Security Lessons from Flame

Flame is a sophisticated software tool originally designed to spy on governments and gather information.  It is essentially like malware and can go undetected.  Kevin Casey in InformationWeek outlines Five Lessons Learned from Flame:

1.       No security plan is foolproof

2.      You might not know if you are infected

3.      Attacks are increasingly sophisticated

4.      Reputation harm can be expensive

5.      Prioritize your most important assets

Source:  InformationWeek Article “5 Flame Lessons For SMBs” by Kevin Casey

http://www.informationweek.com/news/smb/security/240001377

LinkedIn Breach

I read an article in CIO magazine regarding a security breach on LinkedIn.  A reported 6.5 Million passwords were reported to be taken.  That is 6.5% percent of the total 100 Million LinkedIn users.  It is unclear if there are attached User IDs and so far it does not appear as though anything has happened beyond the passwords taken. 

In my LinkedIn account there is not much information if any that is not published for anyone to read already.  The real danger for me would be for someone to take over my account and make changes or access my contacts.   It would probably be a good idea to change my LinkedIn password anyway.

This kind of attack does remind everyone of the vulnerability of your information and the importance of securing your data.  These events may also scar cloud providers and make individuals and businesses think twice about public cloud and hosting. The larger cloud providers may be likely targets for hackers.

CIO Article:  “FAQ: LinkedIn Breach: What Members (and Others) Need to Know”

By Jaikumar Vijayan

http://www.cio.com/article/707933/FAQ_LinkedIn_Breach_What_Members_and_Others_Need_to_Know

IT Spending Growth Slowing

The slow growth economy is affecting IT spending.  JP Morgan has reduced the forecast for IT spending in 2012 from 3.8% growth to 2.2% growth.  I suppose the good news is that they are still predicting growth!

Source:  Reuters Article “JPMorgan cuts IT spending outlook as economy slows” by by Tenzin Pema

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/06/us-technology-research-jpmorgan-idUSBRE8550I620120606