Some particularly onerous reporting requirements "are tangible and significant" enough that the small-provider exemption to the updated transparency rules adopted in the FCC 2015 net neutrality order should be made permanent, the American Cable Association said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 14-28. It detailed a meeting that ACA staff including Ross Lieberman, senior vice president-government affairs, had with Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau staffers to elaborate on the ACA's position (see 1508060057). Collecting and disclosing information regarding various network practices such as use of filters and other means of addressing congestion, "would be burdensome, particularly because traffic management practices change as traffic types and patterns evolve," ACA said. Similarly, directly notifying customers about usage triggers "would burden smaller providers, particularly those that do not have automated notification systems in place," ACA said. While not objecting to the general obligation of notifying customers about network practices, ACA said smaller ISPs "should have flexibility in determining the specific information to be provided and how it should be disclosed."

Adobe released a security update to address a vulnerability that may allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information from an affected system, said an alert from the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team Tuesday. The security updates are for LiveCycle Data Services versions 4.7, 4.6.2, 4.5 and 3.0x, the alert said. Microsoft also released a critical security update to address a vulnerability in Internet Explorer, said a U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team alert Wednesday. Exploitation of the vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to take control of an affected system if the user viewed a specially crafted webpage, it said.

Voxx International will create an “acquiring entity” to buy a majority stake in EyeLock, an iris authentication technology supplier, Voxx said in a Wednesday announcement. EyeLock has developed “a portfolio of biometric solutions based on iris authentication with more than 70 patents and patents pending,” Voxx said. Its technology “provides an unprecedented level of convenience and security with biometric accuracy, making it the most proven way to authenticate one's identity aside from DNA,” it said. EyeLock’s “advances” in iris authentication have made it possible to use “this highly secure technology” across “a broad array” of consumer and business-to-business IoT applications, “without compromising accuracy or ease-of-use,” Voxx said. Terms weren’t disclosed.

A subsidiary of Seagate Technology agreed to buy software and hardware storage systems supplier Dot Hill Systems in a cash transaction valued at $694 million, Seagate said in a news release Tuesday. Dot Hill's board unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in Q4 pending regulatory approval, the release said.

A former staffer at the U.S. Embassy in London, Michael Ford, 36, was charged Tuesday with nine counts of cyberstalking, seven counts of computer hacking to extort and one count of wire fraud, for “engaging in a hacking and cyberstalking scheme in which, using stolen passwords, he obtained sexually explicit photographs and other personal information from victims’ email and social media accounts, and threatened to share the photographs and personal information unless the victims ceded to certain demands, a Justice Department news release said.

FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez will be the opening speaker at the agency’s first Start with Security conference, to be held next month and focus on the challenges startups and developers face in creating secure applications, an FTC news release said Wednesday. Experts that built security programs at high-growth startups including Dropbox, Etsy, Pinterest and Twitter will “provide startups and developers with practical guidance on integrating security into their application development lifecycles,” it said. FTC Chief Technologist Ashkan Soltani will partake in a “fireside chat” on security issues, and panels are slated on how startups can build a culture of security, how to effectively model threats, train developers, ensure secure coding practices, scale security testing, and respond to hackers who find bugs in products, and embracing security features as a key part of products, the agency said. The event is from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sept. 9, at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. The free event is open to the public. The second Start with Security event is Nov. 5 in Austin.

Windstream is joining the HP PartnerOne Program to provide hosting services over the HP Helion and infrastructure platforms, a release said Tuesday. Windstream said HP PartnerOne will allow it to offer HP customers new options and next-generation technology "for running their businesses securely and cost-effectively in the cloud," including private cloud storage options, backup and recovery services, and "replication as a service: automated critical business information storage and data base survivability."

Spotify is rolling out an updated terms and conditions of use and privacy policy to customers during the next few weeks, the company said Monday. “We want to be as open and transparent as possible when it comes to how we describe our business, how we work with advertisers, what information we collect, and what we do with it,” Spotify said about the changes. The company also wants to ensure it's “up-to-date with all the latest features we are offering.” Some of the changes in the privacy policy include: an expansion of the Information We Collect section to include technical data like cookies, device information and network information; notice that customer permission will be requested to collect information from new sources like an address book, location and sensor data from mobile devices; and clarity was added regarding how Spotify shares data with marketing and advertising partners.

Google made its new Wi-Fi router, OnHub, available for pre-order, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. The cylindrical router contains internal antennas, automatically adjusts to avoid network interference and allows users to prioritize devices and choose which receive the fastest speed, Google said. OnHub can be managed through a mobile app available on Android and iOS devices, which displays bandwidth and network diagnostic data, the release said. Google said the router can be pre-ordered for $199.99 from the Google Store, Amazon and other retailers, and will be made available in stores in the coming weeks.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Technology Laboratory seeks comment through Sept. 18 on its upgrade to the IAB Display Creative Guidelines, an IAB release said Monday. “The updates were developed by the IAB Display Creative Working Group, in response to ongoing IAB exploration of the benefits of HTML5 technology,” the release said. “The revised guidelines include major changes to key specs for the IAB Universal Ad Package (UAP) and IAB Display and Mobile Rising Stars, which address issues such as file weights and packaging for optimal load performance when HTML5 is deployed,” it said. “Other ad units, rich media guidance, and the display creative glossary of terminology have been reworked as well,” it said. "For years, the 'IAB Display Creative Guidelines' have served as a critical foundation for digital marketing, and this timely update gives us yet another step up the ladder to conversion,” said IAB Technology and Ad Operations Senior Vice President Scott Cunningham. “HTML5 is rapidly becoming the go-to for creating captivating ads that work across multiple screens,” said AOL Premium Experiences Platforms Director of Production Services Aaron Wood, who co-chairs the IAB Display Creative Working Group. IAB Tech Lab members AOL, Celtra, Crisp Media and PointRoll contributed ad units for the initial specification tests before taking the updated "IAB Display Creative Guidelines" to comment, and AOL provided a test environment and analysis during the examination phase, the release said. The IAB HTML5 for Digital Advertising Guidance Working Group is developing a revised "HTML5 For Digital Advertising Guide," which will “directly support the updated ‘IAB Display Creative Guidelines’ with actionable insights and recommendations for using HTML5 effectively in display ad creative,” it said. The guide is expected to be released this fall.