The hacker collective known as Anonymous has expressed interest in hacking industrial systems that control critical infrastructures, such as gas and oil pipelines, chemical plants and water and sewage treatment facilities, according to a Department of Homeland Security bulletin. But DHS doubts the anarchic group has the necessary skills. At least ...

Victoria Espinel, U.S. copyright czar Top-ranking Obama administration officials, including the U.S. copyright czar, played an active role in secret negotiations between Hollywood, the recording industry and ISPs to disrupt internet access for users suspected of violating copyright law, according to internal White House e-mails. The e-mails, obtained via the Freedom of ...

A Florida man who was arrested on charges that he hacked the e-mail accounts of actress Scarlett Johansson and at least 49 other celebrities and their friends says he’s glad he got caught because he was addicted to the hacking and couldn’t stop. Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Florida, told a ...

Two young men involved in the sale of an iPhone 4 prototype found in a Silicon Valley bar last year pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of theft Tuesday, putting an end to the drawn-out drama. The two have each been sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of community ...

More than 100 people, including a New York attorney, have been indicted in what is being termed the largest identity theft case ever prosecuted in the United States. The ring allegedly involved corrupt insiders at banks, stores and restaurants stealing customer data. The suspects, members of five criminal gangs that operated ...

Defense attorney William DuBois, left, and defendant Hans Reiser in court in 2007. Linux programmer Hans Reiser, who in 2008 was found guilty of murdering his estranged wife in Oakland, California, is going to federal court to demand a new trial, claiming his attorney forced him to take the stand against ...

The nation’s major mobile-phone providers are keeping a treasure trove of sensitive data on their customers, according to newly-released Justice Department internal memo that for the first time reveals the data retention policies of America’s largest telecoms. The single-page Department of Justice document, “Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers,” (.pdf) ...

A former WikiLeaks spokesman under fire for recently destroying thousands of unpublished documents submitted to the secret-spilling site last year says WikiLeaks is publicly exaggerating the contents of the deleted files, in an increasingly ugly dispute playing out over Twitter and in the press. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange “was aware of ...

The X10 jammer designed by researchers to hack home automation systems through power lines. Photo courtesy of David Kennedy and Rob Simon LAS VEGAS – Hacking the grid took on new meaning at the DefCon hacker conference on Friday when two independent security researchers demonstrated two tools they designed to hack ...

A hacker who boasted that he was responsible for stealing and posting provocative pictures stolen from Miley Cyrus’ Gmail account pleaded guilty on Monday to other charges involving credit card fraud and hacking. Josh Holly, 21, pleaded guilty to possessing about 200 stolen credit card numbers, and to breaching celebrity MySpace ...