ChaCha and KGB: Seeing Eye to Eye
August 23, 2010
Who offers the most trusted search system for the Web and mobile. Is Google still the most trusted “go to” Internet search engine and with the advancement of mobile technology many mobile users can now conduct Google search from their mobile device.
“ChaCha, KGB See Text Messages as Alternative to Search Engines on Cell Phones” the companies ChaCha and KGB offer customers a simpler way to get answers. Users can send a question to ChaCha through a text or voice message and simply wait for a prompt reply from an agent. This is a free service but users should be prepared to receive advertisements from various providers. KGB service guides also can be contacted in a similar fashion except users must pay 99 cents and will not receive outside advertisements. Each is responsible for scouting out the latest information and delivering the most accurate up to date information possible. It’s not likely they are going to overtake Google fans but they could be a helpful addition.
Worth watching.
April Holmes, August 24, 2010
Database Security Model
August 8, 2010
I received a call on Friday, August 7, 2010, about a security model for a structured database. I told the caller I had to dig through my Overflight archives. The called said, “Can’t wait.” I did locate the document I recalled. You can get a copy of “SAIC TeraText DBS 4.3.13 Security Target” without charge from Common Criteria. The write up focuses on the TeraText data management and search system, but I have found the presentation, the diagrams, and the various bullet lists quite useful. So, for my really rushed, 20-something caller, I found the document that might provide a starting point. For the other two or three readers of this blog, attend or not.
Stephen E Arnold, August 8, 20100
Google Android, Froyo and Security
July 16, 2010
There have been reports that as many as 40,000 impatient hackers have gotten their Android updates a little early by going the hacker route. Presently, the only phone to get the proper update was the Nexus one. Google designed this one and take what you will from this bit of information, but it’s one of the worst selling phones.
So hackers with other versions decided to get theirs, according to a published report in tgdaily.com. Although the download site is no longer valid, it appears that up to 37,000 people clicked through the package.
If all this is true, these impatient android hackers getting Froyo brings up some interesting issues for Google. Privacy and security are important and Google needs to maintain their forward momentum here.
Rob Starr, July 16, 2010
Freebie
Expert System Honored
July 5, 2010
There were no teary-eyed speeches or red carpet interviews, but the business world recently awarded its version of the Oscar to a company doing exciting things with searches. The Stevie Awards annually select the best and brightest companies around the globe for its awards. This year was no exception, because its Best New Product or Service winner was search and semantic technology innovator Expert System USA () for its COGITO Focus program. This search platform improves search capabilities and interactive analysis for all data. “This allows users to have insight into both structured and unstructured content, both internally and externally, including RSS feeds, Web pages and social networks,” the company says. This honor is another sign that search companies are gaining significant traction and respect in the business world. A happy quack from the goose pond. In September 2010, ArnoldIT.com will feature the Expert System technology in its demonstration series. Watch the blog and the Expert System’s Web site for details.
Stephen E Arnold, July 5, 2010
India Wants to Tame Data Dervishes
July 4, 2010
Okay, a little 4th of July reality. Some high profile outfits get to demonstrate their plasticity. Which outfit will bend, break, or resist pressure best? Point your browser to “Reports: BlackBerry, Skype, Google Face India Data Demand.” If accurate, India wants to know who does what. Here’s the passage I noted:
Skype and the BlackBerry service could face a ban in India if they do not comply within 15 days, according to reports in The Economic Times, and The Hindu Business Line. A similar notice is also being sent to Google asking it to provide access to content on Gmail in a readable format.
My position is that companies are not nation states. If an organization wants to do business within national borders, those organizations have to follow the rules for that country.
I hear chatter about privacy and security. Interesting stuff, but if an organization breaks the rules within a nation state, I think one should keep in mind that nation states have police, intelligence agencies, and bureaucrats ready, willing and able to enforce the nation’s laws.
Laws are not consistent, clear, or even rational. Companies who operate above the law could be creating untenable situations for employees and contractors who happen to live, work, or visit within the boundaries of a nation state fed up with companies acting like superior entities. A year in prison might be just what’s needed to make the relative balance of power more understandable. What about having offices shuttered? What about not getting a broken sewer repaired? Odd things happen when countries get annoyed at companies and their executives.
Stephen E Arnold, July 4, 2010
Free sparkler
Cyber Warriors and Search
June 29, 2010
Booz, Allen – the outfit where I worked after my years at Halliburton NUS (Nuclear Utility Services) – has been booking business big time in Washington, DC. I have heard that Booz, Allen has been explaining the challenges of cyber warfare. Now this is not a new topic. A number of analysts have pointed out that systems connected to a public network can be compromised by a range of methods. I recall hearing a lecture by Winn Schwartau a number of years ago. Now the blue chip crowd has caught up with Mr. Schwartau, the author of Information Warfare, and some of his ideas which date from the late 1990s.
One azure chip consulting firm advocated slashing security budgets. I wrote about that odd approach at a time of risk in “Cut That Security Budget, Says Azure Chip Consultancy.” I know about marching out of step, but it is a good idea to be on the same parade ground.
I received an email from one of my two or three readers pointing me the online defense magazine, Defense Update. The April story “Hackers, Terrorists or Cyber Warriors?” is an interesting one. The key idea is that “cyber warfare is here and now.” In that write up are some useful ideas and facts. For me, the key passage was:
Shai Blitzbau, technical director at Magelan information defense and intelligence services describes typical attacks simulated by his company, providing threat assessment audit for government, security and commercial organizations. In recent exercises Magelan performed a threat simulation, that targeted an essential national infrastructure network responsible for the production and distribution of a vital product, considered as basic necessity for the entire population. The simulation demonstrated how, after 96 hour preparation, the team could bring a network, producing and distributing critical goods to a standstill, and keep it idle for at least two weeks. The aggressor team that started with zero access to, or knowledge of the target, managed to study the target, write malicious code, penetrate the network and execute his attack in less than four days.
I wanted to point out that there are extremely fast, effective search systems that can index and make searchable content “sucked” out of a secure system. You can learn about the Gaviri pocket search technology at www.gaviri.com.
Search is one component in the warrior’s arsenal. Booz, Allen is right in forcing governmental entities to be aware of risks. Within the last 14 days, I have been in a facility. I had in my back pocket a small USB drive equipped with a “pocket search” technology. The screening did not flag this device. I did not realize I had the USB in my pocket until I emptied my pockets at the hotel after the meeting.
The blue chip crowd is correct in focusing attention on cyber warfare. Slashing security budgets is ill considered in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, June 29, 2010
Freebie
Cut That Security Budget, Says Azure Chip Consultancy
June 17, 2010
Now I don’t know about you but when one fires up a modern day search and content processing system, the licensee has to have its security system in World Cup form. Active Directory is a popular method. Some search systems put their moist noses in the air, sniff the Active Directory settings, ingest them, and happily index content. Then when a user runs a query, the search system respects the Active Directory security settings. The idea is that a user with certain permissions can see only the content to which that person has access. Goof up the security and permissions and you have addled geese looking at golf club contributions, drafts of documents related to some hush hush matter, or personal information about that last visit to the local doctor.
I read “Enterprises Advised to Reduce IT Security Budgets” and wondered if the headline were a typographical error. Nope. The azure chip outfit Gartner apparently recommends “a three percent cut as economic situation improves.” What? The economy is improving so cutting a security budget is a recommendation. What about exposing those contract terms to eyes not authorized to see them? What happens if medical information seeps into search results when an employee is looking for information about the company picnic? What happens when the financial details of the Board of Directors’ golf outing finds its way into the hands of a committee working on reduction in force issues?
You should navigate to this article and read it for yourself. For me the most interesting comment in the write up was:
Vic Wheatman, a research director at Gartner, explained that the average percentage of IT spending on security in 2010 is five per cent, down from six per cent last year. “In 2009, in the face of a significant IT spending downturn, security spending grew slightly as a percentage of the IT budget, while many other IT spending areas were gutted,” he added. “With the economic situation projected to improve in 2010, organizations are ramping up investments in other spending areas faster than they are for IT security.”
I am not sure I am comfortable with this recommendation or the analysis itself. But I am an addled goose. The crazy stuff I write is a direct result of drinking mine run off effluent. The news story may be the flight of fancy of an azure chip marketing person.
For me, I will keep my spending for security at its pre crash level, thank you. The risk of creating a more costly problem by chopping security spending is too high for my operation. Your mileage may differ. In that case, rely on the “real” consultants at the azure chip outfits. My unsolicited opinion: Avoid Harrod’s Creek.
Stephen E Arnold, June 17, 2010
Freebie.
UK Government and Its NHS Bot Net Woes
April 26, 2010
I am not sure if this story is spot on. What struck me as important is that the fact the story made it to the blogosphere suggests that security gaps exist within some critical UK agencies. In a country working to keep bad guys at bay, this type of alleged error makes life more difficult for the officials and the pesky elected officials who will ask questions about this alleged matter. The story is “Over 1,000 NHS Desktops Part of Botnet, says Symantec.” The alleged software scripts can do more than make a computer a dumb drone. The scripts can hose data to another computer. Those data could be parsed, queried, and analyzed. If Symantec is correct, there is work to be done. If Symantec is wrong, there is work to be done to keep such reports in perspective.
Stephen E Arnold, April 26, 2010
Unsponsored post.
Not-So-Secret Cell Phone Numbers
April 9, 2010
Tired of unwanted phone calls that show up on caller id only as “unknown name”? Even if the caller is using a cell phone, which many solicitors and crank calls do, you can learn who’s calling you, says private investigator George Martin in “How to look up Unlisted & Unregistered Phone Numbers — Online” on People Records Zone. “Telemarketers, stalkers, prank callers, creditors, and many others could be harassing you under the false assumption that you cannot track them, writes Martin. “Their assumption is false because, thanks to the internet, you can now discover precisely who owns the particular cell phone number that has been calling you. All the recipient has to do is enter the complete phone number into one of many free unlisted-number search directory services, and the caller’s name will be revealed, says Martin. Knowing who is making the calls may not stop all unwanted calls, but if anonymity is important to the caller — especially those with ill intent — it should help.
John Sniffen, April 9, 2010
Post not sponsored.
Oracle and Its Semantic Technologies Center
April 7, 2010
In the course of a research project for a client, we came across the Oracle Semantic Technologies Center. We had heard that Oracle had some testing underway with Siderean Software (now in hiatus) in the semantic technology field. According to Oracle:
Oracle Spatial 11g introduces the industry’s first open, scalable, secure and reliable RDF management platform. Based on a graph data model, RDF triples are persisted, indexed and queried, similar to other object-relational data types. The Oracle 11g RDF database ensures that application developers benefit from the scalability of Oracle 11g to deploy scalable and secure semantic applications.
There are links to a life sciences “platform” which offers a presentational, some white papers, and product brochures. One of the more interesting documents explains the Oracle “platform”. You can download the presentation (validated on April 6, 2010) here. The system includes references to known technologies like table spaces and to some methods that seem to be getting long in the tooth, for example, hand crafted rules for Oracle streams. The presentation has a date of 2006, which makes me wonder if Oracle has pulled resources from this initiative. The presentation includes information about Oracle Secure Enterprise Search, another product about which we wonder about Oracle’s investment and commitment. The information about vast quantities of data does not include information about the hardware scaling products based on Sun Microsystems’ technologies. Despite its 2006 date, the presentation is quite complete and is an excellent yardstick against which to measure the more up to date information about Oracle. Despite the marketing, Oracle’s platform strikes us as mostly unchanged in the last few years. Your view may differ, of course.
The semantic splash page does provide links to information about Oracle 11g. The September 2009 write up “Oracle Semantic Technologies Inference Best Practices with RDFS/OWL” focuses on system performance. The white paper begs the question, “If the performance referenced in this white paper is as stated, why does an Oracle customer need the new generation of Exadata Storage Servers?”
After working through the information available from the Semantic Technologies Center, I formed an impression of broad marketing statements and specific detail about the performance of the Oracle systems. What seemed to be missing were updates to some critical documents and an way to figure out how the many moving parts fit together to solve a specific semantic problem.
Worth bookmarking if you are working with Oracle search or semantic systems, however.
Stephen E Arnold, April 7, 2010
No one paid us to write this article.
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