Avaya Surge protects the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is hitting a tipping point. While there has been a fair amount of IoT chatter and hype over the past few years, deployments have been limited to the traditional machine to machine (M2M) verticals such as oil and gas, mining and manufacturing. Over the past couple of years, though, more verticals have been looking to connect more non-traditional IoT devices.The reason I think we’re at this tipping point is because businesses aren’t referring to these deployments as “IoT” but rather it’s becoming normal operations to connect more and more devices. + Also on Network World: The Internet of Things security threat + Healthcare has rapidly been connecting patient devices, retailers are making point-of-sale systems “smart,” hotels are looking to improve the guest experience, and sports and entertainment venues are connecting more devices. While these verticals may seem different, the commonality of IoT initiatives is that when everything is connected, you can change the way the business interacts with customers, students, patients, patrons, employees or other constituents that interact with the organization. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ExtraHop Creates Addy for Real-Time Network Security

Addy draws interpretations from the data ExtraHop is picking up real-time.

22% off Intel NUC Kit Mini PC – Deal Alert

The Intel NUC Kit NUC6i5SYH is a Mini PC with the power of a desktop PC. Equipped with Intel’s newest architecture, the 6th generation Intel Core i5-6260U processor, NUC6i5SYK has the performance to stream media, manage spreadsheets, or create presentations all in a 4x4” form factor. With 7.1 surround sound and an HDMI port for brilliant 4K resolution, the NUC6i5SYH is an ideal home theater PC. There’s room for a 2.5” SSD or HDD and up to 32 GB of RAM. This NUC is a barebones kit, meaning it is ready to accept the memory, storage, and operating system of your choice. It's currently listed as a #1 best seller on Amazon with 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 160 people (read recent reviews here). It's typical list price of $386 has been reduced 22% to $299.99, a good deal that may not be available for very long. See the discounted Intel NUC Kit on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IBM’s Watson teams up with its SIEM platform for smarter, faster event detection

San Francisco -- IBM’s Watson supercomputer can now consult with the company’s security information and event management (SIEM) platform to deliver well researched responses to security events and do so much faster than a person.Called IBM Q Radar with Watson, the new offering is the introduction of IBM’s push for a cognitive security operations center (SOC) that will be built around Watson contributing to decisions made in tandem with other security products from the vendor. IBM announced the service at the RSA Conference 2017.In the case of Q Radar, when the SIEM catches a security event, human security analysts can choose to enlist Watson’s help analyzing the event to determine whether it fits into a known pattern of threat and put it a broader context, IBM says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IBM’s Watson teams up with its SIEM platform for smarter, faster event detection

San Francisco -- IBM’s Watson supercomputer can now consult with the company’s security information and event management (SIEM) platform to deliver well researched responses to security events and do so much faster than a person.Called IBM Q Radar with Watson, the new offering is the introduction of IBM’s push for a cognitive security operations center (SOC) that will be built around Watson contributing to decisions made in tandem with other security products from the vendor. IBM announced the service at the RSA Conference 2017.In the case of Q Radar, when the SIEM catches a security event, human security analysts can choose to enlist Watson’s help analyzing the event to determine whether it fits into a known pattern of threat and put it a broader context, IBM says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Python – Kirk Byers Course Week 2 Part 1

This post will describe the exercises and solutions for week two of Kirk Byers Python for Network Engineers.

This is the first exercise:

I. Create a script that does the following

    A. Prompts the user to input an IP network.

        Notes:
        1. For simplicity the network is always assumed to be a /24 network

        2. The network can be entered in using one of the following three formats 10.88.17.0, 10.88.17., or 10.88.17

    B. Regardless of which of the three formats is used, store this IP network as a list in the following format ['10', '88', '17', '0'] i.e. a list with four octets (all strings), the last octet is always zero (a string).

        Hint: There is a way you can accomplish this using a list slice.

        Hint2: If you can't solve this question with a list slice, then try using the below if statement (note, we haven't discussed if/else conditionals yet; we will talk about them in the next class).

>>>> CODE <<<<
if len(octets) == 3:
    octets.append('0')
elif len(octets) == 4:
    octets[3] = '0'
>>>> END <<<<


    C. Print the IP network out to the screen.

    D. Print a  Continue reading

Forget the network perimeter, say security vendors

What if all your company’s computers and applications were connected directly to the Internet? That was the assumption behind BeyondCorp, a new model for network security that Google proposed back in 2014, and it’s one that’s starting to get some attention from networking and security vendors.Enterprises have moved beyond the traditional workspace in recent years, allowing employees to work remotely by using their personal devices and accessing apps in private or public clouds. To bring roaming workers back into the fold, under the security blanket of their local networks, companies rely on VPNs and endpoint software to enforce network access controls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Forget the network perimeter, say security vendors

What if all your company’s computers and applications were connected directly to the Internet? That was the assumption behind BeyondCorp, a new model for network security that Google proposed back in 2014, and it’s one that’s starting to get some attention from networking and security vendors.Enterprises have moved beyond the traditional workspace in recent years, allowing employees to work remotely by using their personal devices and accessing apps in private or public clouds. To bring roaming workers back into the fold, under the security blanket of their local networks, companies rely on VPNs and endpoint software to enforce network access controls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Forget the network perimeter, say security vendors

What if all your company’s computers and applications were connected directly to the Internet? That was the assumption behind BeyondCorp, a new model for network security that Google proposed back in 2014, and it’s one that’s starting to get some attention from networking and security vendors.Enterprises have moved beyond the traditional workspace in recent years, allowing employees to work remotely by using their personal devices and accessing apps in private or public clouds. To bring roaming workers back into the fold, under the security blanket of their local networks, companies rely on VPNs and endpoint software to enforce network access controls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft outlines new Office 365 security capabilities

It's a sad state of affairs when business apps need security measures, but that's what it has come to these days. Microsoft has added some new features to Office 365 designed to add intelligence to catch suspicious behavior and mitigate risk, which it outlined in a recent blog post. Office 365 also needs these security measures because it is cloud based. That means its users are connecting outside their firewall, which adds all kinds of risk, both from intrusion and accidental data loss. There are three new security features: Office 365 Secure Score, Office 365 Threat Intelligence Private Preview, and Office 365 Advanced Data Governance Preview. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft outlines new Office 365 security capabilities

It's a sad state of affairs when business apps need security measures, but that's what it has come to these days. Microsoft has added some new features to Office 365 designed to add intelligence to catch suspicious behavior and mitigate risk, which it outlined in a recent blog post. Office 365 also needs these security measures because it is cloud based. That means its users are connecting outside their firewall, which adds all kinds of risk, both from intrusion and accidental data loss. There are three new security features: Office 365 Secure Score, Office 365 Threat Intelligence Private Preview, and Office 365 Advanced Data Governance Preview. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ONF Entices its Members with Access to Service Providers

On.Lab already knows the service providers, so ...

IDG Contributor Network: ExtraHop applies machine learning to wire data monitoring

The technology industry is perhaps the biggest user (some might say abuser) of buzzwords. Who can recall the scene on HBO's comedy "Silicon Valley" where startup after startup tried to show just how hip they were by detailing their focus on social, mobile and local? We had SoLoMo, MoLoSo, LoSoMo and every other combination under the sun.The reality is that, 9 times out of 10, buzzwords mean nothing other than giving potential customers the ability to tick another box on their assessment forms.So I was a little skeptical when ExtraHop -- a vendor that offers organizations the ability to monitor all of the traffic occurring across their networks -- pitched me on its new SaaS offering that, according to the company, has lots of machine-learning goodness on tap.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Everything is built to connect to the internet, so why can’t I?

It’s a great time to be in networking. Anytime we connect an object or an experience to the network, we change its nature and increase its value. The network effect of connecting more and more things in more ways is driving exponential benefit to the pioneers who are imagining the many new possibilities. The voice-controlled home assistant, connected car, connected spare bedroom and other innovations are early examples that we already take for granted.The age of the network is here. This means the network gets built into every product and service, and that requires the network to be everywhere and you can connect to it all the time. Mobile has gotten pretty darn good in recent years. Unless, of course, you’re on a certain floor or in a certain area of a large building. Dead zones still occur regularly behind commercial-grade walls and energy-efficient windows.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Everything is built to connect to the internet, so why can’t I?

It’s a great time to be in networking. Anytime we connect an object or an experience to the network, we change its nature and increase its value. The network effect of connecting more and more things in more ways is driving exponential benefit to the pioneers who are imagining the many new possibilities. The voice-controlled home assistant, connected car, connected spare bedroom and other innovations are early examples that we already take for granted.The age of the network is here. This means the network gets built into every product and service, and that requires the network to be everywhere and you can connect to it all the time. Mobile has gotten pretty darn good in recent years. Unless, of course, you’re on a certain floor or in a certain area of a large building. Dead zones still occur regularly behind commercial-grade walls and energy-efficient windows.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Analysts peer into Microsoft’s rumored Windows 10 Cloud

Talk of a new version of Windows 10, dubbed "Cloud," surfaced last week as eagle-eyed bloggers uncovered clues in a recent beta and preliminary code leaked to the Internet.It was unclear what purpose another edition would serve, but because it will apparently run only Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps obtained from Microsoft's store, many assumed that Windows 10 Cloud would play rival to Google's Chrome OS, the browser-based operating system for Chromebook personal computers.[ Related: Fix Windows 10 problems with these free Microsoft tools ] Chromebooks have gained ground in education, where their low cost -- both in device price and in managing those devices -- has been irresistible to many schools. In response, Microsoft joined forces with chip maker Qualcomm to announce that the former's partners would market Windows PCs powered by ARM-based silicon later this year. For its part, Microsoft will craft a version of Windows 10 for ARM chips.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top 10 U.S. cities for employee happiness

It's common knowledge that where you work -- meaning who employs you -- impacts your happiness. But according to new data from employee review site Kununu, your workplace happiness is also affected by location, location, location.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Smartphone CPUs put desktops to shame

Fighting severe size and power constraints, the makers of smartphones have achieved levels of ingenuity not seen on the desktop. This results in mobile devices that not only have multiple cores, but multiple sizes and types of cores.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Rise of as-a-service lowers bar for cybercriminals

As-a-service offerings for things such as DDoS and malware -- including ransomware -- via exploit kits has seriously lowered the bar for entry into the criminal market. Hackers no longer need to have sophisticated skills in order to gain entry into the world of cybercrime.According to Geoff Webb, vice president of strategy at Micro Focus, the industrialization of the processes and the availability of the tools has created this expanded forum that allows non-technical people, anyone really, to enter into the digital crime market. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Rise of as-a-service lowers bar for cybercriminals

As-a-service offerings for things such as DDoS and malware -- including ransomware -- via exploit kits has seriously lowered the bar for entry into the criminal market. Hackers no longer need to have sophisticated skills in order to gain entry into the world of cybercrime.According to Geoff Webb, vice president of strategy at Micro Focus, the industrialization of the processes and the availability of the tools has created this expanded forum that allows non-technical people, anyone really, to enter into the digital crime market. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here