The Security Ledger with Paul F. Roberts

Recent Posts

Dell Embracing Security and IoT as Private Firm – PC is ‘Strategic’

November 17, 2014 Paul Roberts

A year ago, Michael Dell spent $25 billion to buy the PC company he founded back from shareholders and turn it into what he called “the world’s largest start-up.” How’s that going for him? If the CEOs’ talk at last week’s DellWorld 2014 is any indication: great. As this piece notes, Dell argues that going private has accomplished much more than getting Carl Icahn off his back. It has allowed the tech giant to draw its attention away from profit margins into R&D. No longer burdened by the need to meet Wall Street’s numbers each and every quarter, Dell can experiment and take chances. Experiment how and on what? Dell said that Internet of Things and security are two areas the company is investing in in a big way. “As we look at our business we can now ask what are the opportunities and the unmet challenges. These are in infrastructure, […]

Automakers Issue Privacy Guidelines For Connected Cars

November 13, 2014 Paul Roberts

A group representing some of the leading foreign automakers who sell in the U.S. released guidelines to protect consumer data collected by in-vehicle technologies and make sure that car owners consent to the collection of everything from geolocation data to biometric identifiers. The group, Global Automakers, represents foreign auto manufacturers and original equipment makers (OEMs). The Privacy Principles document (PDF here) include guidance on issues like transparency, anonymity and security and are intended to set ground rules for the collection and use of driver or owner information by increasingly sensor-rich vehicles. “As modern cars not only share the road but will in the not too distant future communicate with one another, vigilance over the privacy of our customers and the security of vehicle systems is an imperative,” said Global Automakers President and CEO John Bozzella in a published statement. The Privacy Principles are voluntary are are based on the U.S. Federal Trade […]

A BlackBerry of Smart Glasses? Lenovo Courts Enterprise Wearables Market

November 13, 2014 Paul Roberts

The blog TechBitzz has an interesting write-up from Wednesday on electronics giant Lenovo’s partnership with a 35 person New York City based start-up, Vuzix to create an enterprise-ready equivalent to Google Glass. Vuzix was known as a maker of mounted video eyewear and launched its own smart glasses in December 2013. Earlier in 2014, the two companies struck a deal to have Lenovo sell Vuzix’s M100 as a co-brand. The glasses will run Google’s Android operating system – nothing new there. But what is different is Lenovo and Vuzix’ plans for marketing the device. Rather than target the (small) fan boy and early adopter consumer market, the two companies are focusing on business customers as a natural home for connected wearables like ‘smart’ glasses. Read more Security Ledger coverage of wearables here. Lenovo, it seems, is taking a decidedly less utopian view of wearables – seeing them as a natural replacement for its bulky laptops, […]

U.S. Weather Systems Victims of Cyber Attack

November 12, 2014 Paul Roberts

The Washington Post is reporting that hackers from China breached the network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in September, forcing cyber security teams to seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses. The article cites sources within the government and Congress. The intrusion occurred in late September. However, NOAA officials gave no indication that they had a problem until Oct. 20, according to three people familiar with the hack and the subsequent reaction by NOAA, which includes the National Weather Service. According to the report, NOAA officials believe that actors based in China are responsible for the attack. The report also claims that efforts to respond to it resulted in an interruption in some key services, including NOAA’s National Ice Center Web Site, a partnership with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard to monitor conditions for navigation. That two-day outage skewed the accuracy […]

US Postal Service Suspends Telecommuting Following Massive Data Breach

November 12, 2014 Paul Roberts

Following a publicized breach at the US Postal Service, that organization is discontinuing virtual private network (VPN) connections into its network, according to reports. The Postal Service took the unusual step after acknowledging, earlier this week, that a breach of their network security exposed data on 800,000 employees and 2.9 million customers. According to a statement from a USPS spokesman to the online publication Dark Reading, the virtual private network (VPN) service for postal employees was taken down this weekend and will not be brought back up until a version with more “robust security features can be installed.” “As a result, telecommuting has been suspended until further notice,” he said. Remote access tools including VPNs and remote desktop applications like Citrix are a frequent source of compromises of corporate networks. Most recently, compromised employee systems are believed to be the source of an attack on JP Morgan’s network. VPN software that was vulnerable to the […]