Time Warner Cable’s Internet service was knocked out across the US for about 90 minutes Wednesday morning. Millions of customers—primarily in key markets of California (including Los Angeles), New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas—were left without service. In a statement, the company explained, “During our routine network maintenance, an issue with our Internet backbone created disruption with our Internet and on-demand services. Industry observers say this incident could bolster arguments made by those opposing the pending merger between Time Warner and Comcast, the country’s largest cable TV provider. “People are questioning whether this merger will be good for consumers,” Steve Beck, founder of the management consulting firm CG42, told the Los Angeles Times. Service interruptions happen. The world is an imperfect place, but it really comes down to how these companies handle the problem and resolve their customer's complaints.” (re/Code)(The Los Angeles Times)
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
US Hacker Set Free after Helping Authorities
US authorities have freed a computer hacker who helped them prevent numerous cyberattacks on high-profile targets such as the US Congress and NASA after serving seven months in prison. Hector Xavier Monsegur —a member of LulzSec, a splinter group of the hacker organization Anonymous arrested in June 2011—pleaded guilty in August 2011 to 12 criminal counts related to hacking, fraud and identity theft in connection with cyberattacks on organizations including the US Senate, Sony and PayPal. These charges ordinarily carry a sentence of 21 to 26 years in prison. However, because of his cooperation with federal officials—including assistance in detecting and stopping at least 300 attacks and providing information about the inner workings of LulzSec and Anonymous—prosecutors asked that his sentence be reduced to the seven months he had already spent in prison during his pretrial detention. His sentencing was repeatedly delayed to allow him to continue cooperating with the government, according to the New Yorker. Monsegur says he is not the same person he used to be and would like to work as a systems administrator or teacher. He and some family members have been relocated as a result of physical and death threats based on his cooperation with law-enforcement officials. (The Associated Press -- 1)(CNET)(CNET @ Scribd)(The Associated Press -- 2)(The Los Angeles Times)(WIRED)(New Yorker)
