Articles Posted in Cyber Security

More Google Cookie Placement Suits Consolidated After Ruling by Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Updated: by

Several privacy lawsuits against Google, Inc. have been consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware following a ruling by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML). In In Re: Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation, the JPML found that "eight actions involve common questions of…

Marino CLE lawsuit accuses ex-employee of CFAA violations, trade secret theft Updated: by

A continuing legal education company headed by Joseph Marino (inset, left), the legendary force behind a 65-year-old family-owned New York and New Jersey bar exam course, sued a former employee for alleged theft of "invaluable data" from his more recent CLE company's business. The Marino Institute of Continuing Legal Education,…

Kurt Mix, ex-BP Engineer, Charged with Deleting Text Messages About Deepwater Horizon Spill Updated: by

If you think that texting is so '90s, guess again. A new criminal case against former BP employee Kurt Mix is an important reminder that, while social networks like Facebook and Twitter may be all the rage, deleting work-related text messages from your mobile phone might get you in trouble…

Yahoo Mail Sender’s Class-Action Lawsuit: Revealing My Name in Email Violates TOS Updated: by

Yahoo! Mail user Albert Rudgayzer sued the Silicon Valley web portal yesterday, charging that Yahoo's revelation of users first and last names when they send email violates the portal's own Terms of Service ('TOS'), constituting a breach of contract. He seeks relief under federal and California state law. Rudgayzer, a…

Class Action Charges Apple iOS and Android Apps ‘Harvested’ Users’ Address Book Data Updated: by

A new federal class action lawsuit (see below) charges that a host of well-known social media, app, and mobile device companies stole "literally billions of contacts" from users' personal address books by illegally 'harvesting' personal data on the sly, without their knowledge or consent. The 152-page complaint seeks monetary damages…

Feds Had Inside Hacker Help from ‘Sabu’ to Charge Alleged Anonymous, LulzSec Members Updated: by

According to court documents (see below), the FBI and federal prosecutors got help from hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur a/k/a 'Sabu' a/k/a 'Xavier DeLeon' a/k/a 'Leon' to build cases against other alleged members of Anonymous, LulzSec, Internet Feds, and AntiSec hacker groups. U.S. authorities charged five accused hackers with federal criminal…

SunPower Sues SolarCity and ex-Employees Over Trade Secrets, Alleging Theft of “Tens-of-Thousands” of Files Updated: by

Silicon Valley-based solar panel giant SunPower sued five former employees and competitor SolarCity today, contending that shortly before they left SunPower, the employees connected USB drives to the company's computer network, "and used them to steal tens-of-thousands of computer files" with confidential and non-confidential proprietary information. In addition to civil…

Pre-Super Bowl IP Offensive: DOJ Charges One with Criminal Sports Broadcast Piracy, Seizes Counterfeit Merchandise Updated: by

In pre-Super Bowl style, prosecutors charged a Michigan man with criminal copyright violations for allegedly operating nine (9) websites chock full of pirated sports broadcast videos (read the complaint below). Separately, federal agents also seized a purported $4.8 million in knock-off Super Bowl merchandise imported into the U.S. The U.S.…

Facebook, Washington State Lawsuits Charge Adscend Media with ‘Likejacking’ Affiliate Marketing Spam Updated: by

Facebook and Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed lawsuits today (see below) accusing affiliate marketer Adscend Media, LLC along with company co-founders Jeremy Bash and Fehzan Ali of engaging in 'likejacking' a/k/a 'clickjacking' to deceive and trick users into giving out their personal information. "Likejacking" describes the sleazy practice…

Silicon Valley’s Most Embarassing HR Antitrust Case Begets a Class-Action Updated: by

You would think that Silicon Valley giants would compensate their employees well, support their professional growth, and know that a time will come when they leave for greener pastures. C-level execs at Apple, Google, Adobe, Pixar, Intel, Intuit, and Lucasfilm apparently thought, acted, and communicated differently, however, according to newly…