The Daily DDoS: Ten Days of Massive Attacks

Back in March my colleague Marek wrote about a Winter of Whopping Weekend DDoS Attacks where we were seeing 400Gbps attacks occurring mostly at the weekends. We speculated that attackers were busy with something else during the week.

This winter we've seen a new pattern, and attackers aren't taking the week off, but they do seem to be working regular hours.

CC BY 2.0 image by Carol VanHook

On November 23, the day before US Thanksgiving, our systems detected and mitigated an attack that peaked at 172Mpps and 400Gbps. The attack started at 1830 UTC and lasted non-stop for almost exactly 8.5 hours stopping at 0300 UTC. It felt as if an attacker 'worked' a day and then went home.

The very next day the same thing happened again (although the attack started 30 minutes earlier at 1800 UTC).

On the third day the attacker started promptly at 1800 UTC but went home a little early at around 0130 UTC. But they managed to peak the attack over 200Mpps and 480Gbps.

And the attacker just kept this up day after day. Right through Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and into this week. Night after night attacks were peaking Continue reading

Face-off: New Relic vs. AppDynamics for APM

Application performance management (APM) software must serve multiple masters -- developers, IT and business managers -- all of whom want visibility into the performance of corporate software to make sure it produces a great, reliable experience for the end-user.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

How Windows 10 data collection trades privacy for security

Windows 10’s aggressive data-collection capabilities may concern users about corporate spying, but enterprises have control that consumer-edition Windows users do not: Administrators can decide how much information gets sent back to Microsoft.But enterprises need to think twice before turning off Windows telemetry to increase corporate privacy. That’s because doing so can decrease the effectiveness of Windows 10’s security features.[ InfoWorld’s deep look: Why (and how) you should manage Windows 10 PCs like iPhones. | The essentials for Windows 10 installation: Download the Windows 10 Installation Superguide today. ] Microsoft isn’t merely hoovering up large amounts of data because it can. The company has repeatedly reiterated its stance that Windows 10 does not collect the user’s personal data, but rather anonymized file data that is then used to improve overall user experience and Windows functionality.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How Windows 10 data collection trades privacy for security

Windows 10’s aggressive data-collection capabilities may concern users about corporate spying, but enterprises have control that consumer-edition Windows users do not: Administrators can decide how much information gets sent back to Microsoft.But enterprises need to think twice before turning off Windows telemetry to increase corporate privacy. That’s because doing so can decrease the effectiveness of Windows 10’s security features.[ InfoWorld’s deep look: Why (and how) you should manage Windows 10 PCs like iPhones. | The essentials for Windows 10 installation: Download the Windows 10 Installation Superguide today. ] Microsoft isn’t merely hoovering up large amounts of data because it can. The company has repeatedly reiterated its stance that Windows 10 does not collect the user’s personal data, but rather anonymized file data that is then used to improve overall user experience and Windows functionality.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AI will take some jobs, but no need to worry

The capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning are accelerating, and many cybersecurity tasks currently performed by humans will be automated. There will still be plenty of work to go around so job prospects should remain good, especially for those who keep up with technology, broaden their skill sets, and get a better understanding of their company's business needs.Cybersecurity jobs won't go the way of telephone operators. Take, for example, Spain-based antivirus company Panda Security. When the company first started, there were a number of people reverse-engineering malicious code and writing signatures.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

China cracks down on fake news

The current debate over fake online news has one country feeling vindicated: China. For years, its controversial censorship system has been cracking down on so-called "online rumors," and last week a state-controlled newspaper essentially told the U.S., "I told you so.""China’s crackdown on online rumors a few years ago was harshly condemned by the West,” wrote the Global Times. “Things changed really quickly, as the anxiety over internet management has been transferred to the U.S."To be sure, the two are very different.In the U.S., it’s private citizens and internet companies that are questioning the role of fake news while acknowledging freedom of speech. In China, the government itself is arresting people as part of its concerted effort to maintain control over all corners of the internet.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How we got our tattered IoT insecurity blanket

In my last post—Your network, IoT, cloud computing and the future—I introduced a few trends that appear to be shaping the Internet we have today. This post is the first of two that detail my observations on the large-scale security picture on the Internet and what companies, network professionals and individuals need to take into consideration when addressing the new challenges presented by expanding trends such as the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT).Today’s installment outlines some fundamental architectural underpinnings of the security vulnerabilities we all face. The next installment will outline some near-term suggestions for things we each might do, as well as suggest some overall architectural moves that may make things safer for all users of the InternetTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Your Docker Agenda for December 2016

Thank you Docker community for your amazing Global Mentor Week Events last month! In November, the community organized over 110 Docker Global Mentor Week events and more than 8,000 people enrolled in at least one of the courses for 1000+ course completions and counting! The five self-paced courses are now available for everyone free online. Check them out here!

As you gear up for the holidays, make sure to check out all the great events that are scheduled this month in Docker communities all over the world! From webinars to workshops, meetups to conference talks, check out our list of events that are coming up in December.

Official Docker Training Courses

View the full schedule of instructor led training courses here!

 

Introduction to Docker:

This is a two-day, on-site or classroom-based training course which introduces you to the Docker platform and takes you through installing, integrating, and running it in your working environment.

Dec 7-8: Introduction to Docker with AKRA Hamburg City, Germany

 

Docker Administration and Operations:

The Docker Administration and Operations course consists of both the Introduction to Docker course, followed by the Advanced Docker Topics course, held over four consecutive days.

Dec 5-8 Docker Administration Continue reading

Twitter gets new product head and team from app startup Yes

Twitter has swallowed social app developer Yes and is also getting a new product head as part of the deal.Keith Coleman, formerly CEO of the Palo Alto startup, is joining Twitter as vice president of product development. “Yes! Keith and team are joining Twitter to help lead and strengthen our service!,” wrote Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a message on the social network.The post of head of product development has been vacant for some time at Twitter, which has been struggling to boost its user base and turn a profit. In the third quarter, the company posted a loss of US$103 million on revenue of $616 million. Average monthly active users grew in the quarter by 3 percent year-on-year to 317 million.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NetSuite’s going global under Oracle’s flag

Lashed to the much bigger ship that is Oracle, cloud software provider NetSuite is setting sail for a new market near you.Until now, the 18-year-old company based in San Mateo, California, has focused on English-speaking countries and Japan. As part of Oracle, it plans to localize its products for many more countries while expanding its data-center capacity, sales operations, partner channel and other assets to reach customers in those new areas.Oracle announced plans in July to buy NetSuite for $9.3 billion, and it closed the deal on Nov. 7. On Thursday, executives laid out some of their plans following the takeover.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BrandPost: Find a guide to easier VPN decision-making

Deciding on a new or updated virtual private network (VPN) solution can be intimidating, but it shouldn’t be.Network demands are increasing day-by-day, and technology is evolving rapidly with the advent of software-defined networking (SDN). Businesses need fast decisions on network infrastructure, but making a bet in the midst of rapid technology advances can have a paralyzing impact.Fear of making the wrong decisionAn IDG Research Services survey conducted early in 2016 shows that enterprises are eager to modernize their networks but are constrained by financial considerations and the fear of making a wrong decision.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Juniper boosts cloud analytics, machine learning tech with AppFormix buy

Looking to bolster its cloud analytics and machine learning technologies, Juniper today announced its intention to buy startup AppFormix for an undisclosed amount.AppFormix brings streaming analytics and machine learning technologies to Juniper that are tailored for managing operations of large OpenStack and Kubernetes-based Hybrid clouds and Network Function Virtualization (NFV)/Telco clouds, wrote Ankur Singla, Juniper’s Vice President, Office of the CTO in a blog about the acquisition.+More on Network World: Juniper CEO: On the cusp of transforming economics of optical networking+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Juniper boosts cloud analytics, machine learning tech with AppFormix buy

Looking to bolster its cloud analytics and machine learning technologies, Juniper today announced its intention to buy startup AppFormix for an undisclosed amount.AppFormix brings streaming analytics and machine learning technologies to Juniper that are tailored for managing operations of large OpenStack and Kubernetes-based Hybrid clouds and Network Function Virtualization (NFV)/Telco clouds, wrote Ankur Singla, Juniper’s Vice President, Office of the CTO in a blog about the acquisition.+More on Network World: Juniper CEO: On the cusp of transforming economics of optical networking+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

All you need to know about machine learning in 12 minutes, 45 seconds

Facebook wants to grow the community of companies that understand and use artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate progress in the field. Tech leaders Facebook, Google, Microsoft and IBM believe AI is the next platform that will follow mobile. During the announcement of Google Home last October, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the AI platform shift, paraphrasing Facebook mobile-first tagline as an AI-first world. Facebook publishes its AI and machine learning research, speaks at conferences and licenses its software under open source licenses to accelerate development and demystify AI. Today, in a blog post, Facebook released six short videos, narrated by Yann LeCun, head of Facebook's AI research group and machine learning pioneer, to introduce developers, data scientists and people interested in the most important AI topics.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here