Securosis Blog

Microsoft, Oracle, or Other

Adrian Lane · January 26, 2011

I ran across Robin Harris’s analysis of the Hyder transaction database research project, and his subsequent analysis on how Microsoft could threaten Oracle in the data center on his ZDNet blog. Mr. Harris is raising the issue of disruption in the database market, a topic I have covered in my Dark Reading posts, but he is also pointing out how he thinks this could erode Oracle’s position in the data center. I think looking at Hyder and like databases as disruptive is spot on, but I think the…

Now that we have a sense of what data to focus on at the beginning of an incident, it’s time to start digging into the response and investigations process itself and talk specifically about what they entail. In larger enterprises, organizing the response process and teams can be extremely complex, due both to the volume of incidents and the complexity of the organizational structure (politics). Some teams align with business units, others with tools, and yet others are centralized.

As we previously mentioned, we will teach the very first CSA Cloud Computing Security Knowledge (Enhanced) class the Sunday before RSA. We finally have some more details and the registration link.

Rich at Macworld

Rich · January 24, 2011

Just a quick note that I’m speaking at the Macworld conference this Friday in San Francisco on iOS security.

This is one of the few times I get to talk about basics with a completely-consumer audience. Last year was my first time speaking (after attending for a few years), and you can’t spend any time there and still believe the stupid “Mac users think they are invulnerable and don’t care about security” meme.

Some days I wish I was a screenwriter. There, nothing is out of bounds. Physics? Bah. Logic? Who needs that? How cool was it that the writers of Dallas (the show, not the city) decided to take a mulligan… on an entire season? Pretty cool, I’d say.

Friday Summary: January 21, 2010

Rich · January 21, 2011

Quick note: Don’t forget toRSVP to the RSA Disaster Recovery Breakfast, and sign up for the Inagural Cloud Security Alliance training class we are building & running.

Today, within a few minutes of each other, I read the latest 2010 security reports from Cisco and Intego. The Cisco report is very broad, while the Intego report is Mac specific. They really highlight the reality vs. hyperbole problem we often see in threat reports.

The Appearance Myth

Mike Rothman · January 20, 2011

You can always tell whether you are at a hacker con or a corporate-oriented conference in our business. The hacker cons have plenty of tattoos, piercings, fringe hairstyles, and the like. In fact, I’m usually more concerned that folks will think I’m a narc because I have none of the above. But this brings me around to the idea of appearance and its impact on your career.

Washington, D.C.

Officials today revealed that the “Advanced Persistent Threat” (APT) has been completely defeated by vendor marketure, analyst/pundit tweets, and PowerPoint presentations.

Incite 1/19/2011: Posturing Alpha Males

Mike Rothman · January 18, 2011

One of the terms you’ll likely hear at RSA this year is security posture. Along with “situational awareness” and other terms which refer to your ability to understand if you are under attack and how your defenses are positioned to protect your assets. But I’m fascinated by the psychology of posturing, because we see that kind of behavior every single day.