QUOTE OF THE DAY “I think the new aggression on the part of [health-care] providers to collect payments reflects the growing cost of health care and their need to stay financially viable.” Sara Collins, Vice president at the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that supports research on the U.S. health-care system Article, 1D
AOL confirms users’ accounts hacked
AOL Inc. on Monday confirmed what many suspected: Hackers stole the email addresses, postal addresses, address books, encrypted passwords and encrypted answers to security questions of “a significant number of user accounts.”
“The ongoing investigation of this serious criminal activity is our top priority,” the New York-based company said. “We are working closely with federal authorities to pursue this investigation to its resolution. Our security team has put enhanced protective measures in place, and we urge our users to take proactive steps to help ensure the security of their accounts.”
AOL said it began investigating after it saw a significant increase in the amount of spam email being sent from accounts that were set up to look like AOL Mail addresses.
This is a tactic known as “spoofing.”
Spoofing is “used by spammers to make it appear that the message is from an email user known to the recipient in order to trick the recipient into opening it,” AOL said.
The company said it appears spammers are using the stolen contact information to send spoof messages from email addresses mimicking 2 percent of AOL’s accounts.
AOL suggests that all its users and employees change their passwords and security questions and answers to protect themselves from hackers.
Microsoft working to fix Explorer flaw
Microsoft Corp. is rushing to fix a security flaw in its Internet Explorer browser that already is being used in “limited, targeted attacks,” as anti-virus firms and the U.S.
government advise switching to alternate products.
To take over a user’s personal computer through the browser’s vulnerability, a hacker would have to persuade that person to click on a link to view a malicious website, Microsoft said in an advisory.
The Explorer security concerns come just weeks after the public discovery of Heartbleed, a flaw in the design of an encryption tool that runs on as many as two-thirds of all active websites. Internet Explorer runs on 58 percent of all desktop PCs, according NetMarketShare, compared with 18 percent for Google Inc.’s Chrome, the No. 2 browser.
“An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user,” Microsoft said in the advisory issued Saturday. “On completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.”
The flaw exists in Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11, which means it will affect users of Windows XP, the operating system that Microsoft stopped supporting with security updates earlier this month.
Symantec Corp., the biggest maker of PC-security software, advised customers to switch to another browser until Microsoft releases a software patch to fix the vulnerability and to use a security mitigation tool kit that Microsoft recommended and that will work with Windows XP.
Alibaba invests $1.2 billion in video site
BEIJING - E-commerce giant Alibaba Group is expanding its online entertainment presence by investing $1.2 billion with a partner in video website Youku Tudou.
Alibaba will gain a 16.5 percent stake in the company and its partner Yunfeng Capital will get 2 percent, Youku Tudou Inc. said Monday.
China’s major Internet companies have invested billions of dollars over the past year to expand beyond their core businesses by creating or acquiring entertainment, consumer finance and other services.
They are trying to retain users as Chinese Web surfers shift rapidly to going online via smartphones and other mobile devices, which is shaking up the traditional Internet markets. The investment will “strengthen Youku Tudou as China’s largest online video platform and further differentiate our services and user experience,” Youku Tudou’s chairman, Victor Koo, said in the statement.
Alibaba, based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, is one of the world’s biggest Internet companies and says more than $150 billion worth of merchandise changes hands on its online platforms each year, more than Amazon and eBay combined. The company announced March 17 that it will have an initial public stock offering in the United States. It has given no other details, but analysts say it could raise as much as $15 billion in the biggest IPO since Facebook.
Alibaba has been the biggest spender in the acquisitions race. In February, it offered $1.1 billion for the 72 percent of map service Autonavi that it doesn’t already own. In March, it paid $804 million to acquire control of ChinaVision, a Hong Kong producer of movies and TV programs.
Also in March, Alibaba invested $215 million in Tango, a mobile messaging service in Mountain View, Calif.
Siemens puts conditions on Alstom bid
Siemens AG is planning to bid for Alstom SA assets on the condition it gets the same access to its French rival’s books as General Electric Co., according to two people familiar with the matter.
Alstom, which already received a binding offer from GE, asked Siemens to send another letter with more details of its proposal before the German company gets more financial information, the people said, asking not to be named as the talks are not public. A Siemens representative declined to comment.
French President Francois Hollande talked to both GE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt and Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser in separate meetings Monday. The state doesn’t prefer one bidder over the other, another person said.
Both GE and Siemens have taken steps to appease policymakers for a deal with Alstom, which has a market value of about $11.5 billion. GE is arguing that its plan to acquire the energy business while Alstom’s transport unit is separated would result in fewer job losses because of smaller overlaps in operations, said people with knowledge of the matter. Siemens is willing to make guarantees about jobs and executive positions, one person said.
“None of these big players buying Alstom is going to be a smooth ride,” said Simon Toennessen, an analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG. “Siemens is seeing the competitive threat from GE as big enough to consider this step.” - Bloomberg News
Business, Pages 24 on 04/29/2014