Wednesday, September 28, 2016

How do I rob thee
Let me count the ways
The 2016 trends in cybercrime that you need to know about
   In a report identifying eight trends in the underworld of cybercrime, Europol warned that cybercrime offences were becoming the norm and overtaking the reporting of "traditional" crimes in some EU countries.
1: Crime-as-a-Service
2: Ransomware
3: The criminal use of data
4: Payment fraud
5: Online child sexual abuse
6: Abuse of the Darknet
7: Social engineering
8: Virtual currencies


Are these types of articles excuses in advance of something they know is coming?   
U.S. Believes Russia Steered Hacked Documents to Websites
U.S. officials are increasingly confident that the hacker Guccifer 2.0 is part of a network of individuals and groups kept at arm’s length by Russia to mask its involvement in cyberintrusions such as the theft of thousands of Democratic Party documents, according to people familiar with the matter.
   Last week, U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper said it “shouldn’t come as a big shock to people” that Russia is behind the hacking operation.  While Russia has tried to interfere in U.S. elections since at least the 1960s by spying and funneling money to particular political groups, “I think it’s more dramatic maybe because now they have the cyber tools,” he said.


Just in time for my IT Governance students to ride to the rescue!  Do the boring, obvious stuff first, then get creative.
Friend or foe? Bank regulator issues new information security exam procedures
   A new Information Security IT Examination Handbook (“Handbook”) was just released by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) – and it will definitely keep many CSOs occupied during the coming months.
   Those favoring practical experience over checklist security will not be happy.  Most information security professionals agree that practical experience and judgment far outweigh checklist security in protecting organizations.  Some would argue that diverting tight resources into procedural or documenting information security controls can actually hamper protection efforts.  And in some aspects this argument make sense.
The new handbook is “heavy” with requirements to document and provide evidence of control procedures used to manage the bank’s (or financial services company’s) information security effort.  This will surely frustrate checklist security opponents.  And for many requirements, specific expectations are provided that the bank would be expected to have to achieve the requirements objectives.


Has anyone ever considered that people lie on social media?
Council bosses in Cumbria can use Facebook to snoop on residents they suspect of committing an offence.
New guidelines have been added to Cumbria County Council’s surveillance rule book on the issue and approved by leaders.
The regulations allow county council staff to glean information from personal social media account pages as an alternative to carrying out direct surveillance.


We’ll have to change our Cryptography class to emphasize Blockchain. 
Bank of America and Microsoft partner to create blockchain applications for trade finance
Today, Microsoft announced a collaboration with Bank of America to develop blockchain technologies for their trade finance transacting.  The companies are developing a proof of concept using Microsoft’s Azure-based Blockchain-as-a-Service.  The hope is that this collaboration will create more automated and cost-effective corporate treasury operations for both Microsoft and Bank of America.


For my Software Architecture students.
Getting Started With IoT
Despite considerable interest in the Internet of Things, many organizations do not yet have an active IoT project.  Our recent research report, “Data Sharing and Analytics Drive Success With IoT,” finds that 60% of the organizations responding to our global survey do not yet have an active IoT project.


Perspective.  What is a market worth?
Wal-Mart in Talks to Invest Up to $1 Billion in Flipkart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in advanced discussions to invest as much as $1 billion into India’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt, as the two companies battle Amazon.com Inc. in e-commerce, according to a person familiar with the matter.
   Flipkart is the largest online retailer in India, but its lead has been under assault as Amazon steps up investments in the country.  Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos said in June he plans to spend another $3 billion in India to gain customers in the fast-growing market.
   India’s online market will expand at an average of 45 percent annually in the next four years and reach $28 billion by 2020, according to estimates from Kotak Institutional Equities.
   But if Amazon and Wal-Mart both stepping up their investments, Alibaba may have to consider doing the same, either with Snapdeal or on its own.

(Related)
Google Searches for New Users in India
Alphabet Inc. ’s Google is expanding its efforts to connect with millions of Indians, using free Wi-Fi and tailor-made products, as it seeks to harness the country’s growing online population.


For all my students, even though we give them Office365.
   Many long-time Office users will be unwilling to transition away from the apps they’re so used to working with.  Whether you’re an Office veteran or a complete newcomer to these types of apps, iWork may deserve another chance.  Let’s take a look at why.


Sometimes humor is where you find it.  In this case, on a Statistics website.
Significant Digits For Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016
You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
0.9 percent
Nobody wants to hear about other people’s fantasy football teams, but it is rather delightful to rip them.  Last week 0.9 percent of ESPN fantasy players started Tom Brady, who is still serving a four game suspension because of Deflategate.  Meanwhile, Trevor Siemian of the Denver Broncos did indeed play and was the best QB in Week 3, yet a mere 0.7 percent of players started him.  I will never pass up an opportunity to mock New England fans who think a suspended Brady will still outscore players who actually take the field.  [SportsCenter]


Forget Skynet.  THIS is how robots will take over the world!
Nissan's autonomous chairs politely carry you through queues


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