Stories by Cara Garretson

Cash-in on old IT equipment

Some organizations can earn a profit, or at least reduce the amount they have to pay to dispose of IT equipment, by allowing providers of IT disposal services to sell the assets they take away.

Recycling IT assets is serious business

Information technology departments that practice asset management are learning to master the art of retiring hardware at the right time. But making the decision to retire IT gear is just the beginning; tech managers must then figure out what to do with the systems that are past their prime.

Stupid data center tricks

A university network brought to its knees when someone inadvertently plugged two network cables into the wrong hub. An employee injured after an ill-timed entry into a data center. Overheated systems shut down after a worker changes a data center thermostat setting from Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Cloud computing: Which IT projects are right for the cloud?

Cloud computing is poised to win the title of most popular, and populist, buzzword of 2009.

Security researcher Kaminsky pushes DNS patching

Dan Kaminsky, who for years was ambivalent about securing DNS, has become an ardent supporter of DNS Security Extensions.

How to fashion a 'security first' enterprise

These forward-thinking IT managers are working at dismantling the stereotype of the risk-averse security professional-cum-business foe. How? By showing business colleagues they understand company operations and appreciate corporate goals.

Q&A: Data leak prevention pros and cons

Anti-data leakage vendors make bold claims about how far their products can go to protect enterprises from unauthorized information sharing. This irks Nick Selby, head of enterprise security research at The 451 Group, who believes these tools are helpful with some tasks, but far from "the solution."

Data loss start-ups sell out

The rapid consolidation in the anti-data leakage market in the past year is enough to make an IT manager's head spin: This segment of the security sector ballooned to include dozens of start-ups, then even more quickly dwindled down to a few independent companies as larger vendors cherry-picked smaller ones to add data leakage to their own product portfolios.

12 spam research projects that might make a difference

Those who commit cybercrime know they need to stay on the cutting edge of technology to come up with new and different ways to swindle people. Luckily, the good guys are also spending time in research labs developing ways to thwart the latest tricks employed by spammers, phishers and other criminals.

Whaling: Latest e-mail scam targets executives

With targeted phishing attacks on the rise, it's no surprise that cybercriminals are doing their research and aiming at those with the most to lose -- executives.

Antispam group targets transactions, not messages

A father-son team that has dedicated time and energy to fighting spam says that as of today, it has shut down more than 50,000 Web sites that use unwanted messages to lure traffic.

Spammers beg for money in pre-holiday blast

A new spam campaign has emerged that tells stories of the hard-knock life, and then asks for money.

Spammers latch on to political subjects

US Congressman Ron Paul is hot. Image spam is not.

How to break out of the CISO role in five easy steps

The path from CISO to executive team may not be a well-tread one, but breaking out of the security box and into the board room can be achieved by thinking about business.

Inside San Diego Supercomputing Center's green data center

The 80,000-square-foot building will double the size of the SDSC's facilities; besides an additional 5,000 square feet of data-center space, the expansion will house classrooms, offices, meeting rooms and a 250-seat auditorium.