You can provide guests with Internet access while ensuring the safety of your company data

I do a fair bit of traveling in my job. When selecting hotels, secure Internet access is one of my top criteria. It’s right up there with a comfy bed and fluffy pillows. I want to know that when I’m using the hotel network, I can access my corporate email or do online banking without having to worry about whether an intruder is prying on my Internet connection. It’s the same when I visit a client site. Clients very kindly let me use their Internet connection, but they want to ensure that I can’t snoop on their corporate network. Read More »

Tags: guest access, Internet access, security, small_business, VLAN, wireless

Mobility is changing the way I work. I work in the office, at home and wherever I am between the two. Not only do I have a smartphone, I also have an iPad and a corporate laptop. I access email and work using all three devices, happy that I can seamlessly connect from anywhere, at anytime, from any device. I am not unlike many workers today where work is becoming an activity and not a place and I need consistent security enforcement and protection, particularly when I am outside of the office.

Three letters enable much of this, V – P – N. VPNs are not new but Cisco continues to innovate with new VPN and secure mobility solutions to secure mobile workers like me. For instance, in October Cisco announced AnyConnect 3.0 that ties the client to web security in the cloud via Cisco ScanSafe in addition to an on-premise Web Security Appliances and the AnyConnect client is now available for both the Apple iPhone and iPad running iOS version 4.2+. Read More »

Tags: anyconnect, iPad, iphone, itunes, mobility, security, SSL, vpn

I was reading the recent TheInfoPro report (Information Security Wave 13, 2010) last week. It confirmed a major trend. That is, server virtualization has gained great acceptance. The report shows that more than 45% of organizations now have their servers running on virtualized equipment, with another 30% being planned within the next two years. Such impressive adoption rate is not surprising, given the clear business benefits.  The Cisco Connected World Report, Part 3 revealed that increased IT agility and flexibility, as well as optimized resource to save cost are the leading factors that drive virtualization. Looking ahead, virtualization adoption will go beyond just servers.

Earlier this month, LG made a media splash as it announced its intent to offer Android phones that can switch identities when a user taps on the VMWare icon on the phone screen. This would allow the user to switch between two phone SIM cards—one her personal number, and the other her corporate number given by her company. Isn’t it cool to carry your own personal hypervisor anywhere you go?

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Tags: security, virtualization, virtualization experience infrastructure

This question was posed by the Manufacturing IT Director for a major Pharma producer, as part of an annual customer advisory board hosted jointly by Cisco and Rockwell Automation. One answer:  Good luck! …And why would you want to?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diHUhLh5VH4

Chet Namboodri talks about how consumer products are entering production and maintenance workflows and how “Rockwell and Cisco are in the forefront of enabling those solutions” during a recent customer innovation council session.

The migration of technology and applications from Consumer to Business to Industrial has become a well worn path, and the use of Smart Phones, Tablets, Mobile Video and other Operator Interfaces powering work flows and industrial intelligence has become a mainstay for Manufacturers.  Read More »

Tags: ACR, active collaboration room, Apple, automation, Borderless Networks, Cisco cloud, Cius, collaboration, customer intimacy, data center, Enterprise, Ethernet to the factory, ETTF, Factory, industrial, Industrial Automation, Industry, innovation, ip, iPad, Manufacturing, mobility, networking, operational excellence, operations, operations excellence, partner, plant, Production, R&D, Research and Development, security, shop floor, social media, TelePresence, TP, UC Voice Picking, UCS, video, virtualization, Voice Picking, wireless

Hackers recently gained control of an Indonesian government Twitter account to falsely broadcast an impending, yet fictitious, tsunami in Jakarta, Indonesia to over 8,000 followers. While this was by no means considered a catastrophic event it certainly, I’m sure, caused a bit of chaos and disruption to the people in Jakarta and in the surrounding areas. Doesn’t this sound like the 21st century version of yelling “Fire” in a crowded movie theater? In any event, as is the case with any failures related to technology, there are some important lessons to be learned from this miscreant-generated Tweet…or shall we call it a “MisTweet”?

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Tags: password, security, social media, twitter