Making headway against hackers? (week in review)

Law enforcement officers make a high-profile arrest in the fight against hacking mayhem, while ICANN approves expansion of top-level domains. Also: Apple scores a significant touch-screen patent.

by Steven Musil June 24, 2011 9:20 AM PDT Follow @stevenmusil

Law enforcement officers may feel they've made a dent in the fight against hackers, but that doesn't seem to be stemming the tide of activity.

A 19-year-old U.K. man has been arrested on suspicion of hacking and online attacks by the U.K.'s Metropolitan Police. Sky News reported early on that the teenager is the mastermind behind LulzSec, a prominent hacking group that has wreaked havoc on several companies and government organizations of late. However, the Metropolitan Police's e-Crime Unit stopped short of saying whether the man in custody might be connected to LulzSec.

LulzSec seemed amused by the arrest, with a cheeky post to its Twitter account that it's still in operation. "Seems the glorious leader of LulzSec got arrested," the group wrote on its Twitter account. "It all over now. Wait, we're all still here! Which poor bastard did they take down?"

But then the group posted the names of two people it accuses of assisting in helping track down a teen suspected of being the notorious group's mastermind.

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old San Francisco man pleaded guilty to conspiracy and ID theft charges related to his part in accessing iPad customer data on an AT&T Web site a year ago and publicizing it. Daniel Spitler reportedly wrote a script called the "iPad 3G Account Slurper" and used it against AT&T servers in June 2010 to harvest e-mail addresses and associated unique iPad numbers.
• With Anonymous and LulzSec, is anyone believable?
• LulzSec, Anonymous announce hacking campaign
• LulzSec takes down Brazil government sites
• Network Solutions suffers two DDoS attacks
• LulzSec releases Arizona law enforcement data

More headlines

ICANN approves expansion of top-level domains

Vote means domains will be able to end in almost any word, allowing companies to turn their brands into Internet extensions.
• New Net addresses mean new trademark issues

FTC, Senate rachet up Google antitrust probes

The Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Senate appear to be stepping up their antitrust investigations of Google, a development that follows more formal investigations already under way in Europe.

Apple scores broad patent on touch screens

Patent describes how a touch screen is used to interact with contents on a display. And given Apple's recent history with patent lawsuits, it could prove to be a very useful tool in litigation.
• A brief history of Apple's mobile-tech patent battles
• Apple's new multitouch patent (FAQ)

Winklevoss twins press Facebook case in Boston

A new motion asks the court to determine whether Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, "intentionally or inadvertently suppressed evidence" in their dispute.
• Winklevoss twins drop Facebook lawsuit
• Facebook to surge by Yahoo as No. 1 in display ads
• New Facebook app designed to thwart hackers
• Skype delivers deeper Facebook integration

Amazon adds free videos, pushing Prime

In an effort to add more Prime membership subscribers, Amazon is bulking up its Prime Instant Video streaming service with a 1,000 more free movies and TV shows.
• Amazon's tablet to launch in August?

Microsoft chasing Apple app lead with money

Trailing badly in the number of apps available for Windows Phones, Microsoft is hosting code camps to help creative developers gin up must-have programs.
• Judge likely to deny Apple's 'Appstore' complaint
• Apple sends cease-and-desist over 'App Store'

Congresswoman wants carriers to come clean on 4G

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) introduces bill requiring wireless operators to provide more information about the speed, reliability, and coverage of their 4G service at the point of sale to clear up confusion.
• FCC to fight 'mystery fees' on phone bills
• T-Mobile responds to opponents of AT&T merger