In today’s Bulldog wrapup of the latest high-tech news:

  • Phone hacking company falls victim to hackers
  • Court revives suit alleging Apple monopoly on iPhone apps
  • Microsoft workers say reviewing graphic content caused PTSD
  • Nintendo: Nintendo Switch game console to launch in March

The details:

  • Phone hacking company falls victim to hackers

Cellebrite, a digital forensics firm known for helping law enforcement crack into locked smartphones, has itself fallen victim to hackers.

Technology news website Motherboard said Thursday that it had obtained 900 gigabytes of data related to the Israel-based company. It said the trove of data includes customer information, databases and technical data about the company’s products.

Cellebrite released a statement Thursday acknowledging that one of its external web servers had been hacked, adding that that it’s investigating the extent of the breach.

Motherboard journalist Joseph Cox said that an unidentified hacker gave him 900 gigabytes of data from Cellebrite’s servers.

In a series of messages posted to Twitter, he said that most of the data consisted of technical information, evidence and log files but that some of the information contained customer data. In an article , Cox wrote that the trove contained messages from authorities in Russia, Turkey and the Arab Gulf.

Cellebrite could be in for more unwelcome attention. Cox said that Motherboard would “likely be doing more stories from the data.”

  • Court revives suit alleging Apple monopoly on iPhone apps

A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit accusing Apple of having an illegal monopoly on the sale of iPhone apps.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday the plaintiffs have the right to sue Apple because they purchased apps directly from the company. Apple had argued that it did not sell apps, but instead acted as an intermediary used by the app developers.

The ruling overturned a lower court decision dismissing the lawsuit.

An email to Apple was not immediately returned.

The lawsuit says Apple only allows developers to sell iPhone apps through its App Store. The lawsuit says Apple gets 30 percent of a customer’s payment for an app developed by a third party.

  • Microsoft workers say reviewing graphic content caused PTSD

Two former Microsoft workers are claiming their work reviewing abuse, child pornography and other graphic material flagged for removal caused them post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Seattle Times says (http://bit.ly/2j560GT ) Henry Soto and Greg Blauert have sued Microsoft Corp. claiming the technology company was negligent and violated prohibitions of discrimination based on disabilities.

Soto and Blauert worked to review and remove disturbing images, videos and accounts that depicted graphic violence and abuse.

They say they were not given proper mental-health support to cope with the impact of reviewing material they called traumatic.

Microsoft disagreed with the plaintiffs’ claims. In a statement Thursday the company said the health and safety of employees who handle such material is a priority and that it works to ensure such workers have the resources and support they need.

(Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com )

  • Nintendo: Nintendo Switch game console to launch in March

The Nintendo Switch video game console will sell for 29,980 yen (about $260) in Japan, starting March 3, the same date as its global rollout in the U.S. and Europe. The Japanese company promises the device will be packed with the fun features of all its past machines and more.

The Kyoto-based maker of Super Mario and Pokemon games announced details of the Switch’s release Friday at the Tokyo Big Sight events hall. It said the console will sell for $299.99 in the U.S. Customers in Europe would need to ask retailers there for prices.

Anticipation has been mounting. In teaser videos, Nintendo Co. has shown players using a handheld whose remote controller section detaches from the left and right sides of the main part of the device’s display. Players can use the Switch as a regular handheld, put the display on a table, or use a TV screen as a monitor.

“Nintendo Switch is a brand-new kind of home gaming system that offers a wide variety of play modes,” Nintendo’s president Tatsumi Kimishima told reporters.