SoHo routers widely used in homes have been shown to have backdoors that enable an attacker to gain admin access. The SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center reports seeing a large number of probes to a port on which Linksys devices may be listening, which indicates this is more than a theoretical risk.

CryptoLocker, which had hitherto spread as a conventional Trojan, turns up in a new, worrisome version that propagates itself as a worm.

SnapChat works to contain and undo the damage done by the end-of-year compromise it suffered, and announces plans to upgrade security. Forbes suggests the story is one of a missed opportunity to benefit from an independent security warning.

Kaspersky Labs foresees surveillance concerns and desire for increased national control fragmenting the traditional Internet in 2014, going so far as to predict that the deep web will soon be the only remaining international network.

The maritime shipping industry sees a cyber risk in its increased automation of ship operations (compare airline concerns about cyber security).

In industry news, FireEye announced late yesterday that it has acquired Mandiant for a reported $1.05B. Synergies are expected as FireEye combines its virtual machine monitoring tools with Mandiant's endpoint security, incident response, and remediation services. Kevin Mandia will become FireEye's COO; FireEye plans to increase its sales force.

A criminological study claims warning banners actually have a deterrent effect on hackers.

In the US surveillance policy debate, a Foreign Policy essay describes the Presidential surveillance panel's recommendations as "reckless" and "ineffective."