Stories by Ellen Messmer

Gartner: Start security monitoring in the public Cloud

Security monitoring -- the type involving traditional security information and event management (SIEM) -- can be done in some public Cloud environments, according to Gartner. And if you're using public Cloud services, it's time to think about doing it.

Gartner reveals Top 10 IT security myths

When it comes to information security, there are a lot of "misperceptions" and "exaggerations" about both the threats facing businesses and the technologies that might be used to protect their important data assets, according to Gartner analyst, Jay Heiser.

Retired admiral calls NSA leaks by Edward Snowden a 'data breach' and 'crisis'

Adm. Mike Mullen, U.S. Navy (retired), called the leaks coming from former CIA employee Edward Snowden about the National Security Agency's role in intelligence collection a "huge breach" that undermines the country's security.

Gartner: 7 major trends forcing IT security pros to change

Enterprises are under heavy pressure to change their approach to IT security because of a "nexus of forces" that include big data, social networking, mobile and cloud computing, according to Gartner.

Debate rages over revelation of NSA spying secrets

Debate continues to rage today over the bombshell revelations that the National Security Agency collects intelligence on individuals via telecommunications and social-networking sites. The uproar has the U.S. government and private companies admitting to some aspects of the surveillance, while vehemently denying others. A former CIA agent working for Booz Allen Hamilton has revealed himself as the leaker.

IBM explores making Java Virtual Machine big part of future cloud platforms

IBM is conducting research that involves making use of the open Java Virtual Machine (JVM) in a cloud-based setting as a way to provide dynamic services, especially to mobile devices.

Futuristic UC Berkeley operating system uniquely controls discrete 'manycore' resources

Does the world need another operating system? Yes, according to the creative minds in the computer science department at the University of California at Berkeley, which have come up with one called the Tessellation Operating System that's intended to light up the future of the Internet of things.

Design Automation Conference at 50: Bring on the women, cloud and maybe even open source

The Design Automation Conference (DAC) held here this week celebrated its 50th anniversary, prompting the industry and academic community that poured so much energy into chip, software and hardware design to both take a look back and to predict what the future may hold.

Panelists decry lax security in medical devices

Security for medical equipment such as MRI machines to and pacemakers is woeful, even though these devices today connect to networks and sometimes face risks from malware or hacking, according to a panel of university researchers speaking at this week's Design Automation Conference.

Samsung exec: Smartphone of the future is bringing a technical design revolution

The smartphone of the future is going to require a "revolution" in thinking about technical design and "not enough people are prepared" for the challenges coming in here years, the president of Samsung Electronics said in his keynote at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) here today.

What Google, Facebook and Twitter are doing right with website security

The popular services of Google, Facebook and Twitter are improving in terms of security, says Scott Behrens, head of Neohapsis Labs, which took a security snapshot of them on May 28 through an analysis that included looking at server headers sent during responses to the websites.

PayPal's $100,000 Battle Hack competition wants cool social apps

PayPal this week kicked off a global software-coding competition called Battle Hack, challenging software developers to devise on their own a socially useful application that makes use of PayPal payment processing. The grand prize: $100,000.

Gartner security survey: McAfee up, Trend Micro down

A Gartner report about the security software market shows that No. 2 ranked McAfee enjoyed the most overall growth last year, Trend Micro slipped but stayed No. 3, and Symantec held onto its top spot with 19.6 per cent of the $US19.1 billion market.

FAQ on global supply-chain security standard to prevent IT tampering, counterfeiting

Whether you're buying or selling hardware and software, or acting as systems integrator, the new supply-chain security standard put forward by the Open Group in April could end up having a huge impact on you. Here are a few frequently asked questions that explain why.

DHS warns employees that years-old database hole puts their privacy at risk

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Thursday said it has notified employees and others with DHS clearance to be on alert for potential fraud due to a vulnerability discovered in software used by a vendor to process personally identifiable information (PII) for background investigations. The software hole in had been there since July 2009.