Apple, Cisco, Dell unhappy over alleged NSA back doors in their gear

Germany's Der Spiegel newsmagazine reported Monday that the U.S. National Security Agency has for years compromised a wide range of hardware devices, including PCs, iPhones, hard drives, and network routers, as part of its spying activities. The NSA also installed back doors into European telecom networks and into BlackBerry's network operations center to spy on communications, the Der Spiegel report says.

The spy agency's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit is alleged to have installed such hidden access methods in a variety of devices from Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, Huawei, Juniper, Maxtor, Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital, among others. Although the precise methods are unclear, many seem to involve installation of monitoring software or modified firmware -- some on devices intercepted in transit from vendors to their customers.

+ Also on NetworkWorld: Notable deaths of 2013 in Technology, Science & Inventions +

InfoWorld - Germany's Der Spiegel newsmagazine reported Monday that the U.S. National Security Agency has for years compromised a wide range of hardware devices, including PCs, iPhones, hard drives, and network routers, as part of its spying activities. The NSA also installed back doors into European telecom networks and into BlackBerry's network operations center to spy on communications, the Der Spiegel report says.

The spy agency's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit is alleged to have installed such hidden access methods in a variety of devices from Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, Huawei, Juniper, Maxtor, Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital, among others. Although the precise methods are unclear, many seem to involve installation of monitoring software or modified firmware -- some on devices intercepted in transit from vendors to their customers.

+ Also on NetworkWorld: Notable deaths of 2013 in Technology, Science & Inventions +

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Apple, Cisco Systems, Dell, and Huawei have all responded publicly expressing concern over the alleged back doors and promising to inform customers of any vulnerabilities found. All said they were unaware of any vulnerabilities or of the TAO program. The Der Spiegel report says the companies did not appear to have cooperated with the NSA to install the back doors, and Apple today said bluntly that it has never worked with the NSA on any such efforts on any products, comparing the NSA to hackers and saying it would "defend our customers from security attacks, regardless of who's behind them."

The purported iPhone back door has gained much attention. The NSA slides that Der Spiegel says it obtained show that in 2008 the NSA figured out how to install spyware in the iPhone, though it required hands-on access to the device. The slides claim the NSA was working on ways to remotely install such spyware. It is unclear whether the NSA succeeded in its remote-installation efforts and if so for what versions of iOS.

It's common for spy agencies to install spyware on specific people's devices; China's agents routinely install spyware on Western business travelers' PCs and mobile devices, for example, and the ongoing revelations by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden show that the U.S. and other major powers spy on others' citizens as aggressively as the Chinese have long been criticized for doing.

In a statement, the NSA did not deny the spying, and it said any activities it undertakes are limited to foreigners. However, some of Snowden's revelations have shown that the spying extends to U.S. citizens as well.

This article, "Apple, Cisco, Dell unhappy over alleged NSA back doors in their gear," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in business technology news and get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

Read more about security in InfoWorld's Security Channel.

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Apple strips CEO Cook of $4M in stock grants for poor share performance

Apple CEO Tim Cook received a compensation package of $4.25 million for the 2013 fiscal year, a 2% increase over the year before.

But the board also dinged Cook to the tune of nearly $4 million in stock vesting reductions, citing Apple's subpar performance compared to the S&P 500's for the 12-month period.

In a preliminary proxy statement filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple spelled out Cook's compensation for the period ending Sept. 28, as well as that for four other executives: Eddie Cue, who heads Apple's online efforts; CFO Peter Oppenheimer; Daniel Riccio, the company's hardware engineering lead; and Jeffrey Williams, chief of operations.

Computerworld - Apple CEO Tim Cook received a compensation package of $4.25 million for the 2013 fiscal year, a 2% increase over the year before.

But the board also dinged Cook to the tune of nearly $4 million in stock vesting reductions, citing Apple's subpar performance compared to the S&P 500's for the 12-month period.

In a preliminary proxy statement filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple spelled out Cook's compensation for the period ending Sept. 28, as well as that for four other executives: Eddie Cue, who heads Apple's online efforts; CFO Peter Oppenheimer; Daniel Riccio, the company's hardware engineering lead; and Jeffrey Williams, chief of operations.

Riccio, new to the named executives in the proxy, was formerly the hardware lead for the iPad. In mid-2012 he was picked to take Bob Mansfield's place as head of all hardware engineering. Cue is also a proxy debutante.

Cook received $1.4 million in salary, $2.8 million in a bonus, and less than $60,000 for sundry expenses, including Apple's contribution to his 401(k) plan, company-paid life insurance, and $35,000 for vacation time converted to cash.

For fiscal 2013, Cook and the others received the maximum bonus, twice each man's annual salary. According to Apple, the company's net sales and operating income exceeded the targets set previously by the board, triggering the big bonuses.

Cue, Oppenheimer, Riccio and Williams were awarded bonuses of $1.75 million atop their $866,000 salaries, for a total of approximately $2.6 million each.

Apple touted what it called "internal equity" in pay for the executives just below Cook on the company's org chart. "Because the Company's executive officers operate as a team, the Compensation Committee considers internal pay equity to be an important factor in the Compensation Committee's decisions," the proxy read.

That practice is in contrast to that of other companies. At Microsoft, for example, top executives did not receive the same salary or bonuses in fiscal 2013. COO Kevin Turner's salary was 16% higher than the next-highest named executive (and 12% higher than CEO Steve Ballmer's), while his bonus was 35% greater than the next-largest.

While none of the Apple executives, including Cook, were granted stock awards in 2013, the CEO is still enjoying the fruits of the massive grant given him in 2011 when he assumed the chief executive role a month before co-founder Steve Jobs died. Then, the board locked in Cook with 1 million shares that would vest in equal parts in August 2016 and August 2021.

At the time those shares were valued at $383 million; their current worth, if all were to vest immediately, would be $560 million.

However, earlier this year Apple's board revised Cook's vesting schedule at his urging. Rather than the two monster stock handouts -- which only relied on his continued employment -- Cook asked that they be spread out over a 10-year period and tied to the company's stock performance.

Eighty-percent of the 1 million shares were covered by the new pay-on-performance deal, in which half of each year's vesting pool can be eliminated or reduced if Apple isn't in the top third of the S&P 500 as measured by the "total shareholder return" (TSR) metric.

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25 Amazing Apple Recipes

Healthy Apple Recipes - Health.com S
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E Subscribe to Health Magazine All You Coastal Living Cooking Light Food and Wine Health My Recipes Real Simple Southern Living Sunset SweepstakesHealth NewsettersSubscribeHealthy & HappyNews & ViewsSex & RelationshipsHome & FamilyMind & BodyDiet & FitnessCardio WorkoutsLose WeightGet StrongerYoga & PilatesFood & RecipesRecipesMust-Eat FoodsCelebrity ChefsMyths & FactsBeauty & StyleSkin & Anti-AgingHair & MakeupSlimming StyleCelebrity TipsHealth A-ZAdult ADHDAlzheimer's DiseaseAsthmaBipolar DisorderBirth ControlBreast CancerChildhood VaccinesCholesterolChronic PainCold, Flu, and SinusCOPDCrohn's DiseaseDepressionDiabetes (Type 2)FibromyalgiaGERDHeadaches & MigrainesIncontinenceMenopauseMultiple SclerosisOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisPsoriasisRheumatoid ArthritisSexual HealthSleep DisordersMore ConditionsMagazineCurrent IssueSubscribeTablet EditionArchiveGive a Gift SubscriptionCustomer ServiceMedia KitPsoriasis InsightsHome >> Food & Recipes >> Must-Eat Foods >> Eat By Color >> 25 Amazing Apple RecipesEat By ColorMainRedOrangeGreenRecipes25 Amazing Apple Recipes So many tasty ways to eat this versatile fruit Twitter Credit: Juicyimages.net

1 of 27Apple pie and other healthy recipes

Whether your fave is the tart Granny Smith, juicy McIntosh, or sweet Golden Delicious, there's nothing better than biting into a fresh, crisp apple.

And few foods can rival the apple when it comes to health benefits. Rich in fiber, vitamin C, and relatively low in natural sugars, a medium-sized apple is only about 90 calories.

Here are 25 recipes you can use to wow friends and family with apple deliciousness.

Next: Apple Tarte Tatin

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