Nexusguard deploys game-changing SDN tech to mitigate large-scale DDoS attacks  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  It's easier than ever for a malicious actor to launch a DDoS attack against practically any target in the world. Groups like Lizard Squad sell DDoS-as-a-Service for only a few dollars per hour. Some attackers won’t end their attacks until a Bitcoin ransom is paid. Consequently, there are now more attacks on more organizations worldwide than ever before. Akamai recently reported a year-over-year increase of 180% in the number of attacks it saw through its network.Not only are attacks becoming more frequent, they are getting larger, too. Some recent attacks have exceeded 200 million packets per second (Mpps). An event of this size is sufficient to bring down a tier 1 router, the kind often used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NexusGuard deploys game-changing SDN tech to mitigate large-scale DDoS attacks  

This column is available in a weekly newsletter called IT Best Practices.  Click here to subscribe.  It's easier than ever for a malicious actor to launch a DDoS attack against practically any target in the world. Groups like Lizard Squad sell DDoS-as-a-Service for only a few dollars per hour. Some attackers won’t end their attacks until a Bitcoin ransom is paid. Consequently, there are now more attacks on more organizations worldwide than ever before. Akamai recently reported a year-over-year increase of 180% in the number of attacks it saw through its network.Not only are attacks becoming more frequent, they are getting larger, too. Some recent attacks have exceeded 200 million packets per second (Mpps). An event of this size is sufficient to bring down a tier 1 router, the kind often used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

FBI, keep out! How to encrypt everything

The FBI’s inability to crack a terrorist’s iPhone 5c shows the strong protection you can get for your private information on a mobile device. That same encryption is also available on your computer, at least in some cases.Given the increasing access to personal and corporate data sought by the U.S. government, as well as by other politicians, unscrupulous businesses, and criminal hackers, people should up their game on what they protect. Fortunately, it's not hard to do. (But be sure to back up your data before you encrypt your devices, in case a power failure occurs during the encryption process and makes your data unavailable.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ISIS group threatens Facebook and Twitter CEOs

Frustrated by social networks' efforts to keep them at bay, the terrorist group ISIS has made direct threats against the CEOs of Facebook and Twitter.In a 25-minute video dubbed "Flames of the Supporters" and posted on the Russian-based instant messaging service Telegram, the Sons Caliphate Army displayed photos of Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey with digitally added bullet holes. Sons Caliphate Army is a purported hacking division of the Islamic State.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The 5 biggest reveals from Apple’s motion to dismiss the FBI’s court order

On Thursday, Apple filed a motion to vacate the court order compelling the iPhone-maker to create a hackable version of iOS that the FBI can use to break into the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook.In the filing, Apple’s main argument is that its software is protected speech, and that the government asking the company to fabricate software that goes against its beliefs is a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights.+ Check out everyone's opinion on what Apple should do +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Business leaders struggle with cloud, big data and IoT security

Call it the security conundrum.Business leaders are racing to adopt new IT systems like cloud computing, big data and Internet of things (IoT), and yet at the same time express mounting concerns about the security of sensitive information in those environments.A new survey of more than 1,000 enterprise leaders conducted by 451 Research on behalf of the security vendor Vormetric helps quantify the situation.[ Related: Cybersecurity much more than a compliance exercise ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Show 277: Riverbed’s Role In Wireshark, Security & More (Sponsored)Drew Conry-Murray

On today's podcast we learn about Riverbed's open source efforts, including its corporate sponsorship of packet analyzer Wireshark, its open APIs that automate performance analysis processes enabled by Wireshark and other solutions, and how security teams can use Wireshark.

The post Show 277: Riverbed’s Role In Wireshark, Security & More (Sponsored)Drew Conry-Murray appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Show 277: Riverbed’s Role In Wireshark, Security & More (Sponsored)

On today's podcast we learn about Riverbed's open source efforts, including its corporate sponsorship of packet analyzer Wireshark, its open APIs that automate performance analysis processes enabled by Wireshark and other solutions, and how security teams can use Wireshark.

The post Show 277: Riverbed’s Role In Wireshark, Security & More (Sponsored) appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Tim Cook defends Apple’s refusal to help the FBI in new interview

Apple CEO Tim Cook this week appeared on ABC News where he laid out in precise detail exactly why Apple is refusing to comply with a court order that would have the company help the FBI hack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters.The crux of Apple's position, as relayed by Cook, is that helping the FBI in this particular instance would only open the door to even more government requests. With such a precedent in place, Cook believes that the software tool the FBI wants Apple to develop will inevitably be used for nefarious purposes.“Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices," Cook explained in an open letter published last week.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Facebook, Google, Microsoft to join tech industry in supporting Apple in court

The tech industry is rallying behind Apple in its appeal against a court order asking it to help the FBI unlock an iPhone 5c, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft planning submissions in court in support of the iPhone maker. “The industry is aligned on this issue and Facebook is participating in a joint submission with other technology companies," a spokeswoman for the company wrote in an email Thursday. Other companies expected to join in making the submission are Twitter and Amazon.com, but there might be others. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Apple last week to provide assistance, if necessary by providing signed software that would help the FBI try different passcodes by brute force on the locked iPhone 5c, without triggering an auto-erase feature in the phone. The device was used by one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino, California, attack on Dec. 2.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple appeals order to unlock iPhone, says it would ‘violate the Constitution’

Apple filed court papers on Thursday urging a judge to overturn her order requiring it to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in last December's San Bernardino attacks. Forcing it to help unlock the phone would set a dangerous precedent that would undermine security for all its customers and open the door to more invasive government requests in future, Apple argued. "If Apple can be forced to write code in this case to bypass security features and create new accessibility, what is to stop the government from demanding that Apple write code to turn on the microphone in aid of government surveillance, activate the video camera, surreptitiously record conversations, or turn on location services to track the phone’s user? Nothing," the company's lawyers wrote.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

CoreOS CEO: Containers are just the beginning

Containers are revolutionizing enterprise IT in much the way smartphones have transformed the world of consumer technology, but there's still much more to come.That's according to Alex Polvi, CEO of Linux server vendor CoreOS, which has set its sights on improving Internet security.Too many companies today operate their data centers as if on egg shells, because "any little change can break things," Polvi explained. That makes it hard to keep software updated and secure.In general, companies need what Polvi calls "Google infrastructure for everyone else," or GIFEE. Essentially, he's referring to the way hyperscale companies like Google and Facebook operate, with infrastructures designed for maximum robustness, scalability, security and reliability.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft adds new security enhancements to its cloud offerings

Microsoft is adding a range of new security management and reporting features to its Office 365 and Azure cloud services as part of the company's holistic approach to enterprise security announced last year.In April, the company will release a new product called Microsoft Cloud App Security that will allow customers to gain better visibility, control and security for data hosted in cloud apps like Office 365, Box, SalesForce, ServiceNow and Ariba. The new product is based on technology from Adallom, a cloud access security broker Microsoft acquired in September.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here