IDG Contributor Network: Why smartphones struggle with 911

When it comes to 911, a dichotomy of functionality seems to exist. We have apps to organize our lives, link us to friends and summon our favorite pizza delivery dude. Despite this, providing 911 centers anything more than very coarse location granularity remains a challenge.Apps promoting personal safety do exist. They claim to provide access to 911 through virtual panic buttons. Many also notify friends and family, which oddly enough are often in no position to provide any help or assistance. “Oh my gosh! Fletch is in trouble in Cucamonga, California! Let’s do something! Wait, we’re in New Jersey and have no idea who to call in Cucamonga or what to tell them!”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

This IS your grandma’s Internet: Samsung plans to invest in IoT

In the future, everything will be connected -- even your grandparents.That's what Samsung Electronics is counting on as it draws up a four-year plan to invest US$1.2 billion in U.S. IoT startups and research.The company sees the Internet of things as a way to provide dementia care and to help millions of elderly people live independently, using a range of devices including some akin to fitness trackers."We can keep people out of hospitals and nursing homes," Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon said at a company event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. "As our populations live longer, these benefits and cost savings for society cannot be ignored."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: One-fourth of malware comes from sharing

This report took up where we last off last quarter on our cloud malware research, in which we found that 4.1 percent of enterprises had at least one sanctioned cloud app laced with malware. This quarter that number has risen to 11.0 percent, or nearly triple since last quarter. This is before counting unsanctioned apps, which we are researching and will incorporate into future reports. -Cloud Security Alliance

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Tech groups say FBI shouldn’t be allowed to do mass hacking

Congress should block proposed changes to rules governing U.S. law enforcement investigations that could give law enforcement agencies new authority to hack thousands of computers, several tech and advocacy groups said.Congress should stop the proposed changes, approved by the Supreme Court in April, that would allow judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don't know the target computer's location, a coalition of 50 tech trade groups, digital rights groups, and tech companies said in a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech groups say FBI shouldn’t be allowed to do mass hacking

Congress should block proposed changes to rules governing U.S. law enforcement investigations that could give law enforcement agencies new authority to hack thousands of computers, several tech and advocacy groups said. Congress should stop the proposed changes, approved by the Supreme Court in April, that would allow judges to issue warrants for hacking and surveillance in cases where investigators don't know the target computer's location, a coalition of 50 tech trade groups, digital rights groups, and tech companies said in a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers

Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are  being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers

Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are  being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FireEye: China still spies on U.S. companies, but maybe less

The United States and China forged an agreement last year not to conduct cyber espionage against corporations, but it seems pretty likely that groups based in China have continued to do so. However, it might not all be the fault of the government there, according to a report from security company FireEye. Of 72 groups that FireEye suspects of operating in China or in China’s interests, 13 of them compromised corporate networks in the U.S., Europe and Japan between last fall - when the agreement was reached - and this month, according the report, “Redline Drawn: China Recalculates Its Use of Cyber Espionage”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FireEye: China still spies on U.S. companies, but maybe less

The United States and China forged an agreement last year not to conduct cyber espionage against corporations, but it seems pretty likely that groups based in China have continued to do so. However, it might not all be the fault of the government there, according to a report from security company FireEye. Of 72 groups that FireEye suspects of operating in China or in China’s interests, 13 of them compromised corporate networks in the U.S., Europe and Japan between last fall - when the agreement was reached - and this month, according the report, “Redline Drawn: China Recalculates Its Use of Cyber Espionage”.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Measuring Top Supercomputer Performance in the Real World

When we cover the bi-annual listing of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, the metric at the heart of those results, the high performance Linpack benchmark, the gold standard for over two decades, is the basis. However, many have argued the benchmark is getting long in tooth with its myopic focus on sheer floating point performance over other important factors that determine a supercomputer’s value for real-world applications.

This shift in value stands to reason, since larger machines mean more data coursing through the system, thus an increased reliance on memory and the I/O subsystem, among other factors. While raw floating …

Measuring Top Supercomputer Performance in the Real World was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

Owning The Internet Isn’t Cheating, Which Will Make The Iraqi Government Happy

Before students around the world can embrace summer vacation, they must first endure final exams. This time-tested tradition brings late night cram sessions, the regurgitation of facts and figures, nail biting and sweaty palms. For those who work hard, final exams can build character. And for those who started their summer break too early, there’s an easier option: cheating.

As the spouse of a teacher, I know cheating is a major concern in classrooms around the world. Teachers have a variety of tricks to prevent this including watching their students like hawks, giving out different tests, not allowing labeled bottled drinks or even requiring an ID before entering the room.

Of course, some countries take their prevention measures to the extreme. Iraq literally shut off the internet and Algeria blocked Twitter and Facebook. All of this in an effort to prevent cheating. Yikes!

This is a great reminder of a couple of things:

The internet is a tool. A tool is only as valuable as the hands it is in. It can be used for bad purposes. It can also be used to transform the world. I look at stories like how Land O’Lakes is leveraging data to help their Continue reading

First Steps from CCNA R&S SDN to APIs and Programming

On the same day I posted this post, I’m also speaking in a webinar about the new CCNA R&S exams, hosted by the folks at the Cisco Learning Network (CLN).  The new exams have some SDN content. And it always seems like when you talk to networkers about anything that sounds like SDN, the question comes up: should I learn programming?

Today’s question answers a similar question, one that I hope is useful for the specific audience for the webinar. If you assume that programming is a skill you should learn, and you’re currently studying for CCNA R&S, what’s a good path from CCNA learning to then learning programming? That is, what are some good steps to bridge between those Cisco CCNA R&S SDN exam topics and then learning programming?

Continue reading

Microsoft’s new tactic to promote Edge is power efficiency

Microsoft has been anxious to goose interest in Edge, its replacement browser for Internet Explorer that ships with Windows 10. Thus far, while Windows 10 has piled up 300 million installs, it's offered no coattails for Edge. The latest numbers from Net Applications put Edge at just 4.99 percent share.So, the company's newest tactic? Battery power. In a series of its own power consumption tests "in a controlled lab environment," combined with "the real-world energy telemetry from millions of Windows 10 devices," Microsoft claims you can "simply browse longer with Microsoft Edge" than with Chrome, Firefox or Opera on a Windows 10 device.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top U.S. states and cities with unsecured security cameras

In 2014, Insecam listed over 73,000 unsecured security cameras worldwide, with 11,046 of those open security cameras in the U.S. That number is constantly fluctuating. Today, for example, there are 5,064 unsecured cameras in the U.S. In December 2015, over a span of two days, the unprotected cameras in the U.S. changed from 4,104 to 5,604. A fact that does not change is that the U.S. is still number one for unsecured security cameras – having more than any other nation in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top U.S. states and cities with unsecured security cameras

In 2014, Insecam listed over 73,000 unsecured security cameras worldwide, with 11,046 of those open security cameras in the U.S. That number is constantly fluctuating. Today, for example, there are 5,064 unsecured cameras in the U.S. In December 2015, over a span of two days, the unprotected cameras in the U.S. changed from 4,104 to 5,604. A fact that does not change is that the U.S. is still number one for unsecured security cameras – having more than any other nation in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top US states and cities with unsecured security cameras

In 2014, Insecam listed over 73,000 unsecured security cameras worldwide, with 11,046 of those open security cameras in the U.S. That number is constantly fluctuating; Today, for example, there are 5,064 unsecured cameras in the U.S. In December 2015 over a span of two days, the unprotected cameras in the U.S. changed from 4,104 to 5,604. A fact that does not change is that the U.S. is still number one for unsecured security cameras – having more than any other nation in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top US states and cities with unsecured security cameras

In 2014, Insecam listed over 73,000 unsecured security cameras worldwide, with 11,046 of those open security cameras in the U.S. That number is constantly fluctuating; Today, for example, there are 5,064 unsecured cameras in the U.S. In December 2015 over a span of two days, the unprotected cameras in the U.S. changed from 4,104 to 5,604. A fact that does not change is that the U.S. is still number one for unsecured security cameras – having more than any other nation in the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Mobile network operators must offer unlimited data, says vendor

Reinforcing a suspicion that wireless subscribers aren’t offering unlimited data because of monetization reasons, not technical limitations or limited bandwidth available, the head of a bandwidth-optimization firm says mobile network operators should stop quibbling and open the pipes—wide.The worry about revenue loss when offering unlimited data is unfounded, says John Giere, president and CEO of Openwave Mobility.Generous data allowance offerings are doable with Quality of Experience (QoE)-based video optimization “to reduce video stalling, matched with innovative data plans to attract subscribers,” he says in a press release on his website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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