firms

Thu
04
Jun
John Lister's picture

AT&T Makes Surprise Offer On Net Neutrality

AT&T says its prepared to drop its opposition to government rules for net neutrality. In return it wants to be allowed to take over DirecTV without regulatory interference. The offer could be a dramatic development in the ongoing dispute over ... net neutrality. That's the principle that Internet carriers should not discriminate between different types of content (other than illegal material). Examples include: blocking, slowing down, or charging special carriage fees for some forms of data, but not others. The US government, in particular the Federal Communications Commission, has ... (view more)

Wed
20
May
John Lister's picture

FBI Wants to Ban Secure Internet using Backdoors

Some of the largest tech firms are urging President Obama to drop plans to make it easier for law enforcement and security agencies to access Internet communications. They say the President should resist any idea for such firms to implement ... mandatory "backdoors." The proposal means that firms are only allowed to use encryption if they also build in a way that makes it possible for law enforcement groups to access the data in an unencrypted form. The "key" to unlock the data would effectively be split into two parts: one held by the Internet firm, and the other by the ... (view more)

Wed
11
Feb
John Lister's picture

Chinese Hackers Infect Forbes, Spy on Visitors

Chinese spies have reportedly infected the Forbes website in order to steal data from staff at defense and finance organizations. The attack is unlike most attacks on large websites, as the motive was for intelligence, rather than profit. The Forbes ... website attack reportedly took place in November 2014, with the security gap plugged by approximately three days later. To propagate the attack, hackers replaced a legitimate file on the web server used for the "Thought of the Day" feature, which appeared on every page of the Forbes website. The malicious file was then automatically ... (view more)

Wed
17
Sep
John Lister's picture

Judge: Firms Can't Ban Online Negative Reviews

California has passed a law that means companies can no longer ban customers from writing negative reviews on websites. Even attempting to do so could mean they firms face a financial penalty. The new law follows a protracted court battle that ... concluded this summer after an online gadget seller tried to "fine" a couple $3,500 for leaving a negative review on an independent website. A court eventually ordered KlearGear to pay more than $300,000 to the couple after its attempts to collect the "debt" hurt their credit rating. KlearGear had been trying to enforce a clause in ... (view more)

Tue
03
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft, Google Push Forward with NSA Lawsuit

Microsoft and Google say they really want you to know how much of your personal information they're passing on to the National Security Agency (NSA). In a bid to gain that right, the tech titans are suing the United States government. The lawsuit is ... the result of data collection by the NSA. The agency has been at the center of a media firestorm ever since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the extent of the NSA's surveillance programs earlier this year. Negotiations with U.S. Government Break Down Microsoft and Google want consumers to know how much information they're forced to pass on to ... (view more)

Tue
16
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Internet Providers Raided Over 'Throttling' Claims

European regulators have raided the offices of three Internet Service Providers (ISPs) said to have intentionally slowed Internet traffic over a business dispute. The officials are exploring a new legal tactic that could also be used to stop such ... slowdowns in the US. The dispute involves Cogent Communications, which is effectively an Internet middleman. It transfers data between major websites and the Internet Service Providers that carry data to customers' homes. Last month Cogent claimed US-based Verizon was intentionally slowing down the traffic it handles for video streaming sites like ... (view more)

Fri
12
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Google, Mozilla Save Cash with Bug Bounty Programs

Outsourcing has become a popular way for big companies to save money. One example: offering 'bug bounties' that encourage independent researchers to help prevent security nightmares. According to a new study completed by University of California ... Berkeley researchers, it's far cheaper for technology firms to use these freelance security experts than expand an existing in-house security team. The study examined the bug bounty programs (otherwise known as vulnerability reward programs, or VRPs) used by two of the Internet's biggest firms: Google and Mozilla, makers of the Chrome ... (view more)

Wed
19
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Yahoo, Apple Reveal Links to NSA Snooping Scandal

Yahoo and Apple have revealed how the US government accesses their customers' private information. It's part of an ongoing campaign by tech firms to try to avoid being tainted by the ongoing National Security Agency's PRISM scandal . Until recently ... neither Yahoo nor Apple had discussed their role in the scandal, which involves government surveillance and secretive data requests. However, both firms have now published statistics showing how many times the government demanded information about their customers. Yahoo Hit With 2,000 Data Requests A Month Yahoo says that between the beginning of ... (view more)

Wed
12
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft, Google, Facebook Unite Against NSA

Some of the world's biggest technology companies say they're not happy about revelations involving the National Security Agency (NSA) and data collection. The firms are forming a united front in a quest to create greater transparency around this ... kind of surveillance. Last week whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the National Security Agency had been using a controversial surveillance program known as PRISM to spy on users of major Internet programs and services. This included users of products provided by Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, YouTube, Skype, America Online, and Apple. ... (view more)

Mon
10
Jun
Dennis Faas's picture

NSA Snooping on Google, Facebook Users: Report

Leaked documents claim the U.S. government has direct access to user data for some of the web's most popular services. Officials admit the program exists but insist it's only being used to targeting foreigners who may pose a threat to U.S. national ... security. The documents were reportedly leaked from a National Security Agency (NSA) program called PRISM to the British newspaper The Guardian. The documents say the program involves NSA officials gaining direct access to the servers of nine tech companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL and Apple. ( ... (view more)

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