The Senate approved a bill today that will finally provide some guidance on procedures for government eavesdropping under what the Bush Administration has dubbed its “terrorist surveillance program.” The bill provides that any future surveillance be approved by the non-public United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Of particular note in the bill is the fact that telecom companies were granted Read More

  The FBI is renewing its push for legislation that would mandate that ISPs keep records of its users’ activities for longer periods of time. Records retained would be available for review by police in cases where a search of such records is warranted. The FBI’s proposed length of time for retention of records is two year. Types of data retained could be as minimal as IP addresses assigned to each Read More

  Microsoft is reassessing security systems that disable pirated programs on users' computers in favor of the approach employed by “trialware” and “shareware:” constant nagging.   While the current version of Microsoft’s Genuine Advantage tool will disable pirated software, the newer version being released with Vista’s first Service Pack will instead display warnings, constant reminder bubbles, Read More

  About 140 foreign intelligence organizations are trying to hack into the computer networks of the U.S. government and U.S. companies, a top counterintelligence official has reported. The official, Joel Brenner, warned that hackers could create chaos by manipulating information in electronic systems the government, military and private industry rely on.   The number of hackers worldwide has been Read More

  As CyberLawg previously discussed the dominant iTunes is beginning to see substantial competition buoyed by Apple’s restrictive digital rights management (DRM) on its downloads.   The newest competitor is Wal-Mart, which has the power to redefine a market based on its massive retailing power. The retail giant has announced that it will begin selling music online that is DRM free for much less than Read More

  A new study suggests that certain phishing and spamming operations are filtering their proceeds directly into terrorist cells that plan to attack the United Kingdom and United States. The men behind the operation in the study used stolen credit cards, obtained via phishing schemes, to purchase necessary materials. The men then used the stolen credit cards to launder money through online gambling sites, Read More

  Yet another example of the United States’ weakness in protecting its citizens from cybercrime and cyberwarfare is the Defense Department’s recent report on China’s growing ability to challenge the United States in "electromagnetic dominance" in conflicts.   China has (correctly) identified the power of viruses, denial of service attacks (DOS) and network security as critical in wars Read More

  The House of Representatives recently passed the Internet Spyware (I- SPY) Prevention Act of 2007. The bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, or exceeding authorized access, by causing a computer program or code to be copied onto the protected computer, and intentionally using that program or code: (1) in furtherance of another Read More

  A bill has been introduced in the United States Congress to shore up penalties and provide additional funding for fighting cyber crimes. The bill, HR 2290 in the 110th Congress, expands the scope of 18 USC 1030, entitled “fraud and related activity in connection with computers.” That section provides ramifications, both civil and criminal, for unauthorized computer access. The proposed bill would expand and Read More

  The union representing most of the airport safety screeners of the nation have filed a class action suit against the Transportation Security Administration for its negligence in allowing an external hard drive to be stolen from TSA Headquarters. The hard drive contained 100,000 records of past and current employees, including social security numbers, banking details and other sensitive data.   The Read More