Volume LVI, Issue 2

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In This Issue

Cisco & Verizon Partner on Cloud Collaboration Platform

Excerpted from RCR Wireless News by Dan Meyer

Cisco Systems said it was partnering with Verizon Enterpriser Solutions to offer its Cisco Spark cloud-based collaboration service to Verizon customers as part of the telecom giant’s expansion of “next-generation collaboration solutions.”

The agreement is said to provide Spark Message and Spark Meet features integrated with Verizon’s business collaboration services, tapping unified communications and collaboration-as-a-service models and Verizon’s contact center services.

The service, which is set to be available later this year, is said to run over Verizon’s wireless and global wireline networks.

“By integrating Cisco Spark meeting and messaging capabilities into Verizon’s collaboration portfolio and global network, Verizon and Cisco will continue to help enterprise clients with digital transformation initiatives that drive better customer experiences and meaningful, measurable business outcomes,” said Bob Minai, Executive Director for Advanced Communications at Verizon.

Cisco added the platform will be hosted in its cloud infrastructure and built using an open, extensible system… Read More

Bill Gates: Quantum Cloud Computing to Arrive in Next Decade

Excerpted from ZDNet Report by Steve Ranger

Quantum computing in the cloud is coming, says Bill Gates.

Cloud-based quantum computing could be helping to solve big science problems within the next decade, he added.

Speaking during an “Ask Me Anything” interview on Reddit, the Microsoft founder was optimistic about the future of the nascent technology.

“Microsoft and others are working on quantum computing. It isn’t clear when it will work or become mainstream.”

“There is a chance that within 6-to-10 years cloud computing will offer super-computation by using quantum,” he said.

Gates also noted, “It could help us solve some very important science problems, including materials and catalyst design.”

While traditional digital computers use bits — ones and zeros — to perform calculations, quantum computers use subatomic quantum bits, or qubits, which can be in multiple states at once.

This means they can carry out more calculations in parallel and could offer new ways of solving problems… Read More

MIT Quantum Computer Makes Today’s Encryption Obsolete

Excerpted from PC World Report by Katherine Noyes

Much of the encryption world today depends on the challenge of factoring large numbers, but scientists now say they’ve created the first five-atom quantum computer with the potential to crack the security of traditional encryption schemes.

In traditional computing, numbers are represented by either 0s or 1s, but quantum computing relies on atomic-scale units, or “qubits,” that can be simultaneously 0 and 1 — a state known as a superposition that’s far more efficient.

It typically takes about 12 qubits to factor the number 15, but researchers at MIT and the University of Innsbruck in Austria have found a way to pare that down to five qubits, each represented by a single atom, they said this week.

Using laser pulses to keep the quantum system stable by holding the atoms in an ion trap, the new system promises scalability as well, as more atoms and lasers can be added to build a bigger and faster quantum computer able to factor much larger numbers.

That, in turn, presents new risks for factorization-based methods such as RSA, used for protecting credit cards, state secrets, and other confidential data… Read More

Report from DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty

Click Here for Video.

The DCIA would like to remind you about our new service available at no additional charge to member companies, to help them comply with cybersecurity legislation that President Obama signed into law at the end of 2015.

The DCIA’s compliance audit service will help members ensure that their practices conform to the three major provisions of the Cybersecurity Act of 2015.

For the ten years during which this law will be in effect, broadband network operators and Internet service providers are authorized to monitor traffic, conduct defensive measures, and share information with others regarding threats to cybersecurity.

As with previously enacted legislation addressing other aspects of distributed computing, there will be many questions about interpretation and therefore about specific practices; and that’s where our new compliance audit service will provide assistance.

What methods for scanning, identifying, and capturing data being processed, transmitted, or stored on an information system will be deemed acceptable?

What cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities can companies point to as reasons for protecting data systems, infrastructure, software, or the information itself?

What constitutes an unauthorized effort to impact adversely availability, confidentiality, or integrity of networks, the content traversing them, or the hardware attached to them — and what is excluded?

And in what ways does such “surveillance to prevent abuse” supersede countervailing state and federal laws?

Regarding defensive measures, what actions to detect, prevent, or mitigate known or suspected cybersecurity threats will be permitted and what tactics will be prohibited?

And under data sharing, what authority is granted for exporting and importing cyber-threat indicators, and what contextual information must be redacted?

The new law is intended to increase the ability of network operators to advance cybersecurity protection in very meaningful ways and to extend that protection to other parties.

The measure offers several definitions of criteria for what qualifies as a malicious threat or a pattern of such threats, but the challenge is to translate these into practical terms.

For the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 to achieve its full potential, there is much to do in clarifying procedures and practices that the courts will deem permissible.

We encourage you to contact the DCIA for help with compliance. Share wisely, and take care.

FCC Proposes Privacy Rules for Internet Providers

Excerpted from NY Times Report by Cecilia Kang

Federal regulators on Thursday proposed a set of privacy rules for Internet service providers that would significantly curb the ability of companies like Comcast and Verizon to share data about their customers’ online activities with advertisers without permission from users.

In the proposal, before the Federal Communications Commission, the Agency’s Chairman, Tom Wheeler, called for broadband service providers to disclose clearly how data may be collected about users’ online browsing and other activities.

The plan also called for the companies to bolster the security of customer data.

The proposal, if approved, would for the first time establish privacy rules for the companies that manage the traffic of the web and would create some of the strongest privacy regulations for any segment of the technology and telecommunications industries.

They represent the first major regulatory action involving broadband providers after the FCC’s declaration last year that high-speed Internet carriers should be treated like utilities… Read More

Cybersecurity Spending Will Grow to $170 Billion by 2020

Excerpted from Forbes Report by Steve Morgan

The Wall Street Journal Venture Capital Dispatch is the latest to cite research from Gartner, which reports the world-wide cybersecurity market topped $75 billion in 2015.

“Interest in security technologies is increasingly driven by elements of digital business, particularly cloud, mobile computing and now also the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as by the sophisticated and high-impact nature of advanced targeted attacks,” said Elizabeth Kim, Research Analyst at Gartner.

IT security spending will soar to $101 billion in 2018, and hit $170 billion by 2020, according to a recent story in Investors Business Daily.

The $170 billion forecast comes from a report titled Cybersecurity Market by Solution (IAM, Encryption, DLP, Risk and Compliance Management, IDS/IPS, UTM, Firewall, Antivirus/Antimalware, SIEM, Disaster Recovery, DDOS Mitigation, Web Filtering, and Security Services) — Global Forecast to 2020, published by researcher Markets and Markets.

IDC sees the hottest growth in security analytics (10%); threat intelligence (10%); mobile security (18%); and cloud security (50%)… Read More

Tech Companies Clamor to Entice Cloud Experts

Excerpted from NY Times Report by Quentin Hardy

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a globe-spanning cloud computing network that is part of the online retailing giant Amazon, has rapidly become one of the most powerful forces in technology.

It has also become a target for poachers.

Last October, at a conference in Las Vegas with thousands of corporate executives and software developers in attendance, AWS’s chief, Andy Jassy, strode before an intentionally poorly disguised image of Lawrence J. Ellison, founder and chairman of the Oracle Corporation.

Foot-tall words like “bullies,” “extorted,” and “strong arm” appeared next to Mr. Jassy and the image of Ellison.

The logo of Oracle, one of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley, was barely crossed out.

“Our marketing team needs work on redaction,” Mr. Jassy joked.

Better cloaked was the reason for his enmity: Oracle had been slow to get into the cloud business, but recently made multiple hiring raids on AWS… Read More

Next-Gen Cloud Will Elevate Customer Experience

Excerpted from TeleTech Report

Customer experience leaders get it.

They know that customers expect personalized, cross-channel experiences.

They also understand that customers want real-time engagement and to be recognized every time they reach out.

The latest advancements in cloud technologies can help companies check all these boxes — and many more.

In this eBook, discover five ways the cloud is elevating the customer experience, including:

Connecting the dots with customer journey mapping.

Opening the door to smooth omni-channel engagement.

Empowering deeper customer understanding with advanced analytics.

Enabling transformative customer experiences with uni-kernels.

Tying the journey together with Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)… Read More

Should Virtual Reality Influence the Data Center?

Excerpted from CloudTech Report by James Bourne

The part virtual reality (VR) can play in the evolution of the data center has been mooted as far back as 2013 — but now the future looks good so long as organizations’ infrastructure can stand up to it, according to Aegis Data.

Three years ago, writing for Data Center Knowledge, Rich Miller reported on data center provider IO, whose latest innovation was to provide a 3D visual representation and walkthrough of a customer’s specific environment, with IO describing it as a “gamification of the data center.”

And according to Greg McCulloch, CEO of Aegis Data, the data center industry has the potential to be the largest beneficiary of VR — but it will take time.

“As a concept, its presence has been felt for a long time but limited computing power combined with slow connectivity speeds means there has always been a cap as to what can be achieved,” said McCulloch.

“Now that we have the technology in place, it looks like early visionaries for VR are starting to see it come to fruition.”

Evidently, there are more obvious — and arguably sexier — candidates to benefit from the VR boom, not least gaming and entertainment, as well as enterprise use cases ranging from military to manufacturing… Read More

Cloud Security Remains More Important than Ever

Excerpted from CloudTech Report by Monica Brink

With all the recent well-publicized hacking and malware attacks, not to mention numerous meteorological events that have affected companies around the globe over the last year, IT leaders are very aware of the need for robust cloud security and compliance.

That said it is in fact now easier for companies to engage in poor security practices because users do not have the same control over their cloud infrastructure that they have over their own on-premise infrastructure.

Often, organizations using public cloud assume that their cloud provider is taking care of security and they may even have assurances of that from the provider.

Yet usually, the customer has no visibility of the public cloud infrastructure they are using and little transparency with regard to security settings.

For that reason, they are placing a lot of trust in the promise that the public cloud provider is addressing security when that may not actually be the case.

Ultimately, companies are becoming more complacent towards risk, simply because they don’t have visibility into cloud security… Read More

Senate Intel Encryption Bill Could Come Next Week

Excerpted from The Hill Report by Cory Bennett

The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee says a bill to give law enforcement access to encrypted data could come as early as next week.

“I’m hopeful” Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) told The Hill before a Wednesday vote.

The long-awaited bill — in the works since last fall’s terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, CA — is expected to force companies to comply with court orders seeking locked communications.

The FBI and law enforcement have long warned that encryption is making it more difficult to uncover criminal and terrorist plots.

Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has been drafting legislation to address the issue with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the committee’s ranking member.

Feinstein told The Hill she passed the text along earlier this week to White House chief of staff Denis McDonough.

“My hope is since I was the one that gave it to Denis McDonough, they will take a look at it and let us know what they think,” she said… Read More

Big Investors Unprepared for Cyber-Threats

Excerpted from Think Advisor Report

How ready are institutional investment firms to prevent data breaches and mitigate damage in the event of a cyber-attack?

On Tuesday, Backstop Solutions Group, which provides cloud-based solutions for institutional investors, reported that 77% of respondents in a new survey considered cybersecurity as at least “an important” priority in their firms.

More than a third of respondents claimed cybersecurity was a top priority, while only 4% minimized its importance.

Backstop questioned leading institutional investors about their firm’s budget allocation to address new threats and their confidence in their firm’s ability to recover from a potential attack as a way to allow them to benchmark their preparedness against their industry colleagues.

“As cybersecurity threats continue to rise, the financial consequences of a breach can wreak havoc for fund managers and multi-managers,” Backstop’s Global Marketing Manager, Chris DeNigris, said.

Institutional investors have proprietary client information, and not having preventive measures in place can lead to long-term reputational damage for the firm… Read More

At RSA Conference, Unlikely Allies Address Value of Digital Security

Excerpted from NY Times Report by Nicole Perlroth

To Amit Yoran, a digital security veteran, the fight between Apple and the FBI over access to an iPhone can be viewed in black-and-white terms: What law enforcement authorities want is “so misguided, they simply boggle the mind.”

Speaking to an audience of computer security professionals at the RSA Conference, Mr. Yoran, who heads the RSA Security division of the data-storage provider EMC, explained his exasperation with officials who he says want to weaken the data protection in computer products despite the growing threat of hackers and other attacks.

“Such a policy would harm US economic interests on an already suspicious world stage, as well as unconscionably undermine those trying to defend our digital environments in every industry,” said Mr. Yoran, who was the cybersecurity czar at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a little more than a year, ending in 2004.

Mr. Yoran’s strong take on Apple’s confrontation with the FBI might be expected of someone in the tight-knit security world. Indeed, it was a typical refrain of conference attendees who see the dispute as an extension of the decades-long struggle between the tech industry and government over encryption.

But what surprised many of the about 40,000 people attending the RSA Conference, the world’s largest gathering of security experts… Read More

How IoT will Disrupt Enterprise Computing

Excerpted from DataQuest Report by Shrikanth G

Mu Sigma defines itself as a category-defining decision sciences and big data analytics company, helping enterprises ‘systematize’ better data-driven decision making.

The company believes that its interdisciplinary approach and integrated ecosystem of platform, processes and people are redefining how companies approach problem solving in areas of marketing, risk and supply chain gives it a distinct edge in the market.

With more than 3,500 decision scientists working across 10 industries Mu Sigma says that it has been consistently validated as the preferred decision sciences and analytics partner for large enterprises.

In an interview with DataQuest, Ganesh Moorthy — Apprentice Leader, Mu Sigma, talks about Internet of Things (IoT) evolution and its impact on enterprise IT organizations.

Q. Can you talk about the multi-pronged impact of IoT and how it will disrupt enterprise computing?

A. As devices get smarter and handle more computing on the edge, the volume of data being routed through the enterprise network will drop; but as IoT devices become ubiquitous, overall data volumes will increase tremendously… Read More

Libelium Launches IoT Marketplace

Excerpted from Enterprise Irregulars Report by Tom Raftery

At a time when Spain’s economy is in the doldrums, it is nice to see some good news coming out of the Iberian peninsula, especially in the Internet of Things (IoT) space — technology’s new hotness!

Libelium, an IoT hardware and software provider based in the North of Spain, and recently profiled in a Financial Times piece where they were referred to as a “baby unicorn,” just announced that it has launched an IoT Marketplace.

The marketplace currently has 15 boxed IoT solutions for sale, but Libelium plans to increase this to 50 as the year progresses.

The solutions cover the Smart Cities, Smart Environment, Smart Parking, Smart Agriculture, Smart Water, and Air Quality verticals.

As well as the kits covering verticals, there are also Application Development kits for developing IoT solutions for Microsoft Azure, esri, IBM Bluemix, Thingworx, and Telefonica’s cloud platforms.

And there are specific Solution Kits created together with partners like Indra, Thing+, IOTSENS, and elementblue… Read More

Justice Department Grants Immunity to Clinton Staffer

Excerpted from Washington Post Report by Adam Goldman

The Justice Department has granted immunity to a former State Department staffer, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s private email server, as part of a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information, according to a senior law enforcement official.

The official said the FBI had secured the cooperation of Bryan Pagliano, who worked on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign before setting up the server in her New York home in 2009.

As the FBI looks to wrap up its investigation in the coming months, agents are likely to want to interview Clinton and her senior aides about the decision to use a private server, how it was set up, and whether any of the participants knew they were sending classified information in emails, current and former officials said.

The inquiry comes against a political backdrop in which Clinton is the favorite to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency.

So far, there is no indication that prosecutors have convened a grand jury in the email investigation to subpoena testimony or documents, which would require the participation of a US Attorney’s office… Read More

Coming Events of Interest

IoT Asia 2016 — March 30th-31st in Singapore. IoT Asia returns in 2016 with fresh insights on Internet of Things (IoT) developments around the world. The 3rd edition aims to further advance conversations and ideas on IoT and how it will impact our lives by delving into the real issues.

Delivery of Things World — April 25th-26th in Berlin, Germany. DevOps specialists, continuous development strategists, architect newbies, development geeks, and cloud geniuses from across the spectrum of DevOps transformation come together at this stimulating and innovative event.

DataCloud Europe 2016 — June 8th-9th in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The 2016 conference will focus on cloud computing advances and changes in data management, with a stellar line-up of speakers including global infrastructure leaders and subject matter experts.

Cloud and DevOps World Forum 2016 — June 21st-22nd in London, England. Now in its eighth year, C&DWF is firmly established as the leading content-led exhibition for the European Cloud and DevOps community and the premiere meeting place for CIOs.

Security of Things World — June 27th-28th in Berlin, Germany. Topics include securing cyber physical systems for IoT, expanding IT security with intelligence-led ops, business continuity management considerations, data privacy in an interconnected world, and security strategies.

Mobile World Congress Shanghai — June 29th – July 1st in Shanghai, China. MWC Shanghai is a very unique gathering that brings together industry participants ranging from C-Level mobile executives to end-user consumers passionate about mobile.

Industry of Things World Europe — September 19th-20th in Berlin, Germany. IoT business models, new IoT markets and strategies, product lifecycle management, next generation data handling and value assessment, IoT organizational impacts, and IoT security issues.

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