IT Executive news

• Siblings arrested in Italy's worst cyberespionage operation ever

  12-01-2017 23:36
  
  The Tuesday arrest of Giulio Occhionero and his sister, Francesca Maria, has brought to light what appears to be the biggest, and highest-profile, hacking of institutional and corporate accounts ever reported in Italy.The siblings have been planting the Pyramid Eye remote access Trojan on computers using a spear-phishing technique over the course of years, according to the arrest order.They attacked no fewer than 18,000 high-profile targets including former Prime Ministers Matteo Renzi and
  
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• Now it's AT&T's term to talk jobs, investment with Trump

  12-01-2017 23:16
  
  AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson met with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday to talk jobs and investment, but the company's multi-billion takeover of Time Warner was not on the table.The company didn't say much about the meeting, which took place at Trump Tower in New York, but characterized it as wide ranging."As the country’s leading investor of capital for each of the last five years, the conversation focused on how AT&T can work with the Trump administration t
  
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• Withings Thermo Wireless Smart Thermometer - Deal Alert

  12-01-2017 23:05
  
  With an exceedingly simple scan across the forehead, 16 infrared sensors take over 4,000 measurements to find the hottest point. It requires no contact with the skin, unlike traditional methods, making Thermo is the most sanitary way to take anyone’s temperature. Readings appear illuminated on the device, and if desired, will sync to your smartphone for tracking and much more. Its typical list price of $100 has been reduced 30% to $70. See the discounted Withings Thermo thermometer on Amaz
  
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• BrandPost: 2016 CEO Outlook: Focus on the Customer

  12-01-2017 22:20
  
  Today’s customers are more powerful, more informed, and have higher expectations than ever before. CEOs know that meeting their needs must become an ever-greater priority if organizations want to stay ahead of the competition. According to KPMG’s US CEO Outlook 2016, customer loyalty is a concern for 90 percent of CEOs, and just over half believe they are not keeping pace with customer expectations.The reason customer loyalty is such a big issue for CEOs is its direct connection to d
  
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• Back from dead: Intel's Atom chip, in Panasonic's $2,189 Android tablet

  12-01-2017 22:19
  
  Intel is phasing out Atom chips from mobile devices and has scaled back Android development for such devices.But Panasonic has come out with a new tablet with an Atom chip and Android 6.0 anyway. Panasonic's new Toughbook FZ-A2 has a crazy starting price of US $2,189, and its Atom x5-Z8550 chip is a big problem.Atom chips are almost disappearing from tablets, especially devices with Android. There are also questions on whether the Toughbook will get upgraded to the newer Android 7.0, code-named
  
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• Amazon commits to hiring 100,000 U.S. workers

  12-01-2017 22:03
  
  Over the next 18 months, Amazon expects to add 100,000 full-time jobs in the U.S.
  While many of the jobs will be in warehouses, Amazon said the company will be looking for engineers and software developers in such areas as cloud computing and machine learning.
  “Innovation is one of our guiding principles at Amazon, and it’s created hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement. “These jobs are not just in our Seattle hea
  
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• Aruba president Dominic Orr to step down at end of the month

  12-01-2017 21:33
  
  Dominic Orr, the president of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Aruba, will retire at the end of January in order to spend more time with his family and pursue personal interests, the company announced this week.
  Orr has been the president of Aruba, which was acquired by HPE in 2015, for 11 years. He’s a veteran of the networking industry, having worked at Nortel Networks, Alteon, and Bay Systems in his lengthy career. Taking over for Orr will be Aruba founder Keerti Melkote, who currently ser
  
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• Now you can summon an Uber ride without leaving Google Maps

  12-01-2017 21:22
  
  We all know Google Maps is a great tool for getting directions to just about anywhere, but with a new update rolling out to Android and iOS users, you’ll also be able to use it to tell someone else where you need to go. Thanks to a tighter integration with Uber, you’re now able to book, pay, and track your Uber rides without having to leave Google Maps.
  The process is similar to the one that was launched last March. When you type in a destination, tap the taxi-hailing icon to get a
  
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• OSGi at the UK's biggest science lab

  12-01-2017 21:14
  
  As a Java developer, you undoubtedly know about the goodness of OSGi and breaking up your class loading into modules. After all, OSGi is the dynamic module system, right? Not a huge deal. You might have played around with declarative services, or perhaps you are waiting for Jigsaw? Java these days is a very mature technology stack and even though the barrier of adoption for OSGi is low–and I mean really low–plenty of products have yet to migrate to dynamic class loading.  This
  
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• Viptela taps former Cisco, Dell-EMC exec to lead SD-WAN charge

  12-01-2017 20:41
  
  Praveen AkkirajuPraveen Akkiraju
  Software-Defined WAN vendor Viptela today announced industry veteran and former Cisco and Dell EMC executive Praveen Akkiraju will become its new CEO as the company looks to increase its presence in the rapidly-budding market.
  +More on Network World: The new rulers of the cybersecurity realm: Automation, Analytics Artificial Intelligence+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Clip Amazon Echo's ears with a home-brewed 'kill switch'

  12-01-2017 20:21
  
  Amazon's Echo is hearing you all the time, and that isn't necessarily a good thing. The device can randomly order items you don't want, record conversations, and has raised several privacy concerns.But there is a way to shut off Echo through voice commands. A hardware hacker, Shawn Hymel, has created an innovative "kill switch" that can take voice commands to shut off the device. The kill switch is a circuit board attached to Echo via a USB port.To read this article in full or to leave a comment
  
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• EFF warily applauds Windows 10's data collection changes

  12-01-2017 19:44
  
  Recent concessions by Microsoft in the data its Windows 10 "phones home" to company servers won cautious praise from one critic this week.
  "The changes were very welcome from our perspective," said Maul Kaila, legal intake coordinator at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in an interview Wednesday. "They were definitely needed."
  Kaila was referring to the announcement Tuesday that Microsoft would soon reduce the amount of diagnostic data collected from Windows 10 under an optional setting
  
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• GoDaddy revokes nearly 9,000 SSL certificates issued without proper validation

  12-01-2017 19:36
  
  GoDaddy, one of the world's largest domain registrars and certificate authorities, revoked almost 9,000 SSL certificates this week after it learned that its domain validation system has had a serious bug for the past five months.The bug was the result of a routine code change made on July 29 to the system used to validate domain ownership before a certificate is issued. As a result, the system might have validated some domains when it shouldn't have, opening the possibility of abuse.Industry rul
  
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• Trump's CIA nominee grilled on his advocacy of surveillance database

  12-01-2017 19:21
  President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency wants to create a massive surveillance database by resurrecting a U.S. telephone records collection program, but some senators questioned what limits he would accept.CIA nominee Mike Pompeo, currently a Republican representative from Kansas, has called on Congress to reverse its mid-2015 decision to rein in the phone metadata collection program run by the National Security Agency, a sister agency to the CIA that
  
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• Containers will be a $2.6B market by 2020, research firm says

  12-01-2017 18:48
  
  The market for containers – which are used by developers to package applications – is “exploding” with a slew of startups looking to compete with legacy vendors who are increasingly prioritizing the technology.
  +MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: Greenpeace’s naughty and nice list of the most – and least – green tech vendors | Oops, this Redditor accidentally deleted his Microsoft Azure DNS +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Microsoft launches StaffHub to connect deskless workers

  12-01-2017 18:00
  
  Microsoft is taking another step toward serving workers who aren't at computers all day with a new Office 365 service launched Thursday. StaffHub, which is part of the company's enterprise productivity offering, allows managers to set schedules for deskless workers like retail employees and service technicians.The service is designed to let managers set schedules for and distribute company resources to employees through a simple interface. Employees can use the service to swap shifts with one an
  
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• Rudy Giuliani to coordinate regular cybersecurity meetings between Trump, tech leaders

  12-01-2017 17:46
  
  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani says Donald Trump has tapped him to gather top cybersecurity leaders to meet with the administration regularly to share “all the information available in the private sector” with the goal of improving national cyber defenses “because we’re so far behind.”
  “The president elect-decided he wanted to bring in on a regular basis the people in the private sector, the corporate leaders in particular and thought leaders in the priv
  
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• Lessons for corporate IT from Geek Squad legal case

  12-01-2017 17:35
  
  The life of the corporate desktop team can turn into a legal nightmare quickly if end users haven’t agreed that it’s OK for techs to search their machines, something that has come to light in a California child pornography case involving Best Buy’s Geek Squad.
  In that case, Geeks working on a customer laptop found a pornographic picture and turned it over to the FBI, which paid them $500 and prosecuted the owner of the machine.
  Now the Geeks in question are in hot water becaus
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why Amazon Go presages a new era of smart supermarkets

  12-01-2017 16:38
  
  Over the past few years, we have seen self-checkout machines being used in our grocery stores. As a result, analysts wonder whether the grocery store clerk may become entirely supplanted by machinery. Amazon appears to be betting that will be the case with its Amazon Go store, a cashier-free store that relies on apps and cameras to account for what customers purchase.For now, Amazon Go is only in a beta stage, as the single Seattle store is only open to Amazon employees and focuses more on ready
  
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• 43% off Microsoft Wireless Desktop 900 Keyboard and Mouse Bundle - Deal Alert

  12-01-2017 16:33
  
  The Wireless Desktop 900 keyboard from Microsoft has quiet-touch keys and customizable buttons for access to the Windows features you use most. The full-size ambidextrous mouse provides comfortable, precise navigation. The Wireless Desktop 900 also includes Advanced Encryption Standard to help protect your information by encrypting your keystrokes. Both the keyboard and the mouse have an average battery life of 2-years. The typical list price of $50 has been reduced to $28.28, making this a good
  
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• FCC chief accuses AT&T and Verizon of violating net neutrality—but it probably doesn't matter

  12-01-2017 15:48
  
  AT&T and Verizon are probably violating the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules by allowing third-parties to pay for subscribers’ data usage.
  That’s the determination FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler provided in a letter to several U.S. Senators on Wednesday, along with a report on the matter from The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. But Wheeler is set to step down as FCC Chair once President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office next
  
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• Trump’s DHS pick urges more coordination on cyberthreats

  12-01-2017 15:40
  
  President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Homeland Security chief wants to forge closer ties with the private sector in the cyber arena.Gen. John F. Kelly (Ret.), a more than four-decade veteran of the Marine Corps, appeared this week before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for his confirmation hearing, the second of Trump's appointees to begin that process.In his testimony on cybersecurity, Kelly noted the challenges of keeping pace with an ever-evolving spate of th
  
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• Why Amazon is the current king of the virtual assistants

  12-01-2017 15:08
  
  Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant was impossible to miss at CES 2017. The surprise hit service that powers Amazon's smart home hub, Echo, is being embedded into a growing arsenal of connected products, inside and outside the home. In many ways, Alexa is the feature of the moment for consumer electronics such as refrigerators, vacuums, DVR boxes, robots, TVs, washers and dryers, cars, and an important product category in which Amazon has thus far failed spectacularly: smartphones. Amazon was
  
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• Agile project management: A beginner's guide

  12-01-2017 14:38
  
  If you're new to project management and the agile methodology, the answers to these 10 questions will arm you with the information you need to get started. And if you're a project management veteran, these frequently asked agile questions are a good refresher.
  What is agile?
  Agile is a project management methodology that uses short development cycles called sprints to focus on continuous improvement in the development of a product or service.How long as agile been around?Although Incremental sof
  
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• Report on Russian hacking leaves many questions unanswered

  12-01-2017 14:27
  
  Security experts have been pouring over the Joint Analysis Report released two weeks ago by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but there isn't enough detail in the public document to help organizations defend themselves against other Russian attacks.
  The report contains lists of indicators of compromise - technical signs that the Russians are hacking into a system. But most of these were already familiar, and more interesting information was left out, a
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How tech pros can build a professional development roadmap

  12-01-2017 14:00
  
  IT professionals enjoy a relatively fluid career path, with opportunities ranging from network administration to application development and security. However, this level of flexibility introduces some challenges, including difficulty creating a personal road map for professional development. When anything is an option, it can be challenging to choose a specialization and hone your skill set.On the other hand, many experienced IT professionals know what they need to do to advance their career, b
  
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• DARPA wants to create secure data-sharing tech

  12-01-2017 13:15
  
  DARPA is kicking off a project to create a new way to enable U.S. troops working in remote areas around the world to securely send and receive sensitive information on their devices.
  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the research arm of the Department of Defense, said it's working on a project that would use software and networking technology to securely share information on unsecured commercial and military networks.
  The agency scheduled a Proposer's Day for Jan. 31 to provide mor
  
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• How much is a data breach going to cost you?

  12-01-2017 12:39
  
  It is going to cost yaImage by ThinkstockA recent IBM study found that the average cost of a data breach has hit $4 million—up from $3.8 million in 2015. There are countless factors that could affect the cost of a data breach in your organization, and it’s virtually impossible to predict the exact cost. You might be able to estimate a range with the help of a data breach calculator, but no single tool is perfect.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What is driving your strategic intent?

  12-01-2017 12:30
  
  In addition to training, I also consult with organizations in the area of strategic planning, governance and enterprise architecture. On many occasions I’m asked to help with evaluating their business strategic plans and make sure they represent the direction the business wants (and should) pursue.The term strategic intent comes up quite often. What exactly is strategic intent and how does an organization go about determining what direction to take?Strategic Intent was first discussed by G
  
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• NRAM set to spark a 'holy war' among memory technologies

  12-01-2017 12:02
  
  A non-volatile memory technology based on carbon nanotubes that's poised for commercialization in 2018 is expected to be more disruptive to enterprise storage, servers and consumer electronics than flash memory, according to a new report from BCC Research.
  "It is rare to see a technology catch fire after so long in development, but NRAM appears poised to do just that," said BCC research editorial director Kevin Fitzgerald. "In fact, your next smartphone could be a carbon-based lifeform."
  T
  
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• Bringing boards up to cyber speed

  12-01-2017 12:01
  
  The exponential growth of cyber risk has impacted roles for the CISO and the CEO, among others, but it has also left board members a little in the dark when it comes to understanding the risks associated with cybersecurity.
  The National Association of Corporate Directors, NACD, who represents 88 percent of the Fortune 1000, recently released a Cyber-Risk Oversight Handbook. In an effort to set  standards for corporate board leadership, they surveyed corporate board members and fo
  
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• The cord-cutting gear from CES that's most likely to find a place in our living rooms

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  Cord cutting is here to stay Image by ThinkstockFor a trade show that tends to favor spectacle over substance, CES was surprisingly fruitful for cord cutters this year. We saw lots of promising new streaming boxes, smart TVs, and super-charged antenna tools, all of which will make dropping cable and satellite TV easier in 2017. Forget all the drones, virtual reality headsets, and robots on display; here are the CES products that will pay for themselves in relatively short order.To read this arti
  
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• The 22 best changes in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15002

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  One build, almost a whole new OSMicrosoft releases new builds of Windows 10 for its Insider beta testers every so often—some minor, some really significant. You can call Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15002, released this week, a really big deal.Microsoft’s notes on the new build ran to over a dozen pages, according to the company, and we found over 20 notable new features. (We left out some minor tweaks to keep this list manageable.) Some are cosmetic improvements that enhanc
  
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• Node.js' success exposes its weaknesses

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  Node.js has been a revelation. Initially received as a curiosity, the server-side JavaScript platform has become a juggernaut, in use by tens of thousands of organizations in more than 200 countries, according to the Node.js Foundation. But for some, the Node.js glass remains half-empty, thanks to several frustrating weaknesses.
  Take Gavin Vickery, CTO of web app builder Input Logic. Vickery made the switch to Node.js from Python in 2015, mostly for web back ends. But he soon grew dissatisfied
  
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• Go 1.8 goes for efficiency and convenience

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  Go 1.8, the next version of Google's open source language, is moving toward general availability, with a release candidate featuring improvements in compilation and HTTP. The final Version 1.8 is due in February.
  According to draft notes, the release candidate features updates to the compiler back end for more efficient code. The back end, initially developed for Go 1.7 for 64-bit x86 systems, is based on static single assignment (SSA) form to generate more efficient code and to serve as a plat
  
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• CES 2017: Up-and-coming devices from the ShowStoppers event

  12-01-2017 12:00
  
  Hopeful companies show off their devicesImage by ShowStoppersCES is the annual Las Vegas event where tech companies do their best to impress with elaborate booths, presentations by movie stars, parties at high-class night spots and -- well, and occasionally even with the worthiness of their products. However, amid all the glitz and glamour are some smaller companies that are often just as invested in their consumer-based tech devices as Samsung, Panasonic or Dell.To read this article in full or
  
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• My month with the Surface Book i7 with Performance Base

  12-01-2017 10:44
  
  When Microsoft held an event last October, everyone thought it was prepping to announce the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 or Surface Book 2. Instead, we got the new Surface Studio, Windows Creative Update and a beefed-up Surface Book i7 with Performance Base.The Performance Base addition brought a redesigned keyboard base to the device, while the tablet display remained the same. With the hope of swaying creative professionals away from Apple, these internal updates include an NVIDIA GPU, a 6th genera
  
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• Companies delay diversity reports -- what's the hold up?

  12-01-2017 10:31
  
  No news is good news … unless we're talking about Silicon Valley's delay in releasing their 2016 diversity statistics.
  On December 6, the Wall Street Journal reported that companies including Twitter, Pinterest and Salesforce were delaying their diversity reports, despite the passing of almost 16 months since their last update. Google and Facebook's reports were released mid-summer, and showed that despite a lot of talk about "moving the needle" on diversity, equality and inclusion, not m
  
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• Alphabet says balloons beat drones for internet delivery

  12-01-2017 08:52
  
  Alphabet has shut down its Titan unit that was exploring the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for the delivery of internet services.The Google parent is instead focusing on its balloons-based Project Loon to deliver the Internet to remote areas.Google acquired in 2014 Titan Aerospace and the team from the drone startup was brought in late 2015 into the X research lab, which incubates a number of Alphabet moonshot projects like the Project Wing project for drone-based delivery.The work on the use
  
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• Trump's push for cyber defense is sorely needed, experts say

  12-01-2017 03:00
  
  President-elect Donald Trump plans to consult "the greatest computer minds” for input on bolstering U.S. hacking defenses, as experts say an overhaul to the country's cybersecurity is badly needed.“We’re going to put those minds together, and we're going to form a defense,” Trump said in a Wednesday press conference.Trump made the statement as he said Russia, China and other parties continue to launch cyber attacks against the U.S. In recent weeks, he’s also been co
  
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• Panasonic's flexible battery will withstand twisting

  12-01-2017 00:55
  
  Batteries that can easily conform to the human body could be a game changer for wearables and flexible electronics. At just 0.45mm thick, Panasonic's latest lithium-ion battery design is small enough to be unobtrusive and bendy enough to be comfortable. According to Panasonic, the battery has a laminated outer body and internal structure. This prevents leakage and abnormal heating during bending and twisting. The batteries are still under development. There's no word from Panasonic on when they
  
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