The bMighty Blog -- Operations

DNS Woes: How Worried Should You Be? Pretty Dang Worried!

Posted by Keith Ferrell 12:21 PM ET | Jul 25, 2008

Yesterday's news that the first DNS attack strategies are circulating was no surprise: once a vulnerability -- large, small or in-between -- is discovered, the exploit code follows like rats nipping at the heels of the Pied Piper. The question is, how worried should you be about this particular vulnerability? Pretty worried, is my take.

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DNS Flaw Attacks Coming: Patch Now!!!

Posted by Keith Ferrell 11:28 AM ET | Jul 24, 2008

The first attackware strategies based on the widespread DNS flaw announced earlier this month have been spotted. If you haven't patched yet, do it now, before it's too late. (Some say it's already too late.)

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Justice Breyer's Data Exposure A Reminder Of P2P File Risks

Posted by Keith Ferrell 12:24 PM ET | Jul 10, 2008

The news that Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's personal information was among thousands of other personal data files compromised as a result of a file-sharing snafu raises a couple of issues, chief among them whether or not peer-to-peer file sharing via public programs is ever appropriate for business info.

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Player Beware: PS3 Site Hacks Can Game Your Systems

Posted by Keith Ferrell 05:15 PM ET | Jul 2, 2008

Whether or not you're a gamer, the detection of malware infestation on the Sony USA PlayStation Web site should give you pause. Compromises of popular commercial sites -- the sorts that employees and family members might visit, even if you don't -- are precisely the sort of thing that can have anything but a playful effect on your business.

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Mishandling Information Overload A Security and Legal Risk

Posted by Keith Ferrell 11:32 AM ET | Jul 1, 2008

Small and midsize businesses generate digital information a furious rate -- same as bigger business (and individuals, for that matter.) What to save and what to toss -- and the consequences of either -- looms large among security, business, compliance and fiduciary concerns. A new slideshow offers some interesting and provocative takes on taking out (and keeping in) the digital trash.

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Bad Economy Triggers Belt Tightening Or Record Spending

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 09:46 AM ET | Jul 1, 2008

Right now, the economic outlook is bleak -- gas prices are up, the stock market is down, and on it goes. But how are smaller businesses responding in the face of discouraging forecasts and tightening resources? On the one hand, cost cutting is the mantra, telecommuting is up, travel is down, but then again, IT spending is at record levels.

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Security Spending: Dollars Up, Safety Down?

Posted by Keith Ferrell 10:02 AM ET | Jun 30, 2008

IT security is spending more to deliver less or, at best, hold the line against a growing threat universe, according to major new Informationweek survey.

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Insourcing Is The New Outsourcing For IT

Posted by Benjamin Tomkins 11:20 AM ET | Jun 18, 2008

Faced with scarce resources, IT staff have several options: hire more employees, hire contractors, send the work out-of-house or offshore. But IT managers may be overlooking a useful technical resource right under their collective noses: business users.

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Hardware & Software | IT | Internet/Web | Operations | Services

New Trojan Targets Wireless Routers

Posted by Keith Ferrell 11:09 AM ET | Jun 18, 2008

A new variation of the bad old Zlob Trojan is going after wireless routers, particularly the near-ubiquitous home wireless routers, which more than a few small and midsize businesses just happen to be running.

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Business & E-Business | Hardware & Software | IT | Operations | Security

Blogging Your Business? Be Careful Who You Quote

Posted by Keith Ferrell 02:43 PM ET | Jun 17, 2008

Blogs are common if not universal tools for small and midsize businesses. They communicate new products and offers, open dialogues, and keep your business name out there. But if your blog, like many, includes outside content, you need to start being careful, particularly if the source is the AP.

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Business & E-Business | IT | Internet/Web | Operations | Security

Data Breaches: It's The Stupid Mistakes, Stupid!

Posted by Keith Ferrell 11:58 AM ET | Jun 11, 2008

It's rarely comforting when hard numbers confirm bonehead truths we all know, but that's exactly what a new study does, showing that the vast majority of data breaches are not only avoidable, they're pretty easily and almost effortlessly avoidably. It's in not making that relatively minor effort that breaches breed, and the bad guys know it.

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Gartner Looks At Security's Long-Range Future And Finds It Coming At Us Fast

Posted by Keith Ferrell 04:43 PM ET | Jun 2, 2008

We spend so much time responding to -- or reacting to -- daily security threats and challenges that it's all too easy to overlook (or just plain avoid) taking a long-range look at the security future. Gartner points out that such denial is a mistake, a big one, with long-range consequences.

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Secure Computing Tells Where Your Biggest Insecurity Is: Inside Your Company, That's Where!

Posted by Keith Ferrell 10:01 AM ET | May 29, 2008

What are IT security professionals most scared of? Their companies' own employees, that's what.

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TVA 's Scary Security Lapses Have Big Lessons For Small And Midsize Businesses

Posted by Keith Ferrell 11:09 AM ET | May 23, 2008

The news that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) -- the largest U.S. public electric utility -- is riddled with security lapses should give pause to cybersecurity watchers and worriers everywhere. And the nature of those lapses should be a reminder to every business in the country.

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CompTIA Survey: What Causes Most Breaches Is The Same Thing The Road To Hell Is Paved With

Posted by Keith Ferrell 10:43 AM ET | May 22, 2008

Findings from a new survey indicate that most security breaches aren't the result of malicious intent. Problem is, more than a few are the result of good intentions.

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Data Center Conservation: Some Practical Tips

Posted by Naomi Grossman 12:37 PM ET | May 9, 2008

Jack Pouchet, the director of energy initiatives at Emerson Network Power, believes companies can reduce 50 percent of the power consumption in their data center, if they tried just a little. Is your small or midsize business interested?

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Green Business | IT | Operations

How Prepared Are You For Disaster Recovery?

Posted by Keith Ferrell 01:21 PM ET | May 2, 2008

If your business got hit by a natural disaster that resulted in your "losing everything" -- would that "everything" include your company's digital records and history? It shouldn't.

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Web 2.0 Expo: Looking For A New Home For Your Business?

Posted by Fredric Paul 06:31 PM ET | Apr 26, 2008

The search for space is a never-ending quest for many small and midsize firms. At last weekýs Web 2.0 Expo, ZoomProspector was giving out free beta access to its new service designed to help.

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Business & E-Business | Internet/Web | Operations | Transportation

Astaro Survey Sez Your Security Spending Seems Recession-Proof. Really?

Posted by Keith Ferrell 10:58 AM ET | Apr 25, 2008

The results of a recent survey of small and midsize business IT security spending plans are being interpreted/marekted as signs that your security spending is "recession proof." A closer look suggests something quite different.

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Symantec Report: Malware Makers Setting Sights Via Trusted Sites

Posted by Keith Ferrell 08:59 AM ET | Apr 9, 2008

Symantec's latest Internet threat report makes clear that the bad guys have shifted the focus of their approach from luring users to malicious sites to placing their malware on legit sites that users know and trust.

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Ubuntu Eyes The Linux Server Landscape

Posted by Matthew McKenzie 06:45 PM ET | Mar 18, 2008

It took Ubuntu just four years to claim its crown as king of the Linux desktop. Now, Ubuntu's developers are plotting a similar coup in the Linux server market -- and smaller businesses have a lot to gain from the battle that is about to unfold.

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F-Secure Survey Shows Misplaced Security Confidence

Posted by Keith Ferrell 04:50 PM ET | Feb 29, 2008

A new computer-use survey from security firm F-Secure shows that the majority of more than 1,000 respondents understands the importance of updating virus definitions. Yet less than 20 percent understood the need for frequent definition updates.

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Business & E-Business | IT | Operations | Security | Technology/Telecom

Learn To Hack -- Ethically!

Posted by Keith Ferrell 04:37 PM ET | Feb 21, 2008

Know your enemy means knowing how your enemy works. That's the philosophy behind McAfee's Foundstone Professional Services Ethical Hacking course. You, too, can learn how to find and exploit network vulnerabilities -- but only if you pledge to use the knowledge for good.

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Symantec Offers SMB Storage And Backup Services

Posted by Keith Ferrell 04:52 PM ET | Feb 19, 2008

As today's bMighty ANTenna points out, security giant Symantec is making a move into small and midsize business services. Its first salvos: hosted backup and online storage.

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