The accelerated growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) already has created a cascade of changes across public sector. With more devices producing more data (and demanding more IT services), government agencies have been working to add more storage, security, increase network bandwidth and system management tools – all while supporting a growing range of applications which let them take advantage of their mountain of new data.
For security strategies to succeed, security needs a seat at the table. In my work as an investigations manager for Cisco, I’ve seen first-hand how much more passion and enthusiasm enterprise leaders will put into security efforts when there is support all the way to the top of the organization.
The Cisco Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, as detailed in the Cisco 2015 Annual Security Report, shows that when there is executive-level responsibility for security, organizations are in a better position to tackle security challenges. As part of the survey, Cisco asked chief information security (CISO) and security operations managers about their views on security readiness. The good news, from my standpoint, is that 91 percent of the security professionals surveyed said their organization has an executive with direct responsibility for security – usually a CISO or CSO. It’s an encouraging finding, because security leaders help define and enforce policies.
Bill Kehoe, CIO for King County, is taking a new approach to IT and building a progressive government to benefit citizens
The Lineup: Microsoft, Cisco, and Intel
It’s no secret that tested and tried solutions will lead to a faster time to production, allowing you to stay at the forefront of innovation and, most importantly, stand out from the competition.
Cisco blogs is excited to announce the updated and improved Social Rewards program! We think you’ll love the new features. Here’s a short list of the changes; check out the video for more details. Oh, and don’t forget to login—using Cisco.com login—or join today so you get credit for reading this post and watching the video!
Updated and new features:
Log In – We moved to Cisco.com login. If you don’t have an account already it’s easy to register, just click on the “Join Today” banner found on the right column of each blog page.
Notifications – You will receive a pop-up notification each time you earn a new badge! You can also share your accomplishment on Twitter and Facebook.
Missions – Learn what you need to do to earn your next badge by hovering over the icons under the “Earn More Badges” section of your Rewards console.
Leaderboards – See how you rank on the “My Leaderboard” widget found on each Members profile page. See who the top ten members are for the week and month on the “Learn More” page.
News Feed – Populates whenever anyone becomes a member, earns a new badge, or progresses to the next level.
Engagement Score – Replaces the Reputation meter; you can now earn points for everything you do. As your points add up you progress to the next level!
New Look – We updated the badges, added some new badges, and refreshed the overall look of the program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1MD2gHc-Ls
We plan to add new challenges throughout the year; you will want to continue to participate so you don’t lose out on all the fun! Let the games commence!
Private cloud – you hear it everywhere. Industry analysts tell us that private cloud has become a core data center strategy well on its way to becoming a core element in the formal IT portfolio.
Forrester research indicates that CIOs and IT departments are strongly drawn to private cloud as the on-ramp for their cloud journey. What’s behind this interest and drive to shift?
Partially it is driven by the need to leverage existing data center infrastructure better. But THE market driver responsible for the lion’s share of adoption is the need to accelerate application delivery. We are talking about building applications faster and deploying them to the environment that has the right amount of elasticity, services and economics.
If you read the recently released Cisco Annual Security Report, you will have learned how spammers have adopted a “Snowshoe” strategy, using a large number of IP addresses with a low message volume per IP address, to send spam, preventing some spam systems from sinking the spam. This yielded a 250 percent increase in spam from January 2014 to November 2014. Or, perhaps the fact that malicious actors are using malvertising (malicious advertising) from web browser add-ons as a medium for distributing malware and unwanted applications caught your eye in the report. In order to protect against these types of emerging threats, Cisco showcases its continued thought leadership in email security to offer even greater protection and control across the attack continuum, while also providing additional flexibility for centralized management. Continue reading “Cisco Email Security Stays Ahead of Current Threats by Adding Stronger Snowshoe Spam Defense, AMP Enhancements, and More …”
I love new projects and new initiatives. That’s why I am so interested in the DevNet Zone at Cisco Live! in Milan. Because it’s all about developing new solutions.
Left to Right: Wim Elfrink, Alberto Sarullo, Loris Bottello, Andrea Germinario, Andrea Desiato, Rick, Tywoniak
This week, we held a hackathon where 100 developers, on 20 teams, competed for 24 hours to create the best new apps on Cisco platforms. I was honored to present US$5,000 to four winners who created an app called “Pillbox.”
This team addressed a real-world issue: how to keep track of whether you have taken your medications. The Pillbox app leveraged a combination of our Enterprise IOT infrastructure (EIoT), Data in Motion data monitoring and filtering software, and the Jabber APIs.
After the doctor prescribes your medication and enters it into a cloud system, Jabber alerts you when it’s time to take your medicine. Then a sensor in the pillbox connected to Cisco’s EIoT system records that the medicine has been taken and keeps track of each dosage and when taken. If the sensor isn’t triggered within a certain time after the medicine is supposed to be taken, the app alerts your doctor via Jabber. Or the patient can contact the doctor directly through Jabber. The team built this app in under 24 hours!
There were many, many other deserving applications that came out of the hackathon—such as a fire detection system and an air quality management system. I wish they could all win!
Of course, most applications will take more time and investment to build. Another way we are helping developers create new projects and initiatives is with our growing network of Innovation Centers. From Tokyo to Toronto, we are making Cisco engineers, academic researchers and experts in a variety of vertical industries available to developers working on our platforms, so they can build the best apps in the shortest possible amount of time.
At Cisco we’re passionate about networking, and we have a ton of respect for those who are pushing the boundaries in this realm—even when they don’t work for our company.
Case in point: Co-founder and CTO of PLUMgrid, Pere Monclus. He’s actually a former Cisco employee, and his depth of knowledge when it comes to networking–particularly networking as it applies to OpenStack–is formidable. What’s more, he’s got a talent for taking difficult-to-understand concepts and making them easily digestible. In our interview last week he provided a great explanation of how SDN came about and what problems it is trying to solve. He also explained why network virtualization is so complicated compared to server virtualization, why—contrary to popular opinion–OpenStack Neutron is not broken, and why the cloud has forced the rise of global IT infrastructure companies.
Want to take your networking knowledge to the next level? Settle back and listen in. You’re in for a treat.
Cisco Live at Milan is an exciting place to be at this year. There are many new innovations and technology being showcased by teams from all across Cisco.
Below is a list of interesting sessions to attend about the latest innovations at Cisco Live Milan 2015
Whisper suitesDemos– New innovation demos. Please stop by to watch the live demos and get goodies:
Intelligent Traffic Directorand Dynamic Services Provisioning With Highly Scalable Nexus Switches : First prize winner in Hackathon 2014.
