Security

The fixes Sony made to its PlayStation Network last year after its system was hacked may not have made it impenetrable: Reports are circulating that the hacktivist group Anonymous has breached the network again. The rumors started with a tweet posted to the group's account that has since been taken ...

Why does Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak think cloud-based computing will bring "horrible problems" over the next few years? Sounds crazy, but to tell you the truth I think Woz is correct -- to a point. The more we transfer everything to the cloud, the less control we will have over it, according to W...

Facebook announced Tuesday that it is testing a new ad program for mobile apps in a limited beta. The system is aimed at iOS and Android developers who want to grow the audience for their apps, according to Facebook engineer Vijaye Raji. Anyone who clicks on an ad for an app will be sent to the App ...

Amazon and Apple changed some of their security policies this week after tech journalist Mat Honan claimed an identity theft incident involving the two companies allowed a hacker to wipe out much of his personal online data. Both Amazon and Apple put an end to policies that allowed customers to cha...

Privacy in the cloud may be an illusion, given the known cybersecurity risks, not to mention the laws in the U.S. and around the world that permit government agencies relatively easy access to remote data including data stored in the cloud. Of course, businesses have relied on storing data in the cl...

eBay may expand its customer base by opening the site to online shoppers under the age of 18. The etailer is considering plans that would allow users between the ages of 13 and 17 to buy and sell eBay's offerings online. Children under the age of 13 are protected under the Children's Online Privacy ...

Moscow resident Dmitry Olegovich Zubakha, 25, suspected of launching two denial-of-service attacks against Amazon in 2008, has been arrested in Cyprus via an international warrant. Amazon experienced a sharp drop in orders during the attacks as legitimate customers were unable to complete their tran...

The burgeoning market for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets is not only affecting consumer use of information technology, but also having an impact on the private sector workplace. The mobile IT market is clearly hot. Worldwide shipments of major brand smartphones increased by 50 percen...

Google is about to be smacked with the highest fine ever levied by the Federal Trade Commission -- $22.5 million -- according to reports. The search engine is expected to agree to the stiff penalty to put to rest the agency's concerns over its apparent privacy violations in connection with Apple's S...

In response to increasingly aggressive ads in free mobile apps, mobile security firm Lookout on Monday released guidelines to protect consumer privacy and security and promote responsibility among advertisers. The guidelines offer mobile ad providers information about how to target advertising, whil...

The U.S. government's push to utilize cloud-based technology will eventually lead to some blockbuster contracts -- many well over $10 million and others for even more than $100 million. Consider that just one contract in the current batch -- a cloud deal for email services at the U.S. Interior Depar...

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested dozens of alleged cybercriminals in an international sting to crack down on Internet fraudsters. The arrests were the result of a two-year global sting operation conducted by the FBI and designed to nab hackers in "carding" crimes, in which perpe...

Facebook is shelling out $10 million in a settlement that will allow it to keep its Sponsored Stories advertising program on the site but will saddle it with new restrictions. The Sponsored Stories system on Facebook is meant to help ads get more exposure. When a user checks into a location or "like...

Social media giants are teaming up with nonprofit website StopBadware to create the Ads Integrity Alliance, which will counter so-called bad ads and work to create trust within the online advertising industry. Facebook, Google, Twitter, AOL and the Interactive Advertising Bureau announced Thursday t...

When companies started issuing BlackBerry phones, the world changed. With the advent of the iPhone and Android, the world changed again. Employees started using the newer, hotter technologies, and many carried the company BlackBerry and the iPhone or an Android handset but did not like carrying one ...