the same for U.S. version. In the face of ethical concerns, Google is considering changes to its Street View Google Maps feature that would protect the privacy of those it photographs.
uk: MI5 alert on China's cyberspace spy threat The Times
The UK Government has openly accused China of carrying out state-sponsored espionage against vital parts of Britain's economy, including the computer systems of big banks and financial services firms. In an unprecedented alert, the Director-General of MI5 sent a confidential letter to 300 chief executives and security chiefs at banks, accountants and legal firms this week warning them that they were under attack from "Chinese state organisations". It is believed to be the first time that the Government has directly accused China of involvement in web-based espionage. Such a blunt and explicit warning from Jonathan Evans could have serious diplomatic consequences and cast a shadow over Gordon Brown's first official visit to China as Prime Minister early in the new year.
01 December 2007
Publishers Seeking Web Controls Washington Post
The desire for greater control over how search engines index and display Web sites is driving an effort launched yesterday by leading news organizations and other publishers to revise a 13-year-old technology for restricting access. Currently, Google, Yahoo and other top search companies voluntarily respect a Web site's wishes as declared in a text file known as robots.txt, which a search engine's indexing software, called a crawler, knows to look for on a site.
Facebook retreats on online tracking New York Times
Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook, the enormously popular social networking Web site, is reining in some aspects of a controversial new advertising program. Within the last 10 days, more than 50,000 Facebook members have signed a petition objecting to the new program, which sends messages to users' friends about what they are buying on Web sites like Travelocity.com, TheKnot.com and Fandango. The members want to be able to opt out of the program completely with one click, but Facebook won't let them.
Arrests made in NZ botnet crackdown BBC
Police in New Zealand have questioned a teenager believed to be the ringleader of an international cyber-crime group. The group is alleged to have infiltrated more than one million computers and skimmed millions of dollars from people's bank accounts. The teenager, who is 18, cannot be named for legal reasons but was known by an alias as "Akill". Also includes links to stories from Computer World, Dark Reading and the AP.
30 November 2007
Facebook Users Protest Online Tracking New York Times
Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook, the enormously popular social networking Web site, has a message for the disgruntled: we know better than you do.
UK headed for cyber 'cold war' The Times
Government and military computer systems in the UK are coming under sustained attack from China and other countries, a major new study gives warning today. The closely-read annual Virtual Criminology Report, which draws on interviews with senior staff at organisations including the Serious Organised Crime Agency, Nato and the FBI, says that the UK has entered a "cyber cold war" in which web-based espionage poses the biggest threat to national security.
