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States require a license to conduct data forensics
07/14/08
To prepare for your job as a computer technologist, you've gotten your college degree and earned your technical IT certifications. But do you have your private investigator (PI) license in hand? If you live or conduct work in Texas or a handful of other states, you may need one if you plan to retrieve forensics data from a computer, analyze it and provide a report to a customer.
Products to help detect insider threats
07/07/08
One of CERT's 13 best practices for preventing and detecting insider threats recommends that you should "log, monitor, and audit employee online actions." Last week we looked at some of the operational challenges of implementing this best practice. This week we look at three log-management products that are well suited to detecting insider threats as they are emerging.
Using log event management to combat insider threats
06/30/08
Previously we wrote about CERT and the "13 best practices for preventing and detecting insider threats." Now we'll dig deeper into best practice No. 5: "Log, monitor, and audit employee online actions," and we'll look at the operational challenges you might face when implementing this best practice.
Free accessibility training for Web developers with a heart
06/23/08
The Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) program provides free accessibility training to Web developers who volunteer one day of their time to develop a Web site for a nonprofit organization. What better way to learn the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 standards and techniques for accessible Web sites?
Trusteer protects transactions from desktop to Web site
06/16/08
With malware infecting nearly 50% of all PCs, the thought of conducting sensitive transactions over the Web is frightening. Even antivirus and antispyware vendors say it's impossible to prevent attacks from phishing, pharming, man-in-the-middle, keystroke logging, and other means. Going online to pay bills or make a purchase means a person could be giving away his user ID, password or account information without even knowing it. Now, Trusteer offers a unique solution to protect transactions between the desktop and a specific Web site. ING Direct is one of the first banks to make the solution available to its customers.
What the consumerization of IT means to you
06/09/08
It's called the consumerization of IT - using consumer-oriented devices and applications for business use. Google apps, iPhones, LinkedIn, Gmail, AIM, Facebook, and so on. Like it or not, they're here and they're not going to go away. Should you ban them? Embrace them? Close your eyes and ignore them? Experts weigh in on the topic.
13 best practices for preventing and detecting insider threats
06/02/08
When you think of IT security, you probably think of keeping the bad guys out of your IT systems. But what if the "bad guy" is fully authorized to use those IT systems? Insider threats are real and not so uncommon. That's why the CERT Coordination Center offers a report called Commonsense Guide to Prevention and Detection of Insider Threats. There's plenty you can do to lessen your risk of harm perpetrated by a trusted insider.
IT governance best practices are critical for business success
05/26/08
The Society for Information Management conducts an annual survey to determine what keeps a CIO up at night. In recent years, one of the top 10 causes for worry has been "IT governance." Just what is this nagging nightmare, and what can be done to push it off the list? The IT Policy Compliance Group offers some best practices for IT governance that were discovered through a recent in-depth survey.
Girl Scout cookie money to support a major SharePoint implementation
05/19/08
Just after John Fontana's article "Microsoft SharePoint taking business by storm" ran at the end of March, I had the opportunity to spend a few days at a Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), learning about Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS). Fontana says that MOSS could be the next "must-have technology, offering companies tools for building everything from collaborative applications to Internet sites." After my in-depth working session at the MTC, I have to agree; SharePoint 2007 is an exciting platform.
Trusted Computing Group extends standards for endpoint security
05/12/08
The Trusted Computing Group made a big splash at Interop Las Vegas by announcing and demonstrating an extension to its set of standards for network access control. When the new IF-MAP standard makes its way into real networking products in the next six to twelve months, it should become a lot easier to manage a wider range of endpoint devices - especially those that have been unmanageable in the past.
Wanted for dead or alive PCs: Intel vPro technology
05/05/08
Sometimes it takes a few years for a new technology to reach critical mass - that point where there are enough customers and third party supporters for the product to show real value to the general market place. Intel's vPro processor technology is just such an example. Gartner analysts now recommend the technology to buyers of new business PCs. Are you on the bandwagon yet?
Consolidate your logs and find golden nuggets
04/28/08
Unless you are a real geek (or trying to cure your insomnia), you probably don't spend much time pouring through log data. I mean, what could be more boring under ordinary circumstances, looking at line after line of cryptic time-stamped crumbs of information? Of course, if there's a problem on your network, that log data is pretty useful in helping to discover and resolve the problem. It gets even better when all your log data from all your sources is consolidated and analyzed to give you deep insight on what’s really happening.
Symantec is definitely a company to watch
04/21/08
I'm just back from Symantec's ManageFusion event in Las Vegas. You may recall that ManageFusion was started by Altiris, the systems management company acquired by Symantec just about a year ago. Needless to say, the Symantec executives spent a lot of time talking about the progress in integrating the two companies, and how the synergies are beginning to pay big dividends for customers. Let me share some of my notes with you.
Get a holistic view of your security and compliance posture
04/14/08
Enterprise security and regulatory compliance are joined at the hip. Now there's a tool that yields a holistic view of both, and it's all based on one true set of data.
Virtual 3D modeling is embedded with intelligence
04/07/08
When I started my career almost three decades ago, I worked in the project control department of a major engineering firm. One of my company's projects was the revamp of a huge petrochemical plant in Texas. The building I worked in had an entire floor full of 3D scale models of every unit of the industrial plant. In order to retrofit the new facilities into the old, the engineers had to know precisely what existed already, and that's what the models represented. If this project were to be done today, it's likely that those space-hogging physical models would be replaced by a few ordinary PCs hosting virtual 3D models embedded with intelligence.
It slices! It dices! It stores your data securely
03/31/08
Previously identified by Network World as "One of 10 Open Source Companies to Watch," Cleversafe has just released a commercial version of its Dispersed Storage Network (dsNet). In 2007, Network World called dsNet one of six advanced-technology open source projects likely to become the "Best of the New Data Center." With glowing reviews like that, how can you not be curious about what Cleversafe now has to offer?
Go 'green' when you retire old equipment
03/24/08
Does your Green IT initiative include a plan for recycling all your old computer equipment? It should, and it's easier than you think. A few months ago I wrote about options for getting rid of old computers piling up around your office. Since then I have learned about a high volume company that can take those computers off your hands in a safe (i.e., data compliant) and green (i.e., environmentally friendly) way. Even if you have hundreds or thousands of computers ready for disposal (i.e., recycling), this company can handle the load.
'Mobile security' is not an oxymoron
03/17/08
This week, Fiberlink Communications announces enhancements to its Extend360 Mobile Platform that make it even easier to manage users and devices that are on the move. Best of all, it's all offered as a service, so there's no infrastructure investment on your part.
Google researchers study the delivery of malware
03/10/08
Google researchers studied more than 66 million URLs to understand the delivery of malware. As it turns out, your Web surfing habits have little to do with how likely you are to get hit. For the most part, it's out of your control.
Google says the scope of drive-by malware is 'significant'
03/03/08
When you surf the Web, do you feel lucky? New research by Google suggests you shouldn't. In fact, "vulnerable" might be the appropriate feeling.
Combine biometrics and token technologies for more secure laptops
02/25/08
How would you like to be the corporate security officer awakened in the middle of the night with news that laptops containing your company's critical information were stolen? One way to keep your stomach from turning (and to hang on to your job) is to use good endpoint security to make sure the data isn't vulnerable. Now there's a new twist on how to secure your laptops.
Profiler for VMware is new tool to manage virtual environments
02/18/08
As Neal Weinberg pointed out in January, VMware isn't just hot - it's on fire. If your company is one of more than 20,000 that have bought into the VMware mode of server virtualization, you may be interested in a new management tool just announced last week.
White Castle satisfies its craving for user authentication
02/11/08
Employee turnover in the fast food industry is not unusual. What is unusual, however, is saving money on processing the paperwork for new hires as well as existing employees. See how White Castle Management Company chops costs as well as onions at its 410 restaurant locations.
Get data security and compliance monitoring as a service
02/04/08
One of the best things about the Software-as-a-Service model for IT services is that it brings sophisticated, high-value IT capabilities to small and midsized companies that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford such services. Now these companies can get critically important data governance and compliance monitoring in the form of an easy monthly service.
5 critical security questions that IT and corporate leaders are asking
01/28/08
Who, what, when, where, and why? When it comes to network security, these are the five critical questions that IT and corporate leaders are asking. A patchwork of siloed security tools paints a partial picture. Now there's a tool to connect the dots for a more complete picture.

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