Tech News Week Review: Anthem Hack, Ransomware, Mobile Payments, Xiaomi, Micromax

Chinese State-Sponsored Hackers Suspected in Anthem Attack - Bloomberg Business: "(Bloomberg) -- Investigators of Anthem Inc.’s data breach are pursuing evidence that points to Chinese state-sponsored hackers who are stealing personal information from health-care companies for purposes other than pure profit, according to three people familiar with the probe. The breach, which exposed Social Security numbers and other sensitive details of 80 million customers, is one of the biggest thefts of medical-related customer data in U.S. history. China has said in the past that it doesn’t conduct espionage through hacking.   The attack appears to follow a pattern of thefts of medical data by foreigners seeking a pathway into the personal lives and computers of a select group -- defense contractors, government workers and others, according to a U.S. government official familiar with a more than year-long investigation into the evidence of a broader campaign...."

How Ransomware Works, and Why You Should Be Afraid | MIT Technology Review: ".... It is hard for malware to spread on mobile devices, because most people download software only from official app stores. Simplocker is typically spread through downloads of apps from pornography websites. The best way to keep ransomware off your computer, experts say, is to follow best practices by keeping software updated, using antivirus and other security software, and being careful about where you click and what you install. Backing up data on a separate hard drive or using a cloud service could save you from being held for ransom if an infection does occur. “Ransomware could be just a minor nuisance if people could just restore the data from the backup,” says Lipovsky. However, like other security researchers, he is resigned to discovering many more cases of ransomware in coming months. “Even though the advice is quite simple, lots of people don’t listen to it.”

New Technologies Shake Up Old Money | MIT Technology Review: "... “The smartphone is the catalyst for a lot of change in this industry,” says Dana Stalder, a venture capitalist with Matrix Partners and a former eBay and ­PayPal executive now on the board of Poynt, which recently introduced a smart credit card terminal. Venture capitalists invested over $2 billion in payment technology firms between January 2013 and June 2014, according to the data tracking firm CB Insights...."

How Smartphone Brands You've Never Heard Of Are Taking Over India And China: "domestic brands like India’s Micromax and China’s Xiaomi have manufactured relatively good smartphones that retail for less than $200. In India, for example, Canalys estimated that nearly a quarter of the smartphones sold in the fourth quarter cost less than $100, while 41 percent were between $100-$200. Xiaomi’s latest Redmi Note 4G costs 999 yuan (about $160); its popular Redmi sells for only about $100 in India."

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Google Android One Smartphones, Billions of Global Users (video)

Introducing Android One -
Introducing Android One--Google smartphone initiative for billions of global users (video above) The world is filled with potential: people who are ready to leave their mark and need a phone as ambitious as they are. Learn more at android.com/one. [Published on Sep 15, 2014]

While Apple [see video below] has retreated into being exclusively a luxury manufacturer and retailer of watches, smartphones, tablets, and computers (and accompanying "walled-garden" services), Google is going for billions of global users who want and need functional smartphones at low prices--Google has partnered with handset makers Micromax, Karbonn and Spice to bring phones that cost less than $100 to India and the rest of the world. (see article referenced below)

Economic Times
Android One: Google's push to rule the smartphone world
CNET
Android One is first rolling out in India, then in Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asia by the end of the year. For the launch, Google has partnered with three Indian device makers -- Micromax, Karbonn and Spice -- to create three $100 smartphones, as well as teamed up with the wireless provider Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile carrier in India, with 40 percent of smartphone users in the country on that network.. ... 

Report: Moto X 'Pure Edition' will ditch the bloat | PCWorld: "One of the major gripes of those who buy Android phones is all the bloatware and inconsistent updates that wreck an otherwise "pure Google" experience. Motorola is taking that term and running with it, as a report says the company's non-carrier branded model will be dubbed the Moto X Pure Edition. The Moto X is very close to stock Android, with only a few Motorola-built enhancements like voice commands and gestures. Motorola also is very good about quickly updating its devices to the latest version of Android. The Moto X product page still lists the phone as "coming soon"..." 


Forbes
Microsoft To Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang For $2.5 Billion
Forbes
In the last two years, gamers have played more than 2 billion hours of Minecraft onMicrosoft's Xbox 360. Monday, Microsoft Microsoft made the ...
Microsoft buys Minecraft for $2.5 billion - CNNMoney
Microsoft Buys 'Minecraft' for $2.5 Billion but Founders Will Leave - Wall Street Journal
Microsoft to buy Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5B - CNET


Wall Street Journal
Apple Reports Record Preorders for New iPhone
Wall Street Journal
Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch ... The demand for the new smartphones exceeded the initial supply, Apple said ...

Tim Cook: Apple Watch Takes Us Into Whole New Area -
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple Watch, HealthKit, Apple Pay, and iPhone 6 on "Charlie Rose." 

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