Take care!! Security concerns for 2012 are knocking on the door

With 2012 just about round-the-corner, security concerns are also rather new and are being considered more than menacing in their outlook ever before. What’s more, adding to already burgeoning security hassles are the influx of bring your own devices (BYOD), social media, cloud computing and other operational challenges. In short, all we can say is buckle up, for if 2011 was a shocker, then 2012 is likely to be a motherload of all security issues.

What’s 2012 got in store?

2012 is for sure going to pain in the neck or the IT guys dealing with the security scenario. Since, as it goes the year will end up promising hassles galore in fields such as:

·         Social Media

It goes without saying identity may prove more valuable to cybercriminals than credit cards. For at the end of the day, bad guys would be actively involved in the activity of buying and selling social media credentials on online forums. And if facts are anything to go by then with Facebook nearly boasting of more than 800 million active users and over half of them logging on to the site daily, with every user nearly boasting of as many 130 friends on an average, a less than favorable scenario is not far away.  And yes with trust ending up being the foundation of social networking, if in case a bad guy does end up compromising with the logins, there is a good chance a manipulation on friends list is in the pipeline.

·         Blended Attacks

This method is considered as one of the most advanced attacks trying to sneak its way past elements social media elements such as ‘friends’, ‘mobile devices’ and the cloud. Blended attacks are generally a considered as a mix of two elements, namely E-mail and the Web. In the coming year advanced attacks are increasingly going to rely on at least two and sometimes all the emerging technologies such as social media, cloud platforms and mobile.

·         Volley of Attacks in 2012

End up expecting an increase in exposed vulnerabilities from black hats and white hats in coming year for mobile devices. In 2012, if estimates are anything to go by then nearly 1,000 different variants of exploits, malicious applications, and botnets would be ready to infect hand held devices and those plugged to the head. And yes with nearly a new variant every day the number of people falling victim to believable social engineering scams will rise manifold.

·         Containment is the new prevention 

For years, security defenses have focused on keeping cybercrime and malware out. There’s been much less attention on watching outbound traffic for data theft and evasive command and control communications. Organizations on the leading edge will implement outbound inspection and will focus on adapting prevention technologies to be more about containment, severing communications, and data loss mitigation after an initial infection.

·         Social Event Magnets

The London Olympics, U.S. presidential elections, Mayan calendar and apocalyptic predictions are events cyber criminals will try and exploit to the hilt. SEO poisoning has become an everyday occurrence and one just needs to the name the trend and it is for sure going to be poisoned. Further, as the bigger search engines have become savvier towards removing poisoned results; criminals in 2012 will end up using the same techniques ported to new platforms. So, in short Twitter feeds, Facebook posts/emails, LinkedIn updates, YouTube video comments, and forum conversations need to be handled with extreme caution. Better still searches, wall posts, forum discussions, and tweets dealing with topics listed above, as well as any celebrity death or other surprising news are considered to be magnets for unsuspecting netizens. www.pccare247.com

Embrace Consumerization – Don’t wish it away

Emerging technologies are propelling IT industry ahead and it is about time organizations took notice of them. And It is about time IT departments started to shrug off their inhibitions and started to embrace concepts such as cloud computing, Consumerization and but of course Social Media with open arms. Using the same technologies to not only improve productivity of the employees but at the same time Ushering an era of work productivity like never before.    

Consumerization is ‘fait accompli’

It is about time the senior management started recognizing Consumerization is here to stay and they cannot simply wish away devices such as personal smart phones, tablets, and laptops away. Devices which to say the least are inevitable and extremely pivotal for communication. For at the end of the day Consumerization is way more than just users connecting a personal device to the corporate network. It is anything but an experience which is driven by several inter-related trends such as:

• Enterprise Mobility

In a highly dynamic environment personally liable smart phones and tablets are slowly but surely becoming a norm. Users of such devices are more than happy in bringing such gadgets with them into an enterprise.

• Cloud Computing

Cloud-based infrastructure and applications whether public or private can be pivotal in driving down the Capex and other associated IT operational costs. More importantly, as it goes, cloud computing also ends up giving users an instant access to cloud-based alternatives and IT-controlled applications. To be used at the end of the day without any sort of involvement from the IT department.

• Social Media

Enterprises across the globe are on the cusp of a generational shift in how their workers communicate. And somehow in the consumer world such communications end up taking place in the form of online conversations on community forums, wikis and instant Messaging.

Considered to be immediate yet uncensored at the same time, it is worth pointing out that the above trends tend to thrive in a synergistic relationship. Wherein, cloud makes enterprise mobility possible and mobility drives more demand for cloud-based and mobile applications. While, on the other hand Social Media is the communication medium in which users end up collaborating with each other, search for new applications, share information and offer their opinions as and when asked for.

In short, this new era of Consumerization and mobility is changing the relationship between users and their enterprise. And it is about time, the management ended up taking note of it. www.pccare247.com

What do you know about cloud computing?

There would be many geeks and technical experts out there who might scoff at me when I ask such a question. But then as it would be the case there is also a whopping majority of those who are not so well acquainted with the vagaries of the IT world and are rather keen to get a good understanding of the terminologies and technologies which can make a pivotal difference in their lives. And well in that perspective with all the recent brouhaha surrounding cloud computing I thought why I don’t get cracking on the same concept and the possible implications it holds for avid PC users.

So, just go ahead and read on and get yourself enlightened on the terminology and its bearing on your daily life.

The Internet is ‘the’ platform, so take advantage

As the concept goes cloud computing is a general term for anything which involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories:

·         Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

Entities such as Amazon Web Services provide Infrastructure-as-a-Service for starting, stopping accessing and configuring virtual servers and storage virtual server instance. In this instance via cloud computing a company is required to pay for only as much capacity it requires and going for more only if the need be. Sometimes this model is also referred to as utility computing because of its pay-for-what-you-use functionality.

·         Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)  

Platform-as-a-service in the cloud comprises of software and product development tools hosted on the provider's infrastructure. With developers creating applications on a provider's platform over the Internet, PaaS providers may end up using APIs, website portals or gateway software residing on a customer's PC. Google Apps is a prominent example of PaaS.

·         Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

In this model, the vendor supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. SaaS is a very broad market. Services can stretch from anything like a Web-based email to inventory control and database processing.  And yes with the service provider hosting both application and data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere.

Cloud computing rules the Roost

Cloud service primarily consists of three distinct characteristics which differentiate it from traditional hosting. What’s more it is sold on demand typically by the minute or the hour and it is also elastic – a user can end up having as much or as little of a service at any given point in time. Better still the service is fully managed by the provider (With the PC user requiring nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). www.pccare247.com
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