IDG Contributor Network: Protecting the rainforests with IoT and recycled phones

“Timber!” That’s what you hear from a lumberjack in movies before a tree comes crashing down.But that’s not what you’ll hear in rainforests while one tree after another is cut down. Why? The logging is often illegal, and the last thing the culprits want is to attract attention.Rainforests once covered 14 percent of the earth's land surface. Now they cover just 6 percent, and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. (The Amazon rainforest itself produces 20 percent of the world’s oxygen.)Worst still, wildlife and local cultures that depend on the rainforest ecosystem are being wiped as well. Local authorities and indigenous tribes are fighting back against the illegally clearing of the rainforest for commercial farming. This tussle between poor villagers and well-funded commercial logging interests is pretty one-sided, but IoT is helping to level the playing field a little.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Virtual environments make it easy to deploy deception technology

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  Cyber attackers use deception to try to get inside your network by doing everything from spoofing email addresses in spear phishing attacks to hiding malware on legitimate websites.  So, if deception is standard operating procedure for the bad guys, perhaps it's time to fight back with some deception of your own.  In fact, Gartner says it's a good complement to your existing security infrastructure.Deception technology designed to lure and trap malicious actors has been around since at least 1999 when Lance Spitzner, founder of the Honeynet Project, published a paper on how to build a honeypot. Early honeynets were pretty resource intensive and they had to be maintained to ensure the honeynet wasn't turned against the host organization. Since then, the advent of virtual machines has helped ease the deployment and use of deception technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Virtual environments make it easy to deploy deception technology

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  Cyber attackers use deception to try to get inside your network by doing everything from spoofing email addresses in spear phishing attacks to hiding malware on legitimate websites.  So, if deception is standard operating procedure for the bad guys, perhaps it's time to fight back with some deception of your own.  In fact, Gartner says it's a good complement to your existing security infrastructure.Deception technology designed to lure and trap malicious actors has been around since at least 1999 when Lance Spitzner, founder of the Honeynet Project, published a paper on how to build a honeypot. Early honeynets were pretty resource intensive and they had to be maintained to ensure the honeynet wasn't turned against the host organization. Since then, the advent of virtual machines has helped ease the deployment and use of deception technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Broadband Speed Tests

Everyone is familiar with broadband ‘speed test’ applications. When you have an ISP service quality problem, it is common to grab one of these tools to see if you are getting the service you feel you are entitled to get. Whenever you upgrade your broadband, the first thing you might do is to run a speed test. Then you can show off to your mates how superior your blazing fast service is compared to their pitiful product. -via Circle ID

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Apple’s SAP deal means more iOS enterprise apps

In an effort to expand its presence in the enterprise market, Apple this week announced another major partnership with a business-software giant.  In a wide-ranging deal with SAP that's set to begin later this year, Apple will work alongside one the stalwarts of enterprise to develop more native iOS apps, as well as an SDK for SAP's HANA cloud platform. The SDK is designed to let SAP's more than 2.5 million developers build native iOS apps that can tap into SAP systems and access data in real time. The agreement also includes a plan to establish a new "SAP Academy for iOS," a place where SAP customers and partners can meet in person to design apps for iPhones and iPads and received related training. Apple and SAP engineers will work together to build apps, and the concept is similar to Apple's IBM MobileFirst for iOS initiative.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cloud coding pitfalls: Tips for avoiding big, bad bugs

According to this ACM article, the seven coding constructs that have been the most frequent source of bugs are function calls, assignments, conditions, pointers, uses of NULL, variable declarations, function declarations, and return statements. There are dozens of other conference presentations, books, and taxonomies that provide statistically valid guidance — or at least opinions — on coding practices to avoid.But so far, I haven’t found anything like that for coding in the cloud.And make no mistake about it, the distributed, multi-language environment inherent in the cloud presents some real coding challenges. But before we nerd out entirely, let’s do a bit of bug triage. There are three interesting categories of bugs:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

sFlow to IPFIX/NetFlow

RESTflow explains how the sFlow architecture shifts the flow cache from devices to external software and describes how the sFlow-RT REST API can be used to program and query flow caches. Exporting events using syslog describes how flow records can be exported using the syslog protocol to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools such as Logstash and and Splunk. This article demonstrates how sFlow-RT can be used to define and export the flows using the IP Flow Information eXport (IPFIX) protocol (the IETF standard based on NetFlow version 9).

For example, the following command defines a cache that will maintain flow records for TCP flows on the network, capturing IP source and destination addresses, source and destination port numbers and the bytes transferred and sending flow records to address 10.0.0.162:
curl -H "Content-Type:application/json" -X PUT --data  '{"keys":"ipsource,ipdestination,tcpsourceport,tcpdestinationport", 
"value":"bytes", "ipfixCollectors":["10.0.0.162"]}' 
http://localhost:8008/flow/tcp/json
Running Wireshark's tshark command line utility on 10.0.0.162 verifies that flows are being received: 
# tshark -i eth0 -V udp port 4739
Running as user "root" and group "root". This could be dangerous.
Capturing on lo
Frame 1 (134 bytes on wire, 134 bytes captured)
    Arrival Time:  Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Emergency call location for mobile UC: slow progress on E911 improvements

Making enterprise voice-over-Wi-Fi systems comply with emergency call regulations requires shoehorning new techniques into a very old architecture. It also exposes some unfinished technology and fragmented implementation models. We can do it, but no one is happy with the contortions.There’s a large population of enterprise unified communications (UC) systems from Microsoft, Cisco, Avaya, Shoretel and others using Wi-Fi endpoints, whether dedicated Wi-Fi phones or client apps on smartphones. When it comes to emergency call functionality, we should expect these to work at least as well as landlines, PBX extensions and cell phones.One of the most important emergency call (E911) functions is locating the caller. To make emergency call location work, we first need to find the location, then send the call, with caller location attached, to the correct emergency answering center in a form it can understand. Both of those steps present problems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Interop: Ransomware should haunt you all the time

When the ransomware demands come in it’s really too late to come up with a good response plan, so do that as soon as you can, an Interop audience was told.“You need to decide beforehand whether you will pay and under what circumstances,” John Pironti, president of IP Architects, says. “It’s a cost benefit decision in the end.”+More on Network World: FBI: Ransomware threat at all-time high; how to protect company jewels | See all the stories from Interop +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Interop: Ransomware should haunt you all the time

When the ransomware demands come in it’s really too late to come up with a good response plan, so do that as soon as you can, an Interop audience was told.“You need to decide beforehand whether you will pay and under what circumstances,” John Pironti, president of IP Architects, says. “It’s a cost benefit decision in the end.”+More on Network World: FBI: Ransomware threat at all-time high; how to protect company jewels | See all the stories from Interop +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

72% off Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker – Deal Alert

The Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Next Generation Ultra Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 5,000 people on Amazon (read reviews).  It's regular list price is $99.99, but with the current 72% discount you can get it for just $27.99. The OontZ Angle 3 connects effortlessly to your device via bluetooth. It is designed to be loud and clear, with rich bass delivered through their proprietary passive subwoofer design. IPX5 water resistance makes the unit splashproof, rainproof, dustproof, and sandproof. A good consideration for the beach, poolside, in the outdoor shower, car, boat or golf cart. At only 9 ounces and just 5 inches long, it's very light and easy to fit in a backpack. Its high capacity rechargeable 2200 mAh battery lasts for up to 7 hours of playtime.  Check out the dramatically discounted OontZ Angle 3 from Cambridge Soundworks now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows 10 reaches 300 million devices mark

Microsoft announced that Windows 10 surpassed the 300 million devices mark, and that momentum continues despite what some have perceived as a slowdown in installations.Writing on the Microsoft corporate blog, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of the Windows and Devices Group, said Windows has become “one of the largest online services in less than a year,” an interesting choice of words for an operating system.“We’re seeing people at home, at schools, at small businesses, at large companies and other organizations adopt Windows 10 faster than ever, and use Windows 10 more than ever before,” he wrote.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Qualcomm flaw puts millions of Android devices at risk

A vulnerability in an Android component shipped with phones that use Qualcomm chips puts users' text messages and call history at risk of theft.The flaw was found by security researchers from FireEye and was patched by Qualcomm in March. However, because the vulnerability was introduced five years ago, many affected devices are unlikely to ever receive the fix because they're no longer supported by their manufacturers.The vulnerability, which is tracked as CVE-2016-2060, is located on an Android component called "netd" that Qualcomm modified in order to provide additional tethering capabilities. Malicious applications could exploit the flaw in order to execute commands as the "radio" system user, which has special privileges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Qualcomm flaw puts millions of Android devices at risk

A vulnerability in an Android component shipped with phones that use Qualcomm chips puts users' text messages and call history at risk of theft.The flaw was found by security researchers from FireEye and was patched by Qualcomm in March. However, because the vulnerability was introduced five years ago, many affected devices are unlikely to ever receive the fix because they're no longer supported by their manufacturers.The vulnerability, which is tracked as CVE-2016-2060, is located on an Android component called "netd" that Qualcomm modified in order to provide additional tethering capabilities. Malicious applications could exploit the flaw in order to execute commands as the "radio" system user, which has special privileges.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

VMware NSX SociaLab is Coming to a City Near You!

VMware NSX is indisputably the most widely deployed software network overlay on the market today, and many companies are realizing the valuable payoff that comes with virtualizing the network to improve security, IT automation and application continuity.

Now is your chance to be taught by VMware NSX experts, in-person, as they guide you through technical features, functions, and business use cases – all while you work directly with the solution. Collaborate with peers and ask the experts questions tailored to your case by signing up for a VMware NSX SociaLab near you.

VMware NSX enables a new policy-driven approach to transform the economics of network and security operations.  Whether you’re a beginner, or you’re already working with the NSX platform, these expert-led, hands-on labs will highlight multiple features of NSX such as:

  • A Software-Defined Data Center Intro
  • NSX Architecture and Components
  • Logical Switching
  • Data Center Security
  • NSX Firewalls
  • Service Composer and the NSX Ecosystem
  • Security Monitoring and Visibility

Bring your own device, join an interactive environment, and attend a free VMware SociaLab NSX event in your city this May-June.

The post VMware NSX SociaLab is Coming to a City Near You! appeared first on The Network Virtualization Blog.

US trade body investigates seven smartphone companies

A U.S. trade body has launched an investigation into seven smartphone companies on charges of patent infringement, which could lead to a ban on the sale of certain phones imported and sold by these vendors in the country.The U.S. International Trade Commission said it had instituted an investigation into devices from a group of mainly Asian companies, including Lenovo and its Motorola subsidiary, Samsung Electronics, ZTE, Sony, LG Electronics, HTC and BlackBerry.The complaint was filed against these companies by Creative Technology of Singapore and its U.S. subsidiary Creative Labs of Milpitas, California, on March 24.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

White House worries about bad A.I. coding

The White House is doing a lot more thinking about the arrival of automated decision-making -- super-intelligent or otherwise.  No one in government is yet screaming "Skynet," but in two actions this week the concerns about our artificial intelligence future were sketched out.The big risks of A.I. are well-known (a robot takeover), but the more immediate worries are about the subtle, or not-so-subtle, decisions made by badly coded and designed algorithms.+ ALSO: How enterprises can use artificial intelligence +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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