By Shabbi S. Khan Cisco has estimated that there will be 50 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to the Internet by the year 2020. IoT has been a buzzword over the past couple of years. However, the buzz surrounding IoT in the year 2015 has IoT enthusiasts particularly excited. This year, IoT has taken center stage at many conferences around the world, including the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2015...

By Peter S. Vogel The NY Times reported that “regulators are looking at whether Google unfairly uses the software to promote its other dominant services.” The report entitled “ F.T.C. Is Said to Investigate Claims That Google Used Android to Promote Its Products ” is based on the fact that since Google owns the Android that the “Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps, which comes...

By Peter S. Vogel The volume of Ransomware is increasing dramatically after malware is downloaded by unsuspecting employees “encrypts a user or company’s fi­les and forces them to pay a fee to the hacker in order to regain access to their own ­files.” KnowBe4 claims to be the “world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform” recently...

900 MHz Reallocation | Almost a dozen parties filed comments last week in response to the FCC’s Public Notice seeking input on a supplement to the Petition for Rulemaking filed jointly by Pacific DataVision, Inc. (PDV) and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA). The Petition seeks to realign the 900 MHz (896-901/935-940 MHz) Private Land Mobile band by creating a paired 3 MHz segment to be made available for...

By Peter S. Vogel Commissioner Michael O’Rielly (Federal Communication Commission – FCC) has been criticized for “commingling of the words “necessity” and “basic human right.”” Infoworld’s recent article “ Do we really need the Internet? ” about the June 25, 2015 speech of FCC Commissioner O’Rielly to the Internet Innovation Alliance entitled “...

by Stephen C. Piepgrass and Steve D. Rosenthal The Federal Trade Commission has released a Staff Report addressing the “Internet of Things” – a phrase referring to everyday items that are able to connect to the internet and transmit data. The Internet of Things includes over 25 billion connected devices worldwide, including fitness trackers, connected appliances, and more. Estimates are that by 2020...

Today’s next-generation manufacturing is marked by speed and technology. However, technology can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, technological innovations and advancements have resulted in a manufacturing resurgence in the United States. On the other hand, technology also makes confidential and proprietary information more vulnerable to disclosures, either intentionally or inadvertently. Foolish is the next...

By Stephen B. Mathus The NNI has just released its 2014 draft Strategic Plan for public comment. Aside from the opportunity to submit comments, becoming familiar with the plan offers a number of benefits to nanotech ventures. One is that it provides a useful overview of the agencies involved, which can make it easier to identify potential soures of government funding. It is easy to get lost in government alphabet soup...

By Peter S. Vogel | A bad cloud contract can devastate any business, and a recent article “ 8 sure-fire ways to screw up a cloud contrac t” should be a wake-up call, but unfortunately many businesses learn the hard way. By way of example, a recent cloud contract that I negotiated contained no provisions for Service Levels (SLA) or data backup. Computerworld’s November 19, 2013 article included...

By Matthew Gillis and Steven Berrent For those of us who are trying to look down the road and see where the litigation technology industry is headed, it might be instructive to take a look back in time to an unlikely example: the law firm mailroom. Virtually every law firm started out with a small area somewhere in the office for managing the outgoing and incoming mail, package shipments and other related support...

A lot of attorneys, paralegals, and legal staff aspire to be part of a huge operation with dozens of attorneys and a star-power name. But owning your own small law firm - or choosing to be a part of a smaller-scale operation - has a number of advantages over being part of a large legal group. While many people who work in the legal field wouldn't give up their positions in megafirms for anything, employees and...

After the US government filed charges that Facebook violated US privacy law, Facebook finally confessed that it failed to protect the privacy of its 800 million active users. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) welcomes the public to submit comments on the settlement through December 30, 2011 . Under the proposed consent order, which does not include any fines, Facebook is: barred from making misrepresentations...

When you last performed a search on Google did you notice that several of the results were displayed on a corresponding map? If you simply attributed this to the genius of Google then you've ignored a powerful tool that can help gain your firm greater recognition. Becoming registered in Google places can be a great proactive way of reaching millions of users quickly and for free. Searching for businesses...

Pew Research recently reported that 92% of adults use search engines daily and ComScore recently reported that 65.6% of all US searches are conducted on Google . So I thought I would pass along Hack College's recommendations about how to " Get More Out of Google ." Here are some search pointers that may improve your use of Google : WHAT YOU WANT: NY Times articles about Ponzi schemes and the Securities...

Since the Wikimedia Foundation (home of Wikipedia) is a not-for-profit , it survives by annual fundraisers. Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki (23andMe co-founder) used their Brin Wojcicki Foundation to grant $500,000 to the Wikimedia Foundation. The Wikimedia Foundation kicked off its 8th annual fundraiser on November 16, 2011 and raised $1.2 million the first day. Most people don't...

TechLaw10 hosts Jonathan Armstrong and Eric Sinrod discuss legal issues related to information technology. In this episode, Jonathan and Eric discuss recent research from knowthenet which finds that on average only 44% of UK internet users were able to correctly identify illegal activity on the internet when presented with a range of possible scenarios including defamation, copyright infringement and hacking....

Pew's recent report came as no surprise that 95% of teens (12-17) are on the Internet . But why are only 80% using Social Media? Amazingly 55% of online teens "have decided not to post something online because they were concerned that it might reflect badly on them in the future." Hopefully the reason for teenagers' concern about their future is that parents are really taking the time to educate...

TechLaw10 hosts Jonathan Armstrong and Eric Sinrod discuss legal issues related to information technology. In this episode, Jonathan and Eric discuss quick compliance tips for global HR systems. (Please visit the site to view this audio)

Many readers agreed with my recent blog that the Cloud is a new label for old technology - "think connecting to a mainframe over telephone lines," and I encourage you to read my November eCommerce Times column about some important Cloud computing legal issues . More Cloud History Wikipedia's historical description of Cloud computing includes: The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor...

Courts faced with ruling on discovery requests involving social media sites are forging new law. Courts can and do issue discovery orders compelling a party of a lawsuit to grant an opposing party access to his or her Facebook page or to permit in camera review of social media sites set to private settings. Rules of Civil Procedure in most states provide for liberal discovery, e.g., "Generally, discovery...

US intelligence agencies just reported to Congress that China and Russia have national policies to steal technology from US companies over the Internet. The Congressional report was compiled by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive which included this alarming information: Many companies are unaware when their sensitive data is pilfered, and those that find out are often reluctant to report...

The upcoming ABA Law Firm Marketing Strategies Conference presents a great opportunity to learn about the applicability, versatility, and growing importance of your attorney website design in promoting your legal practice. The conference focuses on three important components of success in the legal field. These components, Reputation, Referral, and Ranking, give the conference name R 3 . The conference will...

TechLaw10 hosts Jonathan Armstrong and Eric Sinrod discuss legal issues related to information technology. In this episode, Jonathan and Eric discuss recent developments with electronic discovery (eDiscovery) in the U.S. and Europe. (Please visit the site to view this audio)

US citizens expect the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to protect the country from potential threats, but the recent announcement that DHS will monitor Twitter & Facebook will surely cause privacy advocates great concern. Social Media has been used extensively in the government uprisings world-wide and DHS is now drawing up guidelines to monitor Social Media. Undersecretary of the DHS Caryn Wagner told...

TechLaw10 hosts Jonathan Armstrong and Eric Sinrod discuss legal issues related to information technology. In this episode, Jonathan and Eric discuss a recent hacking of the Sesame Street channel on YouTube and replaced with child-inappropriate content. (Please visit the site to view this audio)