Twitter, Facebook attack targeted user

A Georgian blogger with accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LiveJournal, and Google's Blogger and YouTube was targeted in a denial-of-service attack that led to the site-wide outage at Twitter and problems at the other sites on Thursday, reports CNet.

The blogger, who uses the account name "Cyxymu" (the name of a town in the Republic of Georgia) had accounts on all of the different sites that were attacked at the same time, Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, told CNet News.

"It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard," Kelly said. "We're actively investigating the source of the attacks and we hope to be able to find out the individuals involved in the backend and to take action against them if we can."

Federal prosecutors have accused a Canadian man of laundering more than $350 million for offshore Internet gambling operations to skirt US laws prohibiting payments to American citizens trying to cash out their winnings, says The Register.

Douglas Rennick, 34, was charged with three felony counts related to the alleged scheme by the US attorney's office in Manhattan. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture by Rennick of almost $566 million in proceeds from the alleged conspiracy.

The charges highlight the cat-and-mouse struggle that plays out between law enforcement agencies and the online gambling outfits the authorities try to rein in.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned gangs are stealing taxpayers' passwords and submitting claims for tax refunds to be paid to them, says the BBC.

A series of attempted fraudulent claims through the self-assessment repayments system has been discovered.

No figures have been released outlining the extent of the fraud, but a HMRC spokesman said this was a new method of trying to extract money.

Green is the new black in wireless as companies like Sprint Nextel and Samsung announce new products and programmes geared toward environmental sustainability, reports CNet.

The companies announced an eco-friendly device called the Reclaim and an overall strategy to green the wireless market.

The news comes as consumers increasingly buy products and services based on environmental sustainability. From energy-saving light bulbs to hybrid cars and now environmentally-friendly cellphones, green is all the rage.