Premera Blue Cross breached, medical information exposed

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) – Health insurer Premera Blue Cross said on Tuesday it was a victim of a cyberattack that may have exposed medical data and financial information of 11 million customers in the latest serious breach disclosed by a healthcare company.

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Authorities closing in on hackers who stole JPMorgan data: NYT

(Reuters) – Federal authorities investigating the data breach at JPMorgan Chase & Co are confident that a criminal case will be filed against the hackers in the coming months, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the investigation.

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Facebook clarifies rules on banned content

Facebook Inc clarified its rules banning certain content from its social network, as the Internet company strives to curb controversial posts such as support for violent militant groups and nudity without damaging its status as a global hub for users to share information. The 1.39 billion-member social network updated its “community standards” late Sunday, providing specific examples of content prohibited under its general rules against direct threats, hate speech and criminal activity.

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Egypt’s Sawiris considers buy in Italy internet sector: Corriere della Sera

Naguib Sawiris is considering making an acquisition in Italy's Internet sector, the Egyptian tycoon said in an interview published on Saturday. Sawiris, whose family founded Egypt's giant Orascom group, said in an interview with Corriere della Sera that he planned to create a new data center in Milan, which would be Italy's biggest, by the end of April. “We are also weighing up another acquisition, still in the Internet sector,” said Sawiris, who made an unsuccessful bid to buy a stake in Telecom Italia in 2012

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Ryan Gosling dismisses ‘Hey Girl,’ discusses new film at SXSW

By Piya Sinha-Roy AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – With a drop of a microphone, Ryan Gosling dispelled his Internet infamy, saying he had never once uttered the phrase, “Hey Girl,” which has made him a viral phenomenon. Gosling was the anticipated opening day guest at the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival covering film, music and technology in Austin, Texas, being quizzed by Del Toro not on his Internet fame, rather his directorial debut, “Lost River.” But Del Toro threw in cheeky references to the infatuation with Gosling that has made him an online celebrity, such as his love for Disneyland, where he has been photographed on dates, riding rollercoasters. Gosling, 34, responded by blushing and hiding his face in embarrassment, and when Del Toro teased him for finally saying “Hey Girl” while telling a story about never having said the phrase, Gosling dropped the mic, joking he was done

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China puts tech bill that concerns West on hold: U.S. official

By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China has put a hold on a draft counter-terrorism law that would require technology firms to hand over sensitive information to government officials, a senior U.S. official said in a good sign for Western businesses who saw the rule as a major impediment to working in the world’s second largest economy

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State Department upgrades network security against cyber attacks

The State Department on Friday said it was upgrading the security of its unclassified computer network to defend against cyber attacks, leaving some employees unable to send outside emails or access the internet. Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the agency, which in November said it had suffered a cyber attack, was improving “the security of its main unclassified network during a short, planned outage of some Internet-linked systems.” The agency carried out an upgrade in November that also left workers unable to send outside emails or to get to the internet. In a brief statement, Psaki said the department continued to monitor “activity of concern” on its unclassified network but did not address whether there had been a recent, new attack that prompted the latest security upgrade.

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Exclusive: IBM looking at adopting bitcoin technology for major currencies

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) – International Business Machines Corp is considering adopting the underlying technology behind bitcoin, known as the “blockchain,” to create a digital cash and payment system for major currencies, according to a person familiar with the matter. The blockchain – a ledger, or list, of all of a digital currency's transactions – is viewed as bitcoin's main technological innovation, allowing users to make payments anonymously, instantly, and without government regulation.

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