Katie Couric leaving Yahoo news site

NEW YORK— Katie Couric is leaving the online company Oath, formerly Yahoo, where she has been conducting interviews and reporting news since 2014.

The former “Today” show host and “CBS Evening News” anchor will be concentrating on production work for the time being. A representative for Couric said Friday she turned down an opportunity for a short-term contract extension at Oath.

Couric is working on a documentary with National Geographic, where she did a project on gender revolution recently. She’s producing a scripted series for Netflix, hosts a podcast where she interviews figures in news and pop culture, and produces “Scraps,” a cooking and travel series for the FYI network.

The 60-year-old Couric also hosts an online cooking series with her husband John Molner.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

After hacking, Yahoo Mail users advised to reset passwords, heed security tips

Following an attack on January 30, Yahoo Mail prompted affected users to reset the passwords of their email accounts.

The attack was billed as “coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts.” Yahoo Senior Vice President of Platforms and Personalization Products Jay Rossiter has since stated in the company's official blog that a list of usernames and passwords were likely collected from a compromised third-party database, and that they have “no evidence that they were obtained directly from Yahoo’s systems."

“Our ongoing investigation shows that malicious computer software used the list of usernames and passwords to access Yahoo Mail accounts. The information sought in the attack seems to be names and email addresses from the affected accounts’ most recent sent emails,” he said.

Aside from resetting passwords of hacked accounts, Yahoo Mail has also prompted second sign-in verification to “allow users to re-secure their accounts.”

Users may also receive an email notification or a text message asking them to chage their passwords if they have not yet been already prompted.

Rossiter also said that Yahoo has implemented additional measures to block attacks against its systems. Yahoo also sought assistance from federal law enforcement to find and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack.

Rossiter advised users to adopt better password practices like changing passwords regularly and using different variations of symbols and characters to help keep their accounts secure. He also advised them never to use the same password on multiple sites or services since these make users vulnerable to attacks of this kind.

“We regret this has happened and want to assure our users that we take the security of their data very seriously,” he said. — Kim Luces / KDM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Singapore to regulate Yahoo!, other online news sites

SINGAPORE - Websites that regularly report on Singapore including Yahoo! News will have to get a license from June 1, putting them on par with newspapers and television new outlets, in a move seen by some as a bid to rein in free-wheeling internet news.

"Online news sites that report regularly on issues relating to Singapore and have significant reach among readers here will require an individual licence," Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement.

"This will place them on a more consistent regulatory framework with traditional news platforms which are already individually licensed," the media regulator said.

Prosperous and orderly Singapore, a regional base for many multinationals and fund managers, is one of the world's most wired-up cities with most people having broadband access.

It has long maintained strict controls on the media, saying that was necessary to maintain stability in a small, multi-racial country and that media must be held accountable for what they publish.

Lobby group Reporters Without Borders, in its latest report, ranked Singapore 149th globally in terms of press freedom, down 14 places from 2012 and below many of its neighbors.

In 2011, the city-state's tiny opposition made big gains against the long-ruling People's Action Party in parliamentary elections, partly by using the internet to reach voters.

A survey by the Straits Times newspaper shortly before the vote found 36.3 percent of people between the ages of 21 and 34 cited the internet as their top source of domestic political news compared with 35.3 percent who preferred newspapers.

"Will find a way"

The MDA identified sg.news.yahoo.com, a service run by internet giant Yahoo! Inc, as among 10 sites that would be affected by the new requirement, based on criteria such as having 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore a month over a period of two months.

Yahoo! declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

"We are not in a position to respond until we receive the actual license conditions for review," the head of its Singapore news service, Alan Soon, said.

Of the remaining nine sites, seven are run by Singapore Press Holdings Ltd, whose publications tend to maintain a pro-government stance. The other two are operated by state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp.

Conditions for the sites that require individual licenses, which have to be reviewed annually, include a performance bond of S$50,000 ($39,700) and a requirement that objectionable content be removed within 24 hours when directed by the MDA.

The MDA said the new regulation did not apply to blogs, though adding: "If they take on the nature of news sites, we will take a closer look and evaluate them accordingly".

The regulation drew criticism from some Internet users who saw it as an attempt to stifle online news not affiliated with the government.

On state-owned Channel NewsAsia's Facebook page, a person named Jeremy Tan likened the development to what goes on in China or North Korea.

"You can try to shut us up. We will find a way around it," another internet user, Sushikin Ky, said on the Facebook page. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com