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Personal mobile devices create security headaches for biz – USATODAY.com

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Companies are grappling with unforeseen security, privacy and legal conundrums introduced by a host of cool mobile devices flooding into the workplace.

Executives eager to sport the hottest tech gear and workers accustomed to mixing social and work activities on the go are multitasking on personally owned mobile devices in record numbers.

Workers are bringing mobile devices to work at such a scale that company security technicians can’t keep up. “It’s an impossible task,” says Patrick Sweeney, product management vice president at network security firm SonicWall. “Control of these devices has become very complex because of the varying software and device types.”

Results of a recent survey of 1,400 technology professionals in 14 nations show 21% of companies have no restrictions on use of personal mobile devices, while 58% have lightweight policies, and only 20% have stringent guidelines. The poll was conducted by security firm McAfee, a division of Intel.

via Personal mobile devices create security headaches for biz – USATODAY.com.

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No Trail E Mail™ Introduces Automatic Self-Destructing Email

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

No Trail E Mail™ provides the only true self-deleting encrypted e-mail service on the internet. Other services may claim to have “self-deleting” email programs, but share a fatal technical flaw; they don’t actually delete the messages at all. They may encrypt the message, and perhaps avoid the network sever in sending the message, but the messages may still exist on the sender’s, recipient’s, and the server’s computer. The only things that are deleted are the encryption keys. A skilled computer forensics technician will be able to recover such messages, using no more sophisticated methods than are used to recover other “deleted” files.

Medical and legal documents have been hacked, compromising individual’s confidential information. People have been fired, sued, arrested, divorced, or have been embarrassed by friends and co-workers from e-mails that have surfaced, either by hackers or subpoenas. Every day the news media reports that someone’s e-mail has surfaced and initiated legal problems or embarrassment.

No Trail E Mail’s™ patent pending process deletes the e-mail after a specific time, in hours or days, or after the e-mail is opened by the recipient. After deleting the message on the No Trail E Mail™ server, it is overwritten several times within one hour. It is physically impossible to retrieve the e-mail because it is not there. This “electronic shredding” is the only method to eliminate the original message and attachments. This prevents hackers or subpoenas from retrieving any e-mail sent by No Trail E Mail™. This is an ideal method for sending confidential or secret documents that must be sent via e-mail.

via No Trail E Mail™ Introduces Automatic Self-Destructing Email.

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Lockheed Martin’s ‘cybercops’ sift through hacker evidence – The China Post

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last week’s attack on Lockheed Martin Corp.’s computer networks has galvanized dozens of cyber “detectives” at the company’s cavernous security intelligence center outside Washington.

 

The U.S. government and Lockheed, the world’s biggest military contractor and the Pentagon’s No. 1 supplier, have said the unknown hackers did not seize any sensitive information in the May 21 attack, but government and industry experts are still working feverishly to isolate the origins of the attack.

Lockheed, which is also the U.S. government’s biggest information technology provider, opened the 25,000-square-foot, US$17 million center in 2008. It opened a sister site in Denver last year to help deal with the growing workload and take over if the main center is knocked off line.

Dozens of highly trained analysts work at the center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where green plants and a Feng Shui-styled decor beckon visitors to a public collaboration space that looks like a high-tech university campus.

The real work, though, goes on in a large, dimly lit internal security center only open to critical personnel. Flickering wall-sized flat screens continuously update activity on Lockheed’s mammoth worldwide computer network while monitoring data transmissions by 126,000 employees and outsiders trying to get access to the system.

via Lockheed Martin’s ‘cybercops’ sift through hacker evidence – The China Post.

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EU begins investigating Seagate’s and Western Digital’s HDD acquisitions – TechSpot News

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

EU regulators opened in-depth probes today into two takeover bids in the hard disk drive market involving two Asian and two US companies: Western Digital buying Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) and Seagate buying Samsung Electronics’ HDD unit. The EU is concerned the deals would reduce the number of rivals.

“Hard drives are the backbone of the digital economy,” EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement announcing the investigation. “The sector has already experienced significant consolidation and the proposed acquisitions will further reduce competition.”

Western Digital announced in March 2011 its intentions to buy Hitachi GST in a cash and stock deal valued at about $4.3 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Japan’s Hitachi will sell its wholly owned HDD business for $3.5 billion in cash and 25 million Western Digital common shares valued at $750 million, based on a stock price of $30.01.

Seagate Technology announced in April 2011 its plan to buy Samsung’s HDD business for $1.375 billion in cash and stock. In addition, the companies will enter into a NAND flash memory supply agreement under which Samsung will provide Seagate with its NAND flash memory chips for use in Seagate’s enterprise SSDs, solid state hybrid drives and other products.

via EU begins investigating Seagate’s and Western Digital’s HDD acquisitions – TechSpot News.

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Nvidia Shows Tablet Running Quad-core Tegra Chip | PCWorld

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Nvidia has shown a prototype tablet computer running a four-core version of its Tegra processor and said products based on the new chip will go on sale starting in September.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Computex trade show in Taipei on Monday, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang also announced that Nvidia will have shipped 10 million of its existing dual-core Tegra 2 processors by the end of June.

Best known for its graphics chips, Nvidia has emerged as a force in the market for ARM-based processors used in smartphones and tablets, where it competes with more established mobile chip vendors such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

The dual-core Tegra 2 is used in the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the LG Optimus and the Acer Transformer, which has a snap-on keyboard for people who type too much to use only a touch screen.

Huang showed the quad-core chip, code-named Kal-El, running a prototype tablet built by Nvidia to demonstrate its capabilities. Tablets with Kal-El will go on sale in September, followed by smartphones later in the year, Huang said.

He didn’t say which vendors would make the products but it seems likely they will come from existing Nvidia partners, who include Motorola, Dell, Sony and Asustek.

via Nvidia Shows Tablet Running Quad-core Tegra Chip | PCWorld.

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Sandisk Updates SSD Line With SATA III Models | PCWorld Business Center

May 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Sandisk has updated its line of solid-state drives (SSDs) for tablet and portable computers with models that feature higher performance.

The new drives have a SATA III interface and can transfer data to and from the PC at roughly double the speed of the Sandisk P4 drives they are intended to succeed, the company said Tuesday at the Computex trade fair in Taipei.

Solid-state drives are flash memory-based alternatives for hard-disk drives. They are smaller, lighter and use less power than hard disks but byte-for-byte are more expensive than hard disks so are targeted at thin laptops and tablet PCs where their advantages justify their premium price.

The new SanDisk drives are available in two product families.

The U100 SSDs are targeted at ultra-thin laptops and come in capacities from 8GB to 256GB. Data can be read from the U100 at up to 450MB per second and written to the drive at up to 340MB per second. Both speeds are just over double the performance of the P4 drives that SanDisk announced at Computex last year.

via Sandisk Updates SSD Line With SATA III Models | PCWorld Business Center.

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Intel unveils new class of PC – ‘Ultrabooks’ | ZDNet

May 31, 2011 By 1 Comment

Intel has used Computex as the opportunity to introduce to the world a whole new class of PC – the ‘Ultrabook™.’

Note: Yes, note the ™ above!

So what are ‘Ultrabooks?’ They’re mobile systems defined by two words – thin and light. The idea is to take the performance and capabilities of a modern notebook and package this into a ’thin, light and elegant design’ and slap ‘Ultrabook™‘ stickers on them.

These ’Ultrabook’ systems will be powered by 22nm Ivy Bridge 2nd generation Intel Core processors which allow the system to be packaged into a shell less than 20mm (0.8 inch) thick, and sell for under $1,000.

via Intel unveils new class of PC – ‘Ultrabooks’ | ZDNet.

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Samsung demands to see Apple’s next iPhone, iPad – Computerworld

May 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the latest round of an ongoing patent and trademark battle, Samsung on Friday asked a federal judge to make Apple provide the Korean electronics giant with samples of its next-generation iPhone and iPad.

Samsung asked U.S. District Court Judge Koh to force Apple to give it “a sample of the final, commercial version of the next generation iPhone that Apple will release, whether that product will be known as the ‘iPhone 4S,’ ‘iPhone 5,’ or some other name,” according to a motion filed in a California federal court Friday.

The Korean company also made a similar demand for “the next generation iPad that Apple will release, whether that product will be known as the ‘iPad 3,’ ‘Third Generation iPad,’ or some other name.”

Assuming Koh agrees with Samsung, Apple would have until June 17 to hand over the iPhone and iPad samples.

via Samsung demands to see Apple’s next iPhone, iPad – Computerworld.

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Samsung demands to see Apple’s next iPhone, iPad – Computerworld

May 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the latest round of an ongoing patent and trademark battle, Samsung on Friday asked a federal judge to make Apple provide the Korean electronics giant with samples of its next-generation iPhone and iPad.

Samsung asked U.S. District Court Judge Koh to force Apple to give it “a sample of the final, commercial version of the next generation iPhone that Apple will release, whether that product will be known as the ‘iPhone 4S,’ ‘iPhone 5,’ or some other name,” according to a motion filed in a California federal court Friday.

The Korean company also made a similar demand for “the next generation iPad that Apple will release, whether that product will be known as the ‘iPad 3,’ ‘Third Generation iPad,’ or some other name.”

Assuming Koh agrees with Samsung, Apple would have until June 17 to hand over the iPhone and iPad samples.

via Samsung demands to see Apple’s next iPhone, iPad – Computerworld.

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Google Sued by PayPal Over Claims It Stole Trade Secrets – Bloomberg

May 30, 2011 By 2 Comments

Google Inc. was sued by PayPal Inc., the fastest-growing unit at online marketplace EBay Inc. (EBAY), over claims it misappropriated trade secrets from PayPal’s mobile- payment business.

Osama Bedier, a former PayPal executive now at Google, stole PayPal’s confidential information, the company said in the lawsuit filed yesterday in state court in San Jose, California. Stephanie Tilenius, another ex-PayPal executive now at Google, violated contractual obligations by recruiting Bedier, PayPal said.

Bedier “is now leading Google’s efforts to bring point-of- sale technologies and services to retailers on its behalf,” according to the complaint. “Bedier and Google have misappropriated PayPal trade secrets by disclosing them within Google and to major retailers.”

Both companies are trying to move into storefronts from online transactions and build their mobile businesses. PayPal, based in San Jose, is working with major retailers to develop a new type of point-of-sale system — the equipment next to cash registers where consumers swipe credit cards.

via Google Sued by PayPal Over Claims It Stole Trade Secrets – Bloomberg.

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