John Ribeiro
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Symantec will acquire identity protection firm LifeLock in $2.3B deal
Aiming to boost its consumer security business, Symantec is acquiring LifeLock, a vendor of identity protection services, for US$2.3 billion in enterprise value. The deal will create what the two companies described as the world’s largest consumer security business with over $2.3 billion in annual revenue based on last fiscal year revenue for both companies. The immediate opportunity for Symantec comes from the large number of consumers worldwide that have been victims of cybercrime, generating as a result greater user concern in digital safety. The companies estimate the market at $10 billion, and growing in the high single digits. In the U.S. alone, the total addressable market is estimated to be about 80 million people.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US lawmakers introduce bill to delay enhanced government hacking powers
U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to delay the coming into force on Dec. 1 of a rule change that aims to expand the government's ability to search computers and other digital devices across many jurisdictions with a single warrant.The new Review the Rule Act aims to delay for discussion proposed amendments to rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure until July 1 next year. The changes to the rule have already been approved by the Supreme Court in April, and if Congress doesn’t act to the contrary, they will go into effect on Dec. 1.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US lawmakers introduce bill to delay enhanced government hacking powers
U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to delay the coming into force on Dec. 1 of a rule change that aims to expand the government's ability to search computers and other digital devices across many jurisdictions with a single warrant.The new Review the Rule Act aims to delay for discussion proposed amendments to rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure until July 1 next year. The changes to the rule have already been approved by the Supreme Court in April, and if Congress doesn’t act to the contrary, they will go into effect on Dec. 1.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Apple offers to repair iPhone 6 Plus devices with ‘touch disease’
Apple is offering to repair at a reduced price iPhone 6 Plus smartphones with display flickering or multitouch issues.The problem, described in August as “touch disease” by repair guide website iFixit, is characterized by a gray, flickering bar at the top of the display and an unresponsive touchscreen. The issue affects both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, according to iFixit.Apple appears to consider it a problem with the way users handled the phone rather than a defect. It said Thursday that the company has determined that the smartphones may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues “after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Google, Facebook will not place ads on sites distributing fake news
Google plans to update its AdSense program policies to prevent placement of its ads on sites distributing fake news.Facebook also said Monday it had updated the policy for its Audience Network, which places ads on websites and mobile apps, to explicitly clarify that it applies to fake news.“In accordance with the Audience Network Policy, we do not integrate or display ads in apps or sites containing content that is illegal, misleading or deceptive, which includes fake news,” Facebook said in a statement. The company said its team will continue to closely vet all prospective publishers and monitor existing ones to ensure compliance.False news stories have become a sore point after the U.S. presidential elections with critics blaming internet companies like Twitter and Facebook for having had an influence on the outcome of the elections as a result of the fake content.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Apple said to be eyeing wearable AR glasses
Apple is working on wearable digital glasses that would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and show content in the wearer’s field of vision, according to a news report.The iPhone maker has indicated previously its interest in augmented reality. Unlike the simulated world of virtual reality, AR supplements with images and information the user’s normal view of the world.“We are high on AR for the long run. We think there are great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call in July, talking about the need for Apple’s devices to work with other developers' products, such as the successful Pokémon Go game.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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412 million FriendFinder Network accounts said to be exposed in hack
Over 412 million accounts on dating and entertainment network FriendFinder Networks have reportedly been exposed, the second time that the network has been breached in two years, according to a popular breach notification website.The websites that have been breached include adultfriendfinder.com, described as the "world's largest sex and swinger community," which accounted for over 339.7 million of the 412 million accounts exposed, LeakedSource said Sunday.Other network sites that had user accounts exposed were cams.com with 62.6 million exposed, penthouse.com with 7 million, stripshow.com with 1.4 million, icams.com with about 1 million and an unidentified website adding 35,372 users whose accounts were exposed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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412 million FriendFinder Network accounts said to be exposed in hack
Over 412 million accounts on dating and entertainment network FriendFinder Networks have reportedly been exposed, the second time that the network has been breached in two years, according to a popular breach notification website.The websites that have been breached include adultfriendfinder.com, described as the "world's largest sex and swinger community," which accounted for over 339.7 million of the 412 million accounts exposed, LeakedSource said Sunday.Other network sites that had user accounts exposed were cams.com with 62.6 million exposed, penthouse.com with 7 million, stripshow.com with 1.4 million, icams.com with about 1 million and an unidentified website adding 35,372 users whose accounts were exposed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Yahoo investigating if insiders knew of hack
Yahoo said investigators were looking into the possibility that some people within the company knew at the time about the late 2014 theft of information of at least 500 million user accounts.Law enforcement authorities on Monday also “began sharing certain data that they indicated was provided by a hacker who claimed the information was Yahoo user account data,” the company said in a regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yahoo said it would “analyze and investigate the hacker’s claim.” It isn't clear if this data is from the 2014 hack or from another breach.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Yahoo investigating if insiders knew of hack
Yahoo said investigators were looking into the possibility that some people within the company knew at the time about the late 2014 theft of information of at least 500 million user accounts.Law enforcement authorities on Monday also “began sharing certain data that they indicated was provided by a hacker who claimed the information was Yahoo user account data,” the company said in a regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yahoo said it would “analyze and investigate the hacker’s claim.” It isn't clear if this data is from the 2014 hack or from another breach.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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China passes controversial cybersecurity law
China has passed a new cybersecurity law that gives it greater control over the internet, including by requiring local storage of certain data.Human rights groups and trade associations in the U.S. and other countries have warned of the implications of the law both for internet businesses and human rights in the country.The National People's Congress Standing Committee passed the new cybersecurity law Monday, according to reports.“Despite widespread international concern from corporations and rights advocates for more than a year, Chinese authorities pressed ahead with this restrictive law without making meaningful changes,” said Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch in a statement over the weekend.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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FBI sticks to earlier view not to charge Clinton over email server
FBI Director James Comey said new emails that had been found had not changed the agency's July decision not to recommend charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server.In a letter Sunday to lawmakers, Comey wrote that based on the FBI's review of the emails, the agency had not changed the conclusion it had expressed in July with regard to Clinton's use of a personal email server when she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.The letter from Comey comes ahead of U.S. presidential elections on Tuesday and will likely blunt criticism that Clinton used the email server for confidential government communications.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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FBI sticks to earlier view not to charge Clinton over email server
FBI Director James Comey said new emails that had been found had not changed the agency's July decision not to recommend charges against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server.In a letter Sunday to lawmakers, Comey wrote that based on the FBI's review of the emails, the agency had not changed the conclusion it had expressed in July with regard to Clinton's use of a personal email server when she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.The letter from Comey comes ahead of U.S. presidential elections on Tuesday and will likely blunt criticism that Clinton used the email server for confidential government communications.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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US government’s Code.gov software sharing website launched
Code.gov, a U.S. government website for promoting the sharing of custom-developed software code, was launched Thursday with listings of nearly 50 open-source projects from various government agencies.The move follows the announcement by the White House in August of a Federal Source Code policy that would promote reuse of new custom source code developed by government agencies across the federal government to prevent replication of work and expense. The agencies are also required to make some of the software available to the public under an open-source license.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Uber faces lawsuit from courier claiming employee status
Taking a cue from Uber drivers, a ‘foot and bike’ courier has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the ride-hailing company and a subsidiary, demanding minimum wages, and reimbursement of tools-of-the-trade expenses and gratuities as would be typically provided to regular employees.Uber has introduced its delivery services, called UberEats and UberRush, in some cities in the U.S. and other countries.In a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and other Uber couriers in New York, Matthew B. Burgos, claims that among other things, Uber circumvents its duty of supplying safety gear by misclassifying its couriers as independent contractors. Couriers are also required to purchase their own ‘tools of the trade’ including their own bicycles, helmets and reflectors in making deliveries for Uber.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Race issues emerge as a challenge for tech companies like Uber, Facebook
Lawmakers on Tuesday objected to a Facebook feature that allows advertisers to target housing ads to exclude certain racial and ethnic groups from promotions and marketing.In another race-related development that affects tech companies, the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said a study had indicated a pattern of discrimination by drivers of ride hailing apps against both African Americans and women.“We are writing to express our deep concerns with reports that Facebook’s 'Ethnic Affinities' advertising customization feature allows for advertisers to exclude specific racial and ethnic groups when placing housing advertisements,” Congresswoman Robin Kelly, a Democrat from Illinois, G.K. Butterfield, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and two other representatives wrote in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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CenturyLink will acquire Level 3 Communications in $34B deal
CenturyLink plans to acquire internet backbone company Level 3 Communications in a US$34 billion cash and stock deal that aims to consolidate the networks and customers of the two companies.The combined company, operating in more than 60 countries, will be able to offer CenturyLink's larger enterprise customers the benefits of a larger global presence, and will also be positioned to further invest in the reach and speed of its broadband infrastructure for small businesses and consumers, the companies said.CenturyLink is currently focused on global communications, hosting, cloud, and IT services, offering both network and data systems management with more than 55 data centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. It provides broadband, voice, video, data, and managed services over a 250,000-mile U.S. fiber network and a 300,000-mile international transport network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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CenturyLink will acquire Level 3 Communications in $34B deal
CenturyLink plans to acquire internet backbone company Level 3 Communications in a US$34 billion cash and stock deal that aims to consolidate the networks and customers of the two companies.The combined company, operating in more than 60 countries, will be able to offer CenturyLink's larger enterprise customers the benefits of a larger global presence, and will also be positioned to further invest in the reach and speed of its broadband infrastructure for small businesses and consumers, the companies said.CenturyLink is currently focused on global communications, hosting, cloud, and IT services, offering both network and data systems management with more than 55 data centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. It provides broadband, voice, video, data, and managed services over a 250,000-mile U.S. fiber network and a 300,000-mile international transport network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Pennsylvania man sentenced to 18 months for celeb hacking
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on charges of hacking the Google and Apple email accounts of over 100 people including celebrities, and getting access to nude videos and photographs of some people.The sentencing against Ryan Collins, 36, of Lancaster is the offshoot of a Department of Justice investigation into the online leaks of photographs of numerous female celebrities in September 2014, widely referred to as "Celebgate."But DOJ has not found any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks or the sharing and uploading of the content.Between November 2012 and early September 2014, Collins is said to have sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked them to provide their usernames and passwords. Having gained access to the email accounts, he got hold of personal information including nude photographs and videos, and in some cases used a software program to download the entire contents of the victims' Apple iCloud backups, according to DOJ.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Pennsylvania man sentenced to 18 months for celeb hacking
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on charges of hacking the Google and Apple email accounts of over 100 people including celebrities, and getting access to nude videos and photographs of some people.The sentencing against Ryan Collins, 36, of Lancaster is the offshoot of a Department of Justice investigation into the online leaks of photographs of numerous female celebrities in September 2014, widely referred to as "Celebgate."But DOJ has not found any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks or the sharing and uploading of the content.Between November 2012 and early September 2014, Collins is said to have sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked them to provide their usernames and passwords. Having gained access to the email accounts, he got hold of personal information including nude photographs and videos, and in some cases used a software program to download the entire contents of the victims' Apple iCloud backups, according to DOJ.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here