Techmeme: Former NSA director Keith Alexander now pitching banks $1M/month cybersecurity consulting (Bloomberg)

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June 21, 2014, 3:10 PM

Top News

Liz Gannes / Re/code:

Google's Nest Buys Dropcam for $555 Million — Dropcam, the popular home monitoring camera startup, will be acquired by Nest, maker of smart thermostats and smoke detectors. The deal is worth $555 million in cash. — Nest itself was just purchased by Google just four months ago for $3.2 billion.

Bloomberg:

Former NSA director Keith Alexander now pitching banks $1M/month cybersecurity consulting — Ex-NSA Chief Pitches Banks Costly Advice on Cyber-Attacks — As the four-star general in charge of U.S. digital defenses, Keith Alexander warned repeatedly that the financial industry was among the likely targets of a major attack.

More: PandoDaily. Tweets: @csoghoian and @dangillmor

Kara Swisher / Re/code:

Yahoo, burned by The Weather Channel replacing it as iOS 8's weather data provider, worries next about Stocks app — As Weather Channel Blows Yahoo Off Apple's Upcoming iOS 8, App Storms Ahead for Mayer — Of the many announcements made at Apple's recent Worldwide Developers Conference …

More: iMore, iPhone in Canada Blog, App Advice, Ubergizmo, TechnoBuffalo, MacDailyNews, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, MacRumors, Business Insider and MacNN

Tweets: @kenli729 and @davezatz

Shara Tibken / CNET:

Samsung to launch Android Wear smartwatch at Google I/O — The wearable will be one of several new devices built around Google software, sources tell CNET. LG and Motorola are also expected to show off new gadgets.

More: Ars Technica, TechHive, Neowin, Gigaom, Softpedia News, Tech Times, TechnoBuffalo, Techie News, GSMArena Blog, Phandroid, Android Beat, Pocketnow, Ubergizmo, 9to5Google, The Verge, Android Central, Electronista, Engadget, SamMobile and SlashGear. Thanks:@nickstatt

Alyson Shontell / Business Insider:

THE INSIDE STORY OF YO: How A ‘Stupid’ App Attracted Millions Of Dollars And Rocketed To The Top Of The App Store — Moshe Hogeg was getting tired of asking his employee, Or Arbel, for a favor. — Hogeg, the CEO and founder of Tel Aviv company Mobli, had requested a simple way to get in touch …

More: Robert Scoble and VentureBeat. Tweets: @rrhoover, @ajs and @dangillmor

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

EFF to release open-source router firmware for securely sharing your Wi-Fi with strangers — This Tool Boosts Your Privacy by Opening Your Wi-Fi to Strangers — In an age of surveillance anxiety, the notion of leaving your Wi-Fi network open and unprotected seems dangerously naive.

More: PC World, NPR and Gizmodo

Tweets: @glynmoody, @jpbarlow, @thegrugq and @dangillmor

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Google May Buy Video Search Startup Baarzo — Google has been in talks to acquire video search startup Baarzo, according to sources with knowledge of the company. However, those sources were less clear about whether the companies had reached a final agreement.

Gregg Keizer / Computerworld:

Skype to retire recent editions for Windows, Mac; upgrades mandatory — Upgrade or lose access to calling and chat service in ‘next few months’ — Skype today said it would retire older versions of its desktop Internet calling application, including versions on Windows and OS X launched …

More: Skype, InfoWorld, Softpedia News, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, iMore, MacRumors, WinBeta, Techie News, App Advice, BetaNews, iPhone in Canada Blog and The Next Web

Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:

Rather Than Opt-Out Of Google, German News Publishers Demand 11% Cut Of Revenue — German news publishers are picking up where the Belgians left off, a now not-so-proud tradition of suing Google for being included in its listings rather than choosing to opt-out.

More: Ars Technica, BuzzMachine, Gawker and Techdirt. Tweets: @pmarca. See also Mediagazer

Janko Roettgers / Gigaom:

YouTube is coming to cable TV set-top boxes, with a little help from the cloud — Right now, a grandma in Hungary is watching Gangnam style for the very first time. Her introduction to Psy has been made possible by a partnership between YouTube and the local cable TV provider UPC Hungary …

More: Light Reading

Ina Fried / Re/code:

Q&A with Jeff Bezos: Amazon Fire phone took form over four years ago — Bezos: Amazon Fire Phone Was a Long Time Coming — Going to dump your iPhone for this? — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has made a long-term bet that you will. The retailer's new Fire phone is the culmination …

More: GeekWire, App Advice, DSLreports, Ars Technica, TechnoBuffalo, BGR and FierceWireless

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