For the elderly, smart homes mean the promise of more freedom

It’s easy to forget that home automation is about more than just gadgets. After all, almost every product you can think of is getting the smart home treatment—from the highly useful, such as automated locks, to the slightly less necessary: smart fridges that solve the formidable problem of telling you when you’re out of milk. But for the elderly, smart tech means more than just a few new toys. It holds the promise of autonomy—being able to stay in homes longer and more safely, which can be completely game-changing.Institutional elderly care, as it currently stands, is imperfect at best. Most pressingly, it’s not affordable. HUD reports that costs for elderly care can range anywhere from $900 to over $5,000 per month. But for all that money, it’s not really all that effective, either. Initial studies indicate that staying in the home—or aging in place, as it’s called—results in remarkably better health outcomes than moving to a care facility, especially when it comes to cognitive ability and depression rates.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft is working on a new digital assistant

Once again a job posting has tipped the hand of a company's product plans. This time it was Microsoft who gave away its intentions. The company appears to be working on an assistant bot that looks an awful lot like Google's new Assistant bot.All due credit goes to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet for catching it first. The project is called the "Bing Concierge Bot." Unlike Cortana, it makes heavy use of messaging apps, both Microsoft and third-party apps. That's the emphasis from the job posting, which has been removed since Foley discovered it:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why CISO is the hardest tech role to fill

Companies are under constant threat from cyberattacks and the situation is only getting worse with the rise of ransomware and whaling scams as a variant of phishing, according to recent cybersecurity reports. Yet the shortage of seasoned CISOs, inconsistent policies around compensation and a lack of proper metrics means some companies are under-investing in cybersecurity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why CISO is the hardest tech role to fill

Companies are under constant threat from cyberattacks and the situation is only getting worse with the rise of ransomware and whaling scams as a variant of phishing, according to recent cybersecurity reports. Yet the shortage of seasoned CISOs, inconsistent policies around compensation and a lack of proper metrics means some companies are under-investing in cybersecurity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intro to Tcl Scripting on Cisco IOS

What is a Tcl Script?  Also known as “tickle”, Tcl (Tool Command Language) is a scripting language commonly used for rapid prototyping, scripted applications, GUIs, and … testing! Cisco IOS has a form of Tcl scripting built in which can be used for automating tests and tasks from within the IOS command line. To begin scripting with Tcl on a Cisco router for example you would first need to enter the Cisco IOS Tcl shell by typing  “tclsh” from the priviledged exec mode (Router# tclsh) which brings the router prompt to Router(tcl)#. If you are able to access this tcl-level mode it means Tcl is supported on your IOS device and you can begin to enter your script commands.

In this post we will see what it takes to use tcl scripting to automate a series of ping commands for testing layer 3 connectivity to multiple IP destinations. Before we get started we should note that it is best to first write out the script in your favorite text editor such as Notepad or Sublime Text. This way we can paste the script into the CLI when it is ready and also save it for future reference and Continue reading

Microsoft tweaks IE11-Edge interoperability in Windows 10

Microsoft yesterday said it will introduce changes in this summer's Windows 10 Anniversary Update to simplify switching from Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) to Edge, and back.The changes will be aimed at enterprises, the only customer group Microsoft recommends running IE11 in the new operating system."We recognize that some enterprise customers have line-of-business applications built specifically for older web technologies, which require Internet Explorer 11," the company said in a Thursday post.INSIDER Review: Enterprise guide to Windows 10 Previously, Microsoft included "Enterprise Mode" in Windows 10, a feature that lets an IT staff limit IE11's operation to specific legacy websites or web apps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LightCyber’s attack detection platform distills alerts and generates actionable information  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  The Ponemon Institute published a report called The Cost of Malware Containment that reveals some interesting statistics—none of which will surprise the people in the trenches who work hard every day to protect their organizations' networks.Ponemon surveyed 630 IT and IT security practitioners who have responsibility for detecting, evaluating and/or containing malware infections within their organization. According to the research, organizations receive an average of nearly 17,000 malware alerts a week. Of these, fewer than 20% (3,218) are considered reliable, meaning the malware poses a genuine threat and should be investigated. And even though more than 3,200 alerts are worthy of investigation, only 4% (705) actually do get investigated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LightCyber’s attack detection platform distills alerts and generates actionable information  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  The Ponemon Institute published a report called The Cost of Malware Containment that reveals some interesting statistics—none of which will surprise the people in the trenches who work hard every day to protect their organizations' networks.Ponemon surveyed 630 IT and IT security practitioners who have responsibility for detecting, evaluating and/or containing malware infections within their organization. According to the research, organizations receive an average of nearly 17,000 malware alerts a week. Of these, fewer than 20% (3,218) are considered reliable, meaning the malware poses a genuine threat and should be investigated. And even though more than 3,200 alerts are worthy of investigation, only 4% (705) actually do get investigated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA extreme DDOS project transforming network attack mitigation

Researchers with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have quickly moved to alter the way the military, public and private enterprises protect their networks from high-and low-speed distributed denial-of-service attacks with a program called Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3).The agency has since September awarded seven XD3 multi-million contracts to Georgia Tech, George Mason University, Invincea Labs, Raytheon BBN, Vencore Labs (two contracts) and this week to the University of Pennsylvania to radically alter DDOS defenses. One more contract is expected under the program.The UPenn project is developing defenses against distributed denial of service attacks that target specific protocols and their logic. These attacks are often difficult to diagnose and stop because the total volume of malicious traffic may be very low. The UPenn project attempts to pinpoint the specific protocol component that is under attack and then massively replicate that component to blunt the effects of the attack, DARPA stated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA extreme DDOS project transforming network attack mitigation

Researchers with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have quickly moved to alter the way the military, public and private enterprises protect their networks from high-and low-speed distributed denial-of-service attacks with a program called Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3).The agency has since September awarded seven XD3 multi-million contracts to Georgia Tech, George Mason University, Invincea Labs, Raytheon BBN, Vencore Labs (two contracts) and this week to the University of Pennsylvania to radically alter DDOS defenses. One more contract is expected under the program.The UPenn project is developing defenses against distributed denial of service attacks that target specific protocols and their logic. These attacks are often difficult to diagnose and stop because the total volume of malicious traffic may be very low. The UPenn project attempts to pinpoint the specific protocol component that is under attack and then massively replicate that component to blunt the effects of the attack, DARPA stated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Criminal defendants demand to see FBI’s secret hacking tool

A secret FBI hacking tool, used to compromise the Tor anonymous browser in one investigation, is facing challenges from criminal defendants, perhaps putting its future in doubt.Defendants have demanded to see details of the FBI network investigative technique (NIT), the agency's name for the relatively recent hacking tool, in a handful of criminal cases, but the agency has refused to disclose the information.A judge in a high-profile child pornography case, in which a website called Playpen was accessible only through Tor, is trying to decide whether the FBI should disclose the NIT"s source code to the defendant.If the FBI shares the source code, its hacking tools may be compromised in future cases, but the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment gives the defendant a right to confront his accusers and challenge their investigation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Criminal defendants demand to see FBI’s secret hacking tool

A secret FBI hacking tool, used to compromise the Tor anonymous browser in one investigation, is facing challenges from criminal defendants, perhaps putting its future in doubt.Defendants have demanded to see details of the FBI network investigative technique (NIT), the agency's name for the relatively recent hacking tool, in a handful of criminal cases, but the agency has refused to disclose the information.A judge in a high-profile child pornography case, in which a website called Playpen was accessible only through Tor, is trying to decide whether the FBI should disclose the NIT"s source code to the defendant.If the FBI shares the source code, its hacking tools may be compromised in future cases, but the U.S. Constitution's Sixth Amendment gives the defendant a right to confront his accusers and challenge their investigation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Android apps run securely on Chrome OS in Linux containers

With first-quarter shipments exceeding Macs in the United States, Chromebooks are very popular. Schools and enterprises choose Chromebooks for their very streamlined use case: low cost, fast boot security, simplicity and ease of administration.Chromebooks just got a little more complicated, but for the better, with Google’s announcement that the Android Play Store will be available on Chromebooks and that Android apps will run on the Chrome operating system. The million Android apps—which include popular apps such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word and Skype and games such as Clash of Clans and Angry Birds—will remedy the Chromebook’s relative app sparsity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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