Day: July 10, 2014

Demystifying IoT – What It Means to You

by Harish Taori, posted in Internet of Things, IT Leader
Harish Taori
Harish Taori

Summary Bullets:

  • IoT expands the meaning and value of the Internet as more physical objects (i.e., sensors, actuators, devices, modules and new age systems) will be connected to the internet and accessible through Internet protocols or web services. It will enable humans/software programs to analyze data, evaluate patterns and take predictive or preventive actions based on the derived intelligence.
  • In addition to consumers, utilities, energy, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and retail were early adopters of M2M and may start piloting IoT applications as supply side economics make sense. The IoT ecosystem is getting ready for enterprises to innovate business models and improve operational efficiency.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data were among the key ICT themes that dominated the majority of panel discussions and presentations at CommunicAsia 2014. Both buzzwords, in addition to cloud and social, are often the current topic of discussions in IT circles. I chaired a panel discussion on IoT and will be using that session in this blog in an attempt to demystify IoT.
IoT is a natural evolution of Internet and machine to machine (M2M), which find its roots in industrial automation. It not only further integrates the physical world with the digital world, but also enables machines to learn from the events and become smarter by gaining predictive and cognitive capabilities. Machine learning will play important role in gaining these capabilities through data mining, statistical modeling and artificial intelligence. The IoT ecosystem will enable companies and consumers to create and enjoy new services that are founded on web-based business models. Continue reading “Demystifying IoT – What It Means to You” →

Google’s Android and Google Play Apps Still Risky as Ever, but There Is Hope on the Horizon

by Paula Musich, posted in Mobilize
Paula Musich
Paula Musich

Summary Bullets:

  • New vulnerability exposures highlight the continuing riskiness of enabling the use of Android devices within the enterprise, but carefully crafted BYOD policies can reduce that risk.
  • Google needs to step up its mobile security practices if it truly wants to be an enterprise player.

The steady drumbeat of news regarding Android security weaknesses – whether in the OS or the applications that run on it – does not seem to be having much of an impact on Google’s security practices. It should be well known by now that the vast majority of mobile malware targets Android devices. Earlier this year, endpoint security firm F-Secure found that 99% of new mobile malware targeted Android. This week, it was revealed that most versions of Android in use today include a vulnerability that enables rogue apps to make unauthorized calls or disrupt ongoing legitimate calls. Although Google fixed the flaw in the Android version 4.4.4 that it released last month, very few Android devices run that version. Moreover, given the slow rate at which Android devices are patched or upgraded to the latest version of the OS, the vulnerability could continue to haunt the vast majority of Android smartphones for some time to come. IT, as it crafts its policies for personal smartphone use in the enterprise, can address that issue by requiring users to keep their device OS up to date in order to gain access to the enterprise network from their smartphones. IT can also investigate which handset makers are faster at upgrading their Android device’s mobile OS and put those devices on a list of acceptable smartphones for use within the enterprise. My colleague and mobile device maven Avi Greengart tells me that both Motorola and HTC have formal pledges to rapidly update Android. Other IT folks may go so far as to allow only Apple iOS devices to access corporate networks in their BYOD policies. Continue reading “Google’s Android and Google Play Apps Still Risky as Ever, but There Is Hope on the Horizon” →