If you can't make it to the annual Ig Nobel ceremony at Harvard University on Thursday night to celebrate the most unusual and imaginative breakthroughs in science, you can follow along online instead.That includes right here, we're we've embedded code for the live webcast, which starts at 6pm, EST, Sept. 22.
MORE: Why there's no Nobel Prize in ComputingTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A U.S. lawmaker has introduced two bills to protect voting systems from hacking, amid fears that Russian cyber spies may be interfering with this year's presidential election.Representative Hank Johnson, a Democrat serving Georgia, is proposing a moratorium on state purchases of electronic voting machines that don't produce a paper trail. His Election Integrity Act, introduced Wednesday, would also prohibit voting systems from being connected to the internet as a way to prevent online tampering.The high-profile hack of the Democratic National Committee publicized in June has citizens worried that U.S. election systems may be vulnerable, Johnson said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A new survey released this week reveals that while a little more than half of state CIOs surveyed consider mobile devices and apps an essential or high priority, relatively few state government apps are mobile ready or are being used by employees and external users on mobile devices.The 2016 State CIO Survey: The Adaptable State CIO, released at the annual National Association of State CIO (NASCIO) conference this week in Orlando and produced by NASCIO, accounting/consulting firm Grant Thornton and trade association CompTIA, covers a range of topics beyond mobile, including cybersecurity, the internet of things, cloud computing and hiring.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Did you know that over 75 million tourists visit the United States every year? Or that the Transport Security Administration (TSA) screens over 2 million people daily?
The TSA processes 150 passengers per security lane. Imagine the public outrage if it took 20 minutes to screen a passenger and the process publicly disclosed personal information. That’s the average time and result of installing an IoT device today.
What lessons can be applied from security screenings to accelerate IoT device adoption? How can the authentication and installation of new IoT devices be streamlined?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The moment of truth has arrived for a hotly contested project to make sure LTE and Wi-Fi can share the same frequencies.On Wednesday, the Wi-Fi Alliance released a test plan for LTE-Unlicensed products, which would bring 4G cellular to unlicensed spectrum bands that Wi-Fi users depend on. The group also said it is qualifying an independent lab where LTE-U vendors can take their equipment for testing.LTE-U could give smartphones and other cellular devices more frequencies to use, potentially bringing better service to more users in crowded areas. But some makers and operators of Wi-Fi gear, including cable operators using Wi-Fi to compete with mobile carriers, warn that the new technology could crowd out Wi-Fi and hurt its performance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Late last year, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins significantly restructured the company and was quoted as saying the company would no longer be using “spin-ins” to drive innovation. Based on conversations with Robbins and other members of Cisco’s executive team, I believe the media took his comments out of context. There are no immediate plans for another spin-in, but he hasn’t closed to the door to them either.Robbins reiterated these points in Michael Cooney’s post, Cisco CEO: Spin-in technologies aren’t dead at Cisco, in which he stated Cisco would consider that model if it made sense. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If cops are going to do something shady, something as unethical and illegal as violating a citizen’s First Amendment rights to free speech and his Fourth Amendment rights against warrantless seizure, then they definitely don’t want their actions being recorded; yet that is exactly what happened when Connecticut State Police troopers seized a camera belonging to a protestor and the camera continued to film while they conspired on which bogus charges to level against him.In September 2015, Michael Picard was protesting near a DUI checkpoint in West Hartford by holding up a big handwritten sign which read “Cops Ahead: Keep Calm and Remain Silent.” Picard, who was lawfully carrying a handgun, also had a camera which he was using to film the police – public employees on a public street.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A start-up has completed a crowdfunding campaign for a stamp-sized Linux server development kit that has integrated Wi-Fi and on-board flash storage for DIYers to build hardware or IoT applications.Boston-based Onion Corp. began its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in July and by Aug. 23 had already received more than $773,400 in pledged funding -- 4,400 times its funding goal.The Onion Corp. said its new Omega2 computer is compatible with a power-sipping Arduino motherboard but it also has the flexibility of a Raspberry Pi computer.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Analysts say a handful of technologies are poised to change our lives by 2021.While Forrester Research sees 15 emerging technologies that are important right now (see the full list here), five of them could shake things up in a big way for businesses and the public in general, according to Brian Hopkins, an enterprise architecture analyst with Forrester.Those five: The Internet of Things (IoT), Intelligent agents, artificial intelligence (A.I.), augmented reality (A.R.) and hybrid wireless technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
So, you’ve unboxed your brand-new iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. It’s all set up, and it still has that fresh, new iPhone smell. Then, you hear a weird hissing noise. Or realize that the Home button or the Lightning EarPods are acting funky. Or your iPhone 7 is just not connecting to the cellular network. Yikes! Yes, those are actual glitches that have already been reported by iPhone 7 users. If you’re experiencing a similar technical issue with your new device, take a deep breath and check out some possible solutions below.No Service after Airplane Mode
The issue: Toggling back on after Airplane Mode is causing some iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models to be unable to re-establish cellular service. The affected devices can’t connect to the internet, nor make or receive calls. One iPhone 7 Plus user with an AT&T model shared a video of the anomaly on YouTube, and was picked up by MacRumors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A major health insurer, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), is planning to outsource part of its information technology operation. The employees don’t have all the details about what’s in store for them, but this may be a large IT layoff.Employees were recently informed that 70% of the positions in the IT group, mostly in the area of infrastructure, will be outsourced, according to two IT workers who requested anonymity. Estimates on the number of employees who would be affected varies, but the move could involve 540 people in IT. The layoffs are planned from February to April.The jobs that would be moved to an outsourcer include monitoring and incident resolution, helpdesk support, and problem and patch management. Other areas would be partially outsourced, such as infrastructure product development, cloud and automation. HCSC will retain governance and planning. The outsourcing vendor has not been named, the employees said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Grading on a curve Image by ThinkstockIf you sense some discontent in how information security is handled in your company, you're not alone. Half of the 287 U.S.-based IT and business professionals who responded to a recent survey from CSO and its sister sites CIO and Computerworld gave their organizations' security practices a grade of C or below.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Are you taking on multiple job responsibilities at your company, including some aspects of information security? If so, you’re not alone. At many organizations, IT professionals are being asked to handle a variety of security tasks and functions. For them, wearing multiple hats can create both opportunities and stress.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Executives at Booz Allen Hamilton learned the importance of information security the hard way back in 2011 when the hacker group Anonymous claimed that it had penetrated one of Booz Allen’s servers and had deleted 4GB of source code and released a list of more than 90,000 military email addresses and encrypted passwords.The breached server turned out to be a development environment containing test data, “but that didn’t really matter; it was a wakeup call,” says Michael Waters, director of information security at the consulting firm and government contractor. “It was a pretty unpleasant experience, but it did galvanize substantial investment — both capital and HR — in getting things done. The firm looked around and said, ‘We have been working on this, but we need to put more toward it.’”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Security is a top priority at the Bank of Labor, but the financial institution updates its formal information security policy only once a year, maybe twice, regardless of what's happening in the ever-changing threat landscape.That's not to say that the union bank ignores emerging threats such as new malware variants or phishing schemes, says Shaun Miller, the bank's information security officer. On the contrary, the organization, which has seven branches in the Kansas City, Kan., area plus an office in Washington, routinely tweaks its firewalls and intrusion-protection systems in response to new and active threats. To avoid fatiguing its 120 users, however, it refrains from formalizing new policies more frequently.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Given the rash of high-profile data breaches that have exposed customers' personal information, created PR nightmares and cost C-level executives their jobs, IT and business leaders should have security at the top of their priority list. But while businesses are saying the right things about giving IT security more attention and budget, is that talk being put into useful action?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
You’ve trained them. You’ve deployed simulated phishing tests. You’ve reminded your employees countless times with posters and games and emails about avoiding phishing scams. Still, they keep falling for the same ploys they’ve been warned about for years. It’s enough to drive security teams to madness.According to Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigation Report, 30 percent of phishing messages were opened by their intended target, and about 12 percent of recipients went on to click the malicious attachment or link that enabled the attack to succeed. A year earlier, only 23 percent of users opened the email, which suggests that employees are getting worse at identifying phishing emails -- or the bad guys are finding more creative ways to outsmart users.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Phenix Energy Group, an oil pipeline operator and construction company, is preparing to take its IT infrastructure from zero to 60 in a matter of months. To get a years-in-the-making pipeline project off the ground, the company is preparing to grow from a relatively small office environment to a data center setting of 75 servers and 250TB of storage. As a result, security, which hasn’t been a top priority, is suddenly a big deal, according to CIO and COO Bruce Perrin.Given the high stakes — a downed system could cost about $1 million an hour — Perrin has spent the past five years researching options. While he’d prefer to run security in-house as part of an on-premises data center, Perrin is leaning toward outsourcing the function, at least initially, because he doesn’t have time to staff up a dedicated information security department in the few scant months before the pipeline goes online.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
No one likes when difficult situations at work, but when these issues do arise, it's important that your focus remains on establishing a productive conversation where everyone feels heard."When difficult conversations do arise -- such as discussions about low performance, inconsistent results, frustrated clients -- a leader can confidently assess the current situation against previously defined expectations and a focus on identifying and closing the gap," says Anthony Abbatiello, global lead, Deloitte Leadership business.When you approach tough conversations with professionalism and leadership, they can ultimately help guide the employee in their career by helping them figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. However, it can still be just as difficult to deliver bad news at work as it is to receive it, but there are a few steps you can take to help make those tough moments at work easier on everyone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple announced that it has committed to running all of its data centers and corporate offices on renewable energy, joining a group of other corporations committed to the same clean energy goal.Apple said it has joined RE100, a global initiative by influential businesses committed to using 100% renewable electricity. To date, RE100 has amassed membership from 77 corporations.Other RE100 members include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, VMware, Rackspace and Wells Fargo.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here