AdvisorHUB site tried to sell broker data to major wirehouses

By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK (Reuters) – (This is a correction to Dec. 19 story, which originally lacked the word ‘temporarily’ in 11th paragraph.) AdvisorHUB, a year-old gossip and news website for the brokerage industry, has become such a part of brokers’ daily reading routine that some call it the “New York Post of financial news.” The website’s founder, Andrew Parish, says the site has 200,000 registered users and gets half a million unique hits a month. …

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Elder-care challenges prompt tech executives to create startups, apps

By Christina Farr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – For years, Google Inc’s commerce chief, Stephanie Tilenius, held a demanding job and helped oversee the medical care of her parents, an experience that led her to leave the Internet search giant in 2012 and start a company to help patients combat chronic disease.  Earlier this year, Tilenius’ company launched Vida, a mobile app that lets patients consult with a team of professionals, including doctors, nurses and nutritionists, from their smartphone. The program costs $15 a week and includes reminders to take medication.

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North Korean Internet, 3G mobile network ‘paralyzed:’ Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – North Korea’s Internet and 3G mobile networks were paralyzed again on Saturday evening, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, with the North Korean government blaming the United States for systemic instability in the country’s networks.

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Japan, wary of North Korea, works to secure infrastructure after Sony attack

By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan, fearing it could be a soft target for possible North Korean cyberattacks in the escalating row over the Sony Pictures hack, has begun working to ensure basic infrastructure is safe and to formulate its diplomatic response, officials said. The hacking of the U.S. …

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Online shopping spotlights trade wishes for small businesses

By Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Booming online shopping is turning more small businesses into exporters and pushing issues like duty-free limits and customs duties higher up the wish lists for upcoming free-trade deals. Retailer Colleen Rast, who sells new brand-name apparel and vintage collectibles through eBay and Amazon, was hit with a $150 customs bill when a New Zealand boutique returned a shipment with a retail value of $1,000.

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South Korea steps up cyber security at nuclear plants

By Jack Kim and Meeyoung Cho SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea boosted cyber security at the country's nuclear power plants on Tuesday following what President Park Geun-hye described as a series “grave” data leaks, and prosecutors said they were investigating a new online threat. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP), which runs South Korea's 23 nuclear power reactors, said on Monday its computer systems had been hacked, raising alarm in a country that is still technically at war with North Korea. …

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Australia PM warns of ‘chatter’ as memorials held for siege victims

By Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Tuesday security officials had intercepted a heightened level of “terrorist chatter” in the aftermath of the Sydney cafe siege. As memorial services were held for the two victims of the 16-hour siege a week ago, Abbott warned that the public needed to remain alert as the country headed into Christmas and New Year celebrations. “The national security agencies today indicated that there has been a heightened level of terrorist chatter in the aftermath of the Martin Place siege,” Abbott told reporters in Sydney.

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Apple pushes first ever automated security update to Mac users

BOSTON (Reuters) – Apple Inc has pushed out its first-ever automated security update to Macintosh computers to help defend against newly identified bugs that security researchers have warned could enable hackers to gain remote control of machines. The company pushed out the software on Monday to fix critical security vulnerabilities in a component of its OS X operating system called the network time protocol, or NTP, according to Apple spokesman Bill Evans.NTP is used for synchronizing clocks on computer systems. ..

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South Korea official says cannot rule out North’s hand in hack of nuclear operator

By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea has not ruled out the involvement of North Korea in a cyberattack on the country’s nuclear power plant operator and has requested the United States to help in investigations, an official involved in the proceedings said on Tuesday. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd (KHNP), which runs South Korea’s 23 nuclear power reactors, said on Monday that its computer systems had been hacked but only non-critical data had been stolen. Operations were not at risk, it said

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