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Today’s topics include Qualcomm’s complaint to federal trade officials calling for a ban on the importation of Apple iPhones; security experts warning that the CopyCat malware could open the door for more serious cyber-attacks; Arista suspending imports of switches involved in a patent dispute with Cisco; and Microsoft urging Home Server 2011 users to upgrade due to security concerns.
Qualcomm last week escalated its growing patent dispute with Apple by filing a complaint with federal regulators to ban imports of iPhones that the mobile chip maker claims infringe on six patents that focus on such key areas as battery life and performance.
In addition, Qualcomm officials are suing Apple in federal court for allegedly infringing on those six patents.
The complaint to the International Trade Commission (ITC) and lawsuit with U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California are part of an ongoing legal battle between the two companies that focuses on patents and licensing.
At first glance the Copycat malware doesn’t seem like a huge threat to end users. Its primary purpose is to make money by reporting the installation of apps for which it gets paid a commission. End users will find apps installed on their Android devices that they didn’t download, and in many cases those apps will be bogus, but don’t seem to cause any apparent ill effects.
But in fact, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. Copycat, which was first discovered by researchers at Check Point Software, infects a device when the user downloads an infected app from a third-party app store or when the user falls for a phishing email.
Because it is successful in rooting the device when it’s installed, the Copycat malware can be used to deliver some serious threats, such as ransomware, spyware or software that’s designed to infect users’ network to help spread other types of malware.
Cisco Systems has won a significant victory in its legal battle with Arista Networks since its smaller rival agreed to suspend imports of some of its network switching products. However, it’s unclear how long that suspension will remain in place.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) in May ruled that Arista’s Ethernet switches violated two of six Cisco patents and ordered that the company stop shipping those products into the United States. However, the regulatory board allowed a 60-day “Presidential review period” during which Arista could continue importing the switches.
In a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arista officials announced that the 60-day period had ended without a change in the order and that it was no longer importing the switches.
Small businesses and households that depend on Windows Home Server 2011 for their device, file and media-sharing needs may want to start looking for alternatives. Support ended for the aging server operating system in April 2016 and the servers are overdue for an upgrade, the software giant reminded users this week.
Running an out-of-date operating system carries security risks, Microsoft cautioned. The WannaCry ransomware attack in May demonstrated the potential risk when it mainly affected unpatched and older versions of Windows such as Windows XP that is still running on many systems.