Report on NSA 'secret' payments to RSA fuels encryption controversy

U.S. government moves to block further litigation in NSA surveillance cases 10 best Android smartphones of 2013 Network World Daily News AM December 23, 2013 Share this email Report on NSA 'secret' payments to RSA fuels encryption controversy The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) paid US$10 million to vendor RSA in a "secret" deal to incorporate a deliberately flawed encryption algorithm into widely used security software, according to a Reuters report that is reigniting controversy about the government's involvement in setting security standards. READ MORE   Issue highlights 1. U.S. government moves to block further litigation in NSA surveillance cases 2. 10 best Android smartphones of 2013 3. Tricks and tips that will help you get the most out of those new Xmas gadgets 4. Apple confirms iPhone deal with China Mobile 5. Balky browsers tick off tablet owners 6. "Minority Report" meets PC support 7. Devious app gets developers in trouble with FTC 8. Atlas Robot Tour: DARPA Robotics Challenge 9. 10 Signs You're Probably a Techie 10. Japanese robot crushes rivals at DARPA challenge 11. President's Review Group recommends reforming the NSA so we have security AND privacy RESOURCE COMPLIMENTS OF: Netop - NWW Add Chat to Your iOS, Android or Windows App Enhance your mobile strategy by integrating real-time chat into your iOS, Android or Windows app with Netop Live Guide's SDK. Once setup, customers using your app on their smartphone or tablet can connect to and chat with a service agent by clicking a button. Learn more. U.S. government moves to block further litigation in NSA surveillance cases The U.S. government again claimed state-secrets privileges in a move to block two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the National Security Agency's monitoring of Americans' phone communications and email, according to court filings late Friday. READ MORE 10 best Android smartphones of 2013 2013 was a big year for the Android smartphone ecosystem. READ MORE Tricks and tips that will help you get the most out of those new Xmas gadgets Did you get a new tablet, smartphone or laptop for the holidays? If so, you'll want to tune it to your interests/needs to get the most out of it. Here is a list of resources that can help: READ MORE WHITE PAPER: Fortinet High Performance Data Center Firewall Survey With Data Centers consolidating and virtualizing, the core infrastructure is upgrading to 10G, 40G and even 100G. The Firewall must keep pace with these changes otherwise it becomes a bottleneck. Does your Firewall have the horsepower to keep up? View now >> Apple confirms iPhone deal with China Mobile The iPhone landing on China Mobile was almost like a game of "the boy who cried wolf." For years we've been seeing stories that all but guaranteed that the iPhone was just about to land on China Mobile. In fact, the Wall Street Journal just a few weeks ago said that a deal between the two companies had finally been inked. Of course, a Reuters report soon came out indicating that the two companies were... READ MORE Balky browsers tick off tablet owners Browser problems are the most common complaints of iPad Air and Fire HDX tablet owners, an online community of troubleshooters said. READ MORE "Minority Report" meets PC support In the 2002 sci-fi flick Minority Report, the so-called "pre-cogs" could supposedly predict crimes before they actually occured. In 2013, Dell claims its technical support opereations can predict product failures before they occur. READ MORE WHITE PAPER: AT&T Transforming Your Organization with Mobility This whitepaper intends to help organizations understand the critical elements of a mobilization solution, the value and inter-dependencies, and important enablement assessment questions. Learn More Devious app gets developers in trouble with FTC READ MORE Atlas Robot Tour: DARPA Robotics Challenge Atlas Robot Tour: DARPA Robotics Challenge Matt DeDonato from Worcester Polytechnic Institute gives Computerworld an overview of the Atlas robot (made by Boston Dynamics). WPI is one of 16 teams competing in the DARPA Robotics Challenge... From: Network World Videos Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 02:42 More in Science & Technology READ MORE 10 Signs You're Probably a Techie You may make your living in the technology field, but that doesn't make you a techie. However, if these 10 criteria apply to you, then you can officially don the 'Techie' badge (and we all know that techies love badges). READ MORE Japanese robot crushes rivals at DARPA challenge A Japanese team dominated its 15 competitors at DARPA's Robotics Challenge in Florida this weekend. READ MORE President's Review Group recommends reforming the NSA so we have security AND privacy The NSA paid $10 million to RSA so the security company would make flawed encryption the default, reported Reuters. Sources said the secret $10 million deal was so the RSA would make the Dual_EC_DRBG pseudorandom number generating algorithm the default algorithm in its BSafe crypto library so the NSA "could crack into widely used computer products." READ MORE WHITE PAPER: CDW Managing Essential tools for greater productivity People are interacting with software from the moment they wake up (hearing an alarm on a smartphone) to the time they relax in the evening (reading or shopping online). And in between, software affects virtually every work function in some way, whether in the executive suite or on the shipping dock. Read Now SLIDESHOWS Avaya builds massive Wi-Fi net for 2014 Winter Olympics BYOD for 30,000 people creates extraordinary demands on the network. 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