More and more, small and medium-sized enterprises have become the victim of cybercrime. However, there is no reason that they should endure it sorrowfully. An authentication platform, for example, can be a solution for password hacking.
There was a time when mostly banks and large companies were targeted by cyber criminals. However, that time is definitely over. Fraudsters have shifted their field of activity toward the small and medium-sized business. An increasing number of SMEs have experienced losses and harm because of cybercrime. Nowadays, fraudsters consider SMEs as preferred objects, as they tend to be perceived to be less careful in their cyber defenses. A survey executed by Guardian Analytics shows that the nearly 1,000 questioned owners and executives of an SME experienced that fraud is widespread. Two out of every three attempted fraud attacks ended in money loss.
Archivo mensual: julio 2013
Suspense Builds Ahead on Dell Vote
With 72 hours to go before shareholders vote on Dell’s fate Thursday, T. Rowe Price, whose mutual fund controls a little over 4% of the stock, reiterated its intention to vote against the $24.4 billion privatization plan claiming it undervalues the company.
It didn’t say it would vote for the competing Icahn proposal that would leave Dell with a public “stub.”
Cloud computing in Australia: Pros, cons and questions to ask
The International Data Center (IDC) researchers have this week put into writing what many will already suspect: cloud computing continues to grow in Australia. But does this all fit in with recent coverage?
86% of Australian enterprises currently use cloud computing in some aspect, up from 71% this time last year, according to the latest report from IDC, “Australia Cloud Services 2013-2017 Forecast and Analysis”.
Not surprisingly, there’s still a fair amount of future gazing in the report, with IDC predicting that the Australian public cloud services market will grow to a whopping A$2,671.9 million (£1,631m) in 2017, meaning a compound annual growth rate of 24.7% for that five year period.
Aside from the pinch of salt which generally needs to be taken with such statistics, these are still impressive numbers.
In a statement, IDC Australia cloud services senior analyst Raj Mudaliar said cloud …
Cloud Partners Announces Addition of Marty Colburn, Former CTO of FINRA
Cloud Partners, a consulting firm that provides enterprise users with innovative technology solutions, announces the appointment of Martin Colburn as managing partner.
Previously, Colburn was executive vice president and chief technology officer for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA). He provided strategic and operational oversight for all technology services and operations including application development and maintenance, architecture and operations.
Colburn brings significant experience from many successes involving big data and cloud technologies at large enterprises, including evaluating both the entry and exit costs associated with deploying new technologies.
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Autonomics in Service Management
“Think about IPsoft as a remote infrastructure management company, managed services done very differently in two flavors. One, being able to manage anything, anywhere in an information services platform and two, the way in which we solve problems – we do automation by learning what it is that is happening and then we incorporate it into our expert system,” explained Jonathan Crane, Chief Commercial Officer of IPsoft, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
HyTrust Buddies Up with CIA’s Venture Arm
HyTrust, the cloud automation security company, has gotten a new funding and strategic pal in In-Q-Tel (IQT), the venture arm of the CIA and other American black ops.
HyTrust said the undisclosed investment, which is supposed to tickle its technology at scale, was a direct result of the need felt in the federal and intelligence sectors for greater controls and visibility over the management of virtualized data and cloud infrastructure.
VMware and Cisco are also invested in HyTrust for its greater controls, Role-Based Monitoring (RBM) and the so-called “two-man rule.”
HyTrust helps deliver audit, enforcement and policy controls to the administrative layer, including Secondary Approval to enforce the two-man rule on key transactions and delivers cloud control, visibility and operational readiness for mission-critical workloads run by Fortune 500s and other large organizations worldwide.
Cloudy with a Chance of…Success
It’s a standard refrain heard in enterprise IT departments around the world – “I want to move to the cloud, but what about data security, uptime and user response time across a nearly infinite number of devices to support?” Because of this, fear gets in the way and enterprises reap only a small percentage of the potential benefits that can be gained through cloud adoption.
In his General Session at 12th Cloud Expo, Gary Ballabio, Product Line Director responsible for Akamai’s Enterprise Cloud Solutions portfolio, examines a variety of strategies you can employ to make your cloud architecture better performing, more secure and available. Learn best practices for achieving the optimal reliability for applications running in the cloud as well as maintaining or increasing the velocity of real-time data transfers happening in support of Big Data initiatives.
The Top Five Things the Cloud Can Deliver – If You Get Your Security Right
Everyone has an opinion about the ‘Cloud’ and its effect on business – some believe it is dark and scary and fraught with unnecessary risk, while others would argue it’s silver lined and the path to greater business performance and cost savings. The truth is that the Cloud undeniably has the potential to open up a whole new dimension of opportunities to businesses – but only if data security is properly addressed.
First let’s dispel any misperceptions you might have about the cloud. It’s nothing mystical, nothing whimsical, nothing to be afraid of. Or is it? The reason many fear the cloud is its reputation as a dangerous, risky place. And that is true. Anything beyond the physical perimeter of the organization is also, theoretically, beyond the physical protection of the organization. Let’s face it, there are dangers and risks out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay behind a locked door. Instead, by arming yourself with the right security you can stay clear of danger and fully tap into the cloud’s potential.
PRISM Scandal Generates Renewed Interest in Non-US Cloud Providers
Guest Post by Mateo Meier, founder of Swiss hosting provider Artmotion
Businesses vote with their feet, in light of the recent PRISM scandal. Up until recently, the US had been considered the leading destination for cloud services with its vast infrastructures and innovative service offerings, but recent leaks have sparked panic amongst many business owners and is driving demand for Non US cloud providers.
The most concerning aspect for many is the wide ranging implications of using US-controlled cloud services, such as AWS, Azure and Dropbox. As a result, businesses are now turning to Switzerland and other secure locations for their data hosting needs.
Swiss ‘private’ hosting companies are seeing huge growth because privacy in Switzerland is enshrined in law. As the country is outside of the EU, it is not bound by pan-European agreements to share data with other member states, or worse, the US. Artmotion, for example, has witnessed 45 per cent growth in revenue amid this new demand for heightened privacy.
Until now the PRISM scandal has focused on the privacy of the individual, but the surveillance undertaken by NSA and Britain’s own GCHQ has spurred corporate concern about the risks associated with using American based cloud providers to host data. It is especially troubling for businesses with data privacy issues, such as banks or large defence and healthcare organisations with ‘secret’ research and development needs.
Before PRISM, the US was at the forefront of the cloud computing industry and companies worldwide flocked to take advantage of the scalable benefits of cloud hosting, as well as the potential cost savings it offered.
However the scandal has unearthed significant risks to data for businesses, as well as for their customers. With US cloud service providers, the government can request business information under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without the company in question ever knowing its data has been accessed.
For businesses large and small, data vulnerabilities and the threat of industrial espionage from US hosting sites can present real security risks or privacy implications, and it’s causing a real fear. Business owners are worried that by using US based systems, private information could potentially be seen by prying eyes.
The desire for data privacy has therefore seen a surge in large corporations turning to ‘Silicon’ Switzerland to take advantage of the country’s renowned privacy culture. Here they can host data without fear of it being accessed by foreign governments.
Mateo Meier, founder of Artmotion, spent the early stages of his career in the US before returning home to Switzerland to start Artmotion. Artmotion was started in early 2000 and provides highly bespoke server solutions to an international set of clients.
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Embracing the Cloud
“We are saying to customers – embrace the cloud for the benefits it provides but do it with eyes wide open. Make the decisions for the right reasons, and we are helping them figure out what those right reasons are,” explained Omar Khawaja, Global Principal, Security Solutions, at Verizon Terremark, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 12th International Cloud Expo, held June 10–13, 2013, at the Javits Center in New York City.
Cloud Expo 2013 Silicon Valley, November 4–7, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.