Techmeme
December 19, 2014, 6:10 PM

Top News

FBI:
FBI concludes that the North Korean government is responsible for Sony Pictures hack  —  Update on Sony Investigation … Today, the FBI would like to provide an update on the status of our investigation into the cyber attack targeting Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE).
Re/code:
Obama calls Sony canceling The Interview a “mistake”, says North Korea acted alone; White House contemplating “proportional response”  —  President Obama Says Sony Made “Mistake” in Canceling “The Interview” Film  —  President Obama, speaking at his year-end presser …
Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:
In new email sent to Sony executives, hackers threaten further release of “sensitive data” pending any “additional trouble”  —  Source: Hackers send new message to Sony  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney)  —  The hackers behind a devastating cyberattack at Sony Pictures …
Rhiannon Williams / Telegraph:
Apple CEO Tim Cook is “deeply offended” by the BBC's labor abuse allegations  —  Apple goes to war with the BBC  —  Exclusive: Chief executive Tim Cook ‘deeply offended’ by allegations made by BBC's Panorama programme that Apple is failing to protect its Chinese factory workers
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Google sues to block Mississippi AG Jim Hood's “burdensome, retaliatory” subpoena of records, issued a document preservation notice to MPAA  —  Goliath strikes back: Google takes legal action against Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood  —  Last Friday, The Verge published …
The Reddit Admins / reddit:
Reddit to distribute equity to active users by lottery with ‘reddit notes’ in 2015  —  Announcing reddit notes  —  We raised some funding in September, and we promised to reserve a portion to give back to the community.  If you're hearing about this for the first time, check out the official blog post here.
Staples Investor Relations:
Staples provides details on September breach: 115 stores' POS systems, 1.16M payment cards compromised  —  Staples Provides Update on Data Security Incident  —  Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) today gave an update on the investigation into its previously announced data security incident involving …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Computer intrusion inflicts massive damage on German steel factory  —  A German steel factory suffered significant damage after attackers gained unauthorized access to computerized systems that help control its blast furnace, according to a report published Friday by IDG News.
More: ITworld.com and Gigaom
Ruth Reader / VentureBeat:
Yahoo announces plans to kill off some regional news sites, sunsets Yahoo Classic Games, alerts, and profile sites  —  Today Yahoo released an updated product report for 2014, which highlights the closure of several regional sites.  —  Yesterday the company shut down regional homepages in Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Chile.
More: Yahoo and WebProNews
Kevin C. Tofel / Gigaom:
Sales rise in McDonald's tests of beacons for wireless offers of promotions on iOS/Android  —  Hold the beacon: McDonald's tests wireless offers near stores  —  Credit: Flickr / Kenny Louie  —  Credit: Flickr / Kenny Louie  —  McDonald's was one of the first retail locations I used …
More: PYMNTS.com
Danny Yadron / Wall Street Journal:
Poll: 45% of Americans have been notified that payment card details were stolen in a data breach  —  Poll Shows Broad Impact of Cyberattacks  —  Just fewer than half of Americans say that a retailer, bank or credit-card company has told them or a household member that their payment card details …
Amy Schatz / Re/code:
T-Mobile settles FTC's cramming charges lawsuit for $90M, will give refunds to customers  —  T-Mobile Settles Government “Cramming” Charges for $90 Million  —  T-Mobile settled a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that accused the company of profiting from unauthorized charges placed …

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Featured Podcasts

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A top iPhone app developer reacts to Apple's new Siri
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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Hard Fork:
'Hard Fork' Live, Part 1: Satya Nadella and Cindy Cohn
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The Upstarts Podcast:
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Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
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Earlier Picks

Vindu Goel / New York Times:
Richard Lawler / Engadget: