October 16, 2014

McAfee highlights security challenges of a next-generation government
“The fundamental nature of the threat is unlikely to change as governments move towards the next-generation," said the report. "On one hand, new technology could reduce the number of human ‘entry points’ into the system. On the other, the human element that remained would be that most critical to the system’s operations. This could mean the impact of a breach would be more significant than in a situation with multiple users with more limited responsibilities.”


Researcher builds system to protect against malicious insiders
"Insider threats are many times the most devastating, as they are the least expected," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "Companies spend most of their security time and money guarding against external threats.... So that sometimes leaves the inside exposed." To combat this, Yao is combining big data, analytics and security to design algorithms that focus on linking human activities with network actions. Typical computer systems monitor things like network traffic, file system events and email activities. They also focus on looking for specific warning signs, like someone uploading large amounts of data.


Top 10 IT trends that rattle data center I&O
Whether it's software-defined networking, storage or data centers, software-based tools that connect computing resources and components are dispensing with traditional physical devices hard-wired or hand-configured across the data center. Software-defined anything concentrates management in a single place or tool, either on- or off-premises. These technologies also share a common goal of enhancing workload mobility and traffic flow based on logical rules, allowing workloads to be provisioned and run where they are most effective or efficient.


Google's big Android Lollipop challenge: Make Material Design stick
Google has rolled out its Nexus 9 tablet, Nexus 6 phone and Nexus Player streaming device all in a bid to show off the latest version of Android, known as Lollipop, and the glue between the screens will be a something the search giant calls Material Design. Like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, Google is on a mission to tie its various devices together and adapt content and tasks to multiple screens. Windows 10 will be all about the multiple screens. Apple's iOS 8 melds tablets and smartphones and increasingly blends in with the Mac OS too with matching design metaphors.


Startup builds on Wi-Fi chips for cheaper 'last mile' to home broadband
The Mimosa gear uses that protocol along with beam-forming features to point radio signals at individual homes. That lets it cover a whole neighborhood with transmitters placed one per kilometer or so, Fink said. In a typical setting, such a network could offer service of about 500Mbps (bits per second) both down to subscribers and back up to the Internet, he said. Mimosa has met with service providers in the U.S. and other countries and expects networks built with its technology to launch in the middle of next year. Mimosa's system uses the same unlicensed 5GHz band as Wi-Fi for the main connections between access points and homes.


How to match cloud integration tools to business needs
It really has to do with the intensity, if you will, of the integration task that is being overcome when an organization is deploying a variety of cloud [or] SaaS solutions. And in some cases, a simple API may be all that's necessary. But in many cases, especially when it comes to a couple of these who are using enterprise-class business applications across their organization and in tandem with legacy on-premises applications and data sources, depending upon the use case and business process, there's going to be a need for varying kinds of cloud integration tools and connectors and, even in some cases, platforms to satisfy their needs.


Google adds security and flexibility to latest Android mobile OS
Security enhancements include the flexibility to secure devices with a PIN, password, pattern, or by pairing a smartphone with another trusted device like a watch. This feature – called Smart Lock – is aimed at encouraging users to set passwords by making it unnecessary to type in a password whenever the trusted device is detected. The encryption of all stored data is also now a default setting to help increase security by offering protection for data on lost or stolen Android devices. According to Google, security-enhanced Linux enforcing for all applications means even better protection against vulnerabilities and malware.


Security vendors claim progress against Chinese group that hacked Google
The hackers, referred to as "Hidden Lynx" by Symantec, are believed to have been behind "Operation Aurora," a famous cyberespionage campaign revealed in early 2010 that compromised as many as 20 companies. Google said the attack stole some of its intellectual property and also appeared to target the Gmail accountsof Chinese human rights activists. Google's comments fueled a growing diplomatic row between the U.S. and China over cybersecurity issues. Other U.S. companies followed Google in more directly blaming China for sophisticated long-term infiltration campaigns.


IT Hiring Trends Up, But Budget Trends Disappoint
The persistence of lower budgets seems to have finally impacted IT leaders’ confidence in their ability to satisfy business demands. Over the course of the year there has been a decline in those who expressed confidence (-3 percent) and those who were neutral (-4 percent) and an increase in those who were not confident (+7 percent). In addition to never receiving increased budgets in order to complete workloads, reasons for this decline in confidence could be attributed to the realization that time is running out to complete planned projects or that additional IT projects have been scheduled for the remainder of the year.


Forget the Internet, Brace for Skynet
Several important technology milestones need to be reached along the way. The drones that will make up Skynet have a lot more in common with satellites than the flippy-flappy helicopter drone thingies that the popular press is fixated on right now. They’re really effing BIG, for one thing. And, like satellites, they go up, and stay up, pretty much indefinitely. For that to happen, we need two things: lighter, higher-capacity wireless gear; and reliable, hyper-efficient solar tech. So some work still needs to be done on the physics of Skynet; but not that much work, and certainly not anything beyond the reach of hard-working American (or Chinese, or Chinese-American) engineering types.



Quote for the day:

"A leader is someone people respond to, trust and want to work with." -- @ShawnUpchurch

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