Today’s topics include IBM and Google announcing their new Knative serverless cloud project, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology updating recommendations for mobile application security.
On July 24 at Google Next ’18 in San Francisco, IBM and Google announced an open-source serverless cloud computing project called Knative, which has the potential to redefine how serverless computing can be used to build cloud architectures and expand the use of the serverless genre beyond mere functions.
Knative will serve as a bridge for serverless computing to coexist and integrate with containers atop Google Kubernetes in a cloud-native computing system.
IBM says Knative broadens the spectrum of applications that can benefit from the real-time cloud access, minimal infrastructure concerns and scale that serverless architectures offer. It is expected to become a foundational component for serverless architectures that can take advantage of all types of cloud-native tools.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is updating its Special Publication Vetting the Security of Mobile Applications that was initially released in January 2015.
The 50-page draft revision, which is open for public comment until Sept. 6, includes additional clarity and details on how to minimize mobile application risks. According to Michael Ogata, one of the draft’s coauthors, “Mobile technology changes quickly, and our publication needs to move fast to keep up.” Security experts are largely optimistic about the new NIST mobile security guidance.
Michael Covington, vice president of product strategy at Wandera, stated, “NIST’s recommendations for mobile app vetting are fairly comprehensive and very thoughtful. It’s good to see guidance that looks closely at the technical merits of an app and goes beyond very coarse, category-based policies.”