A CIO’s guide to understanding analytics

Wherever you turn, businesses are putting analytics into action. Retailer American Eagle outfitters, for example, uses an algorithm to figure out how best to fulfill online orders with products shipped from physical stores. Insurance company Allstate calculates premiums using an algorithm that weights different risk factors. Even beverage maker Minute Maid is applying algorithms to its orange juice, taking into account not just consumer preferences but its supply chain.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Confusion over cyber insurance leads to coverage gaps

Assessing damage after a major cybersecurity breach is one of the most harrowing things a CIO or CISO can face. There is plenty of blame to go around but rarely enough people to accept it evenly. And when it comes to recouping money from cyber insurance claims, this blame game is further complicated by confusion.A typical corporate cyber insurance discussion goes like this: The CEO or board chairman calls the CISO into the room and tells him that their insurers is going to pay out only 38 percent of a claim because "you didn't implement encryption on the affected applications."The CISO says: "First, I didn't know we had cyber insurance. Second, the impacted apps are running our ATM machines and if we would have encrypted them you would have fired me because our customers wouldn't have been able to access them. I wish you would have talked to me before you implemented these policies."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: We need a better Private Browsing Mode

Many web browsers have some variation of “private” browsing mode. In that mode, websites shouldn't be able to read cookies stored on your computer, nor should they  be able to place permanent cookies onto your computer. (They think they can place cookies, but those cookies are deleted at the end of the session.)Normally, you have two ways to use those modes: Deliberately decide to start a private session. On Firefox for the Mac, it’s File -> New Private Window. Ditto for Safari for the Mac. In Chrome for the Mac, it’s File -> New Incognito Window. The process is similar for Windows, and it is somewhat different on phones and tablets. The problem is that if you click a link in, say, an email, it will open in a regular, non-private window. Set a default that every browser session will be private/incognito. (The method varies widely based on browser and operating system.) This method will handle external link requests by opening them in private/incognito mode. But since everything else will open that way too, you’ll have to manually log into every website you visit. That is a real nuisance. (You can set browsers to block cookies, but that’s bigger nuisance because Continue reading

Microsoft lets AI experiments loose in world of Minecraft

Microsoft has published the source code for its Project Malmo, allowing anyone to conduct artificial intelligence experiments in the world of Minecraft with a little programming.It unveiled the project, then known as AIX, back in March, but at the time only a few academics had access to the code. On Thursday the company made good on its promise to open up the source code by publishing it on Github.Minecraft, the blocky world-building game that Microsoft paid US$2.5 billion for two years ago, is an ideal place to test how artificial intelligences will interact with one another and with humans.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

10 reasons why you shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 10

An offer you can refuseThe clock is ticking, folks. If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, you only have until July 29, 2016 to do so. And most people should! Windows 10 is the best Windows yet, chock full of handy new features, sleek under-the-hood improvements, and headache-killing extras.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How IT outsourcing customers should prepare for HPE-CSC

How the recently announced “spin-merger” between HPE’s spun-off enterprise services unit and CSC to create a $26 billion global services giant (the third largest in the U.S) will actually shake out once its completed next spring is uncertain. What is clear is that the two service businesses had been struggling for some time.[ Related: HPE to spin out its huge services business, merge it with CSC ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The Wi-Fi network edge leads in an SDN world

Two decades ago, the core was the place to be in campus networking. The networking battles of the 1990s concluded with the edge specialists humbled and assimilated by core product lines. Control the core, we declared, and the edge will fall into place.But now the edge is fruitful, and the core is sterile—and for two reasons. First, the wireless interface adds mobility and complexity to the edge. Second, the new architectures of software-defined networking (SDN) and IoT are based on centralized models that take sensed information, manipulate a software representation of the network, then send control signals back to network nodes. Nodes are peers under the controller. Their importance is based on the quantity and quality of the information they can report, as well as the sophistication of the control they can apply.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: The Wi-Fi network edge leads in an SDN world

Two decades ago, the core was the place to be in campus networking. The networking battles of the 1990s concluded with the edge specialists humbled and assimilated by core product lines. Control the core, we declared, and the edge will fall into place.But now the edge is fruitful, and the core is sterile—and for two reasons. First, the wireless interface adds mobility and complexity to the edge. Second, the new architectures of software-defined networking (SDN) and IoT are based on centralized models that take sensed information, manipulate a software representation of the network, then send control signals back to network nodes. Nodes are peers under the controller. Their importance is based on the quantity and quality of the information they can report, as well as the sophistication of the control they can apply.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

EU prepares to raise Privacy Shield over data transfers to U.S.

European Union officials are set to give final approval to a new EU-U.S. data transfer agreement early next week, after member states gave their approval to an updated text on Friday.Privacy Shield is intended to replace the Safe Harbor Agreement as a means to legalize the transfer of EU citizens' personal information to the U.S. while still respecting EU privacy laws.A new deal is needed because the Court of Justice of the EU invalidated the Safe Harbor Agreement last October, concerned that it provided Europeans with insufficient protection from state surveillance when companies exported their personal data to the U.S. for processing.The first draft of Privacy Shield agreement presented by the European Commission in January lacked key assurances from U.S. officials on the same matters that had concerned the CJEU about Safe Harbor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Smartwatches not secure, give away PIN numbers

Sensors, such as accelerometers, found in wearable devices can be used to reverse engineer a human hand’s movements and trajectories while at an ATM, thus giving away the PIN code, researchers say.The findings bring into question the fundamental security of smartwatches.Malware installs on devices might be one way the newly discovered hack could work, the scientists say. The software would wait for a mark to use a secure system, such as a keypad-controlled enterprise server, for example, and then collect data from the gyroscope, magnometer, accelerometer and other sensors. (Devices use those sensors to measure fitness and so on.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Packet Blast: Top Tech Blogs, July 8

Optimize Your Data Center: Use Distributed File System

Let’s continue our journey toward two-switch data center. What can we do after virtualizing the workload, getting rid of legacy technologies, and reducing the number of server uplinks to two?

How about replacing dedicated storage boxes with distributed file system?

In late September, Howard Marks will talk about software-defined storage in my Building Next Generation Data Center course. The course is sold out, but if you register for the spring 2017 session, you’ll get access to recording of Howard’s talk.

Deep Discounts on Amazon Leading Into Prime Day – Deal Alert

For today only Amazon has significant discounts on a few select items, just a small taste of what's to come when Amazon unleashes 100,000+ discounts on "Prime Day" this Tuesday, July 12th, for Amazon Prime members only. If you're not a Prime member, you should at least sign up for the free 30 day trial so you're ready when the deals start to drop: sign up here. The powerful 20000mAh PowerCore 20100 from Anker weighs just 12.5 oz, but fully charges most phones and tablets to 100% several times over without needing to be recharged. It charges the iPhone 6s seven times, the Galaxy S6 five times or the iPad mini 4 twice. Industry leading output of 4.8 amps provides enough power to simultaneously charge any combination of devices at full speed. Surge protection, short circuit protection and more advanced safety features keep your devices safe. For additional peace of mind, the Anker PowerCore 20100 comes with an 18 month warranty and easily accessible customer service. It currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 4,500 people (85% rate it 5 stars -- read reviews). Its regular list price of $79.99 has been Continue reading

Google hopes to thwart quantum computers from cracking today’s Internet encryption

The encryption methods used to secure today’s Internet communications won’t be impenetrable forever. More powerful “quantum computers” on the horizon could very well crack them.That’s why Google is testing out new cryptography that computers in the future might not be able to break.  The processing power offered by "hypothetical, future" quantum computers could  be enough to “decrypt any internet communication that was recorded today,” wrote Matt Braithwaite, a Google software engineer in a company blog post on Thursday.This could affect the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol used when visiting websites. Old information, originally meant to be secured for decades, could suddenly become exposed, he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google hopes to thwart quantum computers from cracking today’s internet encryption

The encryption methods used to secure today’s internet communications won’t be impenetrable forever. More powerful “quantum computers” on the horizon could very well crack them.That’s why Google is testing out new cryptography that computers in the future might not be able to break.  The processing power offered by "hypothetical, future" quantum computers could  be enough to “decrypt any internet communication that was recorded today,” wrote Matt Braithwaite, a Google software engineer in a company blog post on Thursday.This could affect the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol used when visiting websites. Old information, originally meant to be secured for decades, could suddenly become exposed, he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google hopes to thwart quantum computers from cracking today’s internet encryption

The encryption methods used to secure today’s internet communications won’t be impenetrable forever. More powerful “quantum computers” on the horizon could very well crack them.That’s why Google is testing out new cryptography that computers in the future might not be able to break.  The processing power offered by "hypothetical, future" quantum computers could  be enough to “decrypt any internet communication that was recorded today,” wrote Matt Braithwaite, a Google software engineer in a company blog post on Thursday.This could affect the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol used when visiting websites. Old information, originally meant to be secured for decades, could suddenly become exposed, he added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT spending will shrink worldwide due to Brexit, Gartner predicts

Britain's vote to exit the European Union will depress global IT spending this year, as companies cut back spending over uncertainty about what the future holds, Gartner has predicted. "We're looking at a 2-5 percent reduction in IT spending in the UK," compared to Gartner's previous forecast of a 1.7 percent decline, analyst John-David Lovelock said in an interview. "That's going to be enough to tip the worldwide IT spending negative this year," he said. The "Brexit" vote has led to massive uncertainty about what the future holds economically for Britain and the entire European Union, which means that companies have scaled back on their strategic plans in the fifth-largest IT market in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FBI chief says Guccifer lied about hacking into Clinton’s email server

A Romanian hacker's claim that he broke into Hillary Clinton's private email server in 2013 was a lie, according to the FBI. Marcel Lehel Lazar, also known as Guccifer, has boasted about the breach to various media outlets, saying in May that it had been "easy."But on Thursday, FBI director James Comey said that Lazar, who is now in U.S. custody, has admitted the claim was false."He admitted that was a lie," Comey said during a congressional hearing on Clinton's use of her own private email server.Lazar, originally from Romania, was extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting sentencing for breaking into the email and social media accounts of various U.S. officials as well as a member of the Bush family.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FBI chief says Guccifer lied about hacking into Clinton’s email server

A Romanian hacker's claim that he broke into Hillary Clinton's private email server in 2013 was a lie, according to the FBI. Marcel Lehel Lazar, also known as Guccifer, has boasted about the breach to various media outlets, saying in May that it had been "easy."But on Thursday, FBI director James Comey said that Lazar, who is now in U.S. custody, has admitted the claim was false."He admitted that was a lie," Comey said during a congressional hearing on Clinton's use of her own private email server.Lazar, originally from Romania, was extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting sentencing for breaking into the email and social media accounts of various U.S. officials as well as a member of the Bush family.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Understanding ‘transport output’ and ‘access-class’

Several years ago I wrote an article called The Elusive “access-class out” Command. My primary goal was to help CCNA students understand both the behavior of and placement of this command. My friend Anthony Sequeira done a great job in the video that is also shown in my original post. Today, I want to share another command and expand on there behavior.

For all of the demonstrations in this article, the following topology will be used. The router named iosv-2 will be the primary focus and the only place changes will be made.

Topology

Backing up for a moment, there are a couple of messages that might be displayed when an IOS device blocks outbound telnet or ssh sessions from the current exec session. These are demonstrated with a quick configuration of an transport output and access-class restriction.

//the first error is unique depending on
//if ssh or telnet is being used
iosv-2(config)line con 0
iosv-2(config-line)#transport output none
iosv-2(config-line)#do telnet 192.168.0.3
% telnet connections not permitted from this terminal
iosv-2(config-line)#do ssh -l cisco 192.168.0.3
% ssh connections not permitted from this terminal

//now we can re-enable all the protocols
//and demonstrate the other error message
iosv-2(config-line)#transport input all
iosv-2(config-line)#access-list  Continue reading