Techmeme
December 20, 2013, 7:25 PM

Top News

Joseph Menn / Reuters:
RSA received $10 million to use backdoored NSA algorithm by default in crypto software BSafe  —  Exclusive: Secret contract tied NSA and security industry pioneer  —  (Reuters) - As a key part of a campaign to embed encryption software that it could crack into widely used computer products …
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Cards Stolen in Target Breach Flood Underground Markets  —  Credit and debit card accounts stolen in a recent data breach at retail giant Target have been flooding underground black markets in recent weeks, selling in batches of one million cards and going for anywhere from $20 to more than $100 per card, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.
New York Times:
N.S.A. Dragnet Included Allies, Aid Groups and Business Elite  —  Secret documents reveal more than 1,000 targets of American and British surveillance in recent years, including the office of an Israeli prime minister, heads of international aid organizations, foreign energy companies …
Miguel Helft / Fortune:
Square's Dorsey returns 10% of his shares  —  Exclusive: The founder and CEO makes an uncommon move to expand the company's pool of shares for compensation and acquisitions.  —  FORTUNE — Jack Dorsey, the founder and CEO of Square, has voluntarily given 10% of his shares in the company back to Square.
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Fred Vogelstein / The Atlantic Online:
The Day Google Had to ‘Start Over’ on Android  —  Google was building a secret mobile product to fend off chief rival Microsoft.  Then Apple announced the iPhone, and everything changed.  —  In 2005, on Google's sprawling, college-like campus, the most secret and ambitious of many …
Beth Kowitt / Fortune:
Warby Parker raises $60 million  —  Exclusive: The fashionable eyeglasses purveyor more than doubles its total investment.  —  FORTUNE — Warby Parker has raised $60 million in its latest round of venture capital funding, led by its biggest investor, Tiger Global Management.
Gregory Ferenstein / TechCrunch:
Tim Draper Wants To Split California Into Pieces And Turn Silicon Valley Into Its Own State  —  TechCrunch has learned about noted technology investor Tim Draper's plan to split California into six separate states, including a Northern California slice appropriately named “Silicon Valley.”
Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac:
Apple seeds first OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 beta, brings FaceTime Audio to Macs  —  Just days after the first public release of OS X 10.9.1, Apple has seeded the first beta of OS X 10.9.2 to developers.  The update is available in the Mac App Store for registered developers …
Michael Dalder / Reuters:
Clock ticking for Google after EU rejects latest antitrust offer  —  (Reuters) - Google has been told it is running out of time to improve its offer to settle a European Union investigation into anti-competitive behavior or face formal charges that could lead to a hefty fine.
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
New milestone: Amazon stock surpass $400 for first time ever  —  This summer, Amazon.com's stock hit $300 for the first time.  —  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″.  —  Now, five months later, it has reached a new milestone: $400.
Gabriela Vatu / Softpedia News:
Google Changes Policy for Chrome Extensions, Seeks to Kill Multi-Purpose Tools  —  Google is cracking down on extensions that are slowing down your browser experience as it updates the Chrome Web Store policy to dictate that extensions must have a single purpose.
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Microsoft appoints Jim DuBois as new CIO  —  Jim DuBois.  Photo via Microsoft.  —  Microsoft this afternoon announced Jim DuBois as the company's chief information officer.  —  DuBois had served as the interim CIO for the past six months and replaced Tony Scott, who left after five years with the company to be CIO of VMWare.
Lance Whitney / CNET:
iPad, Surface, Kindle owners reveal their top gripes  —  Got a beef about your iPad, Surface, or Kindle tablet?  Join the club.  —  The new holiday report from Q&A site FixYa sifted through thousands of problems reported by its Web site users to determine the most common grievances.
More: eWeek, ZDNet and Yahoo! News
Lauren Hockenson / Gigaom:
In honor of Winamp, Spotify releases Spotiamp  —  After Friday, longstanding music player Winamp will fade from existence, as AOL discontinues support, shuts down the website and erases any possibility of downloading the software.  In honor of Winamp's departure, Spotify has released Spotiamp …
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
Rocket Internet Partners With African Telecom Operator MTN To Invest $410M in Middle East Startups  —  MTN Group and Rocket Internet announced that they have formed a new joint venture to invest in startups in the Middle East, with a focus on e-commerce.  The two companies will each hold …

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Steve Kovach / Business Insider: