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NYT: FBI and DOJ are looking into Cambridge Analytica
Cambridge Analytica already shut down, because it couldn't cope with ongoing probes and scandals. But that doesn't mean the DOJ is going to let things go -- according to The New York Times, the Justice Department and the FBI have started investigating the political data firm, questioning former employees and banks that handled its businesses in recent weeks. Authorities' questions apparently focused on the firm's financial dealings, though they also sought to better understand how it acquired and used personal data pulled from Facebook and other sources. They also got in contact with Facebook itself, though the social network refused to tell NYT what they talked about.
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.
Judge rejects AT&T request for White House records on Time Warner merger
After the Department of Justice filed suit last November to block AT&T's intended $85 billion merger with Time Warner, the telecom giant wanted to find out how much the White House was involved. The company had good reason to wonder how much direction the DOJ may or may not have taken from the Trump Administration given how much the President had publicly opposed the merger during his 2016 campaign. But today, a federal judge denied AT&T's request for any communications records between the DOJ and the White House.
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.
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.
UK tribunal declares WikiLeaks a media organization
A British tribunal released a ruling today on a freedom of information case in which an Italian journalist, Stefania Maurizi, sought documents regarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition. While the tribunal decided that she could not get those documents due to confidentiality reasons, it did state in its summary that WikiLeaks was a media organization, which could make any US attempts at having Assange extradited more difficult.
DOJ confirms criminal investigation into Uber vs. Waymo
The civil trial between Uber and Waymo over stolen self-driving technology was supposed to start December 4th, but Judge Alsup announced a delay last month. Now he has unsealed the letter (over objections from the US Attorney's Office in San Francisco) from the Department of Justice that caused the delay. It not only confirms that there is a criminal investigation into Uber's behavior, it reveals a former employee's claim that the company intentionally used "non-attributable electronic devices" (read: burner phones and the like) to conceal use of any stolen technology. In the letter, it also says that the former employee, Richard Jacobs, described a "hypothetical" where two CEOs could meet covertly for a long period of time prior to an acquisition. Two CEOs, like, say, Anthony Levandowski of Otto and Travis Kalanick of Uber.
AT&T extends the deadline for its Time Warner merger to April
When AT&T announced that it was going to buy Time Warner for $85.4 billion back in 2016, the deal was expected to close by the end of 2017. Now, it's clear that won't happen, and as a result, AT&T has extended the deadline for the merger to April 22nd, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DOJ slaps AT&T with antitrust lawsuit over Time Warner purchase
The US Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T to block the massive communications company from purchasing Time Warner, one of the world's biggest entertainment conglomerates. AT&T released a statement calling the move "a radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent" and said it was "confident that the court would reject the government's claims and permit this merger under longstanding legal precedent."
DC Superior Court reins in DOJ’s Facebook snooping
The government's overreach into the Facebook accounts of anti-Trump protestors is finally getting curbed. The ACLU sued the DOJ in September over its very broad warrant demanding all the info from a protest-organizing Facebook page, DisruptJ20, over a period of 90 days -- which included data on 6,000 individuals who interacted with it. Additionally, the ACLU sought to limit what information Facebook would be forced to provide on two people, Lacy MacAuley and Legba Carrefour, who helped organize using the DisruptJ20 page. Today, the ACLU announced that the DC Superior Court would be eliminating the former requirement and adjusting how much info the social network must disclose on the two activists.
DOJ may sue to block AT&T's purchase of Time Warner
Today, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice may bring an antitrust case against AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner. The DOJ may currently be in talks with both companies that could lead to a settlement with conditions for approval of the merger. However, the newspaper reports that the justice department isn't close to an agreement with the two companies, and that the organization is preparing for litigation in case this is decided in the courts. It's unclear how this situation will progress, and what the timing of any decisions might be.
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.
Equifax data breach is also being investigated by UK officials
While 143 million US residents were affected by the Equifax breach, they weren't the only ones impacted. Nearly 700,000 UK residents also had their information stolen -- including phone numbers, driver's license numbers, email addresses, user names, passwords and partial credit card details -- and UK authorities are now investigating the company.
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.
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.
Equifax stock sales prompt DOJ investigation for insider trading
Things are about to get even worse for Equifax, and rightfully so. According to reports from Bloomberg, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into Equifax officials' stock sales just before the announcement of the security breach that exposed data from 143 million US consumers. Equifax CFO John Gamble, President of US Information Solutions Joseph Loughran and President of Workforce Solutions Rodolfo Ploder dumped nearly $1.8 million in stock just after the company discovered the breach and about a month before it was announced. Equifax has maintained that the three didn't know about the breach when they sold the stock.
Uber may face federal investigation over foreign bribery
Uber's new CEO might have a lot of trouble on his plate. The Wall Street Journal has learned that the US Department of Justice is taking preliminary steps to determine whether or not Uber managers broke American laws barring foreign bribery. Reportedly, there are claims the ridesharing firm paid foreign officials to either get or maintain business. These are just tentative steps and may not lead to anything, but there could be a full-on investigation if the DOJ finds enough evidence.
DOJ gives up on getting all 1.3M IPs from anti-Trump website
The Department of Justice has given up on getting the IPs of 1.3 million visitors to disruptj20.org, a website that helped organize protests of the president's inauguration. It originally asked the website's host, Dreamhost, for all visitors' personal info, including contact information, email and photos if available. The host refused to give in and pointed out the extreme scope of the request. Now, in its reply brief addressed to DC's court, the agency responded that it had no idea that its warrant would be so broad, since it didn't know how much data DreamHost has.
