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Category Archives for "Networking"

Verizon focuses on lowering costs for IoT apps, network

On Wednesday Verizon launched ThingSpace, a development platform for companies of all sizes to create Internet of Things applications more efficiently and then later manage those apps.The carrier also announced it is creating a new dedicated network core for IoT connections that can scale far beyond the ability of its existing networks with the intent to reach billions of sensors and devices."Continued innovation in smart cities, connected cars and wearables demonstrates that IoT is the future for how we will live and work," said Mike Lanman, senior vice president of enterprise products at Verizon during an event held at Verizon's San Francisco Innovation Center. He said Verizon is taking a "holistic approach" to help expand the IoT market from millions of connections to billions. The event was webcast.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Employees snoop on corporate systems if they can, researchers find

A recent study examined how one financial institution's employees behaved on the corporate network over a six-month period."Some of that behavior included occasions when employees were able to access information that should have been off-limits," a National Science Foundation press release says of the study.The researchers found that the workers snooped where they shouldn't have.Insider threats The insider threat is "one of the most serious risks in the cybersecurity world," the researchers think."Most countermeasures were developed for external attacks," says Jingguo Wang, an information systems and operations management professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, who was involved in the study.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Biometric data becomes the encryption key in Fujitsu system

Fujitsu says it has developed software that uses biometric data directly as the basis for encryption and decryption of data, simplifying and strengthening security systems that rely on biometrics such as fingerprints, retina scans and palm vein scans.Current security systems that rely on encryption require the management of encryption keys, which are stored on secure smartcards or directly on PCs. Biometric scans can be used as a way of authenticating the user and providing access to those encryption keys in order to decrypt data.Fujitsu's system uses elements extracted from the biometric scan itself as a part of a procedure to encrypt the data, making the biometric scan an integral part of the encryption system and removing the need for encryption keys.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sony BMG Rootkit Scandal: 10 Years Later

Ben Edelman/Wikipedia A warning pops up on computer screen about Sony BMG rootkit on music CD Hackers really have had their way with Sony over the past year, taking down its Playstation Network last Christmas Day and creating an international incident by exposing confidential data from Sony Pictures Entertainment in response to The Interview comedy about a planned assassination on North Korea’s leader. Some say all this is karmic payback for what’s become known as a seminal moment in malware history: Sony BMG sneaking rootkits into music CDs 10 years ago in the name of digital rights management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A short history of Sony hacks

Target on its backThe giant Japanese electronics company dazzled us with its Walkman and Discman in the late 70s/early 80s, as well as with its TVs, cameras and game consoles over the years. But things took a bad turn in 2005…(SEE ALSO: Sony BMG Rootkit Scandal: 10 Years Later)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Walmart exec predicts holiday shopping season ‘anarchy’ due to chip credit cards

Just what we don’t need…‘anarchy’ during the holiday shopping season. But a top payment executive at Walmart claimed that is what could happen due to the timing of forcing merchants to have chip-an-pin credit card payment terminals.U.S. banks replaced hundreds of millions of credit and debit cards that rely on magnetic strips, which store data, with new cards that contain a small gold EMV microchip; the new cards are hyped as being much more secure, even though the cards have been hacked through man-in-the-middle attacks. French scientists also discovered how criminals altered stolen credit cards that were supposed to be protected by a security chip and a PIN code the crooks didn’t know.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US copyright law exemption allows good-faith car, medical device hacking

The U.S. Copyright Office has given security researchers reason to hope that they'll be able to search for flaws in car systems and medical devices without the threat of legal action.On Tuesday, the Librarian of Congress, who makes final rulings on exemptions to copyright rules, granted several exceptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the circumvention of the technological methods that are used to protect copyright works. The U.S. Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress.The exemptions allow for "good-faith security research" to be performed on computer programs that run on lawfully acquired cars, tractors and other motorized land vehicles; medical devices designed to be implanted in patients and their accompanying personal monitoring systems and other devices that are designed to be used by consumers, including voting machines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US says it’s ok to hack cars and medical devices (sometimes)

The U.S. Copyright Office has given security researchers reason to hope that they'll be able to search for flaws in car systems and medical devices without the threat of legal action. On Tuesday, the Librarian of Congress, who makes final rulings on exemptions to copyright rules, granted several exceptions to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the circumvention of the technological methods that are used to protect copyright works. The U.S. Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress. The exemptions allow for "good-faith security research" to be performed on computer programs that run on lawfully acquired cars, tractors and other motorized land vehicles; medical devices designed to be implanted in patients and their accompanying personal monitoring systems and other devices that are designed to be used by consumers, including voting machines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

First look: Microsoft Azure Active Directory Domain Services puts it all in the cloud

On Oct. 14, Microsoft announced the preview release of Azure Active Directory Domain Services or, as I like to call it, a domain in a cloud.Next up, you will need to either create a new virtual network or select an existing virtual network. This network has to be in the U.S. or Asia Azure regions. (These are the only geographic locales that the preview supports; of course, this feature will likely be available globally when the code comes out of the preview phase).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

6 tips for your security awareness training

Keep a sharp eye out forImage by ThinkstockSecurity experts remind us that awareness is an ongoing effort. Here are some best practices for keeping your organization educated and aware year-round.Get the C-Suite involvedImage by ThinkstockTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Split between EU privacy watchdogs on Safe Harbor worries business lobby

German data protection authorities' decision to break ranks with their counterparts in other European Union countries and block alternatives to Safe Harbor has business lobbyists worried.The striking down of the Safe Harbor data sharing agreement by the European Union's highest court on Oct. 6 left a legal vacuum that European Commission officials immediately sought to fill with a reminder of the legal alternatives available and promises of coordinated action by national privacy regulators, who responded with their own reassurances on Oct. 16.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

InteliSecure building a high-end security-services boutique

Data-loss-prevention provider InteliSecure is taking in new money, new employees and an entire U.K. security company in an effort to establish itself as a high-end security boutique.The company has raised $22 million in equity financing and a $6 million debt financing in order to buy Pentura – a U.K. managed security service provider – as well as expand its operations globally and hire additional hard-to-find security personnel. CEO Rob Eggebrecht Its premiere service, protecting data by identifying the most critical assets, configuring the infrastructure to enforce security policies and managing it, is highly customized, says CEO Rob Eggebrecht.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here