Legal, Privacy & Security
08 September 2010
Gaps remain in Australian cybercrime law: Professor Computerworld
While Australian crime legislation has been amended to account for the evolving landscape of cybercrime, gaps remain in the key areas of theft, fraud and trespass, according to University of Technology (UTS) director of Communications Law Centre, Professor Michael Fraser.
07 September 2010
Google to pay $8.5m to settle Buzz lawsuit BBC News
Google has proposed paying $8.5m (£5.5m) to settle a lawsuit brought over its Buzz social network.
06 September 2010
Australian National Broadband Network is a 'soft target' for cyber crooks, say police The Australian
Cyber criminals will target Australia's high-speed broadband network, police have warned.
05 September 2010
Texas Probes Google on Ranking of Search Results New York Times
The Texas attorney general has opened an antitrust investigation into how Google ranks search results, the first United States case to strike at the heart of the company's main search business.
German court rules against YouTube over copyright Washington Post
A German court ruled Friday that Google Inc.'s subsidiary YouTube LLC must pay compensation after users uploaded several videos of performances by singer Sarah Brightman in violation of copyright laws.
Google Helps Users Learn What it Knows About Them Wall Street Journal
Ever wondered what Google knows about you? The Internet giant on Friday made it easier to understand and control the information it collects.
04 September 2010
ITU head: Cyberwar could be 'worse than tsunami' ZDNet
International cyberwar would be "worse than a tsunami" and should be averted by a global cybersecurity peace treaty, according to the head of the International Telecommunications Union.
Google to Simplify Its Privacy Policies New York Times
It's no secret that privacy policies on the Web are incomprehensible to most of the public. They're long, convoluted and contain acronyms and language that require a master's degree if you want to figure out what the company is doing with your personal information.
03 September 2010
Number of Japanese internet crime cases hits record high in 1st half Japan Today
Police responded to a record 2,444 Internet crime cases nationwide in the first half of this year, a National Police Agency survey showed Thursday. The number, up 586 or 31.5% from a year earlier, represented a new high since the NPA started gathering statistics for Internet crimes, defined as crimes which use a computer network, on a half-year basis in 2004.
Nigerian scam tops list of decade's online cons CNET
We've all received e-mails from deposed Nigerian princes asking for help in getting lots of money out of their country. But that's just one of several scams that made Panda Security's list of the most frequent online cons of a decade.
02 September 2010
NZ Police: Google committed no crime with Wi-Fi data grab New Zealand Herald
Police have found no evidence Google committed a criminal offence by gathering personal wireless internet data during its street view operation in New Zealand.
01 September 2010
1 in 3 Internet Users Think All Websites Are Equally Dangerous ReadWriteWeb
A third of all Internet users thinks that virtually every website poses a potential security threat. According to a new survey by German online security firm Avira, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of potential security issues online, but it looks like for quite a large population of Web surfers, this has turned into something akin to paranoia. Less than 5% of respondents suspect that big portals are especially vulnerable, while 27% (rightly) think warez sites pose major security risks, and 34.5% think that all websites are equally dangerous.
31 August 2010
Google and Skype could be hit by India data curbs BBC News
India has toughened its scrutiny of telecoms firms with a directive demanding "access to everything".
Pentagon considers preemptive strikes as part of cyber-defense strategy Washington Post
The Pentagon is contemplating an aggressive approach to defending its computer systems that includes preemptive actions such as knocking out parts of an adversary's computer network overseas - but it is still wrestling with how to pursue the strategy legally.
30 August 2010
Software War Pits Oracle vs. Google New York Times
Free open-source software began with high-technology tinkerers and researchers. Sharing code and ideas was their priority, not profits. In the tech industry, they were sometimes compared to socialists and communists.
Which Countries Have the Safest Web Access? PC World
Seven of the 10 safest countries in which to surf the Internet are in Africa, with Sierra Leone rated the safest, according to a study by the Internet security firm AVG.
29 August 2010
Microsoft Co-Founder Launches Patent War Wall Street Journal
They're the everyday fixtures of the Internet experience: pop-up stock quotes on a website, suggestions for related reading near a news article, videos along the side of your screen.
27 August 2010
Facebook tries to limit use of 'Book' by others Mashable
Facebook has filed suit against Teachbook.com, an online community for teachers. The lawsuit accuses Teachbook of "misappropriating the distinctive BOOK portion of Facebook's trademark."
26 August 2010
Be careful mixing politics and Facebook, US counsel office says NextGov
Federal employees could become a "friend," a "fan" or even "like" a Facebook page a political party or candidate created, but they cannot do so during work hours or while in a federal workspace, according to new guidance the Office of Special Counsel has issued.
Germany Plans Limits on Facebook Use in Hiring New York Times
As part of the draft of a law governing workplace privacy, the German government on Wednesday proposed placing restrictions on employers who want to use Facebook profiles when recruiting.
25 August 2010
US Defense official discloses cyberattack Washington Post
Now it is official: The most significant breach of U.S. military computers was caused by a flash drive inserted into a U.S. military laptop on a post in the Middle East in 2008.
24 August 2010
Web scam hits iTunes and Paypal BBC News
iTunes accounts linked to PayPal have been hacked with a number of users complaining that they have been cleaned out.
Hacker's Arrest Offers Glimpse Into Crime in Russia New York Times
On the Internet, he was known as BadB, a disembodied criminal flitting from one server to another selling stolen credit card numbers despite being pursued by the United States Secret Service.
Google Street View cars back too soon, says French watchdog Computerworld
Google said its Street View cars resumed their photography of French streets on Friday, annoying the French data protection authority, which launched an investigation into the privacy implications of the service earlier this year.
23 August 2010
Google photographing French streets again Sydney Morning Herald
Google said Friday it had resumed photographing France with its Street View bikes and cars but without gathering fragments of personal data sent over unsecured Wi-Fi systems for which it is being probed.
