New Information about Carrier IQ Software Sparks Concerns that Wireless Carriers Have Violated Federal Anti-Wiretapping Laws By Abby Lauer – Edited by Michael Hoven Last month, a security researcher from Connecticut published information about a software program installed on some mobile smartphones that may be surreptitiously collecting data about how the phones are used. The software, called Carrier IQ and manufactured by a company of the same name, has been described as hard to detect, hard to remove, and programmed ... Read More...
Archive for the ‘Cyberlaw’ Category
By Geng Chen DOJ Defends Expansive Interpretation of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act NPR reports that Richard Downing, deputy chief of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section at the Department of Justice, testified before a House Judiciary subcommittee on the DOJ’s proposal to broaden its reading of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). An advance copy of Downing’s written statement, obtained by CNET, advocated for criminal prosecutions based on violations of Web sites’ “terms of service” policies or ... Read More...
By Susanna Lichter New Cyberweapon Duqu Possibly Spawned from Stuxnet Worm Computer security analysts warn that Stuxnet, the sophisticated worm that wreaked havoc on Iran’s nuclear program, could be a precursor to more cyber attacks on industrial control systems, according to The Washington Post. There is definite evidence that Duqu, a dangerous new weapon that appears to borrow some of the Stuxnet original source code, was used in an attack last month. The New York Times reports that authorities are divided ... Read More...
District Court Requires Warrant for Cell Phone Location Data By Michael Hoven – Edited by Jonathan Allred In the Matter of an Application of the United States of America for an Order Authorizing the Release of Historical Cell-Site Information, 10-MC-897 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 22, 2011) Slip opinion The United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York denied the government’s request to order Verizon Wireless to turn over 113 days of customer location data which, according to the government, ... Read More...
By Andrew Segna Google Acquires Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion Google announced on August 15, 2011 that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash. Ars Technica reports that this purchase was motivated in part by Google’s desire to acquire Motorola’s patents and to protect its Android mobile platform, as this deal will give Google control of more than 17,000 patents in the mobile arena and 7,000 patent applications. This acquisition comes in light of Google accusing Microsoft, ... Read More...
