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RT @Techmeme: Sony's smart glass uses regular glasses, aims for sports and work (@superglaze / Gigaom)

RT @Techmeme: Sony's smart glass uses regular glasses, aims for sports and work (@superglaze / Gigaom)

RT @gigaom: Sony employees file lawsuit, blame company over hacked data

That is, that there will be no new content after year end; however, all current content will be accessible and links to existing Dr. Dobb's articles will continue to work correctly. It is the equivalent of a product coming to end of life. It still runs, but no new features will be added.

7. Finally, blaming North Korea is the easy way out for a number of folks, including the security vendors and Sony management who are under the microscope for this. Let’s face it – most of today’s so-called “cutting edge” security defenses are either so specific, or so brittle, that they really don’t offer much meaningful protection against a sophisticated attacker or group of attackers. That doesn’t mean that we should let them off and give up every time someone plays the “APT” or “Sophisticated Attacker” card though. This is a significant area of weakness in the security industry – the truth is we are TERRIBLE at protecting against bespoke, unique attacks, let alone true zero days. There is some promising technology out there, but it’s clear that it just isn’t ready yet.

Analysis by researchers at Cisco of a malware sample matching the MD5 hash signature of the “Destover” malware that was used in the attack on Sony Pictures revealed that the code was full of bugs and anything but sophisticated. It was the software equivalent of a crude pipe bomb.

RT @Techmeme: Book adaptation: How Marissa Mayer fought to turn around Yahoo and lost her way (@nichcarlson)

RT @Techmeme: Book adaptation: How Marissa Mayer fought to turn around Yahoo and lost her way (@nichcarlson)

RT @Techmeme: Apple CEO Tim Cook is "deeply offended" by the BBC's labor abuse allegations

RT @Techmeme: Apple CEO Tim Cook is "deeply offended" by the BBC's labor abuse allegations

RT @Techmeme: I work at Sony Pictures. This is what it was like after we got hacked. (@editorialiste)

RT @Techmeme: I work at Sony Pictures. This is what it was like after we got hacked. (@editorialiste)

RT @Techmeme: Verizon to FCC: You can't stop Netflix-like interconnection payments (@jbrodkin)

RT @Techmeme: Verizon to FCC: You can't stop Netflix-like interconnection payments (@jbrodkin)

RT @Techmeme: Cable industry group explains why it's so afraid the FCC will regulate ISPs like utilities

RT @Techmeme: Cable industry group explains why it's so afraid the FCC will regulate ISPs like utilities

RT @Techmeme: Google+ adds auto enhancement feature for videos (@cyborgwriter / SlashGear)

RT @Techmeme: Google+ adds auto enhancement feature for videos (@cyborgwriter / SlashGear)

First, this is not an act of terrorism. There has been no senseless violence. No innocents are coming home in body bags. Yes, a company is seriously embarrassed--and financially hurt--by all of its information leaking to the public. But posting unreleased movies online is not terrorism. It's not even close. Nor is this an act of war. Stealing and publishing a company's proprietary information is not an act of war. We wouldn't be talking about going to war if someone snuck in and photocopied everything, and it makes equally little sense to talk about it when someone does it over the internet. The threshold of war is much, much higher, and we're not going to respond to this militarily. Over the years, North Korea has performed far more aggressive acts against US and South Korean soldiers. We didn't go to war then, and we're not going to war now.

He points to a National Academies report from 2009, quoting a former Justice Department official on attribution in cyber attacks: “I have seen too many situations where government officials claimed a high degree of confidence as to the source, intent, and scope of an attack, and it turned out they were wrong on every aspect of it. That is, they were often wrong, but never in doubt.”

The Marriott-owned Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center tech staff was using a monitoring system that de-authenticated guests’ personal Wi-Fi hot spots. Meanwhile, the hotel was charging exhibitors and attendees anywhere from $250 to $1,000 for Wi-Fi service, the FCC said.

5. Hard-coded paths and passwords in the malware make it clear that whoever wrote the code had extensive knowledge of Sony’s internal architecture and access to key passwords. While it’s (just) plausible that a North Korean elite cyber unit could have built up this knowledge over time and then used it to make the malware, Occam’s razor suggests the simpler explanation of a pissed-off insider. Combine that with the details of several layoffs that Sony was planning and you don’t have to stretch the imagination too far to consider that a disgruntled Sony employee might be at the heart of it all.

Samsung's Plan To Replace Android Has Hit A Snag, And Now Things Are Looking Bad For Next Year

RT @Techmeme: W3C to recommend that companies with "first-party relationships" be allowed to track users

RT @Techmeme: W3C to recommend that companies with "first-party relationships" be allowed to track users

Alleged ‘Lizard Squad’ Member Reveals His Face In A TV Interview

Apple accounted for 51% of the new device activations worldwide Flurry recognized in the week leading up to and including Christmas Day (December 19th - 25th). Samsung held the #2 position with 18% of new device activations, and Microsoft (Nokia) rounded out the top three with 5.8% share for mostly Lumia devices.

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