Be careful not to fall for these ransomware situations

Gimme all your moneyImage by ThinkstockIn a world where ransomware hackers are expected to extort $1 billion in damages throughout 2016 in the US alone, businesses and individuals are being forced to be on high-alert when it comes to digital security. Carbonite’s customer support team has handled over 7,300 ransomware-related calls just since January 2015 (365/month), encountering breaches occurring through everything from Xerox scans to fake Microsoft IT representatives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Be careful not to fall for these ransomware situations

Gimme all your moneyImage by ThinkstockIn a world where ransomware hackers are expected to extort $1 billion in damages throughout 2016 in the US alone, businesses and individuals are being forced to be on high-alert when it comes to digital security. Carbonite’s customer support team has handled over 7,300 ransomware-related calls just since January 2015 (365/month), encountering breaches occurring through everything from Xerox scans to fake Microsoft IT representatives.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

No phone is worth drowning over … or dying of embarrassment

Sometimes you’re better off accepting that the phone is a goner … lest you become one yourself.A Rhode Island television station reports: Narragansett firefighters and Environmental Police spent most of their afternoon trying to free a man who they say got himself stuck head first between two rocks on the jetty near the Camp Cronin fishing area.Firefighters say the man was here with one other person when he dropped his phone. When he bent down to pick it up he got himself stuck all the way up to his chest.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Swift hopes daily reporting will help stem payment fraud

Swift is introducing a new reporting system to help banks identify fraudulent payments made over its financial transfer network -- but the reports will arrive up to a day too late to stop them.Over the last year, cybercriminals have hacked systems at a number of banks, using their credentials to issue fraudulent payment instructions over the Swift network. Swift's network wasn't comprimised, but because genuine credentials were used on authorized bank terminals, no alarms were raised until some time after the transfers were made, leaving victims struggling to recover their funds from the destination accounts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Swift hopes daily reporting will help stem payment fraud

Swift is introducing a new reporting system to help banks identify fraudulent payments made over its financial transfer network -- but the reports will arrive up to a day too late to stop them.Over the last year, cybercriminals have hacked systems at a number of banks, using their credentials to issue fraudulent payment instructions over the Swift network. Swift's network wasn't comprimised, but because genuine credentials were used on authorized bank terminals, no alarms were raised until some time after the transfers were made, leaving victims struggling to recover their funds from the destination accounts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell-EMC positioned to take the lead in the HCI space

It seems the topic of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) comes ups in almost every conversation I have with IT leaders regarding their data center modernization plans.A few weeks ago at VMworld, VCE—the converged systems group of EMC, now Dell Technologies—hosted an analyst breakfast, and as expected, HCI was a significant part of the discussion. Since then, I’ve had some time to talk to businesses about HCI and to noodle on the open discussion that we (the analysts) had with the head of VCE, Chad Sakac. I believe VCE's products and the way they go to market positions the combined Dell-EMC extremely well in the HCI marketDuring the breakfast and in a pre-call with the analysts, Sakac said the products in the HCI portfolio (VxRack and VxRail) greatly exceeded internal expectations. Moving forward, I see the strong momentum continuing, with VCE eventually becoming the market leader in HCI for the following reasons: To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell-EMC positioned to take the lead in the HCI space

It seems the topic of hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) comes ups in almost every conversation I have with IT leaders regarding their data center modernization plans.A few weeks ago at VMworld, VCE—the converged systems group of EMC, now Dell Technologies—hosted an analyst breakfast, and as expected, HCI was a significant part of the discussion. Since then, I’ve had some time to talk to businesses about HCI and to noodle on the open discussion that we (the analysts) had with the head of VCE, Chad Sakac. I believe VCE's products and the way they go to market positions the combined Dell-EMC extremely well in the HCI marketDuring the breakfast and in a pre-call with the analysts, Sakac said the products in the HCI portfolio (VxRack and VxRail) greatly exceeded internal expectations. Moving forward, I see the strong momentum continuing, with VCE eventually becoming the market leader in HCI for the following reasons: To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Smart cities: The rise of new C-level executives

Assembling a smart city dream teamIncreasingly, cities are adopting smart technology to become more energy efficient, improve transportation, make neighborhoods safer, manage traffic—basically use technology and the data it generates to create better places to live, work and visit.As they do so, they’re discovering they need specialists to head the new departments that the smart technology is enabling. And many have created new C-level executives, such as chief bicycle officer, chief innovation officer, chief data officer and chief citizen officer—to name a few. What follows is a look at nine of the newest C-level positions smart cities are creating.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why this hospital is moving to Amazon’s cloud

Since 2012 three Texas-based health care organizations have merged to create USMD Health System. During the past four years CIO Mike Yerrid has been on a mission to centralize and consolidate IT operations. And a big part of that is moving to Amazon’s cloud.Yes, as a health care organization, USMD is subject to stringent regulations for protecting patient information, and yes it’s moving to the public cloud. USMD isn’t alone. “Health care organizations are becoming more comfortable with cloud technology,” says Lynne Dunbrack, leader of research firm IDC’s Health Insights practice.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 9 Keys to a HIPAA compliant cloud | From CSO: What to think about when moving to the cloud +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

9 keys to having a HIPAA-compliant cloud

Health care organizations are increasingly open to the idea of using public cloud services, whether it be applications or infrastructure. But to do so requires thorough planning and vigilant execution of IT operations.+ RELATED STORY: Why this hospital is moving to Amazon’s cloud +Chris Bowen, founder and chief privacy and security officer for ClearDATA, a company that helps health care organizations use public cloud services, provides nine examples of controls that can be put in place. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DDOS Attackers – Who and Why?

Bruce Schneier's recent blog post, “Someone is Learning How to Take Down the Internet" reported that the incidence of DDOS attacks is on the rise. The obvious question I have when reading these reports is "Who is behind these attacks, and why are they doing it?"

Industrial IoT is inching toward a consensus on security

IoT is complex, fast-growing and often intertwined with systems that govern things like water and power. That makes IoT security a critical requirement, but it’s one that’s not necessarily well understood.The Industrial Internet Consortium, a group that includes some of the biggest players in the internet of things, took action on Monday to clear the air. It rolled out the IISF (Industrial Internet Security Framework), a set of best practices to help developers and users assess risks and defend against them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Spousetivities in Barcelona

If you’re going to be in Barcelona for either VMworld EMEA (running the week of October 17) or the fall 2016 OpenStack Summit (running the week of October 24), then I recommend you plan for your spouse/partner/girlfriend/boyfriend/whatever to join you for what I believe are some pretty spectacular Spousetivities.

VMworld EMEA

First, let’s have a quick look at the activities planned around VMworld EMEA. What’s in store? Here’s a quick sneak peek (check out the registration page for full details):

  • Sailing the Mediterranean off the coast of Barcelona
  • A casual 3-hour bike tour of Barcelona with tapas
  • Walking tour of Barcelona with wine and food tastings
  • A visit to Montserrat, with an opportunity to hear the famed Boys’ Choir and see one of the black Madonnas of Europe
  • A full-day trip to the French Pyrenees for a mix of Catalan, Spanish, and French culture
  • A full-day tour of Roman Tarragona and a visit to the Cistercian monastery of El Poblet

Tickets for all these events are available now. These events were sponsored by VMware NSX, Veeam, VMUG, and TVP Strategy.

OpenStack Summit Barcelona

If you’re coming to Barcelona for the OpenStack Summit instead (or perhaps staying over Continue reading

Microsoft sues repeat software pirate who owes company $1.2M from prior case

Microsoft has sued a Wisconsin man for allegedly selling stolen Windows and Office activation codes, claiming in court documents that he is a repeat pirate who still owes the company $1.2 million from an earlier judgment.In a complaint filed Sept. 8, Microsoft accused Anthony Boldin, of Brookfield, Wisc., of selling software activation codes to company investigators from four different websites he maintained. Two of those websites are now shuttered -- only a message stating that the sites are no longer selling software remained Monday -- but two others continued to operate.The 25-character activation codes are a core component of Microsoft's anti-piracy technology. Although the software can be copied an unlimited number of times, the keys individually lock a license to a device or a specific user. Minus a legitimate key -- and thus, activation -- Microsoft's software retreats to a hobbled or even crippled mode.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The speed of ransomware: 3 seconds to encryption [Infographic]

Ransomware has reached epidemic proportions, especially among small and midsize businesses (SMBs). A 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission statement noted that SMBs are at "greater risk" of cybercrime, including ransomware, compared to larger enterprises, and they "are far more vulnerable once they are victimized."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

The speed of ransomware: 3 seconds to encryption [Infographic]

Ransomware has reached epidemic proportions, especially among small and midsize businesses (SMBs). A 2015 Securities and Exchange Commission statement noted that SMBs are at "greater risk" of cybercrime, including ransomware, compared to larger enterprises, and they "are far more vulnerable once they are victimized."Security service provider Arctic Wolf Networks reports that it has seen a "433 percent increase in ransomware attacks this year among our SMB customers."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Google’s new acquisition makes building chatbots easier

Google took a shot at Facebook's chatbot-building services on Monday with its acquisition of API.ai, a company that helps developers build and improve conversational interfaces for their services. API.ai has more than 60,000 developers using its platform to create conversational user interfaces for apps like Slack, Facebook Messenger and Kik. Its tools make it easier for programs to parse human language and translate it into action. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The company offers a vast suite of capabilities for natural language understanding, including pre-defined knowledge packages known as Domains, which make it easier for assistants to understand a variety of common requests any additional coding.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

1 … 2,615 2,616 2,617 2,618 2,619 … 3,795