WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emboldened by their victory in quashing online piracy legislation, U.S. Internet companies are gearing up for a battle over whether consumers should be able to restrict efforts to gather personal data.
Google Inc , Facebook, Apple Inc and other tech companies have lobbied against congressional and federal agency proposals that would let Internet users press "do not track" buttons on their browsers to block targeted advertising. Consumers could also edit personal information that has been stored about them.
With the privacy issue, the multibillion-dollar Internet industry faces a challenge larger than potentially harmful legislation or regulations that could limit their advertising and corporate growth. Their efforts to self-regulate continue to suffer setbacks amidst accusations of privacy violations and last year's Federal Trade Commission findings that Facebook and Google engaged in deceptive privacy practices.
The FTC is expected to issue new privacy recommendations in the coming days, and companies are watching several legislative proposals on Capitol Hill.
Privacy advocates are pushing to give consumers greater control over data collection. The companies must convince consumers that they benefit by allowing personal data to be collected and shared.
Their pitch - in efforts like Google's current "Good to Know" advertising campaign - argues that data collection lets companies offer faster, smarter products, like better search results and customized mapping.
Internet companies successfully fought legislation to limit Internet piracy. Medley Global Advisors analyst Jeffrey Silva said Web companies may feel confident that they can tackle other government intervention.
"I think the lesson they've learned is if they don't like a certain bill, they can organize and create a lot of static and pushback," Silva said.
A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS
Internet data collection allows advertisers to target users in a demographic who are more likely to buy their product. These ads often subsidize Web content.
Google, for example, has come under fire for a new policy that took effect March 1 that treats information from most of its products, including Gmail, YouTube and Google+, as a single trove of data for advertisers.
Google contends the change will benefit customers. The company would be able to spot a signed-on user looking for recipes and seamlessly direct them to YouTube cooking videos.
"When we talk about how the Internet will improve and grow for consumers, that's coming from online behavioral advertising," said Daniel Castro, senior analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Strict privacy rules could lead to substantial cuts in online advertising dollars and an even larger hit to growth over the next five to 10 years, Castro said.
A 2010 study by University of Toronto professor Avi Goldfarb and MIT professor Catherine Tucker revealed a 65 percent decrease in ad effectiveness after European countries implemented data collection rules for targeted advertising.
Around 96 percent of Google's $37.9 billion revenue comes from advertising, financial statements showed.
Filings ahead of Facebook's much-discussed initial public offering revealed 85 percent of its $3.71 billion in revenue last year came from advertising.
Nearly two-thirds of Apple's fiscal year 2011 net sales came from its iPhone, iPad and related products and services that rely on tracking a user's exact location.
New government data collection policies could have huge implications. "If Google got 65 percent less revenue than it got last year, that would be a big upset to a company like that," Castro said.
MULTI-PRONGED ATTACK
The industry got a break last month when the White House released a blueprint "privacy bill of rights" giving consumers more data control, but relying heavily on voluntary compliance by Internet companies.
The FTC's expected recommendations are causing more anxiety.
Analysts and privacy advocates predict that the FTC report will have more teeth, in part because FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz recently described Google's new privacy policy as a "somewhat brutal choice" for consumers.
The FTC report may call for strict enforcement to ensure firms adhere to their privacy policies, according to sources familiar with the agency's thinking.
It may also try to accelerate firms' adoption of the "do not track" technology, which could work like the "do not call" registry that caused telemarketing industry havoc.
Silva said the FTC recommendations come from "people that live and breathe privacy policy and have a greater knowledge of the law, companies' practices and an institutional knowledge of what's happened before. They probably have a better feel for the degree to which self-regulation works or doesn't."
As for legislation, numerous privacy bills are winding their way through Congress.
A notable one is a bipartisan privacy framework from Senators John Kerry and John McCain. It would require companies to reassess their privacy practices for both personally identifiable information and online behavioral advertising profiles.
Critics say it could force more companies to start charging for services like e-mail, social networks and other content currently subsidized by advertising.
"I'm talking about American companies having rules that control their own destiny, before Europe or other trading partners impose their policies on all our companies," Kerry said. "Hell, establishing minimum privacy protections in law can help build consumer trust in the marketplace and in turn increase economic activity."
Tech companies have argued that government regulations could cut its revenues, reduce job growth and hurt the broader economy.
Lawmakers are looking for the "sweet spot" between too much regulation and none at all, Representative Mary Bono Mack, chairman of the House Commerce subcommittee on commerce, manufacturing and trade, said.
"Any knee-jerk reactions could have a chilling impact on innovation and e-commerce in the United States and threaten our economic recovery," she said.
WEB FIRMS' FOOTHOLD
Internet companies are well-positioned in Washington to push back against regulatory proposals.
With the piracy debate, they came together to argue that bills designed to shut down access to overseas websites trafficking in stolen content or counterfeit goods were too broad. They argued that they could undermine innovation and free speech and compromise the Internet's functioning.
What followed was an unprecedented online protest that saw Wikipedia and other sites go dark while bigger players like Google and Facebook displayed censorship bars and arguments against the bills on their sites.
The effort was supported with 3.9 million tweets, 2,000 people a second trying to call their elected representatives and more than 5,000 people a minute signing petitions opposing the legislation.
Privacy regulations are a harder sell, said privacy expert Amy Mushahwar, an attorney with Reed Smith.
"Consumers might not be able to immediately recognize that increased privacy obligations could lead to a lesser amount of content on the Web, which is really what the advertising industry is concerned about," said Mushahwar, a registered lobbyist for the Association of National Advertisers.
Internet companies have tried to get ahead of mandatory reforms by adopting their own policies.
The Digital Advertising Alliance rolled out new data collection principles that take effect this year. They explicitly prohibit collection and use of a person's Internet surfing data for determining their eligibility for employment, credit, insurance and medical treatment.
The industry is also using old-school lobbying tactics. It has ramped up its political activities dramatically, spending $1.2 billion between 1998 and 2011.
Google spent $9.68 million and Microsoft Corp $7.34 million on federal lobbying in 2011, according to lobbying disclosure reports.
Facebook, a latecomer to Washington, has beefed up its lobbying team, adding Joel Kaplan, former deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush, and Myriah Jordan, also a Bush aide and former general counsel to Republican Senator Richard Burr.
Facebook's lobbying expenditures skyrocketed from $351,000 in 2010 to $1.35 million in 2011, reports show.
Winning lawmaker support is only part of the battle. The sector also may benefit from the views of average people, said Linda Woolley, executive vice president of government affairs at the Direct Marketing Association.
Despite recent controversies over Google's privacy policies, "you didn't hear of people cancelling their Gmail accounts."
"From where I sit, I do not see hordes of Americans running to Capitol Hill saying we need to do something about this," she said.
(Additional reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Karey Wutkowski and Marilyn Thompson; Desking by Stacey Joyce)
Source:
http://goo.gl/Uv1Vy
Saturday, March 10, 2012
UK privacy watchdog slams Google's new privacy policy as too vague
Washington, Mar 10(ANI): Britain's privacy watchdog has slammed Google's new privacy policy as being "too vague" and claimed it does not comply with the Data Protection Act.
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith criticized Google at a conference in Westminster.
"Google's privacy policy is too vague.The requirement under the UK Data Protection Act is for a company to tell people what it actually intends to do with their data, not just what it might do at some unspecified point in future," The Telegraph quoted Smith, as saying.
"Being vague does not help in giving users effective control about how their information is shared. It's their information at the end of the day," he added.
His comments echo those of the French privacy watchdog, CNIL, which had called on Google to delay the unveiling of new policy.
European Commissioner Viviane Reding had earlier accused the firm of "sneaking away" citizens' privacy and warned that "we aren't playing games here".
But Google argued that its new privacy policy is easier to understand than over 60 policies it has replaced.
The new policy gives Google powers to pool personal information from search Gmail Maps, YouTube and dozens of other services to create a single profile of a user's interests to target advertising. (ANI)
Source:
http://goo.gl/XblkZ
Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith criticized Google at a conference in Westminster.
"Google's privacy policy is too vague.The requirement under the UK Data Protection Act is for a company to tell people what it actually intends to do with their data, not just what it might do at some unspecified point in future," The Telegraph quoted Smith, as saying.
"Being vague does not help in giving users effective control about how their information is shared. It's their information at the end of the day," he added.
His comments echo those of the French privacy watchdog, CNIL, which had called on Google to delay the unveiling of new policy.
European Commissioner Viviane Reding had earlier accused the firm of "sneaking away" citizens' privacy and warned that "we aren't playing games here".
But Google argued that its new privacy policy is easier to understand than over 60 policies it has replaced.
The new policy gives Google powers to pool personal information from search Gmail Maps, YouTube and dozens of other services to create a single profile of a user's interests to target advertising. (ANI)
Source:
http://goo.gl/XblkZ
Friday, March 9, 2012
Retweets from celebs latest form of autographs now
London, Mar 9 (ANI): A retweet on your Twitter account from your favorite athlete or star has replaced autographs and signed balls and bats as souvenirs.
Fans have turned Twitter into a digital version of the autograph session, asking - sometimes begging stars from every sport for a shout-out.
Some requests are designed to raise the profile of a charitable cause. But most fans are simply looking for a little love from their favorite athletes.
"It's almost like capturing a photo of yourself with that person," the Daily Mail quoted Chris Abraham, senior vice president at Social Ally, a social media firm as saying.
"For a second there, you've breached their celebrity.
"They've actually allowed you to come over and take a camera shot of you two together, and you can share it with all your friends," he said.
Still, a retweet might not sound all that thrilling. You can't frame it and hang it on a wall [though you could do a screen grab and print it out], and it can't be passed down to your kids and grandkids.
You can't collect retweets in a book and show it off to your friends, and no one's going to pay six figures for a retweet, as someone once did for a baseball signed by Babe Ruth.
But that's the old-school way of thinking. An autograph is going to be seen by 15, maybe 20 people.
Get a retweet from Shaquille O'Neal, and you're now the coolest thing ever with the 5 million-plus people who follow the Big Tweeter.
To say nothing of the bragging rights you'll get when the folks who follow you see it.
"You can tweet that to your boys. Or if they're following you, they see it," O'Neal, now an analyst for TNT said.
"You have 15 minutes of fame," he said.
Sometimes you get even more than that.
A few weeks ago, New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, perhaps the most prolific athlete on Twitter, showed up on the doorstep of a follower who invited him to come over after Ochocinco tweeted that he was driving around Miami.
When Ochocinco posted photos of their meeting, the follower's timeline was flooded with so many messages he'd need until next month's NFL draft to respond to them all.
For the last three semesters, David Gerzof Richard has given his social media and marketing class at Emerson College the assignment of making contact with a Boston-area celebrity through social media.
The class picked Ochocinco last semester and, not only did he respond, he took the entire class to dinner, spending more than three hours talking about social media and why he considers it important.
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was this semester's quest, and the class got a response almost immediately.
"We've connected with two out of the three. ... If they had to sit down and call the agent or publicist, I'm pretty sure our success rate would be zero," Richard said.
"I would never have imagined that the course that took me into academia would, in a million years, have me connecting with athletes.
"That's the wonderful thing about social media, it literally opens doors that people could never imagine," he added. (ANI)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/uIAiU
Fans have turned Twitter into a digital version of the autograph session, asking - sometimes begging stars from every sport for a shout-out.
Some requests are designed to raise the profile of a charitable cause. But most fans are simply looking for a little love from their favorite athletes.
"It's almost like capturing a photo of yourself with that person," the Daily Mail quoted Chris Abraham, senior vice president at Social Ally, a social media firm as saying.
"For a second there, you've breached their celebrity.
"They've actually allowed you to come over and take a camera shot of you two together, and you can share it with all your friends," he said.
Still, a retweet might not sound all that thrilling. You can't frame it and hang it on a wall [though you could do a screen grab and print it out], and it can't be passed down to your kids and grandkids.
You can't collect retweets in a book and show it off to your friends, and no one's going to pay six figures for a retweet, as someone once did for a baseball signed by Babe Ruth.
But that's the old-school way of thinking. An autograph is going to be seen by 15, maybe 20 people.
Get a retweet from Shaquille O'Neal, and you're now the coolest thing ever with the 5 million-plus people who follow the Big Tweeter.
To say nothing of the bragging rights you'll get when the folks who follow you see it.
"You can tweet that to your boys. Or if they're following you, they see it," O'Neal, now an analyst for TNT said.
"You have 15 minutes of fame," he said.
Sometimes you get even more than that.
A few weeks ago, New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, perhaps the most prolific athlete on Twitter, showed up on the doorstep of a follower who invited him to come over after Ochocinco tweeted that he was driving around Miami.
When Ochocinco posted photos of their meeting, the follower's timeline was flooded with so many messages he'd need until next month's NFL draft to respond to them all.
For the last three semesters, David Gerzof Richard has given his social media and marketing class at Emerson College the assignment of making contact with a Boston-area celebrity through social media.
The class picked Ochocinco last semester and, not only did he respond, he took the entire class to dinner, spending more than three hours talking about social media and why he considers it important.
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling was this semester's quest, and the class got a response almost immediately.
"We've connected with two out of the three. ... If they had to sit down and call the agent or publicist, I'm pretty sure our success rate would be zero," Richard said.
"I would never have imagined that the course that took me into academia would, in a million years, have me connecting with athletes.
"That's the wonderful thing about social media, it literally opens doors that people could never imagine," he added. (ANI)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/uIAiU
Ex Microsoft visionary Ozzie admits We are in a post-PC world
Washington, Mar 9(ANI): Former Microsoft's tech visionary Ray Ozzie has reckoned that the world has moved past the personal computer, potentially leaving behind the world's largest software company.
He added that the PC, which was Microsoft's handiwork, and still determines the company's financial performance, has been nudged aside by powerful phones and tablets running Apple and Google software.
"People argue about 'are we in a post-PC world?'. Why are we arguing? Of course we are in a post-PC world. That doesn't mean the PC dies, that just means that the scenarios that we use them in, we stop referring to them as PCs, we refer to them as other things," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ozzie, as saying at a technology conference in Seattle.
"I feel very good about a number of things that did change. The company's a lot different now, it's come a long way and I'm happy about some things and I'm impatient about other things," he added.
Ozzie was making his first public statement on Microsoft since quitting the company in 2010.
His speech came after Microsoft's arch-rival Apple's Chief Executive stressed the emergence of the "post-PC world" forged by the iPad.
Ozzie, who developed email application, Lotus Notes, was hand-picked by Gates to take over his role of chief software architect in 2006.
Ozzie said the fate of Windows 8 would determine Microsoft's future.
"If Windows 8 shifts in a form that people really want to buy the product, the company will have a great future. In any industry, if people look at their own needs, and look at the products and say, 'I understand why I had it then, and I want something different', they will not have as good a future. It's too soon to tell," he added. (ANI)
Source:
http://goo.gl/rLxLR
He added that the PC, which was Microsoft's handiwork, and still determines the company's financial performance, has been nudged aside by powerful phones and tablets running Apple and Google software.
"People argue about 'are we in a post-PC world?'. Why are we arguing? Of course we are in a post-PC world. That doesn't mean the PC dies, that just means that the scenarios that we use them in, we stop referring to them as PCs, we refer to them as other things," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ozzie, as saying at a technology conference in Seattle.
"I feel very good about a number of things that did change. The company's a lot different now, it's come a long way and I'm happy about some things and I'm impatient about other things," he added.
Ozzie was making his first public statement on Microsoft since quitting the company in 2010.
His speech came after Microsoft's arch-rival Apple's Chief Executive stressed the emergence of the "post-PC world" forged by the iPad.
Ozzie, who developed email application, Lotus Notes, was hand-picked by Gates to take over his role of chief software architect in 2006.
Ozzie said the fate of Windows 8 would determine Microsoft's future.
"If Windows 8 shifts in a form that people really want to buy the product, the company will have a great future. In any industry, if people look at their own needs, and look at the products and say, 'I understand why I had it then, and I want something different', they will not have as good a future. It's too soon to tell," he added. (ANI)
Source:
http://goo.gl/rLxLR
Monday, March 5, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone to be unveiled in UK in April
London, Mar 5(ANI): Samsung's new smartphone, the Galaxy S III, is likely to be launched in Britain in April.
The new Samsung handset will supersede the Galaxy S II, which is widely seen as the top Android smartphone.
ZDNet Korea claimed to have confirmed the launch with Samsung's advertising agency.
Samsung has not officially released Galaxy S III features but according to a technology blog, Boy Genius Report, it boasts of 1.5ghz quad-core processor, a 4.8-inch 1080p resolution display, 2GB RAM, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera. BGR said the handset would run Android 4.0.
The gadget blog also said that its own sources were predicting the launch for the new smartphone in April, The Telegraph reports.
It was earlier believed that Samsung would unveil the S III at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but the firm had rejected such claims before the event saying: "the successor to the Galaxy SII smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product". (ANI)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/hF9zx
The new Samsung handset will supersede the Galaxy S II, which is widely seen as the top Android smartphone.
ZDNet Korea claimed to have confirmed the launch with Samsung's advertising agency.
Samsung has not officially released Galaxy S III features but according to a technology blog, Boy Genius Report, it boasts of 1.5ghz quad-core processor, a 4.8-inch 1080p resolution display, 2GB RAM, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear camera. BGR said the handset would run Android 4.0.
The gadget blog also said that its own sources were predicting the launch for the new smartphone in April, The Telegraph reports.
It was earlier believed that Samsung would unveil the S III at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona but the firm had rejected such claims before the event saying: "the successor to the Galaxy SII smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product". (ANI)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/hF9zx
Hackers winning security war - executives
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Technology security professionals seeking wisdom from industry leaders in San Francisco this week saw more of the dark side than they had expected: a procession of CEO speakers whose companies have been hacked.
"It's pretty discouraging," said Gregory Roll, who came for advice and to consider buying security software for his employer, a large bank which he declined to name because he was not authorized to speak on its behalf. "It's a constant battle, and we're losing."
The annual RSA Conference, which draws to a close on Friday, brought a record crowd of more than 20,000 as Congress weighs new legislation aimed at better protecting U.S. companies from cyber attacks by spies, criminals and activists.
If the bills suggest that hackers are so far having their way with all manner of companies, the procession of speakers brought it home in a personal way.
The opening presentation by Art Coviello, executive chairman of conference sponsor and recent hacking victim RSA, set the tone with the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
RSA, owned by data storage maker EMC Corp, is the largest provider of password-generating tokens used by government agencies, banks and others to authenticate employees or customers who log on away from the office. Not long after last year's RSA conference, the company said an email with a poisoned attachment had been opened by an employee.
That gave hackers access to the corporate network and they emerged with information about how RSA calculates the numbers displayed on SecurID tokens, which was in turn used in an attack on Lockheed Martin that the defence contractor said it foiled.
Coviello said he hoped his company's misfortune would help foster a sense of urgency in the face of formidable opponents, especially foreign governments, who are being aided by the blurring of personal and professional online activities. Some 70 percent of employees in one survey he cited admitted to subverting corporate rules in order to use social networks or smartphones or get access to other resources, making security that much harder.
"Our networks will be penetrated. People will still make mistakes," Coviello said. He argued that with better monitoring and analysis of traffic inside company networks, "we can manage risk to acceptable levels."
If that didn't inspire enough enthusiasm after the worst year for corporate security in history - including the rise of activist hacks by Anonymous, numerous breaches at Sony Corp <6758.T>, and attacks on Nasdaq software used by corporate boards - there was more to come.
Next onstage was James Bidzos, CEO of core Internet infrastructure company VeriSign, which disclosed in an October securities filing that it had lost unknown data to hackers in 2010. He was followed by Enrique Salem, CEO of the largest security company, Symantec, which recently admitted that source code from the 2006 version of its program for gaining remote access to desktop computers had been stolen and published.
FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke on Thursday, warning that he expected cyber threats to pass terrorism as the country's top threat.
Though all sounded an upbeat call to arms, some watching grumbled that vendors with little credibility were trying to use their own shortcomings to peddle more expensive and unproven technology.
"There's some panic" among the buyers, said a security official with ING Groep NV who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Banks are very sensitive to questions about security breaches and often deny they have any significant problems in this area.
That panic contributed to vigorous panel discussions and hallway debates about who should be in charge of safeguarding defense companies, banks and utilities - private industry itself, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the National Security Agency, which has the greatest capability but a legacy of civil liberties issues.
A pending bill backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would put DHS in the lead, with assistance from NSA. Former NSA chief Michael Hayden said in an interview at the conference that should suffice.
"The Net is inherently insecure," Hayden said. "We need to quit admiring the problem and move out. No position could be worse than the one we're in now."
Coviello said one of the few pieces of good news was that the country as a whole is now realizing the gravity of the loss of its trade and government secrets, along with the difficulty of reversing the trend.
"People have definitely talked more seriously after our breach," he said in an interview. "Maybe a sense of realism has settled in."
(Reporting By Joseph Menn; Editing by Richard Chang)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/DAT3M
"It's pretty discouraging," said Gregory Roll, who came for advice and to consider buying security software for his employer, a large bank which he declined to name because he was not authorized to speak on its behalf. "It's a constant battle, and we're losing."
The annual RSA Conference, which draws to a close on Friday, brought a record crowd of more than 20,000 as Congress weighs new legislation aimed at better protecting U.S. companies from cyber attacks by spies, criminals and activists.
If the bills suggest that hackers are so far having their way with all manner of companies, the procession of speakers brought it home in a personal way.
The opening presentation by Art Coviello, executive chairman of conference sponsor and recent hacking victim RSA, set the tone with the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want."
RSA, owned by data storage maker EMC Corp, is the largest provider of password-generating tokens used by government agencies, banks and others to authenticate employees or customers who log on away from the office. Not long after last year's RSA conference, the company said an email with a poisoned attachment had been opened by an employee.
That gave hackers access to the corporate network and they emerged with information about how RSA calculates the numbers displayed on SecurID tokens, which was in turn used in an attack on Lockheed Martin that the defence contractor said it foiled.
Coviello said he hoped his company's misfortune would help foster a sense of urgency in the face of formidable opponents, especially foreign governments, who are being aided by the blurring of personal and professional online activities. Some 70 percent of employees in one survey he cited admitted to subverting corporate rules in order to use social networks or smartphones or get access to other resources, making security that much harder.
"Our networks will be penetrated. People will still make mistakes," Coviello said. He argued that with better monitoring and analysis of traffic inside company networks, "we can manage risk to acceptable levels."
If that didn't inspire enough enthusiasm after the worst year for corporate security in history - including the rise of activist hacks by Anonymous, numerous breaches at Sony Corp <6758.T>, and attacks on Nasdaq software used by corporate boards - there was more to come.
Next onstage was James Bidzos, CEO of core Internet infrastructure company VeriSign, which disclosed in an October securities filing that it had lost unknown data to hackers in 2010. He was followed by Enrique Salem, CEO of the largest security company, Symantec, which recently admitted that source code from the 2006 version of its program for gaining remote access to desktop computers had been stolen and published.
FBI Director Robert Mueller spoke on Thursday, warning that he expected cyber threats to pass terrorism as the country's top threat.
Though all sounded an upbeat call to arms, some watching grumbled that vendors with little credibility were trying to use their own shortcomings to peddle more expensive and unproven technology.
"There's some panic" among the buyers, said a security official with ING Groep NV who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Banks are very sensitive to questions about security breaches and often deny they have any significant problems in this area.
That panic contributed to vigorous panel discussions and hallway debates about who should be in charge of safeguarding defense companies, banks and utilities - private industry itself, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the National Security Agency, which has the greatest capability but a legacy of civil liberties issues.
A pending bill backed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would put DHS in the lead, with assistance from NSA. Former NSA chief Michael Hayden said in an interview at the conference that should suffice.
"The Net is inherently insecure," Hayden said. "We need to quit admiring the problem and move out. No position could be worse than the one we're in now."
Coviello said one of the few pieces of good news was that the country as a whole is now realizing the gravity of the loss of its trade and government secrets, along with the difficulty of reversing the trend.
"People have definitely talked more seriously after our breach," he said in an interview. "Maybe a sense of realism has settled in."
(Reporting By Joseph Menn; Editing by Richard Chang)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/DAT3M
App gives runners a boost with flesh-eating zombies
TORONTO (Reuters) - If your standard running routine needs an adrenaline boost, maybe flesh-eating zombies will do the trick.
An app called Zombies, Run!, is a narrated game where real-world runners must out run zombies and collect supplies to keep themselves and their fellow humans alive -- and the only way to do that, is to hit the pavement.
"When you're out running, you'll occasionally get chased by zombies and you'll need to speed up in response over the next minute," said the app's co-creator Adrian Hon.
"That's very much like interval training, which is one of the best ways to get fit and to improve cardio. But it's incredibly hard to make yourself do it because it's painful. But when you're being chased by zombies, well that's another thing," he said.
The story, performed by professional actors, plays out in one to two minute acts interspersed between the music runners already have on their devices. As players progress throughout the game, they start uncovering the mystery of how this futuristic world came to be filled with zombies.
Each mission that players embark on is approximately half an hour and there are currently 13 missions available, with 17 more in development. Players advance in the game by automatically collecting supplies like medicine, batteries and water for fellow humans back at their base.
"You hear the sound of the gates of the base you live in going up and someone says, 'The gates are broken -- we've got an emergency' and suddenly the megaphone goes on and tells you to report to the gate immediately 'Go, go, go!'", said Hon about the beginning of mission three.
"Every time I hear it, I still speed up. And it puts a smile on my face because I think 'OK, let's go for it'" he said.
Created in conjunction with award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman, the motivation for the app was to use the power of storytelling to make running more entertaining and motivating.
"For a lot of people who want to get into running it's been a great motivational tool. But we also have people who are running for an hour or two hours just because they want something more interesting than music or a podcast," she said.
Hon, who started running a few years ago, said that while apps that provide badges or points for running are motivating, they lack the engagement factor that he believes many runners need.
"They don't make the act of running anymore fun. You might be running and thinking 'I can't wait to get home to add five more points to my running log' but it's not really any greater when you're out there," he said.
An upcoming update to the app will track metrics such as speed, distance, time and calories burned. The company is also working on two add-on packs: one for beginners to ease them into running, and the other for interval training, for which Alderman said the app is particularly useful.
"We have all the built-in instincts in our brains to run away from predators. So it's a really powerful motivation to use," she said.
The app is available for iPhone and Android devices.
(Reporting by Natasha Baker; editing by Patricia Reaney)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/P8QBd
An app called Zombies, Run!, is a narrated game where real-world runners must out run zombies and collect supplies to keep themselves and their fellow humans alive -- and the only way to do that, is to hit the pavement.
"When you're out running, you'll occasionally get chased by zombies and you'll need to speed up in response over the next minute," said the app's co-creator Adrian Hon.
"That's very much like interval training, which is one of the best ways to get fit and to improve cardio. But it's incredibly hard to make yourself do it because it's painful. But when you're being chased by zombies, well that's another thing," he said.
The story, performed by professional actors, plays out in one to two minute acts interspersed between the music runners already have on their devices. As players progress throughout the game, they start uncovering the mystery of how this futuristic world came to be filled with zombies.
Each mission that players embark on is approximately half an hour and there are currently 13 missions available, with 17 more in development. Players advance in the game by automatically collecting supplies like medicine, batteries and water for fellow humans back at their base.
"You hear the sound of the gates of the base you live in going up and someone says, 'The gates are broken -- we've got an emergency' and suddenly the megaphone goes on and tells you to report to the gate immediately 'Go, go, go!'", said Hon about the beginning of mission three.
"Every time I hear it, I still speed up. And it puts a smile on my face because I think 'OK, let's go for it'" he said.
Created in conjunction with award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman, the motivation for the app was to use the power of storytelling to make running more entertaining and motivating.
"For a lot of people who want to get into running it's been a great motivational tool. But we also have people who are running for an hour or two hours just because they want something more interesting than music or a podcast," she said.
Hon, who started running a few years ago, said that while apps that provide badges or points for running are motivating, they lack the engagement factor that he believes many runners need.
"They don't make the act of running anymore fun. You might be running and thinking 'I can't wait to get home to add five more points to my running log' but it's not really any greater when you're out there," he said.
An upcoming update to the app will track metrics such as speed, distance, time and calories burned. The company is also working on two add-on packs: one for beginners to ease them into running, and the other for interval training, for which Alderman said the app is particularly useful.
"We have all the built-in instincts in our brains to run away from predators. So it's a really powerful motivation to use," she said.
The app is available for iPhone and Android devices.
(Reporting by Natasha Baker; editing by Patricia Reaney)
SOURCE:
http://goo.gl/P8QBd
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