Stories by Jaikumar Vijayan

Schnucks wants federal court to handle data breach lawsuit

St. Louis-based grocery chain Schnuck Markets has claimed that a potential class action lawsuit filed against it in an Illinois state court over a recent data breach really belongs in federal court because of the case's scope and damages involved

U.S. urged to let companies 'hack-back' at IP cyber thieves

U.S. companies should be allowed to take aggressive countermeasures against hackers seeking to steal their intellectual property, contends the private Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property.

Chinese hackers master art of lying low

China's remarkable success in infiltrating U.S. government, military and corporate networks in recent years shouldn't be seen as a sign that the country is gaining on the U.S. lead in cybertechnology, security experts say. They're just very persistent and very good at remaining undetected for long periods of time.

Texas drone bill sparks a battle

The battle to find a balance between privacy concerns and the beneficial use of drones for commercial and law enforcement purposes is in sharp focus in a bill that's winding its way through the Texas legislature.

Google allowing Android app vendors to illegally collect user data, lawsuit alleges

Several users of devices running Google's Android operating system have filed an amended version of an earlier lawsuit accusing the company of illegally collecting, and allowing others to collect, extensive amounts of mobile user data without proper notice or consent.

State social media privacy laws a mixed bag for businesses

New social media privacy laws that have been enacted in several states around the country, or are in the works, present something of a mixed bag for businesses.

First California lawsuit over mobile privacy issues crashes

A California state court has dismissed a closely watched lawsuit charging that Delta Air Lines failed to comply with state privacy laws for mobile applications

Bank security weaknesses led to cyber looting of $45M from ATMs

Alberto Yusi Lajud Pena, found dead in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago, was the leader of the New York cell of an international gang of cyber thieves that authorities allege stole a staggering $45 million from ATM machines around the world.

Bill would put mobile app vendors on the hook for privacy

The mobile industry's efforts to convince lawmakers that self-regulation alone is the best way to address growing concerns over privacy-invading mobile applications appears to be running into some headwind.

Chinese hackers master the art of lying in wait

The remarkable success that Chinese state-sponsored groups have had in infiltrating U.S. government, military and corporate networks in recent years should not be mistaken as a sign of growing technical superiority over the U.S. in cyberspace, security experts said.

Pentagon accuses China of cyberattacks on U.S military, business targets

Chinese cyberespionage activities are fueling a rapid modernization of the country's defense and high tech industries, the Pentagon said in an unusually candid assessment of China's military and security developments last year.

Florida restricts use of drones by law enforcement officials

A new Florida law restricts the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, by state law enforcement officials. It's the first law of its kind in the country.

Spy court OK'd all U.S. wiretap requests it received in 2012

A special court established to review government requests for warrants to conduct electronic surveillance of suspected foreign spies received close to 1,900 warrant requests last year -- all of which it approved.

Breached dam data poses no threat to public, Army says

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today downplayed the significance of a recent incident of unauthorized access to a database containing potentially sensitive information on thousands of high hazard dams across the country.

Printers, routers used as bots in DDoS attacks

Printers, routers, IP cameras, sensors and other Internet-connected devices are increasingly used to launch large distributed denial of service attacks, security firm Prolexic warned in a report this week.