Wikipedia Sues NSA for Mass Internet Surveillance
Wikipedia is suing the NSA over surveillance programs that involve tapping internet traffic en masse from communications infrastructure in the U.S. in order to search it for intelligence purposes. The lawsuit argues that this broad surveillance, revealed in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, violates the First Amendment by chilling speech and the […]
Accused Terrorist Tells Jury He Was ‘Chasing Women On the Internet’ — Not Planning an Attack
Jurors in Brooklyn heard closing arguments Monday in the terrorism trial of Abid Naseer, a Pakistani man accused of plotting to blow up a Manchester shopping center in 2009 as part of a wide-ranging al Qaeda conspiracy to attack Western targets. Prosecutor Zainab Ahmad said Naseer used coded language, including feminine names and references to […]
Colorado can Challenge the E-Commerce Internet Tax
The rules for collecting sales tax on Internet-based sales is a matter of ongoing debate both in Colorado and nationwide. Consequently, if you have an online business where you sell goods or products to customers in Colorado, it’s important that you understand Colorado’s sales tax rules. As you read, keep in mind that within […]
Samsung’s Smart TV ‘surveillance’ prompts FTC complaint
A complaint filed by a privacy group to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission charged that Samsung’s Smart TVs intercept and record private communications of consumers in their homes, violating a number of rules including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has asked the FTC to investigate and stop the practice […]
Ukraine is recruiting Internet soldiers to fight Russian trolls
“Many fronts have opened against us, and one of the crucial ones is the information front,” said Ukraine’s information minister Yuri Stec. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine last year, and has been hit with Western sanctions for supporting armed separatists in eastern Ukraine. “Now is the time to fight back against the Russian invaders on […]
Many attackers lurk undetected for months, then pounce, study finds
Attackers who penetrate company networks often pose as legitimate users for long periods of time, causing lengthy delays before victims figure out they’ve been hacked. FireEye’s Mandiant forensics service found that it took a median of 205 days for an organization to detect a compromise, down slightly from 229 days in 2013, according to its […]
Google to FCC: Don’t regulate interconnection between edge providers and ISPs
Google has asked the FCC to refrain from regulating the informal interconnection agreements that Google and other providers have developed with ISPs like Comcast and Verizon. If FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to reclassify broadband providers under Title II of the 1934 Communications Act becomes law as predicted, the regulator would have the right to […]
Soapbox: Government Internet control ‘enemy of freedom’
The Internet has always been a free and open environment in which human communication can thrive and new businesses can grow. It is now one of our most important tools for economic growth and innovation, and this advancement happened with very little government interference. However, storm clouds are gathering. President Barack Obama has instructed the […]
Comcast Customer Representative Lied to Customer about Mandatory Data Caps
Comcast is having a bad publicity month. Not only are they pushing for a merger with Time Warner Cable that no one wants, they’ve also had multiple incidents of terrible customer service, specifically people changing customer names on bills to “dummy” and “B*tch”. However, a recently released recording of a customer service call may just […]
The Internet of Sheep: WiFi-connected flock to eat grass and transmit data
You may have heard of the Internet of Things — the idea that eventually all physical objects could communicate data over the internet to other connected devices. Already many devices in cities — from automobiles to thermostats — communicate information to operators, manufacturers and consumers via the internet about their status. But in rural Wales, […]
HTTP/2: New infrastructure for the internet is ready, and could speed up the web for everyone
HTTP/2, a new version of the protocol that lets computers download information from the internet, has been formally approved and could speed up the web for everyone. The group behind the protocol announced this morning that work on the specification is done, and that it will now be checked over and published. It is […]
Republican senator criticises ‘terrible’ FCC plans to regulate web
The US government is on a path to have “virtually unlimited power” to regulate every aspect of the internet, the chairman of the powerful Senate commerce committee said Wednesday. Republican senator John Thune slammed the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) plans to introduce sweeping new powers to regulate the broadband industry, saying they would stifle […]
Google asks judge to block Miss. attorney general’s inquiry
JACKSON, MISS. An Internet giant was scheduled to face off with Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Friday. Google will ask U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to block an investigation by Hood into the company. Hood has been pushing Google since 2013 to prevent use of the company’s search engine to find illegal […]
Will the internet of things finally kill privacy?
Immense economic pressure could eventually coerce everyone into sharing their information with firms, since not disclosing your data will itself imply that you are undesirable. In the internet of things, the Federal Trade Commission sees the possibility of flourishing new markets. But it also sees a prologue to Black Mirror: […]
Why Netflix is entering Cuba even though the internet barely works there
Netflix just launched in the unlikeliest of locales: Cuba, where less than 5% of the population has internet access and the streaming media company’s subscription cost—$8 a month—is almost half of the average salary. The move was made possible by the recent deal to normalize relations with the United States, which included a promise […]
Smart TVs raise privacy concerns
Reports that new Samsung TVs can capture personal information with their voice recognition feature has sparked concern about what critics perceive as digital spying by so-called smart devices. Nor is Samsung the only smart TV manufacturer collecting this type of data. In Samsung’s case, at least, users have the option to disable the collection. […]
Hacked again? Russian hackers still inside Sony Pictures’ network, security firm says
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) might have a second security breach on its hands, or maybe the hackers from November’s scandalous attack are still inside the company systems, according to a security firm that claims to have seen evidence of Russian hackers having access to SPE internal data. The hackers accessed SPE’s Culver City, California network […]
Tribunal says UK spies’ Internet surveillance was unlawful
U.K. spies acted illegally when they scooped up data about Britons’ electronic communications gathered by the U.S. National Security Agency, a court ruled Friday in a landmark judgment against Britain’s security services. But the judges said now that details of the practices are known, they are within the law. Britain’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which deals […]
Biggest test in U.S.-Cuba talks: the Internet
Contrary to what the headlines suggest, the biggest test of President Obama’s move to normalize relations with Cuba will not be whether the two countries agree to set up embassies in their respective capitals, nor whether there is an avalanche of U.S. tourists to Cuba, but whether Cuba will accept U.S. help to expand Internet […]
Pebble: More than 1 million smartwatches sold
Pebble has sold more than 1 million smartwatches, the company said Monday. The milestone was reached on December 31, a company rep confirmed with CNET. The sales figure is up dramatically from the 400,000 sold as of last March, CEO Eric Migicovsky told The Verge. A price drop last fall may have helped boost […]