ZDNet
Yahoo is informing some users that their accounts were accessed in 2015 and 2016 by hackers. Hackers apparently gained access without passwords by forging cookies; they were able to do so by stealing Yahoo's source code in an earlier data breach. "Our outside forensic experts have been investigating the creation of forged cookies that could allow an intruder to access users' accounts without a password," the company said in a notice to some users. "Based on the ongoing investigation, we believe a forged cookie may have been …
The Verge
House Republicans are seeking an investigation into reports that Environmental Protection Agency officials are using encrypted messaging apps to formulate a strategy for handling the Trump administration. The lawmakers suggest that the use of encrypted apps may violate the Freedom of Information Act.
Dslreports
A&T will roll out Gigabit broadband service this month to new markets in South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Louisiana. The company says it expects to offer GB fiber to around 12.5 million households by 2019.
Arstechnica
Researchers from Lehigh University say they have discovered a new form of device fingerprinting that can now track people across more than one browser. "From the negative perspective, people can use our cross-browser tracking to violate users' privacy by providing customized ads," assistant professor Yinzhi Cao told Ars Technica. "Our work makes the scenario even worse, because after the user switches browsers, the ads company can still recognize the user."
Reuters
New FCC Chair Ajit Pai refused to divulge to Reuters the details of his strategy to roll back the net neutrality rules. But Pai reiterated his opposition to the recent regulations, which reclassified broadband as a common carrier service. "Before the imposition of these Depression-era rules, we had for 20 years a bipartisan consensus on a regulatory model," he said.
Arstechnica
Oracle is asking an appellate court to overturn a jury's decision that Google's use of copyrighted code in Android was a fair use. "When a plagiarist takes the most recognizable portions of a novel and adapts them into a film, the plagiarist commits the 'classic' unfair use," Oracle argues in a brief filed last Friday.
CNBC
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says he believes the company will complete its $85 billion purchase of Time Warner this year. "It will be a one-track review. The Department of Justice will review it," he said on CNBC's SquawkBox. "We still think we'll be closed by end of year."
TechDirt
A proposed Texas cyberbullying bill would allow people to unmask anonymous commenters before beginning legal proceedings. In the past, judges have only ordered Web companies to identify commenters after a complainant has shown that he or she has a potentially valid legal claim.
Slate
FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeny and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey) argue in favor of new privacy rules passed by the Federal Communications Commission. "These new rules were aimed at providing people with a choice about whether to allow their carriers and cable companies to use and share their sensitive personal information," the two write in Slate. "They are remarkably similar to the enforcement practices of the FTC’s long-standing and successful privacy program."
The Roanoke Times
Lawmakers in Virginia have passed a contested carrier-backed municipal broadband bill by a vote of 72-24. The measure, which has been significantly pared down from an original version, requires muni-broadband operators to keep "transparent records." But critics say the revised bill "still favors legacy telecommunications providers like Cox Communications and Comcast over municipal providers, and could allow legacy companies to request confidential proprietary information about their competitors," according to The Roanoke Times.