Most people in our recent debate over the future of Windows 8 thought that the operating system could be saved. I'm sure many people in 1491 thought that the Earth was flat, too.
If Windows 8 continues the way it has been, it will be the end of Windows.
The very day the debate came to an end, this headline appeared: IDC: Global PC shipments plunge in worst drop in a generation. Sure, a lot of that was due to the growth of tablets and smartphones and the rise of the cloud, but Windows 8 gets to take a lot of the blame too. After all, the debate wasn't whether or not Windows 8 was any good. It's not. The debate was over whether it could be saved.
Indeed even Microsoft defenders are no longer talking about Windows 8 in terms of a stand-alone project but instead they're spinning it asWindows 8 being "more like a living organism, made partly from familiar bits that have evolved over the last two decades, with several new strands of DNA tossed in. It's due to be updated for more often, and it's part of a much larger hardware-apps-services ecosystem that is also changing quickly."
Please. Changing too fast for the user-base was what turned many former Windows fans into Windows 8 haters. Some people think I've put too much emphasis on Windows 8's dismal Metro interface for why Windows 8 has failed. I don't think so. This isn't a matter of judging a book by its cover; the user interface (UI) is everything for computer users. If the UI alienates users, you lose them. It's as simple as that.
You've got data. The news. Your calendar. Active projects and e-mail queues. Sales totals and bug counts. Your data isn't going away. Let's make data beautiful.
Status Board takes your data and gives it meaning. Use the easy built-in panels. Or massage your data for our Graph and Table panels. It's going to be awesome.
Lacoon Mobile Security has announced details of its latest research undertaken in partnership with global mobile network providers. It sampled 2 million subscribers and found that 1 in 1000 users have been infected with a mobile RAT. Detailed figures have not been released, but 52% of the infections involve Apple's iOS devices, while 35% involve Android handsets.
"Infection of smartphones with mRAT requires the spyware to install a backdoor through the rooting of Android or the jailbreaking of Apple devices," says the announcement. The implication from this – which cannot be verified from the details so far released since it isn't clear whether the sampled devices were randomly selected or focused on rooted devices – is that there are huge numbers of jailbroken Apple devices; and around 1 in every 2000 iOS devices has a RAT installed. Jailbreaking almost always requires owner participation.
Once installed, the latest mRATs can bypass mobile device management (MDM) defenses. "MDM solutions create secure containers that separate business and personal data on the mobile. The concept is to prevent business critical data from leaking out to unauthorized individuals," explained Ohad Bobrov, CTO and co-founder of Lacoon Mobile Security. "However, our research team demonstrated that mRATs do not need to directly attack the encryption mechanism of the secure container, but can grab it at the point where the user pulls up the data to read it." That is, the RAT is able to access data either before it is encrypted or after it has been decrypted.
In many cases, ITG says more people are returning the Z10 than keeping it and overall demand for the phone in the US is very weak.
The Z10 launched in late March on Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, but early reports say those carriers haven't done a great job at promoting the phone. AT&T was the first carrier to sell the phone and many stores didn't even have demo units on display on launch day.
BlackBerry's stock is down 5.4% as of this writing, trading at $13.89 per share.
UPDATE: BlackBerry disagrees. It sent out a statement to all press today saying Z10 returns are normal compared to other smartphones. BlackBerry closed down about 7.7% today.
Here's the statement:
BlackBerry wishes to respond to media coverage today regarding speculation that there have been abnormally high levels of returns of BlackBerry Z10 devices. This is absolutely false. Our data shows that return rates for BlackBerry Z10 devices both in the U.S. and on a global basis are in line with or better than our expectations and are consistent with return rates for other premium smartphones in the market today
Yesterday, with sequestration cuts taking their toll on several hundred thousand Defense Department employees, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced he would return a share of his salary for the same number of days that employees are docked because of furloughs. The Pentagon's deputy secretary, Ashton Carter, said he would do the same.
The inspector general of the Defense Department reports that the Army’s Chief Information Office/G-6 has, in essence, lost control over commercial mobile devices (CMD) within the Army, and that more than 14,000 smartphones and tablets are untracked. The upshot is that the Army CIO office does not have an effective cybersecurity program that identifies and mitigates risks surrounding CMDs and removable media, according to the DOD IG.
“The Army did not implement an effective cybersecurity program for commercial mobile devices,” wrote Alice Carey, assistant DOD inspector general for readiness, operations and support, in a memorandum dated March 26. “If the devices remain unsecure, malicious activities could disrupt Army networks and compromise sensitive DOD information.”
In a move sure to send ripples through the federal IT community, FCW has learned that the CIA has agreed to a cloud computing contract with electronic commerce giant Amazon, worth up to $600 million over 10 years.
Amazon Web Services will help the intelligence agency build a private cloud infrastructure that helps the agency keep up with emerging technologies like big data in a cost-effective manner not possible under the CIA's previous cloud efforts, sources told FCW.
Amazon officials would not confirm the existence of the contract, and a CIA spokesperson likewise declined to comment on the matter.
"As a general rule, the CIA does not publicly disclose details of our contracts, the identities of our contractors, the contract values, or the scope of work," a CIA spokesperson told FCW.
The Defense Contract Audit Agency got a bit of a slap from the Defense Department's inspector general.
DCAA audits are the bane of many contractors existence because they are seen as nitpicking and slow. It takes years for some audits to be closed. One executive told me that he has audits just now being closed from 2007.
The inspector general looked at 50 cases from fiscal 2010, and found deficiencies in 37 of them; in fact, the IG is recommending that some reports be rescinded, or have supplemental information added to them.
In 2012, any remaining arguments against BYOD were seemingly put to rest, and the practice of "bring your own device" to work gained broad acceptance.
Most companies approving a BYOD policy consider it a win-win situation — at least at first. Employees are free to use their favorite devices, and can seamlessly integrate their professional and personal digital worlds. Companies save some money and enjoy a productivity boost since employees tend to stay more connected to their jobs when they're using their own devices.
In this tutorial will describe the main options of Hashcat. Will explain the basic operation of using it to crack Hashes Passwords (LM, NTML, MD5, etc) with different attack methods such as Brute-Force attack,Combinator attack, Dictionary attack, Hybrid attack and much more.
Developing and Connecting Cybersecurity Leaders Globally.
ISSA is the community of choice for international cybersecurity professionals dedicated to advancing individual growth, managing technology risk and protecting critical information and infrastructure.
The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA)® is a not-for-profit, international organization of information security professionals and practitioners. It provides educational forums, publications, and peer interaction opportunities that enhance the knowledge, skill, and professional growth of its members. Join today.
Goals
The primary goal of the ISSA is to promote management practices that will ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information resources. The ISSA facilitates interaction and education to create a more successful environment for global information systems security and for the professionals involved. Members include practitioners at all levels of the security field in a broad range of industries such as communications, education, healthcare, manufacturing, financial, and government.
ISSA is dedicated to providing the following services to the information security community
Promote the education and expand the knowledge and skills of its members in the interrelated fields of information systems security and information data processing
Encourage a free exchange of information security techniques, approaches, and problem solving by its members
Provide communication to keep members abreast of current events in information processing and security, providing benefits to them and their employers
Communicate to management, and to systems and information processing professionals the importance of establishing controls necessary to ensure the secure organization and utilization of information processing resources
Provide access to information through the ISSA Website as well as online E-Newsletters and in the monthly ISSA Journal
Earn CPE credits by attending chapter meetings, ISSA Web Conferences, subscribing to the ISSA Journal or serving as a chapter or international council leader
Offer opportunities for members to volunteer by joining committees, which provide leadership opportunities in the security industry
Enhance professional stature and advance the profession by sharing your expertise as a event speaker or contributor to the ISSA Journal
InfraGard is an information sharing and analysis effort serving the interests and combining the knowledge base of a wide range of members. At its most basic level, InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the private sector. InfraGard is an association of individuals, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and other participants dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States.InfraGard Chapters are geographically linked with FBI Field Office territories. Learn more about InfraGard
CARACAS, Venezuela—Hugo Chávez, a former tank commander turned populist politician who used Venezuela's oil riches to pursue his vision of socialism and challenge the U.S., died Tuesday from complications related to cancer. He was 58 years old.
With Mr. Chavéz just months into his fourth term, his death plunged Venezuela into political uncertainty. Vice President Nicolás Maduro will succeed Mr. Chávez as interim president, but must hold a new election within 30 days, according to the constitution.
