Techmeme: Google Changes Policy for Chrome Extensions, Seeks to Kill Multi-Purpose Tools (Gabriela Vatu/Softpedia News)

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December 21, 2013, 12:40 AM

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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 …

More: The Verge, Ars Technica, Techdirt, GeekWire, Digits, The Register, CNET, Boing Boing, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, SlashGear, Electronista, SC Magazine and Gigaom

Tweets: @mccrory, @declanm, @e3i5, @stevenf, @edfelten, @csoghoian and @dhh

Thanks:@joeross

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.

More: NYT Bits, Forbes, Target Pressroom, BGR, internetretailer.com, ZDNet, TechCrunch, CNET, VentureBeat, NBCNews, The Verge, Examiner, Gotta Be Mobile, Los Angeles Times, SlashGear, Ars Technica, Business Insider, New York Times, The Switch and Naked Security

Tweets: @jjarmoc, @delrey, @tbridge, @havocscope, @pennycrosman and @isaach

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

T-Mobile Plans to Talk “Un-Carrier” 4.0 at CES — T-Mobile is ready to make another big move, announcing plans for a media event at January's CES to discuss the next step in its “un-carrier” strategy. — “This one you aren't going to believe,” T-Mobile says in an invitation to journalists.

More: TmoNews, PhoneArena, Computerworld, The Droid Guy, IntoMobile, AndroidHeadlines.com, 9to5Google and Pocketables

Josh Ong / The Next Web:

Snapchat for iOS gets a replay option, front camera flash, filters and up to 7 best friends — Ephemeral messaging service Snapchat just got an interesting update that adds the ability to replay a message once per day, “flash” your front camera by whiting-out the screen …

More: The Verge, TechCrunch, TechCrunch, iMore, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac and iDownloadBlog.com

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 …

More: Guardian, Spiegel Online, Ars Technica, The Verge, The CIO Report, Computerworld, CNET, ZDNet, TheHill, Techdirt, Daily Dot, RT, Quartz, Gawker, Nieman Journalism Lab, BBC and Softpedia News

Tweets: @virusbtn, @csoghoian, @declanm, @thomas_drake1, @koenrh, @dhh, @barakravid, @froomkin, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald and @ggreenwald

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.

More: Digits, Business Insider, The Next Web, Gigaom, bizjournals and AllThingsD

Tweets: @noah_weiss, @shuvster, @stevecheney, @om and @anildash

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.

More: Microsoft Corporation, Seattle Times blogs and WinBeta

John Biggs / TechCrunch:

Alleged Top Moderators Of Silk Road 2 Forums Arrested In Ireland, U.S. In International Sweep — At least two moderators of the Silk Road 2 user forums have been arrested by authorities in the U.S. and Ireland. A source claiming to have inside knowledge of the arrests said that Libertas …

More: The United States Department …, Deep Dot Web, The Register, Forbes, The Verge, Daily Dot, Mashable and NYT Bits

Brad Molen / Engadget:

BlackBerry CEO hoping to avoid future layoffs, expects to be profitable by 2016 — This morning's earnings report may not have been BlackBerry's brightest moment, but John Chen seems confident in the company's future — and his ability to turn things around.

More: New York Times, CNET, Globe and Mail, CrackBerry.com and PhoneArena. Tweets: @parislemon

Steve Dent / Engadget:

BlackBerry teams up with Foxconn for budget smartphones as sales continue to plunge

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

BlackBerry's First Foxconn Partnership Phone Will Be 3G BB10 Device, Coming March Or April 2014

More: MobileSyrup.com and BGR. Thanks:@romaindillet

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

Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:

Oracle snaps up marketing software maker Responsys for $1.5B — Summary: The business-to-consumer marketing software company will be bought for a 38 percent premium of its stock price as of Thursday. — Zack Whittaker — Software giant Oracle said Friday it will buy Responsys …

More: DealBook, Gigaom, AllThingsD, ITworld.com, Mercury News, Marketing Land, internetretailer.com, Associated Press, AdExchanger, BetaNews and silicontap.com. Tweets: @qthrul

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 …

More: KQED News Fix, CNET, SFGate Blog, The Verge, PandoDaily, NYT Bits, Los Angeles Times, Mission Loc@l, San Francisco Examiner …, Business Insider, SlashGear and Valleywag

Barb Darrow / Gigaom:

“Backbreaking” OpenStack migrations hinder enterprise upgrades — Technology updates are never a day at the beach, but customers trying to upgrade to the latest release of OpenStack from its predecessor are often encountering bigger-than-expected problems. That is definitely not good news …

More: ZDNet and The VAR Guy. Tweets: @martenmickos and @jomaitlandsf. Thanks:@gigabarb

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.

More: TechCrunch, VentureBeat, StrictlyVC, VatorNews, Mashable and AllThingsD. Tweets: @lererventures

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

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 …

Tweets: @stevesi, @markgurman, @mashable, @stuartdredge, @richjaro, @kabster728, @velocitywong and @pkafka

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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