John Ribeiro
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US Congress members urged to communicate using encrypted apps
Congress members and staff are being urged by a civil rights group to use encrypted smartphone apps such as WhatsApp and Signal rather than traditional cellular networks.Unlike cellular networks which use weak and outdated encryption, some of the newer apps use strong and modern encryption to protect their customers' communications, the American Civil Liberties Union has written in a letter Tuesday to officials in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.The move is not going to cost a lot. Many members of Congress already have smartphones and the apps like Signal and WhatsApp are free and can be easily downloaded from app stores. Besides, Apple’s FaceTime and iMessage apps are already built into Apple’s iOS mobile operating system and thus are available to every member or staffer with an iPhone, according to ACLU's letter to Frank J. Larkin, Senate Sergeant at Arms and Paul D. Irving, House Sergeant at Arms.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US legislation requiring tech industry to report terrorist activity dropped
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has dropped a provision that would have required Internet companies to report on vaguely-defined terrorist activity on their platforms, a move that was strongly opposed by the industry and civil rights groups.The controversial section 603 was included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 but Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, had put a hold on the bill, stating that he wanted to work with colleagues to revise or remove the provision so that the rest of the bill could move forward.On Monday, Wyden said that the "vague & dangerous" provision had been removed from the bill and he would now be lifting the hold on it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US drops effort to make tech industry report terrorist activity
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has dropped a provision that would have required Internet companies to report on vaguely-defined terrorist activity on their platforms, a move that was strongly opposed by the industry and civil rights groups. The controversial section 603 was included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 but Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, had put a hold on the bill, stating that he wanted to work with colleagues to revise or remove the provision so that the rest of the bill could move forward. On Monday, Wyden said that the "vague & dangerous" provision had been removed from the bill and he would now be lifting the hold on it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Indian draft rules on encryption could compromise privacy, security
India's government is trying to ensure that its law enforcement agencies have easy access to encrypted information, but it could be compromising security and privacy in the process. A draft policy on encryption issued by the Indian government aims to keep a check on the use of the technology by specifying the algorithms and the length of the encryption keys used by different categories of people. Consumers will also be required to store the plain texts of encrypted information for 90 days from the date of a transaction and provide the text to agencies when required under the laws of the country.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Apple brings down malware-infected apps from store
Apple has brought down a large number of apps from its store after it was found that around 40 iOS apps had been infected by a modified version of the company's software for developers.Christine Monaghan, an Apple spokeswoman, told news outlets that the company removed apps from the App Store that it knows have been created with the counterfeit software, to protect its customers.Palo Alto Networks reported last week that a new malware, called XcodeGhost, modified the Xcode integrated development environment for building apps for the Mac, iPhone and iPad.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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California assembly passes digital privacy bill
The California assembly has passed a digital privacy bill that aims to prevent government access without warrant to private electronic communications, while providing some exceptions for law enforcement in emergencies or for other public safety requirements.California is home to a large number of tech companies who face regularly requests for data on their customers from both state and federal law enforcement agencies. Twitter, for example, reported 273 requests for account information in California from January to June this year.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 6 simple tricks for protecting your passwords The bill, which would require a judge's approval for access to a person’s private information, including data from personal electronic devices, email, digital documents, text messages and location information, had been passed in June by the state senate and will now return there for concurrence before heading to state Governor Jerry Brown for approval.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Ashley Madison hauled to court in class action suits over data breach
Legal pressure on Ashley Madison and its parent company is picking up with more class-action lawsuits filed this week in the U.S. against the extramarital hookup site, alleging its negligence in protecting confidential user data.Suits filed in federal courts in California and Texas by people using John Doe as a pseudonym, claim for damages, alleging that Avid Life Media, the parent company based in Toronto, did not have adequate and reasonable measures to secure the data of users from being compromised, and failed to notify users in time of the breach.Avid Life Media said it had been made aware of an attack on its systems. Hacker group, Impact Team, released data last week that it claimed it had obtained from the website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Software upgrade could be cause of US airline disruption
A computer glitch that disrupted airline traffic in some parts of the U.S. over the weekend was possibly the result of a software upgrade, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday.The agency, which had earlier described a problem in its “automation system” as the cause of the disruption, said the problem could be possibly traced to a recent software upgrade at a high-altitude radar facility in Leesburg, Virginia.The upgrade was designed to provide additional tools for controllers, the agency said. While the FAA and its system contractor complete their assessment, the new features have been disabled.The agency said that there was no indication that the disruption was related to any inherent problems with the En Route Automation Modernization system, which it claims has had a greater than 99.99 availability rate since it was completed nationwide earlier this year. ERAM replaced the 40-year-old En Route Host computer and backup system used at 20 FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers nationwide.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Twitter sees surge in government requests for account information
Twitter has seen an increase in government demands for account information in the first half of this year, with the U.S. followed by Japan topping the list for such requests.The increase is the largest ever seen between reporting periods by Twitter, wrote Jeremy Kessel, Twitter’s senior manager for global legal policy, in a blog post Tuesday.The Transparency Report from the company indicated that government requests for account information in the first half were 52 percent more and affected 78 percent more account holders than in the second half of last year.The scope of the report has been expanded to include information on notices of alleged trademark violations and a section where users can check how different email providers handle the privacy and encryption of email messages from Twitter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Tech industry objects to terrorist activity reporting section in US legislation
Powerful tech industry groups have asked the U.S. Senate to drop a plan to require Internet companies to report terrorist activity on their platforms, as the provision could potentially raise privacy issues for users.Section 603 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 would require Internet services companies, who obtain ”actual knowledge of any terrorist activity,” to provide to the appropriate authorities the “facts or circumstances” of the alleged activities.Describing “any terrorist activity” as a vague and overbroad term, the Internet Association, Reform Government Surveillance and Internet Infrastructure Coalition have in a letter Wednesday warned that the provision could result in “overbroad reporting to the government, swamping law enforcement with useless information, and potentially raising First Amendment and privacy concerns for the user who posted the item.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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DHS warns about privacy implications of cybersecurity bill
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned about the privacy implications of a cybersecurity bill that is intended to encourage businesses to share information about cyberthreats with the government.The DHS has also warned that the information sharing system proposed by the new bill could slow down responses in the face of a cyberthreat, if companies are allowed to share information directly with various government agencies, instead of routing it through the department.The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), which would give businesses immunity from customer lawsuits when they share cyberthreat data with the government, is under consideration of the Senate.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Nokia reaches deal to sell Here business to Audi, BMW Group and Daimler
Nokia has reached an agreement to sell its Here mapping and location services business to an automotive industry consortium consisting of Audi, BMW Group and Daimler, in a deal that gives the business an enterprise value of €2.8 billion (US$3.1 billion).The deal fits with the plans of the automakers to progressively introduce more Internet-based services and automation to assist drivers. Here is developing a location cloud that uses the data generated by vehicles, devices and infrastructure to deliver real-time, predictive and personalized location services, Nokia said in a statement Monday.The three automotive companies said they will each hold an equal stake in Here, but will take a hands-off approach to the business which will be run independently to serve the entire industry.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Indian government orders ISPs to block 857 porn websites
The Indian government has ordered a large number of porn websites to be blocked, creating an uproar among users and civil rights groups in the country.The Department of Telecommunications has issued orders for the blocking of 857 websites serving pornography, said two persons familiar with the matter, who declined to be named.Section 69 (A) of India’s Information Technology Act allows the government to order blocking of public access to websites and other information through computer resources, though this section appears to be designed to be invoked when a threat is perceived to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Lawmakers headed to Silicon Valley to push tech companies on diversity
Three U.S. lawmakers are traveling to Silicon Valley to push tech companies to offer opportunities for African-Americans, an area in which most of these companies have poor track records.Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairman G. K. Butterfield and Representatives Barbara Lee and Hakeem Jeffries, all members of the CBC Diversity Task Force, will travel to Silicon Valley on Sunday to meet with executives at companies and organizations there, including Apple, Bloomberg, Google, Intel, Kapor, Pandora and SAP.“Our goal for this trip is to encourage and partner with these organizations to implement a diversity plan that will place more African-Americans in the tech pipeline,” Butterfield said in a statement Thursday. “This will potentially lead to a wide range of opportunities, from student internships to positions on the boards of tech companies.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Obama rolls out initiative to boost US supercomputer capability
US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order setting up the National Strategic Computing Initiative that will adopt a coordinated strategy involving multiple government agencies, academia and the private sector for the development of high-performance computing systems.Adopting a “whole-of-government” approach, involving all departments and agencies with expertise and interests in HPC, one of the objectives of the NSCI will be to speed up the delivery of “a capable exascale computing system that integrates hardware and software capability to deliver approximately 100 times the performance of current 10 petaflop systems across a range of applications representing government needs.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV appears headed for approval with conditions
AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV appears headed for approval, with Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission circulating to commissioners an order recommending approval, although with some conditions.The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division also announced Tuesday that it will close its investigation into the around US$48 billion deal.Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division said in a statement that the division had concluded that the combination of AT&T’s land-based Internet and video business with DirecTV’s satellite-based video business does not pose a significant risk to competition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV appears headed for approval with conditions
AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV appears headed for approval, with Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission circulating to commissioners an order recommending approval, although with some conditions.The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division also announced Tuesday that it will close its investigation into the around US$48 billion deal.Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Antitrust Division said in a statement that the division had concluded that the combination of AT&T’s land-based Internet and video business with DirecTV’s satellite-based video business does not pose a significant risk to competition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Facebook, Amazon, Apple pick up spending on lobbying
Apple, Facebook and Amazon.com have increased their expenses on trying to influence U.S. politicians and policy at the federal level, but Google still outstrips them in spending though it reduced expenditure in the second quarter.Amazon’s spending on lobbying increased by 103 percent to a record US$2.15 million in the second quarter of 2015, according to data collated by advocacy group Consumer Watchdog from filings by the company. Facebook’s expense rose to $2.69 million in the quarter, up 27 percent from $2.12 million in the second quarter of 2014. The social networking company outstripped its first quarter spending of $2.44 million by 10 percent.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Uber argues in court that drivers want independence, flexibility
Uber Technologies gathered the support of over 400 drivers across California and a law professor to back its argument in court that its platform gives its contractors the flexibility and independence they want.The ride-hailing company faces a proposed class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which aims to show that its drivers are indeed employees under the applicable legal standard, and not independent contractors. A reclassification of drivers as employees could potentially increase the costs for the company in terms of reimbursement of expenses and employee benefits.In a filing Thursday, Uber said the three complainants failed to establish that their own claims are typical of those that might be asserted by the over 160,000 drivers they seek to represent, as they signed only a handful of the 17 operative service agreements between Uber and drivers in California, and their experiences with the company’s app differ considerably from many or most drivers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Microsoft said to plan more staff layoffs
Microsoft plans a new round of layoffs that could affect its hardware and smartphones businesses, besides other parts of the company, according to a newspaper report.The job cuts will be in addition to the 18,000 staff the company said it would let go about a year ago, The New York Times reported, quoting people briefed on the plans who requested anonymity. The announcement of the cuts could come as early as Wednesday, according to the report, which did not specify the number of staff that will be laid off. Microsoft had over 118,000 employees globally at the end of March, the report said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here