Techmeme: Firmware is vulnerable because vendors rarely sign or authenticate the software (Kim Zetter/Wired)

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February 25, 2015, 9:05 AM

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Bloomberg Business:

Apple told to pay $532.9M to Smartflash LLC for patent infringement in iTunes, will appeal — Apple Told by Jury to Pay $532.9 Million in Gaming Patent Trial — Don't Miss Out — (Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. was told to pay $532.9 million after a federal jury said the company's iTunes software …

Gemalto:

Gemalto confirms hack by NSA and GCHQ, but says no massive theft of SIM encryption keys, only a breach of its office network — Gemalto presents the findings of its investigations into the alleged hacking of SIM card encryption keys by Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)

More: Fortune, CNET, The Register, DSLreports, BetaNews, iMore, The Verge, Help Net Security, Gizmodo, The Next Web, Wired.co.uk, Forbes, PYMNTS.com, Gigaom, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Register, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg Business. Tweets: @rj_gallagher

Kim Zetter / Wired:

Firmware is vulnerable because vendors rarely sign or authenticate the software — Why Firmware Is So Vulnerable to Hacking, and What Can Be Done About It — When Kaspersky Lab revealed last week that it had uncovered a sophisticated piece of malware designed to plant malicious code inside …

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Google Acquires Facebook Marketing Startup Toro — Toro, a startup that helps developers promote their apps on Facebook, just announced that it's been acquired by Google. — The company was originally known as Red Hot Labs, and it's led by Amitt Mahajan and Joel Poloney.

More: Toro Blog, VatorNews, SiliconANGLE, Bloomberg Business, Xconomy, The Tech Portal, Socialnomics and . Tweets: @joshelman

Inside BlackBerry:

Blackberry Classic will launch on Verizon Feb. 26; $100 with $50 rebate on two-year contract — BlackBerry Classic Available This Thursday On The Verizon Wireless Network — BlackBerry Classic Available Feb. 26 on the Verizon Wireless Network — Familiar Design and QWERTY Keyboard on the Nation's Most Reliable 4G LTE Network

More: Business Insider, Verizon Wireless Promotions, TechnoBuffalo, PhoneDog.com, TWICE, Digital Trends, The Verge and The Next Web

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft removing Google Talk integration and discontinuing support for Facebook chat in Outlook — Microsoft kills off Google and Facebook chat for Outlook.com — Microsoft is revealing today that it plans to kill off Google and Facebook chat from its Outlook.com email service “within the next couple of weeks.”

More: The Register, ZDNet, SiliconANGLE, BetaNews, SuperSite for Windows, GeekWire, The Next Web and Neowin

Liz Gannes / Re/code:

Former Kleiner Perkins partner Trae Vassallo to testify she was harassed by same partner as Ellen Pao — Venture Capitalist Trae Vassallo to Testify She Was Harassed by Same Partner as Ellen Pao — One of the first witnesses in the gender discrimination case brought by former partner Ellen Pao …

More: Ars Technica, CNET, bizjournals, USA Today, Bloomberg Business, TechCrunch and Timmins Press

BBC:

Internet of things starter kit unveiled by ARM and IBM — A “starter kit” designed to spur on the invention of internet-connected gadgets has been announced as part of a tie-up between two leading tech firms. — Chip designer ARM and cloud services giant IBM say it can take just five minutes …

More: ZDNet, Inquirer and CloudWedge

Facebook:

Internet.org's 2014 State of Global Connectivity report: Internet adoption growth slows to 6.6%, just 32% of people have Internet access in emerging economies — The State of Global Connectivity — State of Connectivity: A Report on Global Internet Access, a new study by Internet.org examines …

More: The Next Web

IDC:

Android and iOS take 96% of smartphone OS market in Q4 and calendar year 2014 — Android and iOS Squeeze the Competition, Swelling to 96.3% of the Smartphone Operating System Market for Both 4Q14 and CY14, According to IDC — Android and iOS inched closer to total domination …

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Reddit now prohibits posting nude photos or videos of sex acts without prior consent from the people depicted in them — In Privacy Update, Reddit Tightens Restrictions on Nude Photos — For nearly a decade, Reddit, the huge online message board, has been known for its freewheeling stance on letting its users govern themselves.

More: BuzzFeed, SocialTimes, The Register, The Daily Caller, ABC News, WebProNews, New York Times, The Verge, The Daily Dot, Gizmodo, Mashable, Engadget and TIME

Tweets: @mikeisaac and @broderick

See also Mediagazer

Mark Hosenball / Reuters:

US offers $3M reward for Russian hacker Evgeniy Bogachev for his role in GameOver Zeus botnet — U.S. offers highest-ever reward for Russian hacker — (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department and FBI on Tuesday announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction …

More: US Department of State, FBI, Digital Trends, FBI, BBC, CNET, Forbes, Qntra.net, PC World, TIME and Slashdot

Caroline Humer / Reuters:

Anthem says breach may have also affected up to 18.8M Blue Cross Blue Shield customers — Anthem says at least 8.8 million non-customers could be victims in data hack — (Reuters) - Health insurer Anthem Inc, which earlier this month reported that it was hit by a massive cyberbreach …

More: Gizmodo, PYMNTS.com, Minneapolis Star Tribune, NBC News, bizjournals, Bloomberg Business, Wall Street Journal, The Register and VTDigger

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Google Tests Live Chat With Businesses From Search Results — Google is testing out a service that incorporates live chat with businesses right into search results, via a new link that shows whether a business is currently available, and immediately launches a chat via Google Hangouts (on either desktop or mobile) if they are.

More: Street Fight, Search Engine Land, Ubergizmo, Tech Gadget Central, Understanding Google … and 9to5Google

Paul Smith / The Australian Financial Review:

Xero lands $100M backing from Accel Partners for US expansion ahead of expected IPO — Xero lands $NZ132.9 million backing from Accel Partners ahead of US listing — Online accounting software maker Xero has scored a $NZ132.9 million ($US100 million) investment from Silicon Valley …

More: PE Hub Blog, VentureBeat, Forbes, StartupSmart, ITWire.com, TechCrunch, bizjournals and The Diversity Blog

Dennis Fisher / Threatpost:

Google turns annual Pwnium bug-hunting contest into year-round program with unlimited rewards — Google Pwnium Program Now Open All Year — Google is expanding its successful Pwnium vulnerability reward program-which has run at various security conferences for a couple of years …

More: Gizmorati

Brandon Walkin / Facebook Code:

Facebook releases Origami Live, a new app for testing app prototypes designed with Origami on iPhone or iPad — Introducing Origami Live — Just over a year ago, we released Origami — a free tool for designing interactive user interfaces. We've used it here at Facebook to design …

More: Ubergizmo, iMore, VentureBeat, The Next Web and VentureBreak

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:

Twitter's “While You Were Away” Feature Launches On Android — One month after launching on iOS, Twitter's “While You Were Away” feature is finally available for Android users. — “While You Were Away,” which Twitter first previewed last fall, represents a significant departure from the real …

More: Digital Trends, TechnoBuffalo and PC World

Caroline O'Donovan / Nieman Lab:

Medium adds tags, simplifies posting, and redesigns presentation of posts as it aims for shorter, off-the-cuff content — Medium, known for going long, wants to go shorter — Medium announced some new updates to its publishing platform today. They include a tagging system …

More: Medium, Medium, TechCrunch, Tech Times, Ink, Bits, & Pixels, Gigaom, The Next Web, Boing Boing, SlashGear and VentureBeat

Tweets: @bluechoochoo, @racheldamgen, @davewiner, @mathewi, @sameerpatel, @rsarver, @pkafka, @ow, @mutlu82 and @ceodonovan

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