A couple of years ago I wrote a story critiquing what I saw as some very emotive reporting. Essentially a technology vendor went bust as a direct result of their data being compromised while sited on Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers. The article in question essentially suggested that because of that particular incident, we should all be aware that the cloud isn't a safe place to store our data. As I said in my piece:“I’ve visited data centers that host cloud infrastructure. They have by far the highest level of physical and virtual security available. They are exemplars of due process. Compare this with the vast majority of organization’s IT resources. I’ve seen enough servers in cleaning cupboards or under desks to know what the norm is for organizations. To glibly suggest that penetrating a cloud platform is easier than a corporate data center is plain wrong.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you follow my blog at all you know that I am quite passionate about the cybersecurity skills shortage and its ramifications. Just to put this issue in perspective, ESG research indicates that 46% of organizations claim they have a “problematic shortage” of cybersecurity skills in 2016 as compared to 28% in 2015 (note: I am an ESG employee). Yup, the ESG research seems to indicate that things are getting worse on an annual basis, and ESG isn’t alone in this belief. For example: According to Peninsula Press (a project of the Stanford University Journalism Program), more than 209,000 US-based cybersecurity jobs remained unfilled and postings are up 74% over the past 5 years. Analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow 53% by 2018. Adding to this trend, Computerworld research indicates that more than half of security managers expect their organizations to increase cybersecurity headcount this year adding more pressure to the pot. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook’s Messenger chat-bots and an update to the React Native cross-platform mobile development framework—both announced last week week—could relieve the pain felt by businesses trying to shift customer interaction from the web to mobile.It might seem there is an app for everything, but not every business has one. Building a token app that lives a lonely existence on the app store doesn’t help keep customers buying as they shift from the web to mobile. And meaningful mobile relationships and revenue-generating campaigns still elude most businesses because of the high cost of having Android and iOS development teams and the challenges of recruiting developers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Almost a year after Italian surveillance software maker Hacking Team had its internal emails and files leaked online, the hacker responsible for the breach published a full account of how he infiltrated the company's network.The document published Saturday by the hacker known online as Phineas Fisher is intended as a guide for other hacktivists, but also shines a light on how hard it is for any company to defend itself against a determined and skillful attacker.The hacker linked to Spanish and English versions of his write-up from a parody Twitter account called @GammaGroupPR that he set up in 2014 to promote his breach of Gamma International, another surveillance software vendor. He used the same account to promote the Hacking Team attack in July 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cognitive computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning are here to stay and promise to benefit both consumers and the organizations that exploit these advanced technologies.That was the sentiment from “Dawn of the Cognitive Era” panelists representing mostly startups (startup wannabe IBM being the exception) at the annual TiE StartupCon event in Boston this past week.MORE: 10 Internet of Things Companies to WatchWhereas it wasn’t long ago that the public’s view of AI was influenced disproportionately by books and movies, an increasing number of real-life cognitive computing applications such as those enabled by IBM Watson have begun to seep into the public’s consciousness. In fact, many people are taking advantage of cognitive computing, whether or not they realize it, when they use tools such as Apple’s Siri or various bots, said panel moderator and DataXylo CEO Abhi Yadav. Such applications, enabled in large part through the access to relatively cheap computing power via the cloud, have resulted in the technology finally living up to the hype -- and dissuading fears it will lord over us.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Because Apple no longer supports QuickTime for Windows, users are being encouraged to uninstall the program immediately. The warning from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) comes on the heels of a warning from antivirus vendor Trend Micro that the video playback software is vulnerable to a pair of zero-day exploits.Apple has not updated the Windows version of QuickTime 7 since January and it would seem does not plan to release any more security patches to fix the exploits. Trend Micro notes that even Apple recommends Windows users uninstall the player. QuickTime for Mac is unaffected and remains supported by Apple.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For today only, Amazon is featuring deals on highly rated surge protectors from Belkin that will save you up to 64%. Use the links below to see which model is right for your application: Belkin 12 Outlet Home/Office Surge Protector with 10-Foot cord and Phone/Ethernet/Coaxial Protection plus Extended Cord. Price: $49.99 $17.98 (save 64%) Belkin 3-Outlet SurgePlus Mini Travel Swivel Charger Surge Protector with Dual USB Ports (2.1 AMP / 10 Watt)Price: $29.99 $13.99 (save 53%) Belkin SurgePlus 6-Outlet Wall Mount Surge Protector with Dual USB Ports (2.1 AMP / 10 Watt)Price: $24.99 $13.99 (save 44%) Belkin 6-Outlet Home/Office Surge Protector with 2.5-Foot Cord & Straight PlugPrice: $12.99 $5.49 (save 58%) To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cloud computing is changing the game for one of the hardest problems in IT: running a network. Users are counting on fast, secure access more than ever, even as networks get more complex and threats more dangerous. Often, there’s a lot of data available about the state of a network and its performance, but more data by itself can't solve a problem. So startups are turning to the growing power of the cloud for answers. Nyansa, based in Silicon Valley, emerged from stealth mode on Monday with Voyance, a cloud-based SaaS (software-as-a-service) offering that analyzes inputs from wired and wireless LANs to gauge users' actual experiences on a network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A British Airways aircraft was possibly hit by a drone Sunday near Heathrow airport as it was coming to land, which is likely to increase demands for greater checks on the flights of the devices. The Airbus A320 flight from Geneva, carrying 132 passengers and five crew members, appears to have not been significantly impacted and was cleared for its next flight, according to news reports. The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority said it was aware of “a possible incident” with a drone at Heathrow on Sunday, which is subject to investigation by the Metropolitan Police. It reminded drone users of the country’s "dronecode," which prohibits drones from flying above 400 feet (about 122 meters) and requires them to stay away from aircraft, helicopters, airports and airfields.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A data scientist is one of the most in-demand, high-profile careers in IT today, but Tom Walsh and Alex Krowitz have been working behind the scenes in the field for years. Walsh, a research engineer and Krowitz, a senior research engineer at cloud workforce management solutions company Kronos, sift through the influx of proprietary and customer data to identify patterns and gain insights based on that data."We both work in the workforce management and timekeeping division here at Kronos. There are generally two kinds of projects we regularly handle; mining patterns within data to improve our own products is one and the other is taking on specific sets of customer data to gather and deliver insights from that," says Walsh.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Over the last few years, Apple's mobile product cycle has revolved around "bigger and thinner." Now that mantra has been flipped on its head by Apple's latest releases -- the 9.7-in. iPad Pro and the 4-in. iPhone SE -- that emphasize the notion that smaller might just be better.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The HR departments and hiring managers in Silicon Valley have a challenge. They can’t ask an applicant’s age because their companies have lost brutal discrimination lawsuits over the years. Instead, they develop little tricks like tossing in an oblique reference to “The Brady Bunch” (“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”) and seeing if the candidate gets the joke. Candidates who chuckle are deemed a poor cultural fit and are tossed aside.Alas, the computer industry has a strange, cultish fascination with new technologies, new paradigms, and of course, new programmers. It’s more fascination than reality because old tech never truly dies. Old inventions like the mainframe may stop getting headlines, but they run and run. As I write this, Dice shows more than five times as many jobs postings for the keyword "Cobol" (522) than "OCaml," "Erlang," and "Haskell" combined (11, 52, and 27, respectively).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Smartphones have become more than anyone could have imagined. We use them as a communication device, to pull analytics reports, to connect with colleagues on social media, and even to help monitor core IT services. Yet, it can be hard to know which apps are the most valuable to keep around or rely on during a hectic schedule.To give you some ideas, CIO.com asked several CIOs which apps they use each day, the ones they rely on the most as part of their routine. Some of the apps they use are surprising (e.g., games to pass the time in a meeting) and some are more for personal use.Brad Schick, CTO and vice president of engineering at cloud service provider Skytap 1. SlackTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
At New York Life, IT employees are training overseas workers to do their jobs. It's a difficult task that takes an emotional toll, and there are odd rules and processes to follow.The training starts with sessions over the Web with the offshore contractors. Eventually, the IT employees expect to train the contractors in-person.One IT employee, who is training replacement contractors, said she has been told by management not to ask the contract workers any questions. Even simple queries, like, "Did you have a chance to read this document?" or, "Are you familiar with this technology?" to the contract workers, from India-based Tata Consultancy Services, are not allowed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Curiosity isn't reserved for childhood. It's a powerful characteristic that keeps you engaged and sharp at work. And, at the right company, being a curious person might land you a job over someone who may look more qualified on paper. At least, that's the case for Tony Vartanian, co-founder of Lucktastic, a division of the mobile game design company Jump Ramp. Vartanian has grown his company by hiring qualified, curious candidates over people who simply have an impressive background, but don't demonstrate the same thirst for knowledge.According to a study from Gallup International, some of the best entrepreneurs are curious and creative thinkers, which the study says indicates they can "creatively look beyond the present and imagine possible futures for their company." They aren't the type of people who sit around and wait to be told what to do -- instead they drive the change within their own organization through out-of-the-box thinking. And, according to Vartanian, that's a quality you want in every employee you decide to hire at your startup.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
LG took a lot of risks with the new LG G5—it's got a metal chassis, unusual modular "friends," and no app drawer. There are some great features built in, but there are also a few shortcomings that you'll need to address in order to have the best experience possible. No phone is perfect, after all. So, we've got 15 tips and tricks to make your G5 the best phone it can be.Knock code Use a few taps to wake and unlock your G5. LG started offering the Knock Code security feature a few years ago, and it continues to be great on the LG G5. Knock Code lets you create a series of taps on the screen that can wake and unlock the phone in a single step. You can set up a Knock Code from the Lock screen menu under Select screen lock.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple last week opposed the Department of Justice's renewed demand that it assist investigators in accessing a drug dealer's iPhone, arguing that the government has not proved the company's help is required."The government has utterly failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that Apple’s assistance in this case is necessary," lawyers for the Cupertino, Calif., company said in a brief filed with a federal court in New York on Friday. "The government has made no showing that it has exhausted alternative means for extracting data from the iPhone at issue here, either by making a serious attempt to obtain the passcode from the individual defendant who set it in the first place ... or by consulting other government agencies and third parties known to the government."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The European Commission is still investigating whether Google’s Android operating system and Amazon’s contracts with e-book publishers have broken antitrust rules, its Competition Commissioner said Monday in Amsterdam.Margrethe Vestager’s remarks come amid reports that the European Commission could formally press charges in the form of a "statement of objections "against Google as early as this week. Her speech suggests that formal charges into both Google’s Android operating system and Amazon could still take some time.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Copy catsSeveral new Windows 10 tablet computers have either been released, or announced to be released soon, that copy the industrial design of Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 and Pro 4. Like the Surface tablets, most of these clones have a kickstand that you flip out to prop them up on a flat surface; and they use a keyboard which can fold over onto the tablet’s display to protect it. While the Surface Pro 4 starts at $899 and can cost as much as $2,699, these clones are generally less expensive.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
WhalingWhaling threats or CEO fraud continues to grow with 70 percent of firms seeing an increase in these email-based attacks designed to extort money. There has been an uptick of activity lately as fraudsters spend the first few months of the year taking advantage of tax season, targeting finance departments with emails that look like they are coming from a company’s senior executive. Case in point are Snapchat and Seagate as companies that inadvertently gave up employees’ personal information.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here