Google and Microsoft: The Security Card
April 11, 2011
The source is Microsoft. I don’t know if the information in “Google’s Misleading Security Claims to the Government Raise Serious Questions” is accurate. The tension between Microsoft and Google seems to be increasing. The allegation that Google is behaving like a combination of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Commodore Vanderbilt brightened my blog a few days ago. Now we get Microsoft’s playing the security card.
Powerful stuff and a maneuver that will have to be discussed by the various government decision makers as long as the budget keeps on paying them. Toss in a few assorted blue chip and azure chip consultants, and you have a recipe for investigations, depositions, study groups, and PR excitement. Good news for some I guess.
Here’s a passage I noted:
…Imagine my [Microsoft professional’s] surprise on Friday afternoon when, after some delay, some of the court papers were unsealed, at least in part. There for all to see was a statement by the Department of Justice contradicting Google on one of its basic FISMA claims. The DOJ’s brief says (on page 13) “On December 16, 2010, counsel for the Government learned that, notwithstanding Google’s representations to the public at large, its counsel, the GAO and this Court, it appears that Google’s Google Apps for Government does not have FISMA certification. This revelation was apparently as striking to the lawyers at the Department of Justice as it was to me. The Justice Department brief states “We immediately contacted counsel for Google, shared this information and advised counsel that we would bring this to the Court’s attention.
My view on this matter is that until more information becomes available to me in Harrod’s Creek, the best I can do is assert, “Interesting.”
The impact of the security card is of interest to fewer people than own iPods but ultimately may be more important than some of the other hoo-hah about Google. The notion of stretching security like a rubber sheet may be one of those plays that persist through time. Like a clever chees move from a young Bobby Fischer, specialists may pick up the play and make it a model for young Microsoft emulators to absorb, modify, and use to devastating affect.
Best to be prepared for these sorts of things. Looking back won’t do the job. The security card is a big play.
Stephen E Arnold, April 11, 2011
Freebie
For Your Popular Passwords Stop List
April 1, 2011
Short honk: Here in the backwoods we love password lists. The “Top 20 Passwords of All Time” is interesting. In Infographic format, you can add to your stop list these sequences. I like “123456”. Yes!
Stephen E Arnold, April 1, 2011
Freebie for April the first
Android Security: Is This an Oxymoron?
March 30, 2011
When I read this, I said sub vocally, “Wow.”
The H Security reports, “Google’s Security Tool Infected With Trojan” explains how the new Android Market Security Tool, developed to delete the recent contaminated apps, actually is infested with a Trojan virus. Users are unaware about the newest infection after a rash of harmful apps hit the Android phone in recent weeks. They were informed to expect the new tool to clean up their phones, but it’s making greater knots in the mangled data. Good news is that the infected security tool is only on an unregulated network in China.
According to an initial analysis by Symantec, the Trojan contacts a control server and is able to send text messages if commanded to do so. According to F-Secure, BGServ (as the contaminant is called) also sends user data to the server after being installed.
Wow.
We are offered the same age- old advice to protect our technology from digital infection: don’t open the application unless you know who sent it. Great advice for everyone in general and maybe for Android folks in particular.
Whitney Grace, March 30, 2011
Freebie
Google and Its Alleged Trojan
March 18, 2011
The H Security reports “Google’s Security Tool Infected with Trojan.” Wow. Just. . . wow. Google’s Android Market Security Tool, intended to delete contaminated apps, has itself been contaminated by a trojan the H Security article alleges:
As users have been told to expect to see the application running on their phones clearing up the damage the Droiddream trojan did, there’s a good chance they won’t be suspicious of it. According to reports though, at present, the trojan-infested version of the tool is only in circulation on an “un-regulated third-party Chinese marketplace” and appears to only affect users of a particular Chinese mobile network.
Okay, so we in the States don’t have to worry about this. For now. The program, known as BGServ, sends texts containing user data to a control server. Think twice about any app that asks for permission to send text messages. If this allegation is accurate, will it have an impact on Google’s enterprise efforts? I surmise that my colleagues and I would think twice, assuming this shocker is true.
Cynthia Murrell March 18, 2011
Freebie
US Government, Domains, and Search
February 11, 2011
There’s been a flurry of search-related news from the US government. We have noticed that some health related content is moving around. Hearings with Health and Human Services executives produced 404 errors last week. We were able to locate the documents, but a 404 is suggestive. The FBI rolled out its new search service. Then we read about a security compliance glitch.
We found it interesting that half of the US Federal government’s sites have failed to comply with mandated security measures. In an article appearing on the NetworkWorld news site, we learned that The Office of Management and Budget issued said mandate requiring agencies to add DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in 2008. The piece goes on to cite a study which claims that as of January 2011, fifty one percent of these agencies have failed to comply.
“DNSSEC is an Internet standard that prevents hackers from hijacking Web traffic and redirecting it to bogus sites. It allows Web sites to verify their domain names and corresponding IP addresses using digital signatures and public key encryption.”
Understanding the importance of safeguarding data and activity online, especially on the federal level, the question becomes why has the failure to adopt this precaution been so broad? Mark Beckett, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management for Secure64, offers his view stating that while the numbers of those in compliance this year as opposed to last have more than doubled, it is the low rate itself which illustrates the difficulty in employing the security measure. Beckett feels that as more parent domains and sub domains sign, the market for protection will expand creating more user friendly DNSSEC. Search can be tricky if the crawlers cannot access or find the content. Alternatively, search can be even more exciting if content that should not be indexed is.
Stephen E Arnold, February 11, 2011
Freebie
Facebook Productivity Tip
December 31, 2010
Listen up, Facebook users. Bogged down by the number of links shared by your Facebook friends? Well fret no more, TheLikeWall is here in an effort to save you time. Simply visit the website and login with the same details used for your Facebook account. The Like Wall will take tally of all the links your Facebook friends are sharing and rank them by the reactions other people have already recorded. So the most popular links are seated at the top of the list, allowing the less important ones to fall to the fray, thus saving you countless hours by knowing what isn’t worth looking at. There is not much to this… literally. Visit the website for yourself and see.
This service sounds useful enough. I’m afraid I cannot report I have conducted any tests or offer a proper review; I don’t have a Facebook account. My personal solution to wasting less time on Facebook is to never visit Facebook, but that’s just me.
Sarah Rogers, December 31, 2010
Freebie
Affinity Shopping and Free Choice
December 23, 2010
With the holiday shopping season here, retailers try to improve their e-commerce systems, including navigational ease and relevancy of products offered to buyers. Market Watch states in “Retailers Embrace Internal Site Search for Accuracy, Relevancy, and Profitability” that retailers have turned to the Aberdeen Group report: Retail E-Commerce Search: Accuracy, Relevancy, and Profitability in the Age of Choice to help them “address rapidly shifting customer affinities.” E-commerce system vendors underwrite the “free” and independent and objective analysis.
“Consumer and business analytics resources allow retailers to leverage the search process as a key customer touch-point. The more information taken into consideration regarding previous activity and site behavior, the more likely an up-sell will be. This saves time for the consumer and increases profitability for the retailer.”
By using customers’ analytical search data, retailers will improve their search results. Retailers are depending on this data to help increase their profit margins for this year. All I can say is get it quick after you take a wild and crazy survey with words like “affinity” in the questions.
Combine this with Google’s “contextual discovery” and shopping becomes something my great grandmother would not have recognized. Would she have made her own decisions about sox?
Stephen E Arnold, December 23, 2010
Alpha Spy for US
November 12, 2010
According to the article “One Spy to Rule Them All: Top Spook Launches Push for Real Power” James Clapper, the director of national intelligence has reach a preliminary agreement with Defense Secretary Robert Gates over the control of $53.1 billion dollars of the intelligence budget. I noted this passage in the write up:
You might think the director of national intelligence actually runs the spy world. But that would make too much sense. In fact, as long as there’s been a “community” of spy agencies, the Defense Department has kept the intelligence budget (now totaling $80.1 billion annually) under the military thumb.
This will allow Clapper the ability to direct funds to spying operations that take priority and deny the funding of unsuccessful projects. This ends up being a win-win situation for all parties involved. Clapper gains monetary control over his domain, Gates doesn’t have to worry about $53.1 billion dollars when he has to cut the defense budget, and the American people are able to see a greater transparency within government functions.
My view. Sigh.
Leslie Radcliff, November 12, 2010
Freebie
Coveo Connects
November 1, 2010
Knowledge and information are directly related to a company’s success. Coveo taps on this aspect as a leading provider of enterprise search and customer information access solutions. The PR-USA.net article “Coveo Announces New Information Indexing Connectors Including Support for Microsoft SharePoint 2010,” tells the story of how “Coveo offers a richer, more integrated view of enterprise knowledge and information compared to what’s available with Microsoft’s native search.”
The article further discloses that through its Enterprise Search 2.0 approach, it is possible for Coveo to “bring the benefits of unified information access to customers faster, and less expensively, than is possible with traditional solutions including SharePoint Search or Microsoft FAST.” Since Coveo dynamically indexes the data and presents it in a unified view, it helps the organizations with instant value of the information and knowledge stored in form of structured and unstructured data across the enterprise, in any system without moving data. Thus, the extended Coveo offers superior functionality and integration. Our recommendation: connect with Coveo.
Harleena Singh, November 1, 2010
How to Cope with Google: Change Your Name, Just Move
October 26, 2010
I find Math Club folks darned entertaining. I recall learning from someone that Google’s top dog suggested that one could deal with privacy issues by changing one’s name. No problem, but not exactly practical. Today (October 25, 2010) several people mentioned to me Dr. Schmidt’s suggestion regarding Street View’s imaging one’s home. The recommendation was, according to “Schmidt: Don’t Like Google Street View Photographing Your House? Then Move,” even more impractical than changing one’s name. In today’s real estate market, most folks struggle to make payments. The cost of moving is out of reach even if there were a compelling reason to uproot oneself. The idea of moving because Google is making snaps of one’s domicile is either pretty funny (my view) or pretty crazy (the view of one of the people in my office).
So which is it? Colbert Report material or an answer that could get you stuck in a hospital’s psychiatric ward for observation?
I side with the Math Club. Dr. Schmidt was just joking.
What’s not so funny is the mounting legal friction that Google faces. My concern is that the push back could impair Google’s ability to do deals. The issue is partially trust and partially mind share. With lawyers wanting discovery and depositions, the two Ds can get even the A student in Math Club in academic hot water. That’s bad for Google, its partners, and its stakeholders. Competitors know Google has lots of cash, but with Apple and Facebook surging, Google can no longer rely on controlled chaos to converge on a solution. Lawyers are into procedures and often lack a sense of humor.
Just move. Man, that’s a hoot. Getting a cow on top of a university bell tower will not elicit a chuckle from me. But “just move.” I am in stitches. Absolutely hilarious. But there is that other point of view… the hospital… the observation thing. Hmmm.
Stephen E Arnold, October 26, 2010
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
