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Europol Cybercops Take Down Ransomware Ring February 14, 2013 
The European police agency, Europol, announced Wednesday that it had
dismantled a Russian-led, Spain-based cybercrime organization. The organization reportedly extorted millions of euros across more than 30 countries, mostly in Europe. The group's plan was to convince Internet users to pay fines, supposedly to authorities, for trumped-up infractions.
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Facebook Faces Lawsuit Over Like Button February 12, 2013 
Rembrandt Social Media is suing Facebook for its use of the Like button, according to the BBC. Rembrandt claims that Facebook's success is owed, at least in part, to patents belonging to Dutch programmer Joannes Jozef Everardus van Der Meer, who died in 2004.
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Language Barriers Block BlackBerry From Japan Launch February 08, 2013 
Unable to justify the operating costs, BlackBerry will not launch its newest handsets, the Z10 and Q10, in Japan -- at least not anytime soon. The requirement to modify its operating system to accommodate the language reportedly influenced BlackBerry's plan to bow out of Japan. Another possible factor is that BlackBerry's market share in Japan has dropped from 5 percent to 0.3 percent.
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Icelandic Antipiracy Group Shouted Off Facebook February 07, 2013 
n attempted antipiracy campaign came screeching to a halt when, after just four days, the Icelandic Film and Movie organization, SMAIS, took down its Facebook page. SMAIS apparently wanted to spur dialogue with Icelanders, but that backfired when Facebook users -- who were "fans" of the SMAIS page -- began blasting the group in its own comment section.
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Google Victorious in 6-Year Aussie Legal Battle February 06, 2013 
A court in Australia has ruled in favor of Google in its lengthy legal fight with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The case, which lasted six years, concerned search results from 2006-07.
The Commission claimed that sponsored links published by Google diverted users to rival companies.
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Volunteer Pirate Crew Gives Mega Its Own Search Engine January 31, 2013 
A user-created search engine reportedly makes it easy to scour the new, controversial file-sharing site Mega. Unveiled two weeks ago by Kim Dotcom, a German national living in New Zealand and wanted on a slew of charges in the U.S., Mega initially did not have a search function to scour its own content. The new search engine was built by users voluntarily providing links to files.
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Chinese Authorities Shoot Down Videogame Rumor January 30, 2013 
This game is over before it even started. China's Ministry of Culture said that it is not considering lifting the nation's ban on videogame consoles. Reports that China might lift its ban on systems like Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation surfaced last week. However, that story appears to be false.
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Pentagon to Beef Up Cybersecurity Arsenal January 28, 2013 
The Pentagon's cybersecurity force reportedly will increase more than fivefold over the next several years, following the approval of a move requested by the head of the Defense Department's Cyber Command. The expansion is meant to bolster the U.S.' ability to defend critical computer systems, as well as carry out offensive campaigns against adversaries.
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Saudi Blogger Won't Face Death on Apostasy Accusation January 23, 2013 
A court in Saudi Arabia reportedly has declined to hear the case of Raif Badawi, a liberal blogger who was accused of apostasy. Apostasy,defined as the abandonment of one's faith, is a particularly grievous charge in Islam. Had it been so inclined, the court that turned down the case could have sentenced Badawi to death. As it stands, Badawi's charge was referred to a lower court.
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Dotcom Fights the Law With New Mega Site January 21, 2013 
Kim Dotcom on Sunday opened the doors to the new file-sharing website Mega. The site is making a splash in the file-sharing world with its promise of exceptional privacy and security. That is not the only reason Mega's debut is notable, though: Dotcom is the founder of Megaupload, which was shut down by U.S. authorities following indictments for piracy against Dotcom and others.
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Google's Schmidt Pitches Android to Chinese Devs January 15, 2013 
Fresh off his trip to North Korea -- and right behind Apple CEO Tim Cook's trip to China -- Google chairman Eric Schmidt joined a panel discussion at the "Geek Park" conference in Beijing. Schmidt reportedly reminded the developers in attendance that despite Apple's popularity in China -- the iPhone 5 sold more than 2 million units in one weekend -- Android is still the top dog in the Middle Kingdom.
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The UK's Tangled Antipiracy Web January 12, 2013 
In the battle against online piracy, industry and government officials tend to cast a wide net in blocking suspected piracy-enabling websites. Sometimes this process results in the removal of sites that have nothing to do with piracy. Last April, the UK ordered Internet service providers to block file-sharing site The Pirate Bay.
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US Officials Pin Bank Hack Attack on Iran January 09, 2013 
U.S. government officials and security experts are convinced that a recent cyberattack on American banks was executed by Iran. The U.S. has not yet divulged any evidence to corroborate their accusations, but security experts reportedly say the attack displayed a level of sophistication not possible for an amateur.
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France Thwarts ISP's Ad-Blocking Swipe at Google January 07, 2013 
France reportedly has stymied an Internet service provider's attempt to let users block ads. Free, a French telecommunications company with more than 5 million users, had said it would allow its customers to block online advertising. Google, the world leader in online advertising, was mum about Free's move, which "raised alarm among companies" that subsist off of paid advertisements.
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Mr. Schmidt Goes to North Korea January 03, 2013 
Don't expect google.nk anytime soon, but hey, it's a start. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, will travel to North Korea for a private, humanitarian mission. The trip, to be led by former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, will mark the first time a top exec from Google has gone to North Korea, which is among the world leaders in backwards Internet policies.
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USC Report Links Ad Networks to Piracy Sites January 03, 2013 
Kim Dotcom didn't make his millions from the illegal downloads that took place on Megaupload, the now-defunct site he ran. Rather, he mostly made his money from ads that ran on the illegal download site, which highlights a need for ad networks to do a better job policing their stable of publishers.
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Thieves Knock Off Apple Store in Paris January 02, 2013 
On New Year's Eve, armed burglars lifted thousands of dollars -- and potentially more than $1 million -- worth of merchandise from an Apple store in central Paris. The hit targeted a flagship Apple store, which carried a full array of products including iPhones, iPads and Macs. Police declined to comment on reports that put the damage at $1.32 million. The thieves were reportedly masked and escaped in a van.
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Man Bites Dog: China Fines Apple for Copyright Infringement December 28, 2012 
A Chinese court fined Apple 1 million yuan, or roughly $160,000, because its App Store hosted third-party applications that were peddling pirated e-books. The ruling stems from a suit brought by a group of Chinese authors earlier this year. The group originally was seeking 10 million yuan.
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Google in Talks to Resolve Antitrust Issues in Europe December 18, 2012 
While Google is poised to agree to changes in the way it displays search
results and skirt an antitrust investigation in the U.S., things are still unresolved with the European Commission. Google is reportedly still negotiating with European Commission antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia.
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Brit Music Industry to Haul Pirate Party to Court December 11, 2012 
Britain's music industry body is preparing to take the Pirate Party UK to court for offering access to The Pirate Bay, which has been blocked in the UK. The British Pirate Party has set up a proxy service that allows users to circumvent the UK's ban on The Pirate Bay,
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