Twitter Simplifies Filing Police Reports On Threatening Users
March 19, 2015 | Technology
After acknowledging that it has a harassment problem and subsequently releasing new policies and procedures to combat abuse, Twitter is also now rolling out a more efficient way to report threats to the police.
Now, when you file a report on a threatening tweet, you’ll see an option to send yourself a copy of your report via email. Once you click “Email report,” you’ll receive a message with the threatening tweet, its URL, the responsible user’s account name and URL, as well as your own information and a timestamp.
The message will a…
'Dark Web' Keeps Criminals Out Of Reach Of Metadata Retention Laws
March 19, 2015 | Technology
Criminals and terrorists are taking cover in a part of the web that can't be Googled. It's called the 'dark web', and data retention laws will do nothing to help police track its most dangerous users, experts say.
If you've followed the rise and the fall of the online drug store Silk Road, you know of at least one website on the dark web — a space that Google doesn't index, and that from time to time causes headaches for law enforcement and security agencies.
The recent guilty verdict for the Silk Road's ringleader however demonst…
Hackers Steal 1 Billion Email Addresses In Spam Scheme
March 7, 2015 | Technology
Computer hackers stole 1 billion email addresses from US marketing companies in what federal authorities called one of the largest reported data breaches in history.
Three people were indicted on federal charges after they allegedly netted US$2 million in commissions from millions of spam emails that routed recipients to websites selling software and other products.
That means the defendants would have averaged just a fraction of a penny for each of the stolen email addresses. Still, authorities said the case is significant because o…
Apple & Android Browsers Open To 'FREAK Attack'
March 5, 2015 | Technology
Millions of people may have been left vulnerable to hackers while surfing the web on Apple and Google devices, thanks to a newly discovered security flaw known as "FREAK attack."
There's no evidence so far that any hackers have exploited the weakness, which companies are now moving to repair. Researchers blame the problem on an old government policy, abandoned over a decade ago, which required U.S. software makers to use weaker security in encryption programs sold overseas due to national security concerns.
Many popular websites and …
Privacy Glasses Make You Invisible To Facial Recognition
March 3, 2015 | Technology
You're going out with friends mid-week, and you don't want the boss/significant other/parole officer to find out. But it's a birthday celebration, and Facebook's auto-tagging the pictures your buddies upload like a dirty snitch.
The first piece of advice: never "friend" your parole officer. The second? Maybe grab a pair of these "privacy" glasses from software security firm AVG.
You, of course, can see the model's visage above, but AVG claims the technology in the specs means facial recognition software (like that of Facebook) will n…
Web Trolls Are Swamping Police - Calls For Lifetime Social Media Bans
March 3, 2015 | Technology
Jeremy Armstrong of the Mirror.co.uk reports:
"A UK chief constable is calling on Facebook and Twitter to ban trolls for life as social media places a huge strain on police resources.
Mike Barton, head of Durham Police, says there was a 40 per cent rise in charges relating to improper use of electronic messages in England from 2010-13.
And he warns those figures ‘do not tell the full story’, with officers around the country ‘inundated’ with complaints about harassment and abuse.
Scores of celebrities, sports stars, MPs and actors …
Serving Documents Via Facebook
March 2, 2015 | Technology
We are able to assist in serving defendants via Facebook.
Posting on a recipient’s Facebook page is a permissible means of substituted service if evidence establishes that the Facebook page is, in fact, that of the person to be served and the posting is likely to come to that person’s attention – at the place he is to be served – in a timely fashion.
Refer CIV-2008-485-2676, High Court Wellington, 16 March 2009, Gendall AJ.
Call us on 0800 747 633 or click here to email us for more information.
Case Law
In March 2009, in Axe Mark…
10 Most Bizarre Facebook Crimes
February 26, 2015 | Technology
Michael Poh reports:
1. Jailed Over Facebook Friend Request
In 2007, Dylan Osborn was ordered by magistrates not to contact his wife after he was found to be harassing her with phone calls and text messages. When he sent a ‘friend request’ via Facebook to her despite the restraining order, Dylan’s wife reported him to the police. He was consequently arrested and sentenced to ten days of imprisonment.
Technical Get-Out-Of-Jail Card
However, in his defense, Osborn claimed that the ‘friend request’ was sent automatically to everyone on…
Warning: You Are Being Recorded
February 23, 2015 | Technology
Real estate agent Mike Pinkney never tells his clients before hitting "record" and doesn't see a reason why he should. He's not the only one.Callers to government department the Ministry for Business Innovation may be surprised to know that Tenancy Services sometimes records callers without telling them, contrary to the Privacy Commission's advice on business best practice.
The recordings are stored for two years, sometimes without the callers ever knowing about them.
The ministry says it plans to change its policy so every caller r…
Clothing Worn in Surveillance Video Traced Back To Criminal Through Facebook
February 19, 2015 | Technology
KTEN reports:
"Social media helped catch a man attempting to break in to a Bells ATM. Last week, 25-year-old Joshua Jordan pleaded guilty to a crime that was solved in part by using Facebook.
When pulling with a chain didn't work, he used a gas saw, but that didn't work either.
Surveillance video from the former First National Bank and Trust of Bells and Savoy shows Jordan and another man try for an hour to remove the ATM.
"In addition to probation, he has to pay back the $25,000 in damage he caused the bank," said Britton Brook…