We’ve been talking a lot this week about securing big data. It’s an important subject, and you’re going to be hearing a lot more from us about it.
But today, I want to take a look at what else is making news in the world of security. Let’s get to the headlines:
SC Magazine - Exclusive: How Sony is Fighting Back
April 2011 was a difficult and costly month to say the least for Sony’s PlayStation Network. This is well-covered territory by now. It’s good to see Sony battling back by bringing in a former U.S. counter-intelligence officer to run their security operations. Brett Wahlin knows he’s in for a different kind of fight this time around, batting ‘Anonymous’, which operates very differently from state-sponsored groups.
Mobiledia - Hackers Speak out at SXSW
And speaking of ‘Anonymous’, a few members of the group were on hand at SXSW this week for the premiere of the documentary, “We are Legion”. Unfortunately, none of them bothered to stop by our GazzangBang last week.
Today - The Lost Cell Phone Project
Symantec conducted an elaborate social experiment to find out what happens when someone finds a lost cell phone. Would folks try to track down the owner or rummage through the data and apps? I guess I’m more disappointed than surprised by the results. A few takeaways from this story:
- Password protect your phone. Even if you don’t use it for work, your address book alone contains enough sensitive data about you and your acquaintances to do serious damage.
- Encrypt your most sensitive data and applications. Password protection only goes so far. It’s more a nuisance to hackers than a deterrent.
- Move to Ottawa. People are apparently far less nosy there.
The Register - IDC Big Data: Big Biz Worth $16.9 billion by 2015
OK, you didn’t think I’d go an entire column without mentioning big data, did you? This article lends further credence to the belief that the big data market is real, it’s growing and it’s not going away anytime soon.
“When you look at the servers, storage, networks, software, and services that comprise this big data market as defined by IDC, you get a market that was worth $3.2bn in 2010 and that is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 39.4 per cent over five years to hit $16.9bn by 2015. That growth rate, says IDC, is seven times higher than that of the overall IT market over the same five-year span.”
This data needs protecting in motion or at rest. You can read a lot more on this topic at www.securingbigdata.com
Huffington Post - And the most commonly used password is…
This may be the least shocking piece of information you’ll read this year. This story simply shows that most people do the absolute minimum when it comes to meeting security requirements for passwords. As someone who works in marketing for an IT company, this story just makes me shake my head.
As someone who works in marketing for an IT security company, this story makes me want to ram my head through my monitor. If only there were a video that parodies how silly some people’s passwords are…
Oh wait, there is. Check it out.
