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Huawei Bets Big on Lobbyists August 28, 2012 
Today in international tech news: A Chinese phone equipment company doubles down -- more like quadruples down -- on Washington lobbyists after the House launches an investigation into possible security threats. Also: Facebook has yet another problem in Germany; a report identifies the world's fastest-growing iOS and Android markets; and Samsung leaks an internal memo about Apple.
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TrapWire Spooks Dangled Their Wares in Front of Google, Salesforce August 13, 2012 
The makers of a video surveillance program developed by former United States Central Intelligence Agency staffers attempted to sell their system to several big-name tech firms, according to leaked memos. One of several internal emails written by executives at intelligence firm Stratfor has been published by WikiLeaks.
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The Remarketing Trap August 13, 2012 
There's a great chase scene in Minority Report when Tom Cruise, having been identified as a future murderer, is making his escape through a futuristic mall. There's a thin line between utopian ideals and dystopian realities, and it makes me chuckle to think that in the case of Minority Report, all that was needed to cross it was the involvement of a marketing department.
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Google Nicked in Safari Privacy Kerfuffle August 10, 2012 
Google has agreed to pay the U.S. Federal Trade Commission a $22.5 million fine to settle allegations that the search engine giant violated the privacy of Safari browser users. The fine, which is the largest the FTC has ever imposed, is part of its ongoing effort to enforce consumers' online privacy rights.
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Appellate Court Reversal Less About Wiretapping, More About Government Immunity August 08, 2012 
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a ruling by a lower court judge who had awarded $40,800 in damages and $2.5 million in attorney fees to the now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation. This is the latest chapter in what has been a five-year challenge to the Bush administration's Terrorist Surveillance Program.
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FTC Wants New Rules to Protect Children's Privacy Online August 02, 2012 
The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that it was considering new rules to protect children's privacy online. Regulators called for tougher privacy protections to make it harder for advertisers and social networks to collect information about children without permission from the parents.
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Social Media Olympics Becoming Social Media Headache July 31, 2012 
Today in international tech news: London claims that the 2012 games are the first-ever "social media Olympics," but that boast has come with headaches. Elsewhere, investors appear to have taken note of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's rapid growth; Palestine is becoming a tech hub; more.
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Google Still Hasn't Cleaned Out Its Private WiFi Data Closet July 30, 2012 
Google has not deleted the sensitive data it collected from private wireless networks in 2010, according to a recent report. Earlier, the company had promised regulators it would dispose of the information. The search engine giant originally collected the data while it was mapping areas for its Street View services.
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Twitter Breaks the Cycle July 30, 2012 
Today in international tech news: Twitter traffic gets the blame for Olympic cyclists' transmitters not sending signals, which forced one TV commentator to use his watch to estimate times. Also, Bloomberg is still in Internet timeout over its report on a Chinese politician's wealth; Korea is hit with anther round of hacking; Google admits to hoarding info in the UK, and more.
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Skype's Server Upgrade Triggers Wiretapping Worries July 24, 2012 
Fears have surfaced that Skype may be eavesdropping on communications over its service. The concern is that supernodes Microsoft is introducing to Skype could make it easier to monitor calls, because they route the voice data in addition to initiating communications between parties.
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Facial Recognition Faces Congressional Scrutiny July 20, 2012 
A senate committee met on Wednesday to discuss the promise and pitfalls of facial recognition technology. Led by its chair, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, the committee questioned privacy advocates as well as representatives of the FBI, the FTC and Facebook, about how the technology is being used and what privacy issues it raises.
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Twitter May Face Sisyphean Challenge in Protected Speech Battle July 20, 2012 
Twitter indicated Thursday that it will appeal a decision by New York County Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. that the microblogging site must hand over a user's posts. The case stems from an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney regarding the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011 -- in particular, one that occurred in October, when protestors blocked the Brooklyn Bridge.
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Ratcheting Up Your Web-Browsing Privacy July 19, 2012 
I've never taken that much notice of my privacy, or lack of, as I've been surfing the Web. However, after recent, obviously targeted advertising directed at me, where the ads blatantly reflected some product research I had just performed, I decided to investigate. Innocuous focused advertising, which can be informative, can simply feel like a violation. Other intrusions can be downright dangerous.
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DNSChanger: Just a Dress Rehearsal July 16, 2012 
Despite dire warnings, the Internet didn't break last week when the FBI pulled the plug on the server controlling the DNSChanger botnet. An estimated 300,000 computers are still infected by the malware that ties them to the botnet, which was designed for large-scale click fraud.
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Tehula Finds Friends Without Fuss but Flirts With Disaster July 16, 2012 
Tehula is brand new in the Apple App Store, and I've got to say, I haven't been so excited about an app in a long time. Faithful readers will likely recognize that I prefer simple apps that do one basic thing really well instead of bloated jack-of-all trade apps. And what does Tehula do? It locates your friends on a map.
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Yahoo Stuck Without SQL Injection Antidote July 14, 2012 
The term "SQL injection" sounds pretty scary -- kind of medical, painful, maybe even lethal. And it can be, for websites that fall victim to it. It involves tricking a site into forming a rogue SQL command that prompts a database to deliver its contents right into the hands of the attacker. If it's successful, a hacker can gain access to a ton of sensitive information.
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Yahoo Voice Crack Spills 400K+ Usernames, Passwords July 12, 2012 
The passwords and usernames of more than 400,000 contributors to the Yahoo Voices website have been stolen and posted on the Internet. The hack was carried out by an organization calling itself "D33Ds Company," which posted the data on the Web. The D33Ds Web page containing the data was down when checked at press time. However, the text file is reportedly available through torrents.
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The High Privacy Price of Auto Insurance Monitoring Discounts July 11, 2012 
Some of the largest automobile insurance companies are now using driving data obtained from GPS and other devices to create preferred pricing for those who submit real-time driving data. So, drivers with good habits may get discounts of as much as 30-50 percent. The economics may be very attractive. However the of loss of personal privacy may be an unintended effect of immense proportions.
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Law Enforcement Feasts on Cellphone Data July 10, 2012 
A congressional inquiry conducted at the behest of Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., found that law enforcement agencies made 1.3 million requests to cellphone carriers in 2011. They sought such information as individuals' text messages, their locations, and even lists of phone numbers they called when in the vicinity of a particular tower, whether they belonged to people under investigation or not.
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Samsung Declared Winningly Unhip July 09, 2012 
Today in international tech news: Samsung wins a ruling against Apple but is declared "not as cool" in the process. Also: Google launches a gay rights campaign; Germany backs off legislation that would allow local governments to sell sensitive information; and investigators rule that the infamous flaming Samsung phone had been microwaved.
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