Welcome to this weeks summary of news relating to Cyber Security, Anti-Piracy, Anti-Counterfeiting, Brand Protection and many other online security topics. In this summary we provide you with a selection of news items that we feel capture this week in terms of piracy and online protection. We provide you with a short introduction of a news item (written by the respective website); if you feel like you want to read more about a specific topic, you can click on the provided links below.

Australia’s government wants to know if its current anti-piracy laws are effective enough

Australia’s current stance on internet piracy harkens back to 2015 when the government passed the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill. With that backing, the Federal Court ordered a huge number of pirate sites to be blocked, including the likes of The Pirate Bay, in December 2016.

Read the full story at techradar.com.

Court Dismisses Playboy’s Copyright Claims Against Boing Boing

A California district court has dismissed Playboy’s copyright infringement complaint against Boing Boing. Playboy’s allegations that the popular blog induced or contributed to copyright infringement by publishing hyperlinks are not strong enough, Judge Olguin writes. The complaint is dismissed with leave, allowing the magazine publisher to file an improved version within two weeks.

Read the full story at torrentfreak.com.

‘Sweetheart scams’

The N.C. attorney general’s office is warning the public to look out for “sweetheart scams” this Valentine’s Day period. Sweetheart scammers prey on people by pretending to fall in love with them to win their trust and steal their money. These scams often occur online. Scammers frequently create fake identities on dating websites and social media sites. Some create bogus dating websites to get credit card numbers and other private information.

Read full story at journalpatriot.com.

Stopping online piracy is not censorship

A new proposal to block Canadians from accessing websites that engage in piracy, while imposing safeguards to protect users’ digital rights, is balanced and pragmatic.

Read full story at hilltimes.com.