Data and Telecom
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July 31, 2008
A Watched Merger Never Boils
The cool thing about being a blogger or an analyst is that you can tell everyone else what to do, usually in a few paragraphs. The reality, however, is that once a prediction is made, the already sle... More >
The Battle for the Browser
The IBM X-Force report about which I blogged yesterday does a great job of highlighting the state of Internet security. The findings that 78 percent of exploits are aimed at browser plug-ins and tha... More >
Intel, Yahoo, HP Step into the Clouds
The promise of cloud computing is significant. So are the obstacles to making it happen. This week, heavy-hitters HP and Yahoo stepped up to confront those issues. The Cloud Computing Test Bed is d... More >
July 30, 2008
New Approaches to Disclosure of Vulnerabilities Needed
The security vendor and service-provider fraternity should take the X-Force 2008 Midyear Trend Statistics , released this week, quite seriously . The implication of the report is that events have ... More >
Two-Year-Old Study Slams Online Banking; Is it Still Relevant?
Last week, news hit several sites and publications, including IT Business Edge , that essentially said online banking is a disaster. More specifically, the study, written by Atul Prakash at the Univ... More >
July 29, 2008
Election Increasingly Important As U.S. Broadband Status Fades
Two interesting and related things are occurring simultaneously in the United States: The nation's broadband status continues to drop like a rock and it is in the throes of electing a new president. ... More >
July 28, 2008
Video Surveillance Sector Growth Continues to Look Bright
The explosion of IP and other technological breakthroughs are revolutionizing both physical and electronic security -- and how the two interact. This is nowhere more apparent than in video surveillan... More >
Easy to Poke Holes in Google Trial Balloon
The ongoing carrier wars feature the telcos, the cable companies and, increasingly, wireless operators. An interesting idea was floated in this InformationWeek piece : The story quotes the blog of a... More >
July 25, 2008
At Last, a Little Good News on Mobile Security
Usually, articles and posts written about mobile security are filled with vague foreboding: Mobility is dangerous, users are in denial , and the industry has only avoided the vast problems that buff... More >
July 24, 2008
Is Cloud Computing Secure?
Cloud computing security has gotten a lot of attention during the past few weeks. The stakes, of course, are high: It is essentially impossible to utilize the concept, which focuses on using resource... More >
July 23, 2008
Is Open Source Security Slipping?
One of the selling points of open source software is that having so many eyes combing through the code makes it more secure than its proprietary cousins. That claim took a hit this week, as Fortify'... More >
The Telcos' Salad Days Are Over, but They Still Have a Lot on Their Plates
The details are interesting, but there isn't anything conceptually new in this New York Times piece anticipating AT&T and Verizon quarterly reports . Indeed, the tale already is getting a bit ol... More >
e-Paper Tigers
To those who don't follow the sector too closely, the terms paper and convergence probably seem as compatible as Felix and Oscar (or, to younger readers, Kevin and Britney). But both young and old wo... More >
July 22, 2008
The Promising Future of Laptop SSDs
Solid state drives (SSDs), a storage technology in which nonmoving elements replace revolving platters, are carving out a niche in the computer world. Most recently, SSDs are gaining in the laptop s... More >
July 21, 2008
Cyber Security Spending: Protecting Systems or More Spying?
Coverage of government cyber security initiatives is a bit disconcerting because there isn't a lot of information available. The big budget numbers in the news and federal press releases mean littl... More >
The iPhone 3G Wants to Get a Job
The question of whether the iPhone will make a play for the enterprise has been answered. The launch earlier this month of iPhone 3G business applications at the App Store is a clear indication that ... More >
July 18, 2008
Still Drowning in a Sea of Spam
It's possible to forget the astonishing amount of spam that floats through the Internet, slowing and degrading the electronic system just as surely as cholesterol gums up a human body. The biggest di... More >
July 17, 2008
Researchers: Partially Encrypting Disks Leaves Data at Risk
When news of a technical problem that could have significant impact on businesses breaks, all executives can do is wait until the experts tell them whether it truly is a big deal, if a fix is imminen... More >
Whitelists are No Security Cure-all
Last week, I described various problems being encountered by the traditional antivirus industry . The genesis of the post was a story at ZDNet that said the firm n.runs AG found more than 800 vuln... More >
July 16, 2008
Trouble Among the Androids
The Google-led Android project is facing a sticky situation with developers, who are angry about apparent favoritism being shown to some developers. This is the latest twist in the road in what is b... More >
Quick Message to UK Businesses: Banning IM is a Bad Idea
The reality that banning a generally available platform due to security fears is folly is accepted by most IT pros, especially those who were paying attention during the early days of wireless local-... More >
July 15, 2008
Denial, Not Viruses or Worms, is the Biggest Mobile Danger
Though the mobile industry has faced serious security challenges, in general there hasn't been the concerted virus, worm and Trojan attacks that characterize the desktop world. Players in the wireles... More >
July 14, 2008
Sophisticated Mobile E-Mail Apps Not Just for Smartphones
One of the happier realities of technology is that over the arc of time things become cheaper and more broadly available. This is a function of the press of competition on vendors and service provide... More >
July 11, 2008
Bad News for Comcast, but Net Management Issue Far from Settled
Cable operator Comcast got bad news this week as Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said the company violated "agency principles" that mandate open access and that he will push... More >
July 10, 2008
Voice Recognition Strives for Success in the Hear and Now
Voice recognition touches on many concerns for IT departments, especially those with large mobile work forces. It is the ultimate user interface and, as such, can make convergence of applications mor... More >
Mobile Internet Use Expanding
Taken together, a quartet of studies and surveys released during the past several weeks brings very good news to proponents of the mobile Internet. Based on the annoying habit of federal worke... More >
July 9, 2008
The Complex and Rewarding World of Open Source VoIP
One of the biggest challenges of VoIP -- especially the open source variety -- is that it is diffuse and confusing, especially to a market raised on simple, plug-and-play hardware and software option... More >
The End of the World as We Know It, Again
Earlier today, IT Business Edge posted a blog about a Domain Name System (DNS) exploit that could cause a whole lot of trouble. The exploit, uncovered by researcher Dan Kaminsky, is best exp... More >
July 8, 2008
Link Trouble: Watching the Dectectives Isn't Always Pretty
Here's a report in ZDNet that could ruin many CSOs' evenings : The firm n.runs AG recently ran tests that discovered about 800 vulnerabilities inside antivirus products. The significance of th... More >
WiMax Thriving on the International Stage
WiMax is making its greatest impact outside of the United States. This Springboard study says that WiMax revenue in the Asia Pacific region will grow from $58 million last year to $5.6 billion by 2... More >
July 7, 2008
Don't Let Thumb Drives Be an Achilles' Heel
Human nature is funny. People go to great lengths to protect their desktops and laptops -- then go on the road with poorly or unprotected thumb drives. This long PC Magazine feature looks at the is... More >
July 4, 2008
WiMax Equalizes Broadband in Town and Country
Every technical advancement does a bit to reduce the gap between rural and urban life. The telephone reduced physical isolation that is far greater in the country than the city. Radio brought music a... More >
Nugache Creator: Young, Smart and a Felon
This is an interesting post from Sam Masiello, director of threat management at MX Logic , about the resolution of the criminal case against Jason Michael Milmont. Milmont, who wrote the Nuga... More >
Browser Competition Good for Security
In a world of highly interactive Web 2.0 applications, browser security is a big issue. This study -- released by Google Switzerland, IBM Internet Security Systems and a firm called Computer Engine... More >
July 2, 2008
Wi-Fi's Voice Gets Stronger
The maturation from data-only Wi-Fi networks to platforms capable of supporting voice -- voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi or VoFi) -- is filled with challenges. For instance, voice packets must be prioritize... More >
July 1, 2008
For Designers, a Moveable Feast of Challenges
There has been a good deal of debate over whether the iPhone will be a significant corporate tool , or if BlackBerry and more business-oriented devices will withstand the challenge. That may ... More >
The World of Online Security Doesn't Change
Even as July 4 barbecues approach, there is no rest for weary IT departments. There are malicious insiders and dumb insiders. In some cases, employees do precisely what is required -- and still end u... More >
