According to a set of intelligent humans interviewed for this story, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are going to help drive the tech economy in 2017.When CIO.com posted a query on Help a Reporter Out, a site designed to help journalists connect with sources, asking about startup trends to watch in 2017, the overwhelming majority of respondents pointed to AI. This coming year and beyond, AI will help companies "disrupt sectors that haven't been fully disrupted," says Anthony Glomski, principal of AG Asset Advisory, a financial advisory firm. "AI is in its beginning stages with massive potential impact."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
From W-2 scams to WordPress vulnerabilities, ransomware, business email compromises, DDos attacks and allegations of a hacked presidential election -- 2016's been a hell of a year in cybersecurity, and it's not over yet.There's no reason to believe 2017 will be any better. If anything, it could be even worse as cybercriminals continue to push social engineering, find new ways to deliver malware, crack vulnerable databases and leverage mobile technology to find ways to get inside corporate defenses and target individuals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most cybercriminals make between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, but 20 percent earn $20,000 a month or more, according to a recent report.The data is based on a survey conducted by a closed underground community, said report author Andrei Barysevich, director of advanced collection at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future."We actually saw criminals who made way more than that, $50,000 to $200,000 a month," he said. "This is what they keep, this is not revenues, but pure profit. This is what they can spend on loose women, fast cars and nice clothes."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Gamify your personal and work livesImage by ThinkstockIf you're struggling with motivation or productivity at work, the answer might lie in gamification. Gamification turns your boring to-do list, mundane chores or healthy habits into a role-playing (RPG) game where you can earn points, collect badges and level up. If you've ever used a fitness tracker, it's the same concept -- you can earn badges and rewards for your workouts and healthy lifestyle goals to help you stay motivated.
PokemonGo, designed as an augmented reality game, even managed to gamify walking for a lot of players, with researchers at Stanford and Microsoft suggesting it helped significantly increase physical activity for users. Gamifying your life might be the answer to staying motivated, productive and to develop new habits; these five apps will help you make your everyday to-do list fun again.
<A HREF="https://habitica.com/static/front" TITLE="Habitica website" TARGET="_blank">Habitica</A>Image by HabiticaTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The city of Lewiston, in north central Idaho, has a population of around 32,000 and an information systems budget of around $800,000 a year.But it wasn't too small for attackers. For example, the city council meetings, streamed online, were being watched by people in Russia."Why are they watching this?" said Danny Santiago, the city's information systems administrator.Then there were the phishing attempts."We are negotiating a $2 million contract for road work, and we had spearphishing attacks," he said. "Luckily it's a small town, and everyone knows everyone, so people called us."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hewlett Packard Enterprise on Wednesday announced several software and hardware products to more securely manage the exploding universe of Internet of Things devices.October's Mirai botnet attack on unsecured IoT devices, which halted widespread access to dozens of popular internet sites, dramatizes the value of more comprehensive management and control of IoT, HPE executives said in interviews.Some of HPE's new products are intended for use by virtual cellular network providers, while others are for small and medium-sized enterprises to use in managing their local area network (LAN) operations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This lightweight and ultra-comfortable band from Encased is designed to securely fit your iPhone 7 4.7" by simply clipping on & off the included iPhone case (2016 Slimfit edition case, by Encased), so you won't need to place it in and out of another case or sleeve for your workout. The band comes in several different color options, and is fully adjustable to fit all arm sizes up to 14". The highly reflective pattern provides nighttime jogging & running protection, and its unique design maintains full touchscreen and button functionality during your workout with 0% screen obstruction. Its typical list price of $34.99 has been reduced 48% to just $18 for both the band and iPhone 7 case combo. See the discounted workout band on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
SecureAuth is in the business of adaptive access control. What that means in plain (or at least more plain) English is that the company offers security solutions that balance strength with ease of use and that adapt to different use cases.An example of adaptive access control might be requiring a simple username and password for regular access, but requiring a higher level of authentication when the user (for example) logs in from another geography.+ Also on Network World: 5 trends shaking up multi-factor authentication +
As data breaches have gained massive prominence in recent years, due in part to some celebrities' dual proclivities for poor password control and a penchant for naked selfies, the public has become increasingly aware of multi-factor authentication (MFA) a process that requires a subsequent authentication entry beyond simply username and password.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It’s the time of year for holiday cheer. Hot chocolate, cookies, presents and other festivities abound. Shops dress up their windows in exotic displays, and festive lights can be seen everywhere. Yes, it’s the time of year when everything is grander and everyone seems happier.But it’s not always sunshine and roses during the holiday season. Trouble often lurks in the shadows—preying on both retailers and consumers. Criminals take advantage of the spike in spending, and use the opportunity to hide in the crowds and undertake fraud of various kinds.+ Also on Network World: Flash mobs the latest threat this holiday season +
Financial fraud is the one that comes to mind first, but identity theft, impersonation and theft of items, among others, are all common. On top of that, every year cyber attackers improve on their techniques to steal information, money and goods.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Internet companies should not be required to monitor third-party terrorist content that they host or transmit, nor should they face direct or indirect liability from governments for such content, according to a new study.
The Global Network Initiative, a group that represents academics, investors, civil society organizations and companies including Facebook, Google and Microsoft, published its study Tuesday. It's the offshoot of a policy discussion it started in July 2015, exploring key issues such as the human rights implications of government efforts to restrict online content with the aim of protecting public safety.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Let the show beginImage by Thinkstock/AmazonAmazon Web Service’s re:Invent conference is one of the premier showcases for new cloud technology spanning across the infrastructure, platform and software as a service markets. Check out some of the hottest products being announced or displayed at the show, from new tools for managing big data to products that help optimize your cloud use to ones that help secure your environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Amazon Web Services executives like to talk about customers who are going “all-in” on the company’s cloud platform, ditching their data centers and investing fully in IaaS.According to media reports, AWS CEO Andy Jassy is encouraging the company’s partners to do the same thing. Jassy reportedly encouraged partners at the re:Invent conference to focus their expertise on the AWS cloud.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: How to compare costs between Amazon, Azure and Google clouds +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft has patched a vulnerability stemming from its configuration of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) in the Azure public cloud that a customer discovered.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: How to compare costs between AWS, Azure and Google clouds +Microsoft Azure uses a process in which all instances of the RHEL operating system check back to a centralized system to ensure it is up to date. The customer, Ian Duffy in Ireland, found that he was able to access that master copy of RHEL, which could have allowed him or anyone else to implant a security vulnerability into the master copy of the program that would have propagated throughout any Azure customer using the OS.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The latest strain of Mirai, the malware that’s been infecting internet routers from Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, has spread to devices in at least 10 other countries, according to security firm Flashpoint.The company has detected the new Mirai strain infecting internet routers and modems across the globe, including in the U.K., Brazil, Iran and Thailand.It’s still unclear how many devices have been infected, but Flashpoint estimates that as many as five million devices are vulnerable. “If even a fraction of these vulnerable devices were compromised, they would add considerable power to an existing botnet,” Flashpoint said in a Tuesday blog post.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. Compatible with Apple iOS 8 or higher and Android 4.1 or higher. With a list price of $49.99, this 40% discount puts the WeMo Smart Plug at just $29.95.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Five years ago, then Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker was derided for an abrupt plan to spin off the PC division from the mothership. It happened anyway in 2015, when the idea seemed more logical.The spin-off led to the creation of HP, which focuses on PCs and printers, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which focuses on enterprise hardware and the cloud. Now a year after the split, the companies are still trying to shed off the rust as they try to stand on their own legs.Growing pains have afflicted both companies as they try to find their identities. HP and HPE both had to change their business focuses and also shed excess fat, announcing layoffs last month within days of each other.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While Amazon Web Services touts the self-service capabilities of its cloud, the company also works with a large number of channel partners to help companies migrate to and use its services.
The cloud provider announced a suite of updates to its partner programs at its Global Partner Summit keynote in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The updates are focused on helping customers get increased use of Amazon’s cloud services and getting partners to invest further in AWS.
The keynote was an opportunity for the cloud provider to make a hard sell to the companies that will help businesses adopt Amazon’s cloud services. Partners shouldn’t hedge their investment in the public cloud, but should instead commit to supporting one provider deeply and aggressively, AWS CEO Andy Jassy said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The substantially high cost of MPLS circuits ($200-$400/Mbps/month) compared to easily deployed, lower cost broadband Internet (with a price tag of $1/Mbps/month) has triggered a shift in enterprise architectures to the software defined WAN. SD-WAN provides the flexibility to choose the most optimal transport and dynamically steer traffic over a mix of MPLS circuits, the public Internet, or even wireless LTE circuits.
The access transport selection depends on a variety of factors, including the type of application, traffic profile, security requirements, QoS and network loss and latency. When implemented correctly, SD-WAN truly has significant advantages: Faster service deployment, increased flexibility, unified management and improved application performance, to name a few. But, while familiarity about SD-WAN has increased over the last year, a survey by Silver Peak and IDG shows only 27% of small- to mid-sized enterprises have shifted to SD-WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.Like the threat landscape itself, web gateways have changed over the years. Back in the 1990s, organizations primarily used them to prevent employees from wasting time surfing the web – or worse, from visiting gambling, adult and other unauthorized websites. Today web gateways do much more than enforce regulatory compliance and HR policies. Whether they are implemented on-premise or as cloud-based services, organizations rely on web gateways to thwart Internet-borne threats delivered through users’ browsers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The folks who run the indispensable Internet Archive Wayback Machine, among other services, have seen the future of a Trump Administration and it scares them enough to spur the creation of the Internet Archive of Canada … just in case.From the organization’s blog post today:
The history of libraries is one of loss. The Library of Alexandria is best known for its disappearance.Libraries like ours are susceptible to different fault lines: Earthquakes, legal regimes, institutional failure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here