IDG Contributor Network: Wi-Fi Certified Passpoint zig-zags towards success

How far should a leader seek to change public opinion, to get out in front rather than follow? Lincoln famously said, “Public sentiment is everything,” but the quote concludes with, “He who moulds public sentiment… makes decisions possible.” It’s an enduring debate in the hinterland of academia where engineers seldom tread.But standards can be like that. They often package basic, universal features with more decorative additions that offer transformational improvements but are of minority interest. There’s a risk that the burden of implementing these additional features will deter some vendors, and they may shun the standard altogether. If too many follow this course, the standard will fail in the market. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 3 ways device fingerprinting must evolve to prevent fraud

Fraud is a $1 trillion annual problem worldwide. With rapid growth in ecommerce and online banking over the past decade, fraudsters are increasingly shifting to using computers and smartphones to commit fraud. One technology that helps companies and governments spot fraud—and sometimes stop it before it starts —is device fingerprinting. Device fingerprinting works by uniquely identifying computers, tablets and mobile phones based on various attributes (e.g., browser version, screen dimensions, list of installed fonts, etc.). So, if a fraudster were to commit fraud using a particular mobile phone and was caught and that phone was fingerprinted, it would be difficult for that fraudster to commit another transaction from the same device. However, the fingerprint changes every time a user makes a device update. It’s therefore incredibly easy to fake a new device fingerprint.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 3 ways device fingerprinting must evolve to prevent fraud

Fraud is a $1 trillion annual problem worldwide. With rapid growth in ecommerce and online banking over the past decade, fraudsters are increasingly shifting to using computers and smartphones to commit fraud. One technology that helps companies and governments spot fraud—and sometimes stop it before it starts —is device fingerprinting. Device fingerprinting works by uniquely identifying computers, tablets and mobile phones based on various attributes (e.g., browser version, screen dimensions, list of installed fonts, etc.). So, if a fraudster were to commit fraud using a particular mobile phone and was caught and that phone was fingerprinted, it would be difficult for that fraudster to commit another transaction from the same device. However, the fingerprint changes every time a user makes a device update. It’s therefore incredibly easy to fake a new device fingerprint.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AI expanding in the enterprise (whether or not you know it)

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are already proliferating in the enterprise. However, many business leaders don't realize they're leveraging technologies that rely on AI, according to a new study by natural language generation (NLG) specialist Narrative Science. Despite the confusion, adoption is imminent. Stuart Frankel, CEO and co-founder of Narrative Science. "AI has been around for a long time," says Stuart Frankel, CEO and co-founder of Narrative Science. "While it is super-hot and very buzzy today, there are still some success stories of AI that we just don't consider AI anymore. We use it every day and we're used to it. I think that's a natural progression. Once that esoteric technology that's sort of hard to explain gets wide adoption, it's no longer AI anymore."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Stagefright for iOS and OS X? Don’t lower the curtain yet

Earlier this year, Cisco’s Talos division reported significant image-processing bugs to Apple, one of which could allow attackers to inject malware or remotely execute code via “iMessages, malicious webpages, MMS messages, or other malicious file attachments opened by any application.” These flaws were patched in Apple’s current operating systems in its July 18 update. Some media outlets immediately dubbed this Apple’s “Stagefright,” referring to a severe Android flaw discovered a year ago that could access or hijack an Android phone via an MMS message. But the details don’t support this level of concern, despite the seeming severity of the flaws.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Stagefright for iOS and OS X? Don’t lower the curtain yet

Earlier this year, Cisco’s Talos division reported significant image-processing bugs to Apple, one of which could allow attackers to inject malware or remotely execute code via “iMessages, malicious webpages, MMS messages, or other malicious file attachments opened by any application.” These flaws were patched in Apple’s current operating systems in its July 18 update. Some media outlets immediately dubbed this Apple’s “Stagefright,” referring to a severe Android flaw discovered a year ago that could access or hijack an Android phone via an MMS message. But the details don’t support this level of concern, despite the seeming severity of the flaws.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

CIOs: Shadow IT is actually great for your cloud strategy

In a survey, cloud security broker vendor CipherCloud found that 86 percent of cloud applications used at workplaces are unsanctioned. That's a pretty big percentage. Obviously, the security vendors have an incentive to raise such fears about shadow IT, so take this claim with much salt. However, the issue merits attention.I don't see shadow IT as that big of deal. Moreover, I believe that CIOs can embrace, rather than fight, the rise of shadow IT for their own benefit. How?[ Download InfoWorld's quick guide and get started with Azure Mobile Services for building apps today. | Stay up on the cloud with InfoWorld's Cloud Computing newsletter. ] There are three benefits to the CIO from departments' shadow cloud use.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Firefox sets kill-Flash schedule

Mozilla yesterday said it will follow other browser markers by curtailing use of Flash in Firefox next month. The open-source developer added that in 2017 it will dramatically expand the anti-Flash restrictions: Firefox will require users to explicitly approve the use of Flash for any reason by any website. As have its rivals, Mozilla cast the limitations (this year) and elimination (next year) as victories for Firefox users, citing improved security, longer battery life on laptops and faster web page rendering. "Starting in August, Firefox will block certain Flash content that is not essential to the user experience, while continuing to support legacy Flash content," wrote Benjamin Smedberg, the manager of Firefox quality engineering, in a post to a company blog.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Japan Airlines employs Microsoft HoloLens for inspections and training

Japan Airlines (JAL) has developed new training applications for engine mechanics and flight crew trainees using the Microsoft HoloLens virtual reality headset. Instead of using videos and printouts of cockpit panel instruments and switches, the flight crews will experience what it is like to be inside the cockpit. And engine mechanics can study and be trained as if they were working on the actual engine or cockpit instead of reading about it in manuals. This is not JAL's first experience with a visual headset. It employed Google Glass, that much-maligned failed project from Google, at the Honolulu Airport to perform plane inspections and send and receive information to ground crews regarding passengers and baggage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Firefox sets kill-Flash schedule

Mozilla yesterday said it will follow other browser markers by curtailing use of Flash in Firefox next month. The open-source developer added that in 2017 it will dramatically expand the anti-Flash restrictions: Firefox will require users to explicitly approve the use of Flash for any reason by any website. As have its rivals, Mozilla cast the limitations (this year) and elimination (next year) as victories for Firefox users, citing improved security, longer battery life on laptops and faster web page rendering. "Starting in August, Firefox will block certain Flash content that is not essential to the user experience, while continuing to support legacy Flash content," wrote Benjamin Smedberg, the manager of Firefox quality engineering, in a post to a company blog.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How Apple and Facebook helped to take down KickassTorrents

It turns out that a couple of purchases on iTunes helped to bring down the mastermind behind KickassTorrents, one of the most popular websites for illegal file sharing. Apple and Facebook were among the companies that handed over data to the U.S. in its investigation of 30-year-old Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner of the torrent directory service. Vaulin was arrested in Poland on Wednesday, and U.S. authorities seized seven of the site’s domains, all of which are now offline. KickassTorrents was accused of enabling digital piracy for years, and investigators said it was the 69th most visited website on the entire Internet. It offered a list of torrent files for downloading bootleg movies, music, computer games and more, even as governments across the world tried to shut it down.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How Apple and Facebook helped to take down KickassTorrents

It turns out that a couple of purchases on iTunes helped to bring down the mastermind behind KickassTorrents, one of the most popular websites for illegal file sharing. Apple and Facebook were among the companies that handed over data to the U.S. in its investigation of 30-year-old Artem Vaulin, the alleged owner of the torrent directory service. Vaulin was arrested in Poland on Wednesday, and U.S. authorities seized seven of the site’s domains, all of which are now offline. KickassTorrents was accused of enabling digital piracy for years, and investigators said it was the 69th most visited website on the entire Internet. It offered a list of torrent files for downloading bootleg movies, music, computer games and more, even as governments across the world tried to shut it down.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Issa bill would kill a big H-1B loophole

In 1998, Congress raised the H-1B cap and then set some controversial H-1B visa rules. It prohibited the largest users of H-1B visa -- firms employing 15% or more visa workers -- from displacing U.S. workers. They also are required to make a "good faith" effort to recruit a U.S. worker for a position. Congress then inserted a massive loophole. U.S. workers can be displaced by H-1B-dependent employers -- such as IT outsourcing firms -- provided the visa holder has a master's degree or the company pays visa workers at least $60,000. This salary level has not changed in 18 years. Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-Calif.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How new ad hoc networks will organize

Ants figure out details related to the size of their colonies by bumping into fellow ants while they randomly explore. But the ants don’t have to traverse the entire colony to know how many fellow ants they’re living with. The insects can figure it out through the number of nearby encounters they have.Ad hoc wireless networks could use the same technique, say scientists from MIT. Just like ants learning about population densities help the creatures decide communally whether they need to build a new nest or not, the same could be true for sensors strewn around IoT environments.+ Also on Network World: Using IoT-enabled microscopes to fight epidemic outbreaks +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: How new ad hoc networks will organize

Ants figure out details related to the size of their colonies by bumping into fellow ants while they randomly explore. But the ants don’t have to traverse the entire colony to know how many fellow ants they’re living with. The insects can figure it out through the number of nearby encounters they have.Ad hoc wireless networks could use the same technique, say scientists from MIT. Just like ants learning about population densities help the creatures decide communally whether they need to build a new nest or not, the same could be true for sensors strewn around IoT environments.+ Also on Network World: Using IoT-enabled microscopes to fight epidemic outbreaks +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Researchers release free decryption tools for PowerWare and Bart ransomware

Security researchers have released tools this week that could help users recover files encrypted by two relatively new ransomware threats: Bart and PowerWare.PowerWare, also known as PoshCoder, was first spotted in March, when it was used in attacks against healthcare organizations. It stood out because it was implemented in Windows PowerShell, a scripting environment designed for automating system and application administration tasks.Researchers from security firm Palo Alto Networks have recently found a new version of this threat that imitates a sophisticated and widespread ransomware program called Locky. It uses the extension .locky for encrypted files and also displays the same ransom note used by the real Locky ransomware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Researchers release free decryption tools for PowerWare and Bart ransomware

Security researchers have released tools this week that could help users recover files encrypted by two relatively new ransomware threats: Bart and PowerWare.PowerWare, also known as PoshCoder, was first spotted in March, when it was used in attacks against healthcare organizations. It stood out because it was implemented in Windows PowerShell, a scripting environment designed for automating system and application administration tasks.Researchers from security firm Palo Alto Networks have recently found a new version of this threat that imitates a sophisticated and widespread ransomware program called Locky. It uses the extension .locky for encrypted files and also displays the same ransom note used by the real Locky ransomware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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