Techmeme
December 21, 2013, 6:30 AM

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.
USA Today:
Protesters vandalize Google bus, block Apple shuttle  —  Gentrification backlash targeting tech firms escalates in San Francisco and Oakland.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — As tech-driven housing costs and evictions soar, anti-gentrification protesters in San Francisco and Oakland …
Tom Gara / Corporate Intelligence:
Details of the ‘Mega Conspiracy’ Behind Megaupload … Some lively new details arrived today in the long saga of Megaupload, the file-sharing site whose founder, Kim Dotcom, is currently suing the New Zealand police while the U.S. government attempts to extradite him to face charges of criminal conspiracy.
More: SlashGear.  Tweets: @tomgara and @tomgara
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Microsoft appoints Jim DuBois as new CIO  —  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.
Tom Simonite / MIT Technology Review:
Intel Robot Puts Touch Screens through Their Paces  —  A robot able to play touch screen games like Cut the Rope can judge whether humans will find a new device responsive.  —  In a compact lab at Intel's Silicon Valley headquarters, Oculus the robot is playing the hit game Cut the Rope on a smartphone.
More: Gotta Be Mobile and BGR.  Tweets: @techreview and @antonioregalado
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.
Lance Ulanoff / Mashable:
Walt Mossberg: The Exit Interview  —  At an age when some may consider spending more time practicing their golf swing or perfecting their poker face, tech journalist Walt Mossberg is about to embark on what may be his biggest adventure yet.  After 22 years as The Wall Street Journal's personal …
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.
More: VentureBeat.  Tweets: @sdkstl
Claire Carter / Telegraph:
‘Global village’ of technology a myth as study shows most online communication limited to 100-mile radius  —  Study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds that in Britain only 9.5 per cent of internet and smartphone communications cross the “border” between north and south
Tweets: @telegraph

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Mark Gurman / 9to5Mac: