For some reason I’ve run across many posts and articles about the security vulnerabilities of Web apps you need to look out for, so I thought I’d collect and share them with you.
CIOInsight discusses nine types of vulnerabilities found by security firm Cenzic in the article you can find here.
Not to be outdone, Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has released TEN Web app security risks, along with some examples and advice on what can be done to avoid them. You can click here to learn more.
Another new report published in Dark Reading’s Database Security Tech Center warns that, “There is a wide variety of threats that could exploit vulnerabilities in the interface between the Web app and the database: SQL injection, authentication flaws, and privilege escalation are among the most significant.” A link to that story can be found here.
It seems that mobile devices compound the Web app security issue — and may even add a few of their own. This ComputerWorld article says, “The most successful and secure mobile applications are ones that do not implement all of the functionality of the main application into the mobile version, said Clark. Using a bank as an example, the popular functions of money transfers or bill pay abilities can still be used in the mobile app, but with limitations.”
Allowing employees to use corporate network resources for personal use has been an evolving freedom. Not too many years ago, most companies were sternly against employees jumping on the Internet or sending personal emails on corporate networks. The adage was, “When you’re at work, you’re at work.”
But the last few years have seen a blurring of personal and professional lives due to everything from the rise of Blackberries to the number of multinationals that work around the clock. The company has intruded on personal time, and more workers now expect the company to give a little, too.
This is especially true for the twentysomething “millenials” (aka Gen Y). In a series called Managing Millennials: A BNET Survival Guide, the point is made that this generation is accustomed to working away from a desk or office and having flexible work schedules. They’ll willingly answer emails at all hours, but in return expect to be able to update their Facebook pages while in the office.
Writing on the topic of personal use of company computers, TechRepublic Technology Editor Bill Detwiler notes: “Personal communication through the corporate computer network should be allowed, but carefully managed. IT departments must work closely with HR and management to establish, disseminate, and enforce practical policies.”
The shift in corporate policy is clearly under way. A recent TechRepublic poll of 600 readers showed that 77 percent of organizations today allow reasonable personal use of corporate network resources.
We all know data centers draw a lot of power. But what standard or standards should be used in measuring its efficiency? Well, a group of leaders from across the industry got together in January to agree on data center energy efficiency measurements, metrics and reporting conventions.
Organizations represented were the 7×24 Exchange, ASHRAE, The Green Grid, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, U.S. Department of Energy’s SaveEnergyNow and Federal Energy Management Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program, U.S. Green Building Council, and Uptime Institute.
The following guiding principles were agreed to:
- Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) using source energy consumption is the preferred energy efficiency metric for data centers. PUE is a measurement of the total energy of the data center divided by the IT energy consumption.
- When calculating PUE, IT energy consumption should, at a minimum, be measured at the output of the uninterruptible power supply (UPS). However, the industry should progressively improve measurement capabilities over time so that measurement of IT energy consumption directly at the IT load (i.e., servers) becomes the common practice.
- For a dedicated data center, the total energy in the PUE equation will include all energy sources at the point of utility handoff to the data center owner or operator. For a data center in a mixed-use building, the total energy will be all energy required to operate the data center, similar to a dedicated data center, and should include IT energy, cooling, lighting, and support infrastructure for the data center operations.
This guidance is meant to help the industry have a common understanding of energy efficiency metrics that can generate dialogue to improve data center efficiencies and reduce energy consumption.
The organizations will continue to work as a task force to further refine these metrics and to identify a roadmap for the future. The group also aspires to address IT productivity and carbon accounting in the future.
In conference rooms throughout the business world, it’s hard to imagine making a presentation without Microsoft’s PowerPoint — unless you’re an extraordinarily good speaker or have a knack for conveying data through an array of props.
What’s interesting is that most people who use PowerPoint really love it. A recent poll in TechRepublic.com posed several questions regarding people’s comfort level with PowerPoint and drew 600 responses. Of them, 52 percent said: “Yes, I love PowerPoint and use it successfully.”
Another 21 percent (the category I personally would check) answered: “Yes, but I wish I had the time to learn more about PowerPoint.” Sympathy is in order for another 10 percent who answered: “No, I don’t know enough about PowerPoint to create a respectable presentation, but I do my best.” The nerd contingent, who like the software but don’t like speaking, accounted for11 percent.
Only six percent of respondents said they never use PowerPoint to create or deliver presentations, and then there were the (probably executive level) people who said: “No, someone else creates the presentations that I deliver.”
CIO Insights editor, Doug Moran, lists 16 attributes of a leader, which he calls the “16 Ifs.” The “If” part he attributes to a Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name, which describes for Doug, “a leadership path that I have chosen to follow.” Doug says the first two lines might have been written for today’s CIOs:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;”
Here are Doug’s 16 attributes of a leader:
- Composure ― The Power to Keep Your Head
- Character ― The Wisdom to Know and Trust Yourself
- Patience ― The Strength to Endure
- Selflessness ― The Ability to Put Your Cause and Beliefs Ahead of Yourself
- Vision ―The Power of Having and Sharing a Dream
- Self-Efficacy ― The Confidence to Gain from Triumph and Disaster
- Integrity ― The Wisdom to Know the Truth and the Strength to Defend It
- Resilience ― The Ability to Bounce Back from Adversity
- Boldness ― The Ability to See and Seize Opportunities
- Accountability ― The Will to Take Ownership Regardless of the Outcome
- Courage ― The Ability to Face the Dangers When They Become Real
- Stamina ― The Will to Hold On When You Have Nothing Left
- Authenticity ― The Resolve Always to Be Yourself
- Inspiration ― The Ability to Connect With and Motivate Friends and Foes
- Enthusiasm ― The Energy to Fill Every Minute
- Ambition ― The Will to Make the World What You Want It to Be
To read the entire CIO Insights article, click here.
