For the past half year Netgear has been working on fixing a serious and easy-to-exploit vulnerability in many of its routers. And it's still not done.While Netgear has worked to fix the issue, the list of affected router models increased to 30, of which only 20 have firmware fixes available to date. A manual workaround is available for the rest.The vulnerability was discovered by Simon Kenin, a security researcher at Trustwave, and stems from a faulty password recovery implementation in the firmware of many Netgear routers. It is a variation of an older vulnerability that has been publicly known since 2014, but this new version is actually easier to exploit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Bill Hineline had two requirements as he was searching last year for a new tool to keep tabs on the hundreds of interconnected applications that keep United Airline's planes flying. It had to ensure critical flight operations software was working and it had to meet customers' demands for accessing information from smartphones and tablets. The airline's director of application performance management also wanted a cloud application rather than another on-premises tool to manage internally. United Airlines
Bill Hineline, director of application performance management at United Airlines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
President Donald Trump is due to sign an executive order Tuesday that gives each cabinet official more responsibility for the safety of data within their agency.It will be accompanied by a government-wide review of cybersecurity by the Office of Management and Budget, looking at the technology in place that guards U.S. government systems from cyberattacks, according to a White House official.The results of that review could lead to a government-wide upgrade of federal cybersecurity systems.The U.S. government has been hit by hacks in the last few years. The State Department spent months trying to get rid of intruders in its unclassified network and the Office of Personnel Management lost personal information on millions of government workers through a second hack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Scanning business media headlines on any given day shows that talent management—recruiting, hiring, rewarding and retaining people—is one of the most critical priorities for employers. Companies can grow only if they secure and maintain a satisfied and productive workforce. Nowhere is this more apparent than in IT, where leaders spend a lot of time thinking about how to put people with the right skills and experience in the right role.Drawing on a CEB database of more than 2 billion job postings worldwide, we sought to better understand the global IT labor market. Specifically we asked: What are the most difficult jobs to fill, and how do various countries compare to one another in terms of IT talent supply and demand? Three large-scale trends emerged:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Although vendor-written, this contributed piece does not advocate a position that is particular to the author’s employer and has been edited and approved by Network World editors.According to Gartner, a company with a corporate “no-cloud” policy in 2020 would be as rare as a company today operating without Internet. IDG estimates that 70% of enterprises are running at least one application in the cloud today and that number is projected to reach 90% in the next 12 months. In other words, in a couple of years a company not in the cloud will be unfathomable.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As the calendar shifts from January to February, cybersecurity professionals are gearing up for the RSA Security Conference in a few short weeks. Remarkably, the management team is expecting more than 50,000 attendees this year. So, what can we expect from RSA 2017? Well, cybersecurity is being driven by dangerous threats, digital transformation and the need for massive scalability. This means innovation and change in just about every aspect of cybersecurity technology, so I plan to write a few posts about my expectations for the RSA Conference. I’ll start with this one about endpoint security.To be clear, endpoint security should no longer be defined as antivirus software. No disrespect to tried-and-true AV, but endpoint security now spans a continuum that includes advanced prevention technologies, endpoint security controls and advanced detection/response tools. My colleague Doug Cahill and I are currently tracking more than 50 endpoint security vendors, demonstrating just how much activity there is today.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Speculation about a new edition of the Windows operating system, called Windows Cloud, got a shot in the arm with references to new versions of the OS found in recent builds. A Twitter sleuth known as "The Walking Cat" posted a screenshot of in Windows 10 for PCs build 15003, showing references to "Cloud" and "CloudN," the latter of which is believed to be a version without Media Player pre-installed, according to on Petri.com. ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley claims that Windows 10 Cloud is pretty much a newer version of Windows RT, the mobile OS based on Windows 8 designed to be more locked down and controlled and using only authorized apps. RT was a dismal failure on early Surface tablets, and a Windows 10 version never emerged. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
At least one employee of the U.S. Federal Reserve sees the value of bitcoin and mining for it if you get your computing power for free. Nicholas Berthaume, who is now a former employee, was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined $5,000 for installing unauthorized bitcoin software on a Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System server.According to a news release by the Office of Inspector General, Berthaume pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conversion of government property.Working as a Communications Analyst, Berthaume had access to some Board computer servers. He put the computing power of a federal server to work for him. Mining is costly after all, as nowadays it tends to use more electricity than a miner earns. Unless a person has excess power from a solar farm for mining, then stealing electricity for mining is an option some people choose. You may have heard about the three men and one woman recently arrested in Venezuela for electricity theft and internet fraud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wi-Fi has become a critical component of digital enterprises. The wireless network connects workers, customers, Internet of Things (Iot) endpoints and virtually everything else to the company network. In addition to connectivity, the data that is generated by wireless traffic can be analyzed and used to provide the business with new insights on customer or user behavior. Choosing the right vendor for Wi-Fi infrastructure can be a conundrum for businesses. The choices available are either a low price point that carries a basic feature set or one with an enterprise-class set of functions with a much higher cost, meaning a compromise is always required. With most solutions, if a customer chooses the low-cost option, there’s no upgrade path to a more feature-rich solution other than ripping out the old stuff and putting in a whole new set of infrastructure. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Deploy into the VR rebellion with the Dual-fan Radeon RX 480 with 1-click overclocking. Auto-Extreme manufacturing technology with Super Alloy Power II components ensures premium quality and reliability while dual fans provide a quieter and cooler gaming environment. GPU Tweak II with XSplit Gamecaster delivers ultimate monitoring and streaming control. Patented Wing-Blade Fans for max air flow with 105% more air pressure. ASUS Dual-fan RX480 graphics cards have two HDMI ports for connecting a VR device and display at the same time, so you can enjoy immersive virtual reality experiences anytime without having to swap cables. Its list price of $220 has been reduced 14% to $189.99, but an additional post-purchase rebate offer drops the price further to $169.99. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
17 photos of Google's coolest office setupsImage by GoogleGoogle is often ranked as one of the top tech companies to work for—and with good reason. The company is extraordinarily employee-friendly. In addition to a great array of benefits and employee perks, Google takes measures to ensure its employees work in extremely unique environments that are designed to foster creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Additionally, it makes going to work a far more enjoyable experience when there are slides, bikes, basketball courts, ping pong tables and video games to enjoy. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Amazon and Expedia have submitted declarations in a federal court in Washington, claiming that a recent immigration order by U.S. President Donald Trump is disrupting their business and affecting employees.The actions by these companies come amid widespread public protests against the order, with many tech companies prominently in the opposition.The declarations were filed by Amazon and Expedia in a lawsuit in which Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has asked the court to invalidate parts of the executive order for a number of reasons including that it discriminates in the issuance of immigrant visas on the basis of race, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Did you forget to turn off the window A.C.? How about that curling iron? Want the living room lamp to turn on when the sun goes down—automatically? The Wemo Switch gives you control of your lamps and small appliances whenever you want, wherever you choose, with tons of options for scheduling and automation. Paired with Amazon Alexa, you can control your lamps and appliances with just the power of your voice. When Wemo works with Nest Thermostat, you can set your lights to turn off automatically when you leave the house, and on when you get home again. No central hub or subscription is required. Wemo also has an on/off switch on the unit, in case the Wi-Fi goes down. This smart plug is currently discounted 30% down to just $34.99. For more information and buying options, see the discounted WiFi Smart Plug on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
F5 Networks CEO and President John McAdam, thrust back into that role in late 2015 under unusual circumstances, has announced that Ciena SVP and COO Francois Locoh-Donou will succeed him on April 3.McAdam joined F5 in 2000 and served as CEO and President until July 2015, when he handed the reins to Manuel Rivelo. But Rivelo stepped down in December of that year for unspecified personal conduct issues, and McAdam jumped back into the fray at the Seattle company, which he has helped to build into an application delivery powerhouse generating about $2B in annual revenue. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive lets you quickly free up space on iPhones, iPads, and iPods; automatically back up photos and watch videos straight from the drive. The flexible Lightning connector works with most cases, while the USB 3.0 connector makes it easy to move content between devices. This flash drive also includes encryption software to password protect files, so you can share content while keeping sensitive files secure. Plus, the SanDisk iXpand Drive app provides a fast and simple way to organize content and play music and videos directly from the drive. TheSanDisk iXpand Flash Drive currently averages 4 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 600 customers (read reviews) and its list price of $59.99 is currently discounted 33% to $39.94.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The number of powerful chips coming out of China keeps growing as a war of words on semiconductors with the U.S. escalates.A joint venture between Qualcomm and China's Guizhou province, called Huaxintong Semiconductor Technology, has started the development of a new server chip based on ARM technology.The joint venture is "now busy developing a customized server CPU product based on our technology and designs for the China market," said Derek Aberle, president at Qualcomm, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of an earnings call last week.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The number of powerful chips coming out of China keeps growing as a war of words on semiconductors with the U.S. escalates.
A joint venture between Qualcomm and China's Guizhou province, called Huaxintong Semiconductor Technology, has started the development of a new server chip based on ARM technology.
The joint venture is "now busy developing a customized server CPU product based on our technology and designs for the China market," said Derek Aberle, president at Qualcomm, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of an earnings call last week.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
By Presidential proclamation, non-U.S. citizens' data is in jeopardy. An executive order by President Trump could hurt a data transfer framework that allows EU citizens’ personal information to be transmitted to the U.S. for processing with the promise that the data would have the same privacy protection in the U.S. as it has in the EU. That’s because a section of the order says, “Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information.” To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Forgot your password? Well, Facebook wants to help you recover your internet account.The company is releasing an open source protocol that will let third-party sites recover user accounts through Facebook.Typically, when people forget their password to a site, they’re forced to answer a security question or send a password reset request to their email. But these methods of account recovery can be vulnerable to hacking, said Facebook security engineer Brad Hill.He recalled a time when he was granted permission to break into an online bank account. To do so, he took advantage of the password reset questions.“It asked me what my favorite color was, and it let me guess as many times as I wanted,” he said Monday, during a presentation at the USENIX Enigma 2017 security conference.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
DARPA says there are now 30 contenders for its $3.75 million Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) whose goal is to get mobile devices more intelligent access to the ever-tightening wireless spectrum.+More on Network World: Intelligence agency opens $325,000 advanced, automated fingerprint gathering competition+ The defense research agency last March announced Spectrum Collaboration Challenge and said the primary goal of the contest was to infuse radios with “advanced machine-learning capabilities so they can collectively develop strategies that optimize use of the wireless spectrum in ways not possible with today’s intrinsically inefficient approach of pre-allocating exclusive access to designated frequencies.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here