Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
A bill that would foster stronger cyber security by enabling government and private sector companies to share information is facing opposition from privacy and civil liberties groups. The controversy is misguided, though, and the legislation is a step in the right direction.
CISPA, or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, was introduced last year by the ranking members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence—Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). The legislation's goal is to establish a framework for government and private companies to share sensitive information in the effort to identify and block cyber attacks more effectively.
CISPA initially made it through the Senate, buoyed by support from a large number of high-tech companies like AT&T, Comcast, Oracle, Symantec and Microsoft. It later died on the vine, however, over concerns of Big Brother spying on American citizens. But now it's back again: Last month, its congressional sponsors resurrected the bill in response to high-profile attacks against American targets during the last year.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
It’s the second Tuesday in March, which means that it’s also the third Patch Tuesday of 2013. Microsoft released seven new security bulletins today, with four rated as "critical," but security experts are particularly concerned about a flaw rated as merely "important" that exposes your Windows PCs to major risk.
Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of Qualys, notes in a blog post that the number of security bulletins is about par for the course for Microsoft. He adds, “In technical terms though we are seeing some interesting vulnerabilities that definitely rate higher-than-average.”
For starters, there is a cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (MS13-021). It addresses nine separate vulnerabilities, one of which has had exploit code circulating in the wild for the past month. Kandek urges IT admins to apply this update as soon as possible.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
You’re going to be hearing the name Tripwire a lot more, and the name nCircle a lot less probably. Tripwire announced today that it is acquiring nCircle—making it one of the biggest companies in information security.
The combined company will be a powerhouse in the security industry. Combined, Tripwire and nCircle have over 500 employees and 7,000 customers spanning 96 countries around the globe. Their combined revenue in 2012 was about $140 million. The new company will rank as a competitor for McAfee, Symantec, EMC, and others in the security and vulnerability management arena.
The combination of Tripwire and nCircle forms a new security powerhouse.Read more »
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
There never will be a perfect computer or network defense. Computer security is a constantly elevating game of cat-and-mouse. As quickly as you address the latest threat, attackers have already developed a new technique to access your network and compromise your PCs. But if you focus on the fundamentals, you can minimize your risk and defend against most attacks.
Small companies have limited IT resources, and can’t possibly defend against every possible exploit or attack. How do you know what to prioritize? Start with the 20 Critical Security Controls report, written by the Center for Internet Security (CIS), the SANS Institute, and the National Security Agency (NSA). To help businesses and governments, they have defined the security controls that block the most frequent attacks.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Facebook is rolling out a revamped News Feed starting Thursday that changes the way users view shared content. If your business has a Facebook Page, here's how the updated layout can help you engage users in new ways.
Facebook appears to be following in the footsteps (or stepping on the toes) of the popular Flipboard app. At a media event Thursday announcing the new News Feed, CEO Mark Zuckerberg likened the updated layout to a “personalized newspaper." Facebook won't have the broad diversity of content that Flipboard offers, but the way the new layout segregates content will make it more inviting.
Think about a newspaper for a minute. (They do still sell them at corner stores and gas stations, or you can ask your parents.) A newspaper is laid out in sections. The front page has the most important news, but there are sections devoted to sports, entertainment, politics, and other categories. That's essentially what Facebook is trying to let users create.
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Microsoft has heard the uproar from customers over the draconian Office 2013 licensing limitations, and it has relented. Today, Microsoft announced an update to Office 2013 retail licensing agreement that should quell the uprising and force customers to put away the torches and pitchforks.
Effective immediately, customers who purchase (or have already purchased) the Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013 suites, or any of the standalone Office 2013 applications can move the software to another computer once every 90 days.
Microsoft changed the Office 2013 licensing in response to customer backlash.Read more »
Tony is principal analyst with the Bradley Strategy Group, providing analysis and insight on tech trends. He is a prolific writer on a range of technology topics, has authored a number of books, and is a frequent speaker at industry events. More by Tony Bradley
Evernote revealed over the weekend that it was the victim of a data breach, emailing users and posting a notice on its Web site that attackers had gained access to usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords associated with Evernote accounts. As a precaution, Evernote forced all 50 million users to reset their passwords. That's a good step, but it's not really not good enough—so Evernote is accelerating its plan to roll out two-factor authentication.
Evernote users were locked out of their accounts until they changed their passwords.
Evernote wasn't originally designed as a business service, at least until the December release of Evernote for Business. Evernote is primarily a note-taking and organizational tool similar to Microsoft’s OneNote. Evernote provides a range of services—including Evernote Food, Evernote Peek, Skitch, Penultimate and more—as Web-based tools or apps across a range of operating systems and mobile platforms. Its capability to access and sync data across a broad range of devices makes it appealing as a business tool.
