Rated insecurity: Faux Cat 6 cable sold on Amazon

Many of you are on Wi-Fi, but this is salient to you. Amazon’s enormous sales site is marketing Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet cable with aluminum conductors, as well as “plenum-rated” cable that bears no UL markings and is likely fraudulent. This comes after a run of apparently bogus Apple chargers and cables. Why do you care? Several reasons:  Some of the Ethernet cable sold uses either copper-coated or copper-mixed aluminum. Numerous specs call for the conductors to be solid copper. Why? Copper meets conductivity specs and won’t heat up under load. Organizations using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) to power remote Wi-Fi access points (quite common these days) risk having the cable catch fire due to overheating, or just melt and short—especially on long cable runs. Plenum-rated cables are self-extinguishing. This means if you put a nail through one (we hope accidentally), then a jacket surrounding the cable prevents setting something in the surrounding area on fire. If you add the two factors together, cable that heats up and jackets that don’t extinguish a possible flame, then the sprinklers turn on. We hope.  Whilst perusing the listings, I came across numerous enticing examples. Why enticing? Because their cost Continue reading

Rated insecurity: Faux Cat 6 cable sold on Amazon

Many of you are on Wi-Fi, but this is salient to you. Amazon’s enormous sales site is marketing Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet cable with aluminum conductors, as well as “plenum-rated” cable that bears no UL markings and is likely fraudulent. This comes after a run of apparently bogus Apple chargers and cables. Why do you care? Several reasons:  Some of the Ethernet cable sold uses either copper-coated or copper-mixed aluminum. Numerous specs call for the conductors to be solid copper. Why? Copper meets conductivity specs and won’t heat up under load. Organizations using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) to power remote Wi-Fi access points (quite common these days) risk having the cable catch fire due to overheating, or just melt and short—especially on long cable runs. Plenum-rated cables are self-extinguishing. This means if you put a nail through one (we hope accidentally), then a jacket surrounding the cable prevents setting something in the surrounding area on fire. If you add the two factors together, cable that heats up and jackets that don’t extinguish a possible flame, then the sprinklers turn on. We hope.  Whilst perusing the listings, I came across numerous enticing examples. Why enticing? Because their cost Continue reading

Rated insecurity: Faux Cat 6 cable sold on Amazon

Many of you are on Wi-Fi, but this is salient to you. Amazon’s enormous sales site is marketing Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet cable with aluminum conductors, as well as “plenum-rated” cable that bears no UL markings and is likely fraudulent. This comes after a run of apparently bogus Apple chargers and cables. Why do you care? Several reasons:  Some of the Ethernet cable sold uses either copper-coated or copper-mixed aluminum. Numerous specs call for the conductors to be solid copper. Why? Copper meets conductivity specs and won’t heat up under load. Organizations using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) to power remote Wi-Fi access points (quite common these days) risk having the cable catch fire due to overheating, or just melt and short—especially on long cable runs. Plenum-rated cables are self-extinguishing. This means if you put a nail through one (we hope accidentally), then a jacket surrounding the cable prevents setting something in the surrounding area on fire. If you add the two factors together, cable that heats up and jackets that don’t extinguish a possible flame, then the sprinklers turn on. We hope.  Whilst perusing the listings, I came across numerous enticing examples. Why enticing? Because their cost Continue reading

A techie’s guide for voting on new Monopoly game tokens

Hasbro is giving Monopoly fans a choice of going old school, very old school or new school in an online vote to determine which tokens will come standard with a new version of the game hitting shelves in August.The Monopoly Token Madness Vote, open through Jan. 31, leaves the fate of old faithfuls like the Scottie dog, thimble and wheelbarrow in the hands of voters, who might be tempted by more than 50 new contenders. Monopoly has been around since 1935 and Hasbro says the game is enjoyed by more than 1 billion players around the world.Hasbro has protected itself from voters getting to, uh, creative, by restricting the token choices to a pre-selected pool of designs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Nyotron launches to ‘secure the world.’ Simple, eh?

Nyotron today launched its cybersecurity product in the U.S. Nothing too exciting about that, but the history of the company’s founder might pique your interest.Nir Gaist is the sort of over-achiever that one either worries hugely about or admires greatly (or probably both in equal measure). Nyotron’s CEO and founder, Gaist started programing at the age of six. (Which leads me to ask, what took him so long?) In 2008, he and his brother Ofer Gaist, now COO, started Nyotron as a penetration testing company. Before founding the company, and as a departure from his buddies who were probably playing Candy Crush or something, Nir hacked an Israeli service provider, which was so impressed with his skills it ended up hiring him. From there, he went on to test telephone systems, online banking protocols, ATMs and more for the largest banks in Israel. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Nyotron launches to ‘secure the world.’ Simple, eh?

Nyotron today launched its cybersecurity product in the U.S. Nothing too exciting about that, but the history of the company’s founder might pique your interest.Nir Gaist is the sort of over-achiever that one either worries hugely about or admires greatly (or probably both in equal measure). Nyotron’s CEO and founder, Gaist started programing at the age of six. (Which leads me to ask, what took him so long?) In 2008, he and his brother Ofer Gaist, now COO, started Nyotron as a penetration testing company. Before founding the company, and as a departure from his buddies who were probably playing Candy Crush or something, Nir hacked an Israeli service provider, which was so impressed with his skills it ended up hiring him. From there, he went on to test telephone systems, online banking protocols, ATMs and more for the largest banks in Israel. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

South African bank tells its tale of battling ransom attacks

In November of 2015, First National Bank of South Africa received a ransom email from the Armada Collective, which was quickly followed by a teaser flood attack that the bank proactively mitigated. Sort of a shot across the bow to make sure the bank knew the criminals were serious.Bank officials didn’t flinch. According to a verbatim in Radware’s recently released Global Application & Security survey, the bank detected and mitigated the teaser flood attack before officials discovered the email, which had been sent to an unattended mailbox while the company was closed. With a hybrid DDoS mitigation solution in place, the flood attack had no impact and was immediately diverted to a scrubbing center for cleanup.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

South African bank tells its tale of battling ransom attacks

In November of 2015, First National Bank of South Africa received a ransom email from the Armada Collective, which was quickly followed by a teaser flood attack that the bank proactively mitigated. Sort of a shot across the bow to make sure the bank knew the criminals were serious.Bank officials didn’t flinch. According to a verbatim in Radware’s recently released Global Application & Security survey, the bank detected and mitigated the teaser flood attack before officials discovered the email, which had been sent to an unattended mailbox while the company was closed. With a hybrid DDoS mitigation solution in place, the flood attack had no impact and was immediately diverted to a scrubbing center for cleanup.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The 22 best changes in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15002

One build, almost a whole new OSMicrosoft releases new builds of Windows 10 for its Insider beta testers every so often—some minor, some really significant. You can call Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15002, released this week, a really big deal.Microsoft’s notes on the new build ran to over a dozen pages, according to the company, and we found over 20 notable new features. (We left out some minor tweaks to keep this list manageable.) Some are cosmetic improvements that enhance the user experience, while others add powerful new features that Windows lacked before.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NRAM set to spark a ‘holy war’ among memory technologies

A non-volatile memory technology based on carbon nanotubes that's poised for commercialization in 2018 is expected to be more disruptive to enterprise storage, servers and consumer electronics than flash memory, according to a new report from BCC Research."It is rare to see a technology catch fire after so long in development, but NRAM appears poised to do just that," said BCC research editorial director Kevin Fitzgerald. "In fact, your next smartphone could be a carbon-based lifeform."The BCC report predicts the overall Nano RAM (NRAM) market will see a compound annual growth rate of 62.5% between 2018 and 2023, with the embedded systems market in which it will be used expected to grow from $4.7 million in 2018 to $217.6 million in 2023. That would represent a combined annual growth rate over those five years of 115.3%.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How much is a data breach going to cost you?

It is going to cost yaImage by ThinkstockA recent IBM study found that the average cost of a data breach has hit $4 million—up from $3.8 million in 2015. There are countless factors that could affect the cost of a data breach in your organization, and it’s virtually impossible to predict the exact cost. You might be able to estimate a range with the help of a data breach calculator, but no single tool is perfect.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How much is a data breach going to cost you?

It is going to cost yaImage by ThinkstockA recent IBM study found that the average cost of a data breach has hit $4 million—up from $3.8 million in 2015. There are countless factors that could affect the cost of a data breach in your organization, and it’s virtually impossible to predict the exact cost. You might be able to estimate a range with the help of a data breach calculator, but no single tool is perfect.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to set up your Android phone for ultimate privacy

It’s not an exaggeration to say that your smartphone is the most personal device you have. The fact it’s always with you, however, sure does generate a lot of information about your habits.Your location history, Google searches, web browsing habits, app usage, and even recordings of your voice talking to the Google Assistant.Yes, your phone and the Google services powering it are incredibly useful in many tangible ways. And if you use a strong password and two-factor authentication, your information is likely safer on Google’s servers than just about anywhere else.But it’s not paranoia to take stock from time to time of just how much you’re handing over to Google or if you’d rather not place all your digital privacy eggs in the same basket. Here are some simple tips about how you can stay in control of all that critical information and ensure that privacy isn’t something you have to surrender.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA wants to create secure data-sharing tech

DARPA is kicking off a project to create a new way to enable U.S. troops working in remote areas around the world to securely send and receive sensitive information on their devices.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the research arm of the Department of Defense, said it's working on a project that would use software and networking technology to securely share information on unsecured commercial and military networks.NEWSLETTERS: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box The agency scheduled a Proposer's Day for Jan. 31 to provide more information on the project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA wants to create secure data-sharing tech

DARPA is kicking off a project to create a new way to enable U.S. troops working in remote areas around the world to securely send and receive sensitive information on their devices.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the research arm of the Department of Defense, said it's working on a project that would use software and networking technology to securely share information on unsecured commercial and military networks.NEWSLETTERS: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box The agency scheduled a Proposer's Day for Jan. 31 to provide more information on the project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What’s Next For OpenFlow

Hyperconvergence Benefits Come With Challenges

Response: Japan researchers warn of fingerprint theft from ‘peace’ sign

Another one from the Biometrics is not useful for authentication dumpster:

The NII researchers were able to copy fingerprints based on photos taken by a digital camera three metres (nine feet) away from the subject.

Japan researchers warn of fingerprint theft from ‘peace’ sign : http://phys.org/news/2017-01-japan-fingerprint-theft-peace.html

The post Response: Japan researchers warn of fingerprint theft from ‘peace’ sign appeared first on EtherealMind.

Viptela Snags Former Cisco & VCE Exec Praveen Akkiraju as CEO

Viptela hosts 90% of its SD-WAN customers out of AWS.

Parsing Printouts with Ansible Regular Expression Filters

Ansible is great at capturing and using JSON-formatted data returned by REST API (or any other script or method it can invoke), but unfortunately some of us still have to deal with network devices that cannot even spell structured data or REST.