Chip vendors work to make Bluetooth perfect fit for IoT

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has become a key building block for the Internet of Things, and chip makers are working to make it an even better fit by using the technology to further reduce power consumption of devices and helping developers implement it.Applications have been a key ingredient in making smartphones a huge success. Vendors are hoping to repeat that recipe for IoT, with semiconductor companies such as ST Microelectronics coming up with tools to make BLE, a set of specifications for reduced-power wireless networking, easier for developers to use.ST has launched an offering for voice over BLE, which includes the necessary software, components and development tools to integrate voice control in wearables and home-automation systems. Voice control can aid battery life by minimizing touchscreen usage, while improving ease-of-use, according to ST.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Last Call to Register for the HP DemoFriday: Enhance Optimization & Visibility with HP SDN Applications

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10 hot enterprise storage companies to watch

  Amidst all the venture investments this year in startups that generate gobs of data -- from those focused on everything from apps to drones to the Internet of Things to Big Data -- are a batch of newcomers aiming to help organizations store and access all that information. Yes, storage companies are pulling in big bucks in 2015, as they did in 2014, and a couple have even double-dipped this year and announced two rounds of funding.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

9 hot enterprise storage companies to watch

  Amidst all the venture investments this year in startups that generate gobs of data -- from those focused on everything from apps to drones to the Internet of Things to Big Data -- are a batch of newcomers aiming to help organizations store and access all that information. Yes, storage companies are pulling in big bucks in 2015, as they did in 2014, and a couple have even double-dipped this year and announced two rounds of funding.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

An Example of Obsfucation

With reference to the Verification exercise embarked upon as a result of the Payment Claim Application received from you on the settlement of the subsidiary contract payment on the Over Due Contract Resettlement, I wish to inform you that a Provisional Approval have been given to recognize your claim and consequently commence the final process of the payment regularization, validation and release to you. By Standard Chartered Bank.

When you read a sentence and think, “I don’t know what that says,” it generally means nothing was actually said. IE — it’s spam.

The post An Example of Obsfucation appeared first on 'net work.

IDG Contributor Network: IoT to cause major security headaches, says report

Workers bringing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to work could add to future enterprise vulnerabilities, a new report says. RAND Corporation’s latest study on cybersecurity delves into how a growing number of connected devices will add to an enterprise’s “attack surface.” The researchers say that device protocols, of the kind used by IoT, probably won’t have gone through the same vulnerability testing as traditional software does. And that coupled with lean start-up mentalities by developers of IoT will create devices where security is an afterthought. Devices will be functional, but “riddled with security vulnerabilities,” the report reckons.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Bahrain

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How to sell the Internet of Things to consumers

Despite the tech industry's best efforts over the past few years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has only slowly begun to gain a foothold in consumer markets. Consumers do, however, still represent a massive opportunity for IoT, and the companies in this space will be paying close attention to consumer acceptance of the technology.Today, machine-to-machine company ThroughTek released results from its recent consumer survey on the IoT and smart home technology. The survey was conducted last month by research firm YouGov, and included 1,181 U.S. adults.See also: Smart home hacking is easier than you think Consumers appear to be growing more optimistic about the IoT in the near future. Thirty-one percent said they believe a "fully connected smart home" will be achievable in the next year, while 60% say it's possible within five years, according to the survey.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Enterprise mobility slowed by security concerns

Mobility is marching forward in the enterprise in all sorts of ways, say some 430 companies at MobileIron's user conference in San Francisco this week. Yet they're facing the same stiff hurdle -- namely, security. These were the key highlights of the keynote session, which included a special guest appearance by an Uber executive.On the upside, mobility in the enterprise has room to grow. MobileIron asked attendees to give inspirational mobile ideas that will benefit customers, employees and shareholders alike, as well as rate these ideas. The most popular ones concerned security, such as having a security application that's available anytime, anywhere across a range of devices, thus allowing employees to work from home or while traveling.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to use enterprise Wi-Fi security in SMBs

It's become de rigeur to protect wireless networks with Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) security, but many small and even midsize businesses default to using the personal or pre-shared key (PSK) mode of WPA2, rather than its enterprise mode. Despite its name, however, the enterprise mode isn't only for large networks; it has a place in all businesses. Though you might think the simple personal mode is easier to use, the exact opposite can be true if you factor in the ongoing effort required to properly secure the business's network.Connecting devices that support enterprise modeTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Duqu spy group also targeted telecommunications companies

The group behind the Duqu cyberespionage tool has compromised at least two telecommunications operators and one electronic equipment manufacturer, in addition to a cybersecurity firm and venues that hosted high-level nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran.On Wednesday, Moscow-based antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, which has been deeply involved in exposing sophisticated cyberespionage campaigns over the past few years, revealed that it too fell victim to such an attack.The company discovered in early spring that several of its internal systems were infected with a new version of Duqu, a sophisticated malware platform believed to be related to the Stuxnet worm used to sabotage Iran’s nuclear enrichment centrifuges at Natanz.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ONOS and AT&T Team Up to Deliver CORD

ON.Lab wants to transform the CO into a data center, and will demo the concept at Open Networking Summit.

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Thursday, June 11

Google wants in on this “smart cities” thing tooGoogle has launched Sidewalk Labs, a New York-based company that will develop technology to make urban transportation and government more efficient, as well as lower the cost of living and cut energy use. The search giant is a little late to the party: Cisco, IBM and Microsoft are already heavily invested in this space, and the European Union has a major Smart Cities initiative as part of its Digital Agenda.Ebay, PayPal scrutinized for claiming robocall rights in user agreementsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Thursday, June 11

Google wants in on this “smart cities” thing tooGoogle has launched Sidewalk Labs, a New York-based company that will develop technology to make urban transportation and government more efficient, as well as lower the cost of living and cut energy use. The search giant is a little late to the party: Cisco, IBM and Microsoft are already heavily invested in this space, and the European Union has a major Smart Cities initiative as part of its Digital Agenda.Ebay, PayPal scrutinized for claiming robocall rights in user agreementsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco Live!: In pictures

Group shotImage by FacebookOutgoing and incoming Cisco CEOs John Chambers and Chuck Robbins weren’t the only attractions at the annual Cisco event in San Diego this week, though they did seem to be everywhere (Chambers in center, with blazer).RELATED: Cisco boosts cloud software, lines up ISVs to write Internet of Everything servicesTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iOS Developers — Migrate to iOS 9 with CloudFlare

Thousands of developers use CloudFlare to accelerate and secure the backend of their mobile applications and websites. This week is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where thousands of Apple developers come to San Francisco to talk, learn and share best practices for developing software for Apple platforms. New announcements from Apple this week make CloudFlare an even more obvious choice for application developers.

New operating systems, new application requirements

The flagship announcement of WWDC 2015 was a new version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 9, to be released in September with a developer preview available now. They also announced a new Mac operating system, OS X El Capitan, launching in the fall. Apple has a track record of developing and supporting technologies that enhance user privacy and security with iMessage and Facetime and the trend is continuing with these new operating systems. In both cases, Apple is requiring application developers to make use of two network technologies that CloudFlare is big fan of: HTTPS and IPv6.

For iOS 9 and El Capitan, all applications submitted to the iOS and Mac App Stores must work over IPv6. In previous versions, applications were allowed that only worked with IPv4.

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Campus LAN Design – A Different Approach

Throughout my career I have implemented a pretty large number of standard Cisco campus LAN designs. You know the model; a hierarchical one with access switches aggregating to a distribution layer, which then aggregates to a fast core switching layer. Pieces of the hierarchy can be collapsed into one another in situations where, for example, due to […]

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Andy Burridge

Andy spends his days working as a network engineer for a solutions provider. Andy also mostly spends his evenings working as a network engineer for a solutions provider.

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The post Campus LAN Design – A Different Approach appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Andy Burridge.

Microsoft predicts China’s air pollution with data analysis

Microsoft has taken its big data analysis to China, with computing models that can forecast the air quality across 41 cities in the country.Pollution continues to be a major problem in China, with hazardous air quality levels a common occurrence in cities including Beijing. To bring some clarity to the situation, Microsoft has come up with a mobile app that can predict the air quality two days in advance.The Your Weather app works by first taking official data from government air quality monitoring stations across a 300 kilometer distance, and then using weather data to predict the pollution levels. The weather data used includes forecasts, along with current information on humidity, temperature and wind direction in a selected city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft predicts China’s air pollution with data analysis

Microsoft has taken its big data analysis to China, with computing models that can forecast the air quality across 41 cities in the country.Pollution continues to be a major problem in China, with hazardous air quality levels a common occurrence in cities including Beijing. To bring some clarity to the situation, Microsoft has come up with a mobile app that can predict the air quality two days in advance.The Your Weather app works by first taking official data from government air quality monitoring stations across a 300 kilometer distance, and then using weather data to predict the pollution levels. The weather data used includes forecasts, along with current information on humidity, temperature and wind direction in a selected city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Should I Use a Traditional Firewall in Microsegmented Environment?

One of my readers wondered whether one still needs traditional firewalls in microsegmented environments like VMware NSX.

As always, it depends.