Roy Mark

The United States is lifting trade sanctions against the Ukraine in recognition of the country’s latest efforts to protect intellectual property (IP) rights. In July, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a set of amendments to Ukraine’s Laser-Readable Disk Law designed to strengthen the country’s licensing regime and enforcement efforts. “This recent legislative action by Ukraine is […]

Telephone carriers are not adequately protecting the personal information of subscribers, increasing consumer vulnerability to identity theft, fraud and online stalkers. According to the privacy watchdog Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), carriers are often duped into providing customers’ personal data, including the personal call logs of subscribers. EPIC says the information is then bought and […]

In the first criminal Internet file-sharing case brought in California, a 34-year-old former Los Angeles resident pleaded guilty over the weekend to single felony count of grand theft. Jed Frederick Kobles faces up to three years in prison for running an Internet file-sharing hub for trading movies, TV shows, music and games. Kobles, who now […]

Government agencies are making progress, but are still not completely complying with federal rules regarding data mining and personal information, according to a new report from the General Accountability Office (GAO). Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government has increasingly turned to the controversial practice of data mining — a technique for […]

Intelsat is acquiring PanAmSat for $3.2 billion in cash. If the deal receives regulatory approval, the combined companies will control a fleet of 53 satellites to deliver digital content and services such as broadband in more than 200 countries. PanAmSat brings a video-centric customer base to deal, including leading providers of cable TV programming. Intelsat’s […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday gave Voice over IP providers another 30 days to inform their Internet telephone subscribers of the E911 limitations that come with the service. Under the new FCC order, customers who do not acknowledge the limitations will have their service cut off on Sept. 28, although the FCC left […]

Advocates of government-subsidized competitor access to the big broadband pipelines of cable companies and incumbent telephone carriers are turning their increasingly lonely eyes to Congress to rectify what they see as misguided public policy. After all, there’s no place left for them to go. In a crushing blow to consumer and media access advocates of […]

A Phoenix federal grand injury has indicted three individuals for multiple violations of the CAN SPAM Act including sending unsolicited obscene materials, money laundering and criminal conspiracy. A fourth defendant in the alleged conspiracy has already pleaded guilty and marks the first CAN SPAM conviction related to the transmission of obscene e-mail. According to the […]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has given the United States until April to clarify its laws permitting Internet betting on horse racing but banning all other types of online gambling. Washington hopes the clarification will end the long-running trade dispute with the tiny Caribbean island nation of Antigua, which is attempting to rebuild its hurricane […]

An online intruder has disappeared into the wild blue yonder with personal data on approximately half of the U.S. Air Force’s 70,000 officers. The information stolen includes birth dates and Social Security numbers on about 33,000 officers, military officials confirmed Friday. The hacker apparently used a legitimate user’s login information to access and/or download individuals’ […]

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has granted Verizon’s Federal Network Systems (FNS) unit with strategic supplier status under a new memorandum of understanding (MOU). The deal recognizes Verizon FNS’ strategic value as a provider of telecommunications operations and maintenance services vital to SNL’s operations, one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) largest and most diverse […]

Secure Computing Corp. is acquiring IT security rival CyberGuard in a $295 million stock and cash deal. The transaction combines the two market leaders in the application proxy firewall space. Under the agreement, the San Jose, Calif.-based Secure Computing will issue 0.5 shares of its common stock and $2.73 in cash for each outstanding share […]