US Federal Court Sentences Hacker to Unprecedented Jail Time

The US Federal District Court in Seattle, Washington has sentenced a 32 year old Russian hacker to 27 years in prison –  the longest sentence ever imposed by a US Court for cybercrimes. The hacker, who is the son of a Russian member of parliament, was convicted of running an identity theft and credit fraud network and selling millions of ...

Israeli Legislature Advances Copyright Law Amendments for Combatting Online Infringements

The Knesset, the Israeli legislature, has voted to approve first reading of the Copyright Law Amendment Bill aimed at enhancing copyright holders’ rights in light of the difficulties they face in enforcing infringements committed on or through the Internet. The Bill emphasizes that it targets commercial-oriented online infringements and does not address enforcement against end users.

The Bill seeks to ...

Massachusetts Enforcement Action Prohibits Ad Company from ‘Geofencing’ Around Healthcare Facilities

A digital advertising company that was hired to use mobile geofencing technology to target women entering reproductive health facilities has been prohibited from doing so in Massachusetts pursuant to a settlement announced by the Massachusetts Attorney General in early April.

The company, Copley Advertising, was hired in the spring of 2015 to direct targeted ads using geofencing to “abortion-minded women” ...

Court of Justice of the EU Holds Movie Streaming Application Infringes Copyrights in the Movies

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that a multimedia player distributed for a fee which enables its users to view on their television screens movies that originate from pirated websites is liable for copyright infringement of the movies viewed through it.

The player in question, 'filmspeler', offers a functionality that retrieves desired content from streaming websites ...

Israeli Banks Permitted to Bar Bitcoin-Related Banking Activities

Can Israeli commercial banks refuse to allow companies engaging in Bitcoin trading to use their bank accounts for transactions related to Bitcoin trading? In a landmark decision issued earlier this month, an Israeli district court answered this question in the affirmative.

The petitioner, Bits of Gold Ltd., is an Israeli company dealing in Bitcoin trading. It opened a bank account ...

Nuances in the User Interface of Smartphone Apps are Critical to the Enforceability of their Terms of Use

A recent decision delivered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California illustrates how deficiencies in a smartphone app’s user interface can be fatal when the app’s operator attempts to shield itself from consumer litigation by leveraging the protections it has drafted into its terms of use.

Uber Technologies was sued in a putative class action lawsuit. ...

Israeli Defense Establishment Opposes Cyber Bill as a Major Cyber Attack Waged Against Israel is Blocked

The Israeli National Cyber Defense Authority has reportedly blocked a major cyber-attack against numerous organizations. In an uncustomary press release, the Authority revealed that “evidence has accumulated indicating that a cyber-attack was planned against numerous organizations in the Israeli economy. The attacker impersonated a legitimate organization, sending emails seeming to be on the organization’s behalf, in an attempt to attack ...