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Google defies China, hacker heads to the clink

26.03.2010
The battle between China and Google dominated the headlines this week after Google decided to stop censoring its search results. China also caused some grief with a U.S. Internet domain registrar after it demanded detailed information on the people who registered Web sites in China. Hackers looking to make a lucrative living by selling pilfered credit card information may want to rethink their career options, as the person responsible for committing what is believed to be the largest data breach ever was sentenced to three 20-year prison terms this week. Finally, the CTIA Wireless show brought more news about future phones and how femtocells may finally be ready for use in people's homes.

1. and : Google defied China's government on Monday and fulfilled its pledge to stop censoring search results from its Chinese search engine. Users who visited Google.cn were directed to Google's Hong Kong search engine, which delivers information on topics that the Chinese government deems politically controversial and bans search engines from displaying. The row began in January when Google claimed Chinese hackers attacked its servers and it threatened to exit the country or offer unrestricted Web searches. The Chinese government criticized Google's decision but has yet to block access to Google.cn.

2. and : The hacker who orchestrated one of the largest cybercrime identity heists ever -- if not the largest -- was sentenced to three 20-year prison terms on Thursday and Friday. Albert Gonzalez, 28, played the lead role in organizing hacks that netted credit card numbers from major U.S. retailers including TJX, Office Max and DSW. Prosecutors said Gonzalez and his co-conspirators acquired millions of credit and debit card numbers, but attorneys for the prosecution and defense agreed that attaching a dollar amount and victim count to the crimes may prove impossible. However, the companies that were affected by the hack claimed the crime cost millions of dollars, with TJX putting the figure at $171.5 million.

3. : Google isn't the only U.S. company taking on China's Internet policies. Domain name registrar GoDaddy.com will stop registering .cn domains in China after the country's government demanded information on previously registered domain names. The Chinese government wanted GoDaddy to provide it with photo identification, business identification and a signed registration for owners of all .cn domains that the company has registered during its six years in China. Concerns about the safety of the individuals registering the domains and the threat this posed to an open Internet prompted GoDaddy's decision, a company executive said. The Chinese government claimed that the domains would not work if the domain registrar failed to fulfill its information request.

4. : We promise this is the last reference to China and security this week. A networking glitch caused some computers in the U.S. and Chile to be redirected to bogus addresses when they tried to visit Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It appears that at least one Internet service provider began fetching DNS (domain name server) information from a server in China, effectively spreading China's Internet censorship -- the so-called Great Firewall of China -- overseas. Security experts were still uncertain what caused this problem.

5. , , and : Anyone with an interest in wireless communication turned their attention to the CTIA convention in Las Vegas this week. Nokia used the event to discuss how it will use Symbian smartphones to capture a greater share of the U.S. smartphone market. Verizon Wireless announced at the show that starting this week, some of its customers can download the Skype Mobile application. AT&T also announced plans for a national rollout of its version of a femtocell, a tiny base station that can boost broadband coverage in homes and other locations.