Archive

Category Archives for "Networking"

Google sued by employee for confidentiality policies that ‘muzzle’ staff

A product manager at Google has sued the company for its allegedly illegal confidentiality agreements, policies and practices that among other things prohibit employees from speaking even internally about illegal conduct and dangerous product defects for fear that such statements may be used in legal discovery during litigation or sought by the government.The alleged policies, which are said to violate California laws, restrict employees' right to speak, work or whistle-blow, and include restrictions on speaking to the government, attorneys or the press about wrongdoing at Google or even “speaking to spouse or friends about whether they think their boss could do a better job,” according to a complaint Tuesday in the Superior Court of California for the city and county of San Francisco.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Congressional report sides with Apple on encryption debate

The U.S. is better off supporting strong encryption that trying to weaken it, according to a new congressional report that stands at odds with the FBI’s push to install backdoors into tech products.On Tuesday, a bipartisan congressional panel published a year-end report, advising the U.S. to explore other solutions to the encryption debate.“Any measure that weakens encryption works against the national interest,” the report said.The congressional panel formed back in March, amid the FBI’s public battle with Apple over trying to gain access to a locked iPhone belonging to the San Bernardino shooter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tim Cook reaffirms Apple’s commitment to the Mac, in response to growing doubt

The Mac Pro and Mac mini have languished for years. The iMac faces increased competition from rivals like Microsoft’s Surface Studio. The MacBook is thinner and lighter than ever, but not more powerful. Critics say it’s clear that Apple has put the Mac on the back burner. In a memo to employees, CEO Tim Cook said nothing could be further from the truth: “We have great desktops in our roadmap,” he wrote, according to TechCrunch. “Nobody should worry about that.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How Rackspace will stay alive in cloud: Stop competing with Amazon, start partnering

In August, 2016 months of speculations ended when Rackspace announced that an investment management group would purchase the 18-year-old company. Rumors have been swirling that the company may be acquired, but instead Rackspace took the route that Dell, Riverbed and BMC have and went private.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google researchers help developers test cryptographic implementations

Security experts from Google have developed a test suite that allows developers to find weaknesses in their cryptographic libraries and implementations.The company's Project Wycheproof, which was released on GitHub, contains more than 80 test cases for widely used cryptographic algorithms, including RSA, AES-GCM, AES-EAX, Diffie-Hellman, Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), and the digital signature algorithm (DSA).Google's researchers have developed these tests by implementing some of the most common cryptographic attacks. So far, the tests have helped them uncover more than 40 security bugs in cryptographic libraries, and they have been reported to affected vendors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Use virtual containers to isolate ransomware

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.Keeping internal networks safe from the ravages of the Internet is increasingly hard, but virtual container solutions allow users to function normally while preventing the “deplorables” of the Internet– malware, exploits, and other negative phenomena – from reaching files and sensitive data.Keeping suspicious files and connections in a separate container – a virtual space isolated from the rest of the network – is a savvy strategy that can save you a great deal of trouble and expense.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Use virtual containers to isolate ransomware

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.

Keeping internal networks safe from the ravages of the Internet is increasingly hard, but virtual container solutions allow users to function normally while preventing the “deplorables” of the Internet– malware, exploits, and other negative phenomena – from reaching files and sensitive data.

Keeping suspicious files and connections in a separate container – a virtual space isolated from the rest of the network – is a savvy strategy that can save you a great deal of trouble and expense.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

High-demand cybersecurity skills in 2017

As I’ve written many times, the cybersecurity skills shortage is the biggest cybersecurity issue we face today. Not only are there too few bodies to fill the cybersecurity jobs, but a recent series of research reports from ESG and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) indicates that many currently employed cybersecurity professionals are overworked, not managing their careers proactively, and not receiving the proper amount of training to stay ahead of increasingly dangerous threats. Yikes!So, the skills deficit is clear, but which types of cybersecurity skills are in the highest demand? In the recently published ESG/ISSA research report, Through the Eyes of Cybersecurity Professionals, 371 cybersecurity professionals were asked to identify areas where the organizations they worked for had the biggest skills gaps. The results are as follows:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

High Demand Cybersecurity Skills in 2017

As I’ve written many times, the cybersecurity skills shortage is the biggest cybersecurity issue we face today.  Not only are there too few bodies to fill the cybersecurity jobs, but a recent series of research reports from ESG and the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) indicates that many currently employed cybersecurity professionals are overworked, not managing their careers proactively, and not receiving the proper amount of training to stay ahead of increasingly dangerous threats.  Yikes!So, the skills deficit is clear but which types of cybersecurity skills are in the highest demand?  In the recently published ESG/ISSA research report title, Through the Eyes of Cybersecurity Professionals, 371 cybersecurity professionals were asked to identify areas where the organizations they worked for had the biggest skills gaps.  The results are as follows:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: SpareFare helps travelers resell those pesky non-refundable tickets

Most of my travel is booked well in advance. I’m kind of obsessive about my calendar and with a busy life to manage, I like to know what I’m up to weeks in advance. I’m also very loyal to one particular airline (here’s looking at you Air New Zealand) and am happy to pay a little more for a ticket on a top-shelf carrier that has good terms an conditions.I realize, of course, not everyone is in the same position and there are lots of people who buy cheap flights or holiday packages and then come unstuck when plans change. This is where SpareFare comes in. The company created an online platform that aims to connect people who bought flights or holiday packages they can no longer use with people seeking urgent or discounted travel options.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BlackBerry counts on cars to reverse decline in revenue

BlackBerry reported another quarter of losses and declining revenue on Tuesday, but CEO John Chen forecast that the company will break even next quarter, its first since quitting the smartphone business.The company signaled its departure from the smartphone hardware business last week, licensing its brand to TCL, the Chinese manufacturer that built the last two BlackBerry handsets.Chen's break-even forecast had a caveat: It didn't include restructuring charges, stock compensation expenses, fair-value adjustments and a host of other things, so the company will still make a loss, but a smaller one.With smartphones out of its product mix, BlackBerry is looking to a different kind of mobility to drive its future growth: the automotive industry, the major source of revenue for its QNX embedded software platform.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here