fbi

More details about sale of Apple, Dell secrets

CNET has obtained a copy of the FBI's complaint against four men who had access to vital trade secrets belonging to such tech companies as Apple, Dell, and AMD, and are accused of repeatedly violating securities laws by selling this information to hedge funds, according to the FBI.

As a result of a sophisticated sting operation that involved wiretaps and recorded phone conversations, FBI agents have arrested the four men on a score of charges that include securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

The government's complaint, filed this week with U.S. District Court for the Southern District … Read more

Report of FBI back door roils OpenBSD community

Allegations that the FBI surreptitiously placed a back door into the OpenBSD operating system have alarmed the computer security community, prompting calls for an audit of the source code and claims that the charges must be a hoax.

The report surfaced in e-mail made public yesterday from a former government contractor, who alleged that he worked with the FBI to implement "a number of back doors" in OpenBSD, which has a reputation for high security and is used in some commercial products.

Gregory Perry, the former chief technologist at the now-defunct contractor Network Security Technology, or NETSEC, said … Read more

Studio didn't report 'Potter' leak to feds

After several blockbuster films have been leaked to the Web and generated lots of press for the movies, the public is increasingly suspicious about whether the studios are orchestrating the piracy.

The most recent example came Tuesday evening, when 36 minutes of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," turned up on file-sharing services. Blogs and online forums overflowed with theories about who leaked the film. "It may be going a little bit too far to suggest that Warner Bros. leaked the film intentionally, but from a business perspective it … Read more

FBI probes 4chan's 'Anonymous' DDoS attacks

The FBI has launched an investigation into an online protest that allegedly took down numerous Web sites belonging to antipiracy and entertainment groups, as well as the U.S. Copyright Office, a source with knowledge of the probe told CNET today.

Over the past two months, a group calling itself "Anonymous," with links to the 4chan Web forum and image board, has launched distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) against Web sites operated by the Motion Picture Association of America, The Recording Industry Association (RIAA), Hustler magazine, rocker Gene Simmons, The British Phonographic Industry, and other similar groups in France, … Read more

Dozens charged in use of Zeus Trojan to steal $3 million

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office in southern New York announced charges today against 37 people accused of being part of an international crime ring that stole $3 million from bank accounts by infecting computers with the Zeus Trojan and other malware.

Between federal and state charges, more than 60 people total are being charged in the operation, officials said.

Ten people were arrested today by federal and New York law enforcement officers and another 10 were previously arrested in the U.S. as part of a coordinated takedown, authorities said. Seventeen people are still being sought … Read more

Report: Feds to push for Net encryption backdoors

The Obama administration will seek a new federal law forcing Internet e-mail, instant-messaging, and other communication providers offering encryption to build in backdoors for law enforcement surveillance, The New York Times reported today.

Communication providers, apparently including companies that offer voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, would be compelled to reconfigure their systems so that police could be guaranteed access to descrambled information.

It could become illegal for a company to offer completely secure encrypted communications--through a protocol such as ZRTP, for instance--if its customers held the keys and the provider did not.

Valerie Caproni, the FBI's general counsel, … Read more

Terrorists, FBI can't sink Blogetery

A month ago, it appeared that Blogetery.com, a blog platform that claims more than 70,000 publications, would never be heard from again.

The service was shut down last month by its Web host after FBI agents alleged the terrorist group al-Qaeda was using the platform to distribute recruiting materials, bomb-making tips, and the names of people targeted by the organization for assassination.

This wasn't enough to spook Alexander Yusupov, Blogetery's operator into giving up on the service. Against all the odds, the Toronto resident brought Blogetery back.

Burst.net, the company that provided Web access for … Read more

Best Clogging the Tubes ever

This week's Buzz Report is one of our best ever, if you're a fan of highly inappropriate humor (and we are). Gadget of the Week: the BlackBerry Torch, plus we check out the news that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are working on banning BlackBerry there because it's too secure. We say goodbye to Google Wave, report the shocking news that the next iPad may have a camera, and take the FBI to task for spending more time on Internet censorship than solving crimes.

Then, things get really good. Clogging the Tubes this week is the amazing autotuned Bed Intruder song, … Read more

FBI wants its seal removed from Wikipedia

Wikipedia has its critics, but now the Federal Bureau of Investigation thinks the online encyclopedia is breaking the law.

In a letter to Wikipedia (PDF) dated July 22 and posted by The New York Times, the FBI demands that its official seal be removed from a Wikipedia article about the FBI because the agency had not approved use of the image.

"The FBI has not authorized use of the FBI seal on Wikipedia," the letter said. "The inclusion of a high quality graphic of the FBI seal on Wikipedia is particularly problematic, because it facilitates both deliberate … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1283: Lying liars and the phones they sell us (podcast)

On today's show, Verizon tries to claim the Motorola Droid doesn't have the hardware to support hotspot tethering with Froyo. And here's the thing: that's a lie. In other news, the BlackBerry Torch hits, Rdio lands, and the FBI is cracking down on coloring books. Or something. I'm a tiny bit incoherent today.