Kimpton Hotels is investigating a possible payment card breach

Kimpton Hotels, operator of boutique hotels across the U.S., is investigating reports of a possible payment card data breach. If confirmed, it would become the latest in a string of successful attacks on hotel chain operators in the last year.The San Francisco-based company said it was "recently made aware of a report of unauthorized charges occurring on cards that were previously used legitimately at Kimpton properties."As a result, it has hired a computer security firm to investigate whether its systems were compromised and guest data stolen. In the meantime, it advised guests to monitor their card statements for unauthorized charges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

GE Issues Kits to Get IoT Developers Onto Predix Faster

Making IoT more plug-and-play.

Net-Centric 2016 (ISOCORE)

I will be speaking at Net-Centric 2016 in the Washington DC area—you can find more information on the ISOCORE web site.

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Verizon’s Yahoo deal creates tracking powerhouse, privacy groups warn

Verizon's planned US$4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo is likely to create an international consumer tracking powerhouse, and that's raising serious privacy concerns.Combined with other recent acquisitions, the Yahoo deal will allow Verizon to track consumers not only on the web, but also at their physical locations, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy advocacy group.Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo's core digital advertising business, "when combined with the capability to gather information from its wireless devices, broadband networks, and set-top boxes, gives it control over the key screens that Americans use today," Chester said by email. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Verizon’s Yahoo deal creates tracking powerhouse, privacy groups warn

Verizon's planned US$4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo is likely to create an international consumer tracking powerhouse, and that's raising serious privacy concerns.Combined with other recent acquisitions, the Yahoo deal will allow Verizon to track consumers not only on the web, but also at their physical locations, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy advocacy group.Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo's core digital advertising business, "when combined with the capability to gather information from its wireless devices, broadband networks, and set-top boxes, gives it control over the key screens that Americans use today," Chester said by email. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A10 Networks makes pivot to cloud with Appcito acquisition

A10 Networks, with its acquisition this week of startup Appcito, has become the latest Application Delivery Control (ADC) company to make a big push into supporting cloud applications.Many traditional ADC vendors have focused their platforms on helping customers manage applications in their own data centers. As more and more applications are hosted in the cloud, however, ADC companies have begun evolving their platforms to support cloud-based application management. In doing so, they find themselves competing with new, cloud-native open source ADC tools and offerings directly from cloud vendors.“A10 is pivoting to the cloud, and that’s something they have to do to address the changing application profiles and application-delivery requirements of enterprise customers,” says IDC analyst Brad Casemore.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why every tech pro should learn to code

Coding is one of the hottest skills on the tech market. According to a recent survey from Burning Glass, programming jobs are growing 12 percent faster than the average. According to the survey in 2015 there were seven million job openings that required coding skills.To discover trends around occupations, skills, credentials and salaries, Burning Glass evaluated its database of 26 million unique job postings collected in the U.S. in 2015. The study found that in the "career track" category -- defined as jobs that pay at least $15 per hour -- the positions that required coding skills paid, on average, $22,000 more per year than those that didn't. But interestingly, coding wasn't confined to programming jobs; it emerged as a necessary skill in data analysis, arts and design, engineering, information technology and science. That's why it might be time to learn how to code -- and if you have kids, it's time to get them on the bandwagon too.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nextdoor: Tool for good or another paranoid cog in the spy machine?

I’ve lived in some really great places as well as some that were not; at one point when I lived in a city that had been crowned most dangerous and had the most number of violent crimes, then I might have welcomed the community-based social networking app Nextdoor.Dubbed a “private social network,” Nextdoor is a gated local community-based social network to share information about what is happening in your neighborhood. Users must prove they are a member of their neighborhood by entering a code received via snail-mail. Then they can access only the information pertaining to their neighborhood. Nextdoor via Google Play Although it launched in 2011, within the last month, Nextdoor has been in the news after even more police departments have joined; a few examples include the Delaware State Police, Louisville Metro Police, St. Joseph Police Department in Missouri, Boynton Beach Police and Leon County Sheriff's Office in Florida.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

GE waves developers onto its huge IoT stage

It takes a village to raise an IoT infrastructure. That’s the way it looks as the major players in the internet of things pair up in one partnership after another, while also reaching out to developers from startups and enterprises. The potential uses of IoT are so diverse, especially in the industrial realm, that specialized knowledge is a key part of the formula. General Electric has more than a century of industrial experience, but its five-year-old GE Digital division hopes to leverage outside expertise in its IoT mission. This week the company is hosting the first developer conference for its GE Predix software platform, where it will announce developer kits to help get the ball rolling on new IoT projects.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

53% off Universal Phone Mount for Bicycle and Motorcycle – Deal Alert

Currently receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon (read reviews), the 'Freedom' Handlebar Phone Holder from Tackform offers comprehensive protection for mounting your smartphone while riding your bike or motorcycle. The patented phone cradle provides full support for holding your phone, while providing full access to your screen and buttons while riding, allowing you: To easily listen to music without headphones for maximum safety while riding Easy and quick access to GPS for map assistance while riding Convenient Fitness Tracking by monitoring health and workout data with your favorite health app while riding Amazon is currently showing a discount of 53% off the original list price of $39.99, allowing you to purchase the holder for just $18.99.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Bandwidth alone won’t solve application performance problems

When applications were exclusively hosted in the corporate data center, remote sites had much lower bandwidth and each required its own WAN optimization device. According to conventional wisdom, if we increase bandwidth, performance will improve. However, without decreasing latency, application performance will continue to suffer—no matter how much bandwidth we throw at the network.Four main things contribute to latency: Propagation delay Serialization delay Queuing delay Processing delay Propagation delayThis is the delay between two endpoints. For example, propagation delay is based on the speed of light measured at 5ms per 1000Km. The one-way propagation delay between a data center in New York and a branch in San Jose would be at least 24ms. This assumes a direct fiber path and no router hops, in which case the propagation delay will be significantly higher. For large carriers, one-way delays average 35-45 msec.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Bandwidth alone won’t solve application performance problems

When applications were exclusively hosted in the corporate data center, remote sites had much lower bandwidth and each required its own WAN optimization device. According to conventional wisdom, if we increase bandwidth, performance will improve. However, without decreasing latency, application performance will continue to suffer—no matter how much bandwidth we throw at the network.Four main things contribute to latency: Propagation delay Serialization delay Queuing delay Processing delay Propagation delayThis is the delay between two endpoints. For example, propagation delay is based on the speed of light measured at 5ms per 1000Km. The one-way propagation delay between a data center in New York and a branch in San Jose would be at least 24ms. This assumes a direct fiber path and no router hops, in which case the propagation delay will be significantly higher. For large carriers, one-way delays average 35-45 msec.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

RCN Business Chooses Versa’s Software-Defined Security

No on-premises equipment is required.

Worth Reading: Solving network documentation with code

A major issue with network documentation is how to properly explain the policies required to enable a service on the network. In the above diagram, I have a basic application traffic flow overlaid on the network infrastructure the traffic must traverse. Six network device types participate in the handling of traffic for this application all requiring some form of policy definition on them. A change in policy may require a change in any number of network devices to support that change. —route-spf

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Vonage’s cloudy strategy is now clear

Alan Masarek has been CEO of Vonage since November 2014. Since then, the company has undergone a transformation, building on its roots as a home phone replacement company to become a leading provider of cloud communications for business. Vonage jump-started its leadership position as a business communications provider through acquisitions and has been very active acquiring companies to complement the core consumer VoIP offering and early SMB offering the company had when Masarek assumed the role. Masarek’s vision is for Vonage to be the global leader in cloud communications by transforming the way people connect and businesses operate through integrated and contextual communications whenever and however people choose to communicate.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cyberespionage group Patchwork sets its sights on multiple industries

A cyberespionage group known for targeting diplomatic and government institutions has branched out into many other industries, including aviation, broadcasting, and finance, researchers warn.Known as Patchwork, or Dropping Elephant, the group stands out not only through its use of simple scripts and ready-made attack tools, but also through its interest in Chinese foreign relations.The group's activities were documented earlier this month by researchers from Kaspersky Lab, who noted in their analysis that China's foreign relations efforts appear to represent the main interest of the attackers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cyberespionage group Patchwork sets its sights on multiple industries

A cyberespionage group known for targeting diplomatic and government institutions has branched out into many other industries, including aviation, broadcasting, and finance, researchers warn.Known as Patchwork, or Dropping Elephant, the group stands out not only through its use of simple scripts and ready-made attack tools, but also through its interest in Chinese foreign relations.The group's activities were documented earlier this month by researchers from Kaspersky Lab, who noted in their analysis that China's foreign relations efforts appear to represent the main interest of the attackers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers can pick off, inject wireless keyboard keystrokes from 8 vendors, maybe more

A vulnerability across at least eight brands of wireless keyboards lets hackers read keystrokes from 250 feet away, according to wireless security vendor Bastille.The problem is that the keyboards transmit to their associated PCs without encryption, and it’s just a matter of reverse engineering the signals to figure out how to read what keys are being hit, say Bastille researchers. An attacker could inject keystrokes while the keyboard is idle and the machine is logged in, they say, using a dongle that can be fashioned for less than $100.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Hackers can pick off, inject wireless keyboard keystrokes from 8 vendors, maybe more

A vulnerability across at least eight brands of wireless keyboards lets hackers read keystrokes from 250 feet away, according to wireless security vendor Bastille.The problem is that the keyboards transmit to their associated PCs without encryption, and it’s just a matter of reverse engineering the signals to figure out how to read what keys are being hit, say Bastille researchers. An attacker could inject keystrokes while the keyboard is idle and the machine is logged in, they say, using a dongle that can be fashioned for less than $100.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This new Outlook feature will organize your inbox for you

Microsoft is finally bringing one of the best features of its Outlook mobile app to the desktop. Users of Outlook on Mac and Windows will start seeing their inbox separated out into two tabs: Focused and Other.As the name implies, the Focused Inbox is supposed to hold all of a user's important emails, while Other contains everything else. Users can train the system by moving email to and from the Focused Inbox, and establishing rules about certain senders and subjects.When new messages come into the Other inbox, a banner will show up at the top of the list of focused messages letting users see how many new messages are in that section of their inbox, along with a select list of senders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here