Security News
Google has won a lawsuit filed against two Russian nationals in connection with the operation of a botnet called Glupteba, the company said last week. The defendants' move to press sanctions against Google was denied.
Google sued Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov - along with 15 other John and Jane Does - in December 2021, saying in the original complaint [PDF] that the botnet "Is distinguished from conventional botnets in its technical sophistication: unlike other botnets, the Glupteba botnet leverages blockchain technology to protect itself from disruption." Judge Cote said in her opinion and order [PDF] that the Defendants had "Attempted to negotiate a discovery plan in bad faith, requesting an exchange of electronic devices" - although they knew they could not provide the devices they said they had. According to the judge, the defendants and their lawyer told Google that pertinent discovery information was held by their former employer Valtron LLC,, a limited liability company based in Moscow.
Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle a privacy lawsuit filed by a coalition of attorneys general from 40 U.S. states. The settlement shows that the U.S. attorneys general discovered while investigating a 2018 Associated Press article that the search giant misled Android users and tracked their locations since at least 2014 even when they thought location tracking was disabled.
Coinbase announced on Tuesday that it is funding a lawsuit brought by six people in the U.S. against the Department of Treasury's for the sanctions on the Tornado Cash open-source cryptocurrency mixer platform. "In the Tornado Cash action, OFAC did not target the bad actors or the property controlled by those actors; instead, it took the unprecedented step of sanctioning open source technology - a tool legitimately used by many innocent people even if also by some bad actors," reads the Coinbase announcement.
A Moscow Arbitration Court has reportedly seized almost $11 million belonging to Dell LLC after the company failed to provide paid-for services to a local system integrator. IT systems integrator Talmer sued Dell early last month when the American computer giant declined to provide technical support services for VMware as previously agreed.
On 6th December 2021, the New Jersey Superior Court granted partial summary judgment in favour of Merck and International Indemnity, declaring that the War or Hostile Acts exclusion was inapplicable to the dispute. Merck suffered US$1.4 billion in business interruption losses from the Notpetya cyber attack of 2017 which were claimed against "All risks" property re/insurance policies providing coverage for losses resulting from destruction or corruption of computer data and software.
Activision, publisher of the enormously popular gaming franchise Call of Duty, has taken an extraordinary step to try and shut down cheat software by suing the popular site EngineOwning. EO cheats for Call of Duty include "Aimbots" which automatically train the shooter's weapon on the opponent; "Triggerbots" that automatically fire at another player when they become visible on-screen; and a feature the lawsuit calls "ESP and 2D/3D Radar," which allows gamers to see opposing players through walls.
In tandem, Google also filed a lawsuit against the botnet's operators. "And at any moment, the power of the Glupteba botnet could be leveraged for use in a powerful ransomware or distributed denial-of-service attack," Google noted in its lawsuit, shared with Threatpost on Tuesday.
The complaint alleges that the maker of the infamous Pegasus mobile spyware is responsible for the illegal surveillance of Apple users. "In a free society, it is unacceptable to weaponize powerful state-sponsored spyware against those who seek to make the world a better place," said Ivan Krstić, head of apple security engineering and architecture, in an Apple statement, issued Monday.
The humble PC continues to bring home the bacon for Dell, with shipments to corporate customers going through the roof, in spite of previous worries about shortages and price hikes. Things are less rosy at HP, which has been caught out by the recent collapse in Chromebook orders.