Cynthia Harvey

Prosecutors have indicted five foreign nationals for involvement in what they say is the largest known hack attack in the U.S. The men are accused of stealing millions of account numbers, leading to $300 million in losses for American companies. Bloomberg’s David Voreacos reported, “Four Russians and a Ukrainian were charged in what prosecutors called […]

A CNET report based on anonymous sources says the U.S. government has requested that Internet companies hand over user passwords, as well as the encryption algorithm and salt, which companies use to protect passwords. The article says that firms are very reluctant to comply with these demands. CNET’s Declan McCullagh broke the story, writing, “The […]

Apple is no longer the world’s most profitable smartphone maker. Archrival Samsung has claimed that title, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics. CNET’s Don Reisinger reported, “Research firm Strategy Analytics proclaimed Friday that for the first time in four years, Apple is no longer the most profitable handset maker in the world. That […]

BlackBerry has confirmed that it has laid off 250 more workers. The company has been restructuring extensively in efforts to compete with more successful mobile phone companies, like Apple and Samsung. All Things D’s John Paczkowski reported, “In a statement to AllThingsD, a BlackBerry spokesman confirmed that the company sacked 250 employees working at a […]

On Wednesday, Google made several big product announcements. It rolled out a new Nexus 7 tablet that runs the latest version of the Android operating system—Android 4.3. In addition, it debuted a brand-new device called Chromecast that allows users to stream content from their PCs and mobile devices to their TVs. Alexei Oreskovic with Reuters […]

Facebook posted a quarterly financial report that was nearly all good news. Revenue was up 53 percent year over year, and the social network made strong gains in mobile. Tomio Geron with Forbes reported, “Facebook posted second quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, sending shares up sharply in after-hours trading. The social network posted earnings […]

While once a determined enemy of open source, Microsoft has embraced yet another open source technology. This time the company is working with Azul Systems to bring an open implementation of Java to its Azure cloud computing platform. Jonathan Brandon with Business Cloud News reported, “MS Open Tech, Microsoft’s open source-focused subsidiary announced a partnership […]

A new report indicates that sales of Mac desktops and laptops declined sharply in June. However, PC sales in general were also down. All Things D’s John Paczkowski reported, “It has been a slower summer than usual for Mac sales. According to the latest market data from NPD Group, Apple’s domestic Mac sales declined 5 […]

Michael Dell and Silver Lake have increased their buyout bid in the deal that would take Dell private. However, they want a change in shareholder voting rules that would make it easier to get approval for their offer. Poornima Gupta, Soyoung Kim and Greg Roumeliotis with Reuters reported, “Dell Inc founder Michael Dell on Wednesday […]

A new survey conducted by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) details the negative impact that news of the NSA’s Prism intelligence-gathering program is having on the cloud computing industry. Companies outside the U.S. are canceling contacts, and most are now reluctant to do business with American vendors. Computerworld’s Jaikumar Vijayan reported, “A Cloud Security Alliance […]