In today’s technology wrapup:

  • A Lenovo supplier in China sues China Labor Watch
  • DirecTV signs new deal with NFL, something AT&T had required for its merger
  • IBM’s BlueMix hub in NYC
  • Lotus 1-2-3 support is gone
  • Apps spying in Hong Kong, company says
  • A court OKs data from GPS seized without a warrant

The details:

  • Chinese Supplier Sues China Labor Watch

A Chinese supplier of Samsung Electronics Co. filed a lawsuit accusing a New York City-based labor watchdog of spreading false rumors of child labor, but the labor group says it has evidence to back up its report.

The lawsuit against China Labor Watch was filed in a Chinese court this week by HEG Electronics, which produces mobile phone components for Samsung and China’s Lenovo Group, Samsung said Thursday.

China Labor Watch rejected the lawsuit as a “public relations action.”

In its August report, China Labor Watch had accused the company in Guangdong province in southern China of hiring more than 10 child workers under the age of 16.

Samsung said a joint investigation with HEG and another probe by local authorities found no child labor. HEG and Samsung called on China Labor Watch to apologize and to admit its allegation as false. It said the group has not responded to its request.

Since 2012, China Labor Watch has researched working conditions at Samsung’s suppliers in China. It uncovered some cases of child labor, which prompted Samsung to adopt a pledge not to permit any use of underage workers.

  • DirecTV Keeps NFL as AT&T Stipulated for Merger

Reuters says DirecTV will pay the NFL an average of $1.5 billion per year for “Sunday Ticket” over eight years in a new contract that was required by AT&T as part of its $48.5 billion merger with DirecTV.

AT&T had included a clause that allowed it to nix the deal if DirecTV didn’t sign the NFL, according to BusinessInsider. 

  • IBM’s NYC Tech Hub

Using its Bluemix cloud technology designed to be a virtual sandbox for developers, IBM launched a tech hub of sorts in New York City’s Silicon Alley on Wednesday.

“We wanted to provide the underpinning technology for this entire movement in New York city,” said Sandy Carter, general manager of ecosystem development at IBM. “The whole tech stack for this endeavor is built on IBM’s framework.”

Crain’s New York City business website has the details.

Bye, Bye Lotus

“On Tuesday, with no fanfare, IBM closed the last chapter in the life of one of the most iconic early computer programs, Lotus 1-2-3, when it withdrew support for the final build of the software,” reports the technology news site The Register in the U.K. 

“IBM Lotus 123 Millennium Edition, IBM Lotus SmartSuite 9.x, and Organizer have now officially all passed their end of life support date and, according to IBM’s website, ‘No service extensions will be offered’ – not that anyone is seriously using the spreadsheet any more,” The Register reports.

  • Firm Says Phone Apps Spy on Hong Kong Protesters

The Chinese government might be using smartphone apps to spy on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, a U.S. security firm said.

The applications are disguised as tools created by activists, said the firm, Lacoon Mobile Security. It said that once downloaded, they give an outsider access to the phone’s address book, call logs and other information.

The identities of victims and details of the servers used “lead us to believe that the Chinese government are behind the attack,” said a Lacoon statement.

China is, along with the United States and Russia, regarded as a leader in cyber warfare research. Security experts say China is a leading source of hacking attacks aimed at foreign governments and companies to computers in China.

The Chinese government has denied engaging in cyberspying and says China is among the biggest victims of hacking attacks.

Lacoon said it found two similar “malicious, fake” apps that appeared to be related. One targets phones that run Apple Inc.’s iOS operating system; the other is meant for phones using Google Inc.’s Android system.

The “very advanced software,” known as an mRAT, or multidimensional requirements analysis tool, “is undoubtedly being backed by a nation state,” the company said. Lacoon said it was calling the software Xsser.

  • US Appeals Court OKs Evidence from No-Warrant GPS

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that prosecutors can use evidence gathered after a GPS device was put on a suspect’s van without a warrant.

The decision is a blow to three Philadelphia brothers charged in a series of pharmacy robberies, and for civil rights lawyers concerned about the reach of police power in the technological age.

“It’s disappointing that today’s decision lets law enforcement agents off the hook in a broader range of circumstances,” said Catherine Crump, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley who argued the case in May for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 said that GPS tracking amounts to a police search but left unresolved the question of whether warrants are always needed.