Democrats unveil bill to probe Russia’s role in alleged election hacks

U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a government probe into whether Russia may have interfered with the presidential election by hacking high-profile political targets.  On Wednesday, two Democratic representatives unveiled legislation that proposes to form a 12-member bipartisan commission to investigate the electronic means Russia may have used to influence the U.S. election."Regardless of whether you voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, or anyone else, Russia’s attacks on our election are an attempt to degrade our democracy," said Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, one of the sponsors of the bill.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Democrats unveil bill to probe Russia’s role in alleged election hacks

U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a government probe into whether Russia may have interfered with the presidential election by hacking high-profile political targets.   On Wednesday, two Democratic representatives unveiled legislation that proposes to form a 12-member bipartisan commission to investigate the electronic means Russia may have used to influence the U.S. election. "Regardless of whether you voted for Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, or anyone else, Russia’s attacks on our election are an attempt to degrade our democracy," said Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, one of the sponsors of the bill.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Marai Strikes Again

More than 900,000 customers of German ISP Deutsche Telekom (DT) were knocked offline this week after their Internet routers got infected by a new variant of a computer worm known as Mirai. The malware wriggled inside the routers via a newly discovered vulnerability in a feature that allows ISPs to remotely upgrade the firmware on the devices. But the new Mirai malware turns that feature off once it infests a device, complicating DT’s cleanup and restoration efforts. —Krebs on Security

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Aryaka Brings the WAN to SD-WAN

Aryaka emphasizes the ‘global’ aspect of its SD-WAN.

SecureWorks’ Revenue Climbed in Q3, But Stock Takes a Hit

The company has steadily reported revenue increases in the 20 percent range for the past three years.

Cisco whacks its Secure Access Control System

Cisco this week this week announced the death of its Secure Access Control System – a package customers use to manage access to network resources. Cisco said the last day customers can order the system is August 30, 2017. For customers with active and paid service and support contracts, support will be available under the terms and conditions of customers' service contract the company said. The last date that Cisco Engineering will release any final software maintenance releases or bug fixes is Aug. 30, 2018. After this date, Cisco Engineering will no longer develop, repair, maintain, or test the product software, the company said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco whacks its Secure Access Control System

Cisco this week this week announced the death of its Secure Access Control System – a package customers use to manage access to network resources. Cisco said the last day customers can order the system is August 30, 2017. For customers with active and paid service and support contracts, support will be available under the terms and conditions of customers' service contract the company said. The last date that Cisco Engineering will release any final software maintenance releases or bug fixes is Aug. 30, 2018. After this date, Cisco Engineering will no longer develop, repair, maintain, or test the product software, the company said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Serverless: The next step in cloud computing’s evolution

From conferences around the world, to colleagues, customers and partners, I’m seeing firsthand that the industry is abuzz over serverless computing.Expectations are high and steadily growing for how this new architecture can revolutionize the way organizations approach development and innovation.Defining serverless First, know that “serverless” itself is a bit of a misnomer. There are servers involved behind the scenes, of course, but as you’ll see, they’re abstracted in such a way that developers are free from having to address operational concerns and instead focus on the creativity of writing code.One way to think about the concepts supporting a serverless architecture is to look at them as a set of three layers that sit atop your existing compute, network and storage resources: fabric, framework and functions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Which IoT applications work best with fog computing?

Sometimes you really are on your own. And calling for directions isn’t feasible.It’s the same with many IoT systems. Centrally processing large volumes of sensor data slows decision making and increases bandwidth demand. Many decisions are better made close to the source.Which decisions should be made close to the network edge and which centrally? Where are the trade-offs? Which applications are best suited for local decision making? Three fog computing experts share some insights.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EPIC takes aim at IoT toys Cayla and i-Que that spy on kids, files complaint with FTC

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is calling upon the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against “toys that spy” and violate federal privacy law. In particular, EPIC has issues with My Friend Cayla dolls and i-Que Robots which “subject young children to ongoing surveillance.”EPIC – along with Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the Consumers Union – are working “to ban these toys from the marketplace.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EPIC takes aim at IoT toys Cayla and i-Que that spy on kids, files complaint with FTC

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is calling upon the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against “toys that spy” and violate federal privacy law. In particular, EPIC has issues with My Friend Cayla dolls and i-Que Robots which “subject young children to ongoing surveillance.”EPIC – along with Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the Consumers Union – are working “to ban these toys from the marketplace.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Now that’s a perk: Seattle tech startup offers new parents the miracle of sleep

Ping-pong tables and happy hours are one way to lure new hires, but Outreach is taking a different approach. The sales analytics startup is boosting the parental perks it offers employees as it strives to build a diverse workforce in the competitive Seattle market.The tech startup’s most noteworthy new perks are designed to help parents make the transition back to work after a baby’s arrival. Most precious is the gift of sleep: Outreach will pay for a night nurse, Monday through Friday, for eight weeks following a parent’s return to work. It also will pick up the tab for dinner delivery, two nights per week for eight weeks. And during the eight-week, back-to-work transition time, new parents can split their time between working in the office and working at home.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

29% off World Travel Power Plug Adapter with Dual USB Charger – Deal Alert

Get 14% off the highly rated M8 all-in-one world travel power adapter from Orei, plus an additional 15% when you check the "apply coupon" box on Amazon right now. This gadget features built-in sliders that create the right adapter for any country you find yourself in. It's all self-contained -- no additional parts to attach or keep track of. As a bonus, they've included dual-USB ports to keep your devices juiced up as well. The M8 adapter averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 2,200 people (read reviews). Its typical list price of $28.99 has been reduced 14% to $24.99, but if you click the "Apply Coupon" button, you'll activate an additional 15% discount on the already discounted price, putting it at just over $21. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Docker Acquires Infinit to Support Stateful Apps

Infinit gives Docker the tools to provide persistent storage for containers.

36% off OWI Super Solar Recycler Kit – Deal Alert

Before you chuck that CD ROM, soda can or plastic bottle, exercise your kids imagination with this kit from OWI that turns your recyclables into a solar-powered robot, race car, boat, or whatever they can dream up with this kit full of gears, motors, a solar panel and more. The Super Solar Recycler Kit is powered completely by natural light so you never have to worry about batteries. It averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, where its typical list price of $24.99 has been reduced 36% to just $16.05. See the discounted OWI Solar Recycling Kit now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google and Slack deepen partnership in the face of Microsoft Teams

Slack and Google have vastly deepened their partnership roughly a month after Microsoft announced its competitor to the popular enterprise chat service.Wednesday saw the announcement of several new features aimed at making G Suite, Google’s set of productivity software and services, more useful to people who use Slack. The functionality resulting from the partnership will make it easier to share and work on files stored in Google Drive using Slack.Slack and Google were early partners during the lifecycle of the chat service which gives business users a set of rooms where they can discuss work, share files and more. Microsoft recently announced Teams, a similar service integrated into Office 365 that’s currently in beta.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How much does web-scale networking cost?

Here at Cumulus Networks, we cannot help but tout our innovative technology, user-friendly features and seamless integrations. Can you blame us for being excited about what we do? But at the end of the day, we know that your business decisions come down to the bottom line. How much will web-scale networking cost my business? What’s the total cost of ownership?

Going web-scale with Cumulus Networks can save your business money on both the cost of Capex and Opex. We created this easy-to-use TCO calculator so you could see your potential cost based on your data center requirements.

Adjust your estimated cost by choosing your rack requirements with the slider

Our total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) calculator was designed using actual customer data. We found that our customers were saving substantially on things like:

• The cost of acquiring open switches and optics
• The ability to leverage existing talent and tools
• OS required for Layer 3 networking
• OS support and integration
• The cost of scalability

One of the biggest contributors to lowering costs with Cumulus Networks is that web-scale architecture with open networking offers choice and flexibility. You can use any brand of ONIE compatible switches and optics. In fact, Cumulus Linux Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: The silver lining on a ransomware attack

I wouldn’t wish a ransomware attack on anyone. A particularly destructive form of malware, ransomware has made a name for itself this year as one of the internet’s top threats. A recent survey revealed that half of companies had responded to a ransomware attack, with 85 percent reporting three or more. If it locks down your personal computer, it’s a royal pain. But if it gets onto a network drive at your work, that pain is multiplied by the number of employees and more.Systematically locking down every computer on the network, ransomware puts your entire workforce out of work and sends your IT guys to the mats trying to find the money to pay the ransom or the backups to bring the network back online. Long story short: Ransomware is bad news!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The silver lining on a ransomware attack

I wouldn’t wish a ransomware attack on anyone. A particularly destructive form of malware, ransomware has made a name for itself this year as one of the internet’s top threats. A recent survey revealed that half of companies had responded to a ransomware attack, with 85 percent reporting three or more. If it locks down your personal computer, it’s a royal pain. But if it gets onto a network drive at your work, that pain is multiplied by the number of employees and more.Systematically locking down every computer on the network, ransomware puts your entire workforce out of work and sends your IT guys to the mats trying to find the money to pay the ransom or the backups to bring the network back online. Long story short: Ransomware is bad news!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Beyond Scale to Flexible Cloud Networking

In the early 2000’s a new generation of smartphones revolutionized the cell phone industry, eliminating the market for “flip phones,” introducing new tools and completely redefining “phones” to universal internet devices. New companies rose and old ones adapted or failed. In 2015, a new generation of electric cars (Tesla being the most well-known), were introduced and drove the next wave of technology transitions, replacing gas-guzzling cars in many households. Consumers and traditional car companies worldwide are now embracing the new technology.