LAS VEGAS, July 25 (Reuters) – Hacking experts on Wednesday
demonstrated ways to attack Android smartphones using methods
they said work on virtually all such devices in use today,
despite recent efforts by search engine giant Google to
boost protection.

Experts showed off their prowess at the Black Hat hacking
conference in Las Vegas, where some 6,500 corporate and
government security technology workers gathered to learn about
emerging threats to their networks.

By Jim Finkle and Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – Symantec Corp (SYMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) unexpectedly fired Chief Executive Enrique Salem and replaced him with Chairman Steve Bennett, who launched a strategic review in a bid to turn around a company whose stock has languished for years.

Shares of the software maker surged 13 percent on the news as some investors speculated that Bennett might consider divesting assets or splitting up Symantec, which also reported quarterly results on Wednesday.

By Jim Finkle and Nicola Leske

(Reuters) – Symantec Corp (SYMC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) unexpectedly fired CEO Enrique Salem and replaced him with its chairman Steve Bennett, who launched a strategic review in a bid to turn around the company, which has disappointed investors with lackluster growth in recent years.

Shares of the software maker soared 16 percent on the news as some investors speculated that Bennett might consider divesting assets or splitting up Symantec, which also reported quarterly results on Wednesday.

July 25 (Reuters) – Symantec Corp unexpectedly
replaced its chief executive, naming current Chairman and former
Intuit Corp CEO Steve Bennett to run the world’s
biggest maker of security software.

The company said Enrique Salem had stepped down on Tuesday,
ending a three-year term during which he and the company had
been criticized by investors for a string of financial
disappointments.

By Jim Finkle

(Reuters) – Computer geeks attending the world’s largest annual hacking party in Las Vegas next week will have a rare chance to rub shoulders with the head of the U.S. National Security Agency.

General Keith Alexander, director of the spy agency, will speak at the Defcon conference, marking the highest-level visit to date by a U.S. government official to the colorful gathering. Organizers expect some 15,000 hackers this year as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first U.S. hacking event that was open to the public.

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – IBM (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) raised its full-year earnings target, even as it posted a quarterly revenue shortfall, reflecting its ability to manage costs as global technology spending sputters.

International Business Machines Corp, a bellwether for the global IT industry because of its global span and breadth of businesses, now expects full-year earnings per share – excluding items – of at least $15.10, versus at least $15.00 previously.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Data storage equipment maker EMC Corp (EMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has replaced the popular head of its VMware Inc (VMW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) software unit and promoted Chief Financial Officer David Goulden to president and COO in a move that suggests he could become the next CEO.

EMC and VMware also released preliminary quarterly results late on Tuesday that were generally in line with Wall Street estimates. That was good news compared with a report from Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that also came out on Tuesday. The chipmaker issued a weak revenue forecast that reinforced fears about the outlook for the PC industry.