Sony insurer sues to deny data breach coverage

One of Sony Corp's insurers has asked a court to declare that it does not have to pay to defend the media and electronics conglomerate from mounting legal claims related to a massive data breach earlier this year.

The dispute comes as demand soars for "cyberinsurance," with companies seeking to protect themselves against customer claims and associated costs for data and identity theft.

How to write such policies has become a huge subject of debate in the insurance industry.

Zurich American Insurance Co asked a New York state court in documents filed late on Wednesday to rule it does not have to defend or indemnify Sony against any claims "asserted in the class-action lawsuits, miscellaneous claims, or potential future actions instituted by any state attorney general."

A Sony spokesman in Tokyo said his company does not comment on pending litigation.

Zurich American, a unit of Zurich Financial Services, also sued units of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, AIG and ACE Ltd, asking the court to clarify their responsibilities under various insurance policies they had written for Sony.

"Zurich doesn't think there's coverage, but to the extent there may be a duty to defend it wants to make sure all of the insurers with a potential duty to defend are contributing," said Richard Bortnick, an attorney at Cozen O'Connor and publisher of the digital law blog CyberInquirer.

Bortnick, who is not involved in the case, said that while Sony may be able to claim there was property damage as a result of the data breach, Zurich is likely to argue that the sort of general liability insurance it wrote for Sony was never intended to cover digital attacks.

AIG declined to comment, and Mitsui Sumitomo could not immediately be reached.

In April, hackers accessed personal data for more than 100 million users of Sony's online video games. Sony has said it could not rule out that some 12.3 million credit card numbers had been obtained during the hacking.

In May, Sony said it was looking to its insurers to help pay for its massive data breach.

Sony has said it expects the hacking to drag down operating profit by 14 billion yen ($178 million) in the current financial year, including costs for boosting security measures. The company said the figure does not include potential compensation.
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AT&T spent $4.9 million to lobby in second quarter

AT&T Inc. spent $4.9 million in the second quarter to lobby the federal government on its proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA from Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG and other issues, according to a quarterly disclosure report.

That compares with $3.1 million that it spent on lobbying in the second quarter of last year and the $6.8 million that it spent in the first quarter of this year.

AT&T also lobbied in the latest quarter on government proposals to free up more wireless spectrum for mobile broadband services as ballooning demand for mobile apps, online video and other bandwidth-hungry services put enormous strain on the nation's existing airwaves. And the company lobbied on government efforts to establish a nationwide wireless broadband network that would allow firefighters, police officer and other emergency workers to communicate with each other.

In addition, AT&T lobbied on online privacy legislation and the Federal Communications Commission's new network neutrality rules, which prohibit phone and cable companies from interfering with Internet traffic on their broadband networks.

Other issues the company lobbied on in the second quarter included patent reform legislation, trade pacts and a range of tax measures.

AT&T focused its lobbying on Congress, the Commerce Department and other government agencies, according to a quarterly disclosure report filed with the House Clerk's office on July 20.
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Pentagon's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' to be history Sept. 22

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be history Sept. 22.

President Barack Obama certified to Congress on Friday that final repeal of the law banning open military service by gays and lesbians would not impact military readiness, good order and discipline.

The legislation passed by Congress last December called for a 60-day period following certification before repeal could be implemented.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said repeal is consistent with military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, recruiting and retention.

“This certification decision was carefully made after receiving input from the service chiefs, service secretaries and from all combatant commanders who stated their views that the force is prepared for this change,” Panetta is quoted in a statement released Friday by the Pentagon.

During congressional testimony last December, the Marine Corps commandant opposed appeal and the Air Force chief of staff expressed concern with the change taking place during a time of war. Separate statements from those service branches were not included in the Pentagon release.

Panetta said he was committed to promoting an environment free from personal, social or institutional barriers for the nation’s military.

“They put their lives on the line for America and that’s what really counts,” he said. “Thanks to the professionalism and leadership of the U.S. military, we are closer to achieving the goal that is at the foundation of America – equality and dignity for all.”

Some 1.9 million active and reserve members have received training on the effects of repealing the controversial, 1993 law.

“That training will continue,” said Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley. “Through out this process, we have regularly engaged the services and combatant commands. Feedback was consistently positive. Training was well received and there were no issues or barriers arising.”

Pentagon officials are reviewing regulation and benefits changes that will kick in Sept. 22, including repeal of accession, separation and re-accession rules.

Statements about sexual orientation will no longer be a bar to military service, Marine Maj. Gen. Steven Hummer said in a Friday press conference. Hummer is chief of staff for the Pentagon’s repeal implementation team.

“Upon repeal, former service members solely discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ may apply for re-entry,” he said in a press release provided by the Pentagon.

Hummer said living quarters will remain the same and commanders cannot segregate members by sexual orientation. Gay service members will be subject to worldwide deployment, the general added.

The Defense of Marriage Act will block some benefits for same-sex couples. The 1996 act defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Benefits impacted include health care, housing and transportation allowances.

“The department will continue to study existing benefits to determine those, if any that should be reviewed based on policy, fiscal, legal and feasibility considerations to give service members the discretion to designate persons of their own choosing as beneficiaries,” Hummer reported.

Obama has said he favors repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and has instructed Attorney General Eric Holder not to defend the measure in court.

Standards of conduct will continue to apply to all service members, the Marine general stressed.

“All are responsible for upholding those high standards,” Hummer said. “Enforcement of service standards of conduct will continue to be sexual-orientation neutral.”
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AP source: Apple considering Hulu bid

Apple Inc. is in talks to potentially bid for video-streaming service Hulu, according to a person close to the situation.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the matter.

An acquisition of Hulu could bolster Apple's iTunes store, which provides videos users can rent or buy, and help it compete with Netflix Inc. Hulu offers a subscription streaming service. It also brings in revenue from ads that accompany content it streams to users free-of-charge.

Hulu, whose owners include The Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast Corp., started presenting its financial information to interested bidders late last month, after an unsolicited offer prompted its board to look for other offers.

Apple's interest in Hulu was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.
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Norway attack: Youth camp official plays dead to survive shooting

A man described Saturday how he played dead in order to survive the shooting spree of a gunman who pretended to be a police officer but then opened fired on youth at a camp on an island near Oslo.

Adrian Pracon, 21, an official with the Worker's Youth League, told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that he was on his way to a kiosk on Utoya Island, where the annual camp was being held, to buy chocolate and potato chips when he heard the ruckus.

"I did not realize that it was a shot at first, but then people started to run," Pracon, 21, told Aftenposten.

Many of the youth fled in panic across a clearing trying to reach their tents, Pracon said. But the gunman, who was "cool and controlled," went around "systematically" shooting those in the tents, and others who ran down to the water, Pracon told the newspaper. "It was as though he had done this kind of thing before, as if going round and shooting people was totally normal," Pracon said. "He said, 'You're all going to die.' "

Pracon said he and others gathered at the water's edge hoping that help would come. But the attacker tracked them down.

"He shot everyone in the group, one by one," the youth league leader told Aftenposten. "I lay on the ground and played dead. He came up to check that everyone was dead. He … was so close that I felt the warmth of his weapon."

Pracon recalled how the last shot grazed his shoulder. The blast of the gun temporarily left him deaf in one ear, and "the pain came later," he told the newspaper.

The youth league leader and other distraught youngsters were saved when three real police officers arrived at the scene, Pracon said.
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Dell buying US datacenter networking firm

US computer maker Dell on Wednesday announced a deal to buy high-performance datacenter networking firm Force10 in a move aimed at broadening offerings for businesses.

Dell is buying Force10 as a trend toward software being offered as services in the Internet "cloud" pushes demand for efficient, capable datacenters where the computing work is done.

"We are excited to be working with Dell," Force10 chief executive Henry Wasik said in a release.

"Combining Dell's global scale, reach and enterprise portfolio with our innovation in high-performance networking provides our customers the best end-to-end solution for today's and tomorrow's data centers," he continued.

Force10 has its headquarters in the Silicon Valley city of San Jose and has grown into a global operation boasting nearly $200 million in annual revenue since it was founded in 1999.

Dell said that it planned to keep Force10's research and development facility in Chennai, India.

Dell, which has its headquarters in Texas, has been beefing up its business products portfolio in recent years and deemed Force10 a natural complement to its strength in the server market.

"Today's datacenter networks are too complex and require too much manual intervention," said Dell enterprise solutions group senior vice president Brad Anderson. "What worked in the past is no longer viable in the virtual era."

Virtual computing optimizes use of machines and enhances fl
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