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US charges CEO of company selling encrypted devices to drug traffickers
The US Department of Justice has charged two individuals associated with encrypted phone software maker Sky Global, including the company's CEO, for allegedly facilitating global drug trafficking organizations.
Federal prosecutors indict four Chinese military officers over Equifax hack
The Justice Department has charged four Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers in relation to the 2017 Equifax hack in which the personal details of some 145 million US consumers and nearly a million UK and Canadian citizens were stolen. The data included names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and some drivers license details.
DOJ stops investigating Uber for foreign bribery
The Department of Justice has dropped an investigation into Uber over alleged foreign bribes. The agency said in an SEC filing it "will not be pursuing enforcement action."
DOJ asks Facebook to halt end-to-end encryption plans (updated)
The Department of Justice is set to ask Facebook to pause plans for end-to-end encryption across all of its messaging services. It will urge the company not to move forward "without ensuring that there is no reduction to user safety."
Justice Department has approved T-Mobile / Sprint merger
Sprint and T-Mobile have cleared a significant hurdle towards completing their merger. The Department of Justice rubber-stamped the deal on the condition that the carriers sell some parts of the business to Dish Network.
Appeals court upholds AT&T's purchase of Time Warner
AT&T doesn't have to worry that its acquisition of Time Warner might be undone. A federal appeals court has upheld the merger in the face of a Justice Department challenge from July. The explanation behind the decision isn't available as of this writing, but the judge who approved the deal didn't apply conditions. The DOJ was concerned AT&T might raise prices and reduce competition in pay TV by charging providers more for Time Warner (now WarnerMedia) programming.
DOJ busts gang for allegedly selling fake cars on eBay
The Department of Justice has unsealed information about an organized crime ring that used online sites like eBay and Craigslist to defraud people. 20 people, including 16 people from Romania and Bulgaria, stand accused of RICO, wire fraud and money laundering offenses, as well as identity theft.
DOJ report finds foreign meddling had no impact on midterm elections
If attempts at election meddling had any tangible effect on the US midterms, you won't hear about it from some officials. The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have submitted a joint report to President Trump saying there was no evidence a foreign government or agency had a "material impact" on the infrastructures of the 2018 vote, including campaigns and political bodies. The actual conclusions are classified, but they're consistent with what the government said after the elections, the Justice Department said.
US will map and disrupt North Korean botnet
The US government plans to turn the tables on North Korea-linked hackers trying to compromise key infrastructure. The Justice Department has unveiled an initiative to map the Joanap botnet and "further disrupt" it by alerting victims. The FBI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations are running servers imitating peers on the botnet, giving them a peek at both technical and "limited" identifying info for other infected PCs. From there, they can map the botnet and send notifications through internet providers and foreign governments -- they'll even send personal notifications to people who don't have a router or firewall protecting their systems.
Huawei denies US sanctions and trade secret charges
Huawei isn't taking kindly to the US' charges of sanction violations and trade secret theft. A spokesperson told Engadget the company was "disappointed" to hear of the charges and flatly "denies" it or an associated company (namely Skycom) committed any of the crimes in the indictments. It's also "not aware of any wrongdoing" by CFO Meng Wanzhou, according to the statement (available below). Huawei went so far as to suggest the US was unfair and trying to revive a dead case.
Government shutdown has left several US agency websites inaccessible
Agency websites are among the many facets of the US government that the ongoing shutdown has affected, as more than 80 TLS certificates on government sites have reportedly expired. Even though federal employees could have renewed them well in advance of the shutdown, there's no one around to do so now, meaning dozens of sites may be inaccessible or non-secure for the time being.
Fiat Chrysler settles with US over diesel emissions cheating
Fiat Chrysler is about to pay a stiff penalty for its alleged diesel vehicle emissions cheating. The automaker has reached a settlement with the Justice Department, EPA and California that will see it make amends for claimed violations of the country's Clean Air Act. It's launching a recall to fix the more than 100,000 diesel vehicles believed to be exceeding pollution limits. More importantly, there's a hefty financial punishment. Fiat Chrysler will pay as much as $800 million to address the case, including a combined $311 million in civil penalties, up to $280 million to address claims from owners (who get an average of $2,800 each) and $100 million for post-fix extended warranties.
FBI shuts down 15 DDoS-for-hire sites
Federal law enforcement appears determined to prevent the distributed denial of service attacks that have ruined the holidays of gamers (and others) in the past. The FBI has seized the domains of 15 DDoS-for-hire services, including relatively well-known examples like Downthem and Quantum Stresser. It simultaneously charged three people operating these sites. Matthew Gatrel and Juan Martinez face charges for allegedly conspiring to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for running Downthem and Ampnode, while David Bukowski has been accused of aiding and abetting computer intrusion for running Quantum Stresser.
Justice Department investigates fake net neutrality comments
The scrutiny over fake net neutrality comments appears to be intensifying. Sources talking to BuzzFeed News said the Justice Department is investigating whether or not there were crimes when people posted millions of bogus comments on the FCC's net neutrality repeal, stealing many people's identities in the process. The FBI reportedly subpoenaed at least two organizations for information "a few days" after New York state did for its own investigation, according to the insiders.
Huawei CFO faces fraud accusations from US in Canadian bail hearing
Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei's chief financial officer is facing fraud charges in the United States and faces up to 30 years in prison if found guilty, according to the New York Times. Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is accused of "conspiracy to defraud multiple financial institutions" including breaking American sanctions on Iran. She was arrested in Canada earlier this week and faces extradition to the US.
US charges Iranian hackers over $30 million ransomware spree
The US is attempting to hold the creators of the infamous SamSam ransomware to account. A federal grand jury has revealed indictments against two Iranian men, Mohammad Mansouri and Faramarz Savandi, for allegedly authoring and wielding SamSam to extort money from a wide range of North American targets, including multiple hospitals, health care companies, state agencies and the city of Atlanta. They've successfully collected $6 million in ransoms so far, according to the Justice Department, and have created over $30 million in losses.
DOJ and SEC subpoena Snap over allegedly misleading investors
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have subpoenaed Snap Inc. requesting information about its March 2017 initial public offering. In a statement to Reuters, Snap said it has responded to a government subpoena and believes that the SEC is "investigating issues related to the previously disclosed allegations asserted in a class action about our IPO disclosures."
US charges Chinese, Taiwan firms for stealing secrets from Micron
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice has filed charges against a Taiwanese company, a Chinese PRC-backed company, and three Taiwanese nationals of economic espionage against Idaho-based semiconductor manufacturer Micron over the production of F32nm DRAM. Sessions also announced the creation of the China Initiative, led by Assistant Attorney General John Demers, to identify Chinese trade theft and allocate the necessary resources to go after these cases.
Microsoft executive allegedly attempted to embezzle $1.5 million
Jeff Tran, Microsoft's former director of sports marketing and alliances, was charged with five counts of wire fraud this week for allegedly trying to embezzle $1.5 million from his former employer. He's also accused of stealing and selling more than 60 Super Bowl tickets belonging to Microsoft, pocketing over $200,000 in the process.
FCC and DOJ urge court to reject challenge to net neutrality repeal
The FCC is facing a lawsuit over its repeal of net neutrality, an action brought forward by 22 states, Washington, DC and a number of other local governments, rights groups and businesses. Now, the agency and the US Department of Justice have weighed in, filing a 167-page document late Thursday evening in support of the FCC's decision. Reuters reports that the DOJ's comments note the lawsuit offers "no substantial reason to second-guess the commission's decision to eliminate rules that the agency has determined are both unlawful and unwise."