Feds force Oregon to surrender medical marijuana patient records

“Federal agents have forced the Oregon Public Health Division to turn over an untold number of patients’ medical marijuana records. Department of Justice Special Agent Michael Gutensohn applied for a warrant to seize the records that was executed in November as part of an investigation into medical marijuana growers who were suspected of selling goods illegally. ‘I have probable cause to believe that records from the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program will contain evidence and instrumentalities of marijuana manufacturing and trafficking and conspiracy to commit marijuana manufacturing and trafficking offenses,’ he wrote.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Feds force Oregon to surrender medical marijuana patient records

Homeland Security agents indicted for falsifying records in corruption investigation

“Two Department of Homeland Security employees have been indicted in a scheme to falsify investigative documents to disguise a lack of progress on cases in their South Texas office. The Justice Department announced Wednesday that 49-year-old Eugenio Pedraza was indicted Tuesday on charges of falsifying records, obstructing justice and conspiracy. Pedraza is a former head of DHS’s Office of the Inspector General in McAllen. Agent Marco Rodriguez also was charged. The IG’s office investigates wrongdoing in the DHS, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Homeland Security agents indicted for falsifying records in corruption investigation

Botnet fraud wreaking havoc on advertisers: report

“Security researchers have discovered a botnet they have dubbed ‘Chameleon’ which they calculate is costing display advertisers around $6m (£3.9m) per month by falsely viewing billions of pages and adverts on about 200 sites owned by a small group of publishers. The discovery points to widespread fraud in which adverts are clicked among networks of sites to generate money for sites and ad networks – though it is still unclear whether it is one or more publishers, or one or more ad networks which supply ads to the sites, which are to blame for the fraud. The botnet consists of at least 120,000 subverted Windows machines, 95% of them located inside the US.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Botnet fraud wreaking havoc on advertisers: report

Report: Apple hack compromised ‘hundreds’ of other companies

“A hack on Apple computers has infected systems at hundreds of the company’s clients in the largest cyber attack the company has ever faced, a person briefed on the investigation told Reuters. The hack used the same exploit in Oracle’s Java software that Facebook warned of, saying several employee computers were compromised by ‘sophisticated’ hackers using custom tools but that no user information was exposed. The company did not comment on how many of its clients saw systems affected, but a source told Reuters the number is in the ‘hundreds,’ and includes defense contractors.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Report: Apple hack compromised ‘hundreds’ of other companies

First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

“The fake requests for ballots targeted the Aug. 14 statewide primary and included requests for Democratic ballots in one congressional district and Republican ballots in two state House districts, according to a recent Miami Herald report. The fake requests were done so clumsily that they were red-flagged and did not foul up the election. In any case, they would not have been enough to change the outcome. But now confirmed as the first cyberattack aimed at election fraud, the incident is further evidence that the vote-counting process is vulnerable, particularly as elections become more reliant on the Internet.” Continue reading

Continue Reading First-ever cyberattack on US election points to broad vulnerabilities

Nevada bill would legalize gambling on federal elections

“If one Nevada lawmaker has his way, visitors to Sin City will soon be able to bet on the next presidential election. Las Vegas Democrat Tick Segerblom on Monday introduced a bill in the Nevada state Senate that would legalizing betting on federal elections. SB 418 would revise the state’s definition of sports betting ‘to include wagers with respect to the outcome of a federal election.’ ‘We’re in a competitive environment,’ Segerblom explained to KVVU. ‘We’re basically competing against the world, and I think we need to start looking beyond what we’ve done.'” Continue reading

Continue Reading Nevada bill would legalize gambling on federal elections

Florida bill designed to fight gambling scandal could cost state thousands of jobs

“The measure, House Bill 155, was passed by the state Senate on April 4 by a 36-4 vote, following a three-year investigation into racketeering, money laundering and other charges. The scandal led to the resignation of Lieutenant Gov. Jennifer Carroll on March 12. The new law effectively curtails the state’s so-called ‘Internet cafes’ — businesses that featured online games recreating slot machines. It also forbids arcades from letting customers use cash or debit or credit cards from operating their games and from handing out gift cards as prizes. Patrons must now use change to play, and winnings are capped at 75 cents.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Florida bill designed to fight gambling scandal could cost state thousands of jobs

Trouble on U.S. farms as growers seek workers and crops rot

“Here’s a mess with no easy fix: American crops going unpicked — it’s backbreaking work Americans won’t touch — and poor migrants in need of work shying from it for fear of being abused. Creating a program for temporary farm workers from Mexico and other countries to work the land, sow seeds or reap harvests is one of the touchiest aspects of the immigration reform that Congress is working on. Some 61 percent of growers in California report shortages of laborers, especially in labor intensive crops like grapes and vegetables, said Rayne Pegg of the California Farm Bureau Federation. So some crops are left to rot.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Trouble on U.S. farms as growers seek workers and crops rot