Brian Prince

Google has pulled the covers off an experimental, cloud-based data management system designed to ease the process of data integration and collaboration. Dubbed Fusion Tables, the technology is in the alpha phase and is focused on “fusing” the areas of data management and collaboration – merging multiple data sources, discussion of the data, querying, visualization, […]

Security researchers have uncovered an updated version of malware targeting Mac computers. The discovery comes after some in the security industry called attention to Apple again repeating old advice on using anti-virus software as an additional layer of protection in the Security Advice section of a page on Mac OS X 10.6, aka Snow Leopard. […]

Five iPhone Security Tips for IT Departments By Brian Prince Update Firmware to the Current Version iPhones ship with the version of the firmware that was current at the time of manufacturing, but updates may have been released since then. Firmware updates include not only new features and bug fixes, but security fixes as well. […]

Some rules are meant to be broken — including IT security policies, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute. In a report sponsored by IronKey, roughly half of the 967 end users surveyed said their corporate data security policies are largely ignored by both employees and management. The policy violations ranged from the […]

Security software vendors McAfee and Symantec have agreed to pay $375,000 apiece as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced June 10. At issue were accusations that the companies renewed customers’ software subscriptions without customers’ knowledge or authorization. In addition to the payment, both companies […]

UPDATED: T-Mobile has confirmed it was breached, but said the attackers did not steal any data that could endanger customers. In a statement released late June 8, company officials released little in the way of details regarding how the breach took place, but reaffirmed its commitment to continuing the ongoing investigation. “Regarding the recent claim […]

Adobe Systems promised it was making changes to its security process, and June 9 it made good. The company issued the first of what will now be quarterly security updates for Adobe Acrobat and Reader, this time plugging 13 “critical” vulnerabilities in Windows and Macintosh versions of the programs. Among the 13 bugs are a […]

Microsoft plugged 31 vulnerabilities June 9 in a hefty Patch Tuesday update. In all, Microsoft released 10 security bulletins. Six of them are critical and address problems in Microsoft Word, Excel, Windows, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Works converters. One of the most serious of the bulletins fixes eight Internet Explorer vulnerabilities, including one affecting IE […]

Aster Data Systems made a play for Microsoft . NET developers June 9 by enabling them to write applications using MapReduce. In Version 3.0.2 of Aster nCluster and nCluster Enterprise Edition, developers can now write MapReduce functions in C# (PDF) and have them execute in the database. The move affects a large number of the […]

Jeff Moss, of Black Hat and DefCon fame, has been tapped to join the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). Moss is one of 16 appointed to the council late last week by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Comprising experts from state, local and tribal governments; emergency and first responder communities; academia; and the […]