The U.S. House of Representatives, in a rare unanimous vote, has approved a bill to strengthen privacy protections for email and other data stored in the cloud.The Email Privacy Act would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other data stored with third parties for longer than six months. The House on Wednesday voted 419-0 to pass the legislation and send it to the Senate.The bill, with 314 cosponsors in the House, would update a 30-year-old law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). Some privacy advocates and tech companies have been pushing Congress to update ECPA since 2011.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SWIFT, the international banking transactions network, has warned customers of "a number" of recent incidents in which criminals sent fraudulent messages through its system.The warning from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) suggests that a February attack on the Bangladesh Bank, in which thieves got away with US $81 million, was not an isolated incident.SWIFT is aware of malware that "aims to reduce financial institutions’ abilities" to find evidence of fraudulent transactions on their local systems, the organization said Tuesday. The malware has "no impact on SWIFT’s network or core messaging services," it added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SWIFT, the international banking transactions network, has warned customers of "a number" of recent incidents in which criminals sent fraudulent messages through its system.The warning from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) suggests that a February attack on the Bangladesh Bank, in which thieves got away with US $81 million, was not an isolated incident.SWIFT is aware of malware that "aims to reduce financial institutions’ abilities" to find evidence of fraudulent transactions on their local systems, the organization said Tuesday. The malware has "no impact on SWIFT’s network or core messaging services," it added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google and Microsoft have agreed to end their long-running regulatory battles and stop complaining to government agencies about each other.Microsoft had been one of the leading companies calling for governments to investigate Google over potential antitrust violations in recent years. Earlier this year, though, Microsoft withdrew its support for FairSearch, a coalition of companies pushing the EU to file formal antitrust complaints against Google.The announcement of the new agreement between the two companies comes just two days after the European Commission filed new antitrust charges against Google related to packaging its apps on Android phones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple has agreed to pay US$24.9 million to a patent holding company to resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit accusing Siri of infringing one of its patents.Apple will pay the money to Marathon Patent Group, the parent company of Texas firm Dynamic Advances, which held an exclusive license to a 2007 patent covering natural language user interfaces for enterprise databases. Marathon reported the settlement in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Technology vendors and law enforcement agencies need to look for a compromise that allows police to gain access to encrypted devices during criminal investigations, lawmakers say.Many tech vendors and privacy advocates have suggested there is no available compromise between strong security for device users and police access to encrypted communications. But members of a congressional committee on Tuesday pushed both sides in the ongoing encryption debate to look again for a possible middle ground.As Apple and the FBI continue to argue in court about whether the company should assist the agency with unlocking iPhones, "it's time to begin a new chapter in this battle, one which I hope can ultimately bring some resolution to the war," said Representative Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Technology vendors and law enforcement agencies need to look for a compromise that allows police to gain access to encrypted devices during criminal investigations, lawmakers say.Many tech vendors and privacy advocates have suggested there is no available compromise between strong security for device users and police access to encrypted communications. But members of a congressional committee on Tuesday pushed both sides in the ongoing encryption debate to look again for a possible middle ground.As Apple and the FBI continue to argue in court about whether the company should assist the agency with unlocking iPhones, "it's time to begin a new chapter in this battle, one which I hope can ultimately bring some resolution to the war," said Representative Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from regulating broadband pricing under its net neutrality rules.The No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act would limit the FCC's authority over prices after the agency reclassified broadband as a regulated telecom service when it passed net neutrality rules in February 2015. The bill passed 241-173 Friday, with only five Democrats voting for it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from regulating broadband pricing under its net neutrality rules.The No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act would limit the FCC's authority over prices after the agency reclassified broadband as a regulated telecom service when it passed net neutrality rules in February 2015. The bill passed 241-173 Friday, with only five Democrats voting for it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
More than 43,000 people have signed a petition against proposed U.S. legislation that would require tech companies to break into their users' encrypted data when ordered to by a judge.The proposal, from Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, would require smartphone OS developers and other tech vendors to assist law enforcement agencies by breaking their own security measures.CREDO Action, a progressive activist group, launched a petition opposing the Compliance with Court Orders Act on Tuesday, and more than 43,000 people had signed it by early Thursday afternoon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
More than 43,000 people have signed a petition against proposed U.S. legislation that would require tech companies to break into their users' encrypted data when ordered to by a judge.The proposal, from Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, would require smartphone OS developers and other tech vendors to assist law enforcement agencies by breaking their own security measures.CREDO Action, a progressive activist group, launched a petition opposing the Compliance with Court Orders Act on Tuesday, and more than 43,000 people had signed it by early Thursday afternoon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. government is not prepared for a cyberattack on the electrical grid that takes out power over a large area for weeks, or even months.A widespread, long-lasting power outage caused by a cyberattack may be unlikely, but the U.S. government needs to better plan for the possibility, Representative Lou Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican, said Thursday.With some experts worried that a coordinated cyberattack could lead to widespread power outages lasting for several months, the federal government should offer more help to state and local governments planning to deal with the aftermath, Barletta said during a hearing before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Transformation and Infrastructure Committee.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. government is not prepared for a cyberattack on the electrical grid that takes out power over a large area for weeks, or even months.A widespread, long-lasting power outage caused by a cyberattack may be unlikely, but the U.S. government needs to better plan for the possibility, Representative Lou Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican, said Thursday.With some experts worried that a coordinated cyberattack could lead to widespread power outages lasting for several months, the federal government should offer more help to state and local governments planning to deal with the aftermath, Barletta said during a hearing before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Transformation and Infrastructure Committee.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.S. House of Representatives committee has advanced a bill to give email and cloud-stored data new privacy protections from law enforcement searches.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 28-0 to approve an amended version of the Email Privacy Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other cloud-stored data that's more than six months old.
Some privacy advocates and tech companies have been pushing Congress to update a 30-year-old law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) for the last six years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.S. House of Representatives committee has advanced a bill to give email and cloud-stored data new privacy protections from law enforcement searches.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 28-0 to approve an amended version of the Email Privacy Act, which would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search email and other cloud-stored data that's more than six months old.
Some privacy advocates and tech companies have been pushing Congress to update a 30-year-old law called the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) for the last six years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Congress, and private electronic tax-filing vendors aren't doing enough to protect the personal information of taxpayers, senators said Tuesday.The IRS needs to step up its cyberecurity efforts, said members of the Senate Finance Committee, citing two recent data breaches at the agency, along with 94 open cybersecurity recommendations from the Government Accountability Office."Hackers and crooks, including many working for foreign crime syndicates, are jumping at every opportunity they have to steal hard-earned money and sensitive personal data from U.S. taxpayers," Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said during a hearing. "In my view, taxpayers have been failed by the agencies, the companies, and the policymakers here in Congress they rely on to protect them."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Congress, and private electronic tax-filing vendors aren't doing enough to protect the personal information of taxpayers, senators said Tuesday.The IRS needs to step up its cyberecurity efforts, said members of the Senate Finance Committee, citing two recent data breaches at the agency, along with 94 open cybersecurity recommendations from the Government Accountability Office."Hackers and crooks, including many working for foreign crime syndicates, are jumping at every opportunity they have to steal hard-earned money and sensitive personal data from U.S. taxpayers," Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said during a hearing. "In my view, taxpayers have been failed by the agencies, the companies, and the policymakers here in Congress they rely on to protect them."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
U.S. consumers are slow to embrace home-based Internet of Things products, with many wary of their cost and usefulness, according to a new survey.Many consumers are skeptical about the value proposition behind home IoT products, according to the survey from market research firm IDC.Reliability was the top concern among those people who expressed interested in home IoT devices. On a one to 10 rating scale, reliability rated nearly a nine when people were asked what home IoT issues needed to improve before they would purchase a system.Following close behind were concerns about cost, with equipment costs, ongoing costs, installation costs, overall value, all scoring above 8.75. Ease of use and security or privacy concerns were also major concerns.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A proposal from two senior U.S. senators would force tech companies to give technical assistance to law enforcement agencies trying to break into smartphones and other encrypted devices.The draft bill, released Friday by Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, would allow judges to order tech companies to comply with requests from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to help them break into devices. Burr, a North Carolina Republican, is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee; Feinstein, from California, is the panel's senior Democrat."All persons receiving an authorized judicial order for information or data must provide, in a timely manner, responsive, intelligible information or data, or appropriate technical assistance," the draft bill says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most mobile phone customers actually like when providers exempt selected video, music, and other online services from their monthly data caps, despite complaints that the practice violates net neutrality rules.Eighty-four percent of U.S. adults, and 94 percent of so-called millennials, are extremely or somewhat likely to try a new online service if it is exempted from their monthly data cap, according to a new survey commissioned by mobile carrier trade group CTIA.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: How to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely
Eight-five percent of adults, and 94 percent of young adults, were likely to use more data if it was what CTIA calls "free data," according to the survey. Sixty-five percent of adults were likely to sign up with a new mobile carrier that offers data cap exemptions, the survey said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Grant Gross