“WorkVoices is an enterprise social network where people from a company and collaborate and share knowledge,” explained Marc Koetsier, Co-Founder of WorkVoices, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 11th International Cloud Expo, held November 5-8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Cloud Expo 2013 New York, June 10–13, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
So, Just What Is REACT? And How Does It Change Security Strategies?
Having all the security solutions–even if they’re cloud-based–doesn’t necessarily ensure holistic protection. In the modern enterprise, there are simply too many parallel silos of data. The key is to get the solutions not only to talk to each other, but to leverage one another’s capabilities…in real time.
Last month, I published an article about a new unified security platform called REACT (Realtime Event & Access Correlation Technology). All in all, it received some very positive notices, but also raised some questions as to what exactly the platform is, and why it should matter.
Simply put, REACT is an approach whereby an organization leverages the capabilities of several security solutions into one central correlated repository of security intelligence. For instance, key information from an Access Management tool (such as SaaS SSO logins or views of/modifications on/additions to protected data) can be shared, processed and analyzed through a SIEM correlation engine. When this is done in real time, not only do you expand the centralized visibility, but more importantly any suspicious activity is immediately identified and alerted. When these systems are running in parallel, but not unified, it might be days or weeks before these anomalous instances are discovered and remedied.
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Networking in the Cloud
“We’re here to showcase what the Dutch cloud technology companies can offer,” explained Jessie Brockhoff, Co-Organizer of Handelsroute, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 11th International Cloud Expo, held November 5-8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Cloud Expo 2013 New York, June 10–13, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
Zonoff Releases Low-cost Wireless Home Automation Architecture
Zonoff, Inc., today announced the launch of the “Zonoff Distributed Radio Architecture” (ZDRA). The new architecture includes hardware reference designs for an ultra low cost wireless radio solution code-named “Sentry” which will be demonstrated by Zonoff at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
“The release of ZDRA and Sentry is the next logical step for Zonoff,” explained Mike Harris , Zonoff’s CEO. ZDRA and Sentry facilitate communication back to the home’s primary automation controller, which houses the “brain” of the connected home via Zonoff Home Software.
“Other companies have traditionally depended upon a dedicated home automation controller box to contain both their control software and the specific radios required for RF standards used in home automation, such as Z-Wave, ZigBee and others. Essentially, we have separated the control software from the radios, enabling the radios to be placed wherever they may be needed in the home, without the need for a wired Ethernet connection. The benefit is that consumers can use their existing WiFi network to add any home automation device in any location,” Harris explained.
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Big Data Services
“We accelerate Big Data application delivery. We build the apps and optimize it for the cloud,” explained Renat Khasanshyn, Founder of Altoros, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 11th International Cloud Expo, held November 5-8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Cloud Expo 2013 New York, June 10–13, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
How cloud security balances risk versus reward
I spend a great deal of my day thinking about security. How it affects the enterprise; how to best position and protect assets. How it shapes risk management and how it delivers potential benefits through smoother operations, enhanced trust and loss prevention.
At its core, security is about risk versus reward. It’s no great secret that many executives look at security as a cost center. Compounded by the requirements of compliance, the expansion of technology, and the nature of the modern enterprise, no one doubts the need to secure the enterprise…but to what degree?
Securing your IT environment is not free, but there are best practices and technology options designed to mitigate costs while still providing a strong, manageable and proactive defense. While many companies still would rather spend capital on commodity assets, many CIOs recognize that information security is an important business driver. Many more still are …
SYS-CON.tv Interview: Public Cloud Services
«We’ve been setting up a public cloud service of global scale. We just opened our second data center in US East, and we have designs and plans to blow out data center presence so in six months you should see some progress there,» explained Dan Baigent, Sr. Director of Business Development for HP Cloud Services, in this SYS-CON.tv interview with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan at the 11th International Cloud Expo, held November 5-8, 2012, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Cloud Expo 2013 New York, June 10–13, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
CES 2013 Panel: Privacy and Security in the Cloud
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 is starting next week and cloud computing is on the agenda. You can be sure that a technology has moved out of the hype cycle and into everyday use when it shows up at … Continue reading 
Change in the Air with Cloud ERP
The gap is widening between legacy ERP and cloud ERP as traditional on-premise solutions are shifting toward delivery of applications over the Internet. Put your ear in the air to hear the rumblings. ERP in the Cloud is here to stay.
Recent earnings reports from several web-based business software providers along with a significant increase in the number of announcements pertaining to new cloud ERP providers are signaling a clear trend in the direction of a rapidly changing business environment for software vendors and business customers alike.
Five IT Security Predictions for 2013
Guest Post by Rick Dakin, CEO and co-founder of Coalfire, an independent IT GRC auditor
Last year was a very active year in the cybersecurity world. The Secretary of Defense announced that the threat level has escalated to the point where protection of cyber assets used for critical infrastructure is vital. Banks and payment processors came under direct and targeted attack for both denial of service as well as next-generation worms.
What might 2013 have in store? Some predictions:
1. The migration to mobile computing will accelerate and the features of mobile operating systems will become known as vulnerabilities by the IT security industry.
Look out for Windows 95 level security on iOS, Android 4 and even Windows 8 as we continue to connect to our bank and investment accounts – as well as other important personal and professional data – on smartphones and tablets.
As of today, there is no way to secure an unsecured mobile operating system (OS). Some risks can be mitigated, but many vulnerabilities remain. This lack of mobile device and mobile network security will drive protection to the data level. Expect to see a wide range of data and communication encryption solutions before you see a secure mobile OS.
The lack of security, combined with the ever-growing adoption of smartphones and tablets for increasingly sensitive data access, will result is a systemic loss for some unlucky merchant, bank or service provider in 2013. Coalfire predicts more than 1 million users will be impacted and the loss will be more than $10 million.
2. Government will lead the way in the enterprise migration to “secure” cloud computing.
No entity has more to gain by migrating to the inherent efficiencies of cloud computing than our federal government. Since many agencies are still operating in 1990s-era infrastructure, the payback for adopting shared applications in shared hosting facilities with shared services will be too compelling to delay any longer, especially with ever-increasing pressure to reduce spending.
As a result, Coalfire believes the fledgling FedRAMP program will continue to gain momentum and we will see more than 50 enterprise applications hosted in secure federal clouds by the end of 2013. Additionally, commercial cloud adoption will have to play catch-up to the new benchmark that the government is setting for cloud security and compliance. It is expected that more cloud consumers will want increased visibility into the security and compliance posture of commercially available clouds.
3. Lawyers will discover a new revenue source – suing negligent companies over data breaches.
Plaintiff attorneys will drive companies to separate the cozy compliance and security connection. It will no longer be acceptable to obtain an IT audit or assessment from the same company that is managing an organization’s security programs. The risk of being found negligent or legally liable in any area of digital security will drive the need for independent assessment.
The expansion of the definition of cyber negligence and the range of monetary damages will become more clear as class action lawsuits are filed against organizations that experience data breaches.
4. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) will replace the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard as the white-hot tip of the compliance security sword.
Banks, payment processors and other financial institutions are becoming much more mature in their ability to protect critical systems and sensitive data. However, critical infrastructure organizations like electric utilities, water distribution and transportation remain softer targets for international terrorists.
As the front lines of terrorist activities shift to the virtual world, national security analysts are already seeing a dramatic uptick in surveillance on those systems. Expect a serious cyber attack on critical infrastructure in 2013 that will dramatically change the national debate from one of avoidance of cyber controls to one of significantly increased regulatory oversight.
5. Security technology will start to streamline compliance management.
Finally, the cost of IT compliance will start to drop for the more mature industries such as healthcare, banking, payment processing and government. Continuous monitoring and reporting systems will be deployed to more efficiently collect compliance evidence and auditors will be able to more thoroughly and effectively complete an assessment with reduced time on site and less time organizing evidence to validate controls.
Since the cost of noncompliance will increase, organizations will demand and get more routine methods to validate compliance between annual assessment reports.
Rick Dakin is CEO and co-founder of Coalfire is an independent information technology Governance, Risk and Compliance (IT GRC) firm that provides IT audit, risk assessment and compliance management solutions. Founded in 2001, Coalfire has offices in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. and completes thousands of projects annually in retail, financial services, healthcare, government and utilities. Coalfire’s solutions are adapted to requirements under emerging data privacy legislation, the PCI DSS, GLBA, FFIEC, HIPAA/HITECH, HITRUST, NERC CIP, Sarbanes-Oxley, FISMA and FedRAMP.
