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GSMA puts eSIM work 'on hold' due to US collusion investigation
Don't expect to see embedded SIM technology in your phone any time soon. The GSMA, which oversees key cellular standards, has placed eSIM spec work "on hold" while the US Department of Justice investigates the possibility of collusion between AT&T, Verizon and the GSMA to stifle the card-free technology. The GSMA didn't offer an explanation of why it was pausing development, and instead stressed that American eSIM users would need to "explicitly consent" to a carrier-locked eSIM (such buying a phone on contract).
Cambridge Analytica accused of violating US election laws
Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data harvesting hasn't just prompted lawsuits over the privacy violations -- it's now sparking a legal battle over its role in US elections. ABC News has learned that watchdog group Common Cause has filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and Justice Department alleging that Cambridge Analytica broke federal election laws barring foreigners from participating in the strategies of US political campaigns. According to Common Cause, the UK firm ignored warnings to avoid involvement in American political committees and provided its Facebook user data to help target campaign efforts that included the presidential runs of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as well as a John Bolton super PAC.
DOJ renews push to require access to encrypted devices
No, US law enforcement hasn't given up on its dreams of forcing tech companies to allow access to encrypted devices. New York Times sources have learned that the Department of Justice and the FBI have been meeting with security researchers in an effort to develop systems that would let police reach encrypted data without making them vulnerable to hacking. At the same time, officials have reportedly renewed talks about asking Congress to draft and pass legislation requiring the use of those mechanisms. The White House circulated a memo in February giving agencies ways to consider "solving the problem," according to the news outlet.
DOJ indicts nine Iranians for state-sponsored hacking effort
This morning, the Department of Justice announced that nine Iranians have been indicted for an alleged hacking campaign affecting 320 universities around the world, 144 of which were US institutions. The individuals are believed to have been working for the Iranian government and have been accused of stealing research from the affected institutions. They've been indicted on seven federal crimes including computer fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and identity theft.
US AG creates a new 'Cybersecurity Task Force'
Days after the Mueller investigation revealed indictments against 13 Russian nationals for election tampering, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new Cybersecurity Task Force. Its marching orders are a bit vague -- "canvass the many ways that the Department is combatting the global cyber threat" -- but the AG's first ask is for it to investigate efforts to interfere with US elections and infrastructure.
US busts $530 million Infraud cybercrime ring
The US just took down one of the larger online crime organizations in recent memory -- certainly one of the largest prosecuted by the feds. Department of Justice officials have filed charges against 36 people allegedly involved with Infraud Organization (no really, that's the name), a global cybercrime ring with roots in the US as well as numerous other countries. Combined, the group is believed to have trafficked in stolen financial data (including up to 4 million cards), identities and contraband worth over $530 million in losses. And that's what they actually managed to accomplish. Reportedly, they hoped to inflict a total of $2.2 billion in damage.
Chinese man pleads guilty to selling counterfeit Apple gear in US
Fake Apple devices have been making the rounds for years, but it's rare that they have much sway in the US -- although it looks like one team of bootleggers had a surprising amount of success. Jianhua Li, a Chinese man living in the US on a student visa, has pleaded guilty to charges he trafficked in more than 40,000 counterfeit electronic devices from China between 2009 and 2014, including iPads and iPhones. All told, he received a whopping $1.1 million in payments -- no mean feat for several years of contraband. He wasn't alone in the plot, either, and the scheme was relatively elaborate.
Justice Dept and SEC are reportedly reviewing Apple’s iPhone slowdowns
In December, Apple admitted to slowing older models of iPhones, saying the practice kept older phones with aging batteries from suddenly rebooting. Apple is now facing multiple lawsuits in the US and abroad as well as an investigation in France. And now, Bloomberg reports, the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into whether the company's handling of the slowdowns violated any securities laws.
Malware creator charged for 13-year spying spree
You don't need an elaborate crime ring (or a government agency) to write malware that spies on others -- sometimes, just one person can be responsible. The US Department of Justice has charged Ohio resident Philip Durachinsky with 16 crimes for allegedly writing malware, nicknamed "Fruitfly," that gave him unfettered access to the PCs of "thousands" of individuals and institutions between 2003 and January 2017. Reportedly, he not only stole sensitive data to use for fraud and blackmail (such as logins, embarrassing chats and medical records) but took screenshots, logged keystrokes and spied on people through their webcams.
Ex-NSA worker pleads guilty to taking data involved in Russian hack
The NSA hasn't been having the best week when it comes to security, but it's getting at least some closure. A former employee, now known as Nghia Pho, has pleaded guilty to bringing home classified data that was later stolen in a hack linked to Russian intelligence. Pho is expected to face prison time when he's sentenced on April 6th, but prosecutors have capped the maximum penalty to 8 years (versus the typical 10) and are open to calls for a lighter sentence given the non-malicious nature of the case.
AT&T CEO: DOJ never demanded CNN sale in Time Warner deal
Yesterday, reports surfaced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had requested a sale of either Turner Broadcasting, which owns CNN, or DirecTV before it would approve AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. However, the agency said that it didn't request those sales, but merely presented them as options that would quell its antitrust concerns over the $85.4 billion deal. Speaking at the Dealbook conference today, AT&T CEO randall Stephenson confirmed that, saying, "I have never been told that the price of getting the deal done was selling CNN. And likewise I have never offered to sell CNN. There is absolutely no intention that we would ever sell CNN." He added that AT&T was also not willing to sell HBO or Warner Bros., which would also come along with Time Warner if the deal goes through. "You shouldn't expect that we would sell something larger [than CNN] to get the deal done. It's illogical. It's why we did the deal," he said.
AT&T may have to sell major assets to appease DOJ in Time Warner deal
Last year, AT&T announced that it was going to acquire Time Warner, a deal that was initially expected to clear by the end of this year with little to no regulatory hurdles. However, last week, reports surfaced that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) was considering whether to file an antitrust lawsuit against the merger as its talks with the two companies over the deal weren't nearing a solution. Now, sources are saying that the DOJ is withholding its approval and wants either Time Warner to sell Turner Broadcasting or AT&T to sell DirecTV.
Equifax committee says executive stock sales weren’t insider trading
The eyes of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Department of Justice have been focused on some questionable stock sales initiated by three Equifax executives a month before the data breach that exposed 143 million US consumers' personal information was revealed to the public. Those agencies have been investigating the sales, which amounted to nearly $1.8 million, and are working to determine whether they were the result of insider trading. However, CNBC reports today that an Equifax committee has reviewed the sales and found no signs of misconduct.
US could charge six Russian officials over DNC email hacking
Is Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails a "hoax," as Donald Trump maintains? The US Department of Justice reportedly doesn't think so. It has identified six Russian government officials involved in hacking the DNC and using the information against candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. Prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges against those individuals by next year, according to a report from the WSJ.
DOJ demands Twitter account info following discussion of an agent
Law enforcement is often eager to protect its own, but it might have overstepped its boundaries in an online case. The Department of Justice has sent a subpoena to Twitter demanding complete account info for @popehat (Ken White), @pogowasright (Dissent Doe), @dawg8u (Mike Honcho), @abtnatural (Virgil) and @associatesmind (Keith Lee) after security researcher Justin Shafer mentioned them in a tweet. While the post itself is a single smiling emoji, the DOJ believes they support cyber stalking allegations against Shafer over his response to a questionable FBI raid on his home. It's a bit complicated, so we'll elaborate.
Microsoft drops its lawsuit over gag orders on DoJ searches
It's been more than a year since Microsoft sued the government (with backing from Amazon, Apple, Google and many others) over the right to tell its customers when the authorities ask it to hand over data, and now the DoJ has responded with a new policy. Microsoft says that the new rules restrict the use of secrecy orders and it says they should have defined time periods. With those conditions applied, President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said Microsoft is dropping its lawsuit, but also says more changes are necessary, as he called on Congress to amend the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act that is at the center of the dispute.
Supreme Court will hear challenge to Microsoft's data privacy case
Microsoft may have won its fight to protect overseas data from American search warrants, but it can't rest easy. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Department of Justice's petition to review the case, virtually guaranteeing that the case will set the basis for how US law enforcement can access data abroad. We don't have a court date as of this writing, but the arguments on both sides are already well-established.
Judge limits government warrant for info on anti-Trump protest site
We've been following a case for a few months now between the Department of Justice and web hosting company Dreamhost surrounding anti-Trump protests on Inauguration Day. Originally, the DoJ demanded that Dreamhost hand over all the information they had on everyone who'd visited the domain. Now, the judge has stripped the DoJ's warrant to basically nothing: Dreamhost has been ordered to redact all personally identifying information from "non-subscribers" of the website, or in other words, users who have nothing to do with this investigation and merely visited the site.
ACLU challenges DOJ request for info on 6,000 anti-Trump Facebook users
Way back in January, 200 protesters were arrested at Donald Trump's Presidential Inauguration for felony rioting. The resulting investigation into their activities has been a rollercoaster of complaints alleging DOJ overreach, including the department's request for 1.3 million visitors to a site (DisruptJ20.com) that organized the protesters. Today, the DC chapter of the ACLU announced it has filed suit against the government for another overly-broad set of inquiries. The first warrant requires Facebook to divulge extensive information on three users' accounts, including their contact network, while a second requests data on who interacted with DisruptJ20's Facebook page over a three-month period -- which is over 6,000 people.
Justice Department takes aim at Hurricane Harvey scammers
This week a number of federal and state law enforcement agencies teamed up to prosecute any scammers taking advantage of the Hurricane Harvey aftermath. Texas-based agencies along with the SEC, FBI, FTC and others have created a working group that will investigate any fraud, theft and price gouging related to the hurricane. "Under the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, we bring a comprehensive law enforcement focus to combat any criminal activity arising from the tragedy of Hurricane Harvey and the rebuilding efforts underway," said acting US Attorney Abe Martinez in a statement.