The Pros and Cons of Data Silos When It Comes to Data Analysis and Management
February 22, 2016
The article on Informatica Blog titled Data Silos Are the Death of Analytics. Here’s the Fix explores the often overlooked need for a thorough data management vision and strategy at any competitive business. The article is plugging for an eBook guide to data analytics, but it does go into some detail on the early stages of streamlining the data management approach, summarized by the advice to avoid data silos. The article explains,
“It’s vital to pursue a data management architecture that works across any type of data, BI tool, or storage technology. If the move to add Hadoop or NoSQL demands entirely different tools to manage the data, you’re at risk of creating another silo…When you’ve got different tools for your traditional data warehouse versus your cloud setup, and therefore different skill sets to hire for, train for, and maintain, you’re looking at a real mess.”
The suggestions for streamlined processes and analysis certainly make sense, but the article does not defend the reasonable purposes of data silos, such as power, control, and secrecy. Nor do they consider that in some cases a firm is required to create data silos to comply with a government contract. But it is a nice thought: one big collection of data, one comprehensive data strategy. Maybe.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 22, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Print and Digital: Both Goners
February 20, 2016
I read in McPaper this article: “Wolff: Print’s Dead — but So Is Digital.” Okay, I learned from Dr. Francis Chivers (Duquesne University professor in the 1960s) that God is dead. I learned from Francis Fukuyama (assorted universities) that history is dead. Now I learn from McPaper that print and digital are dead. A two’fer! That is what makes McPaper so darned compelling.
The article informed me:
the effort to compete with native digital news outlets like BuzzFeed means traditional news organizations, with traditional share price values, must, like the venture-capital supported natives, pay more for traffic than can ever hope to be made back from advertisers. In this model, the digital natives can yet hope to sell to deep-pocket buyers, whereas the traditionals can only go out of business.
Where does McPaper land in this business scenario?
I noted this passage and its nod to the recently acquired yellow orange newspaper, the Financial Times:
At present, the FT concludes, there is no viable economic model for a written news product. Hence, in some ever-increasing existential darkness, it’s back to the drawing board in search of one.
Question: How many trips to the drawing board do traditional newspaper publishers get to make? I thought the digital revolution kicked off 40 or 50 years ago. I wonder if the drawing board is okay, but the folks visiting it are in a digital version of Sartre’s No Exit.
Well, well, I dare say one gets used to it in time.
Stephen E Arnold, February 20, 2016
Hobbit: Not Palantir Hobbits
February 19, 2016
I read “Hobbit—First Deliverables and Online Presence.” The news item reminded me that a European consortium “aims to develop a holistic benchmarking platform for big linked data and corresponding industry grade benchmarks.” The article pointed out an open benchmarking platform to evaluate the performance of state of the art systems on standardized hardware. To learn more about this European initiative navigate to this link. Will vendors participate so that meaningful performance data become available? That’s the hope.
Stephen E Arnold, February 19, 2016
Recommind Enables Easier Oversight into E-Discovery for Legal Industry
February 19, 2016
A recent article, entitled Recommind Adds Muscle to Cloud e-Discovery from CMS Wire, highlights an upgrade to Recommind’s Axcelerate e-discovery platform. This information intelligence and governance provider for the legal industry has upped their offering by adding a new efficiency scoring feature to enable “extensive visibility into the overall e-discovery review process.” Recommind make the updated based on polling their clients and finding 80 percent do not have oversight in regards to the technological competency of their outside counsel:
“Citing the same survey, he added that 72 percent of respondents pointed to insufficient visibility into the discovery practices of their outside counsel — legal professionals working with them but outside the firm — as a major concern. Axcelerate Cloud also eliminates the cost unpredictability that arises with traditional hosting charges with cloud-based e-discovery tools providers and the infrastructure maintenance required for on-premises solutions.”
When insights from big data is what a company is after, stronger cloud-based functionality is often the first step. Reminds us of enterprise search firm Autonomy which was eventually sold to HP. What will be next for Recommind?
Megan Feil, February 19, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
I Left My NoSQL Heart at the MarkLogic Conference
February 18, 2016
MarkLogic is a headlining company in the field of NoSQL enterprise databases, allowing companies to process, search, scale through massive data stores as well as build Web applications to handle the onslaught. As a respected enterprise leader, MarkLogic occasionally holds a conference to teach IT professionals as well as potential customers about its software benefits. This year MarkLogic will host the MarkLogic World 2016 US in San Francisco, California from May 9-12 at the Park Central Hotel.
The conference is described as:
“We kick the week off on Monday with three different hands-on workshops to choose from and end our week Thursday afternoon with our traditional closing keynote with our Founder and Chief Architect, Christopher Lindblad. New this year, we are including a special Partner Track, exclusive to MarkLogic partners and those interested in becoming one. If you are developing with MarkLogic, transitioning from RDBMS to MarkLogic, building apps on MarkLogic, or if you are just starting out on MarkLogic, this is the event for you. Sessions span from MarkLogic basics to technical deep dives covering data modeling, semantics, much & more.”
A Partner Track? That is a new feature at the MarkLogic convention, but what is its purpose? Will it be a daylong event where MarkLogic partners advertise their services or wares otherwise known as a commercial seminar without a free lunch? Will it be an informative explanation about how MarkLogic partners are shaping the NoSQL enterprise industry and combining their talents to advance the field? Maybe it is just a mix and mingle for networking?
The only way to know is to sign up for the conference and if you use the promo code “MLEMJAN” you can get in for free. It is also an excuse to visit San Francisco and ride the cable cars.
Whitney Grace, February 18, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google 20% Time Policy Projects Take Users Around the World
February 18, 2016
The article on StumbleUpon titled 12 Lesser-Known Google Projects That Are Absolutely Amazing describes how certain Google employees took advantage of their creative time, or “20% time polcy” that dictates one day a week should be used experimentally. Hence some of these whimsical concepts like Google Sky, which functions similarly to Google Earth but in the far-out setting of space. Another idea is the game Ingress,
“Ingress transforms the real world into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition. Our future is at stake. You must choose a side. A mysterious energy has been unearthed by a team of scientists in Europe. The origin and purpose of this force is unknown, but some researchers believe it is influencing the way we think. We must control it or it will control us.”
Other projects offer outlets to explore global culture and history, such as the World Wonders Project, which enables users to view high-res photos and 3D views of distant places like the Pyramids of Giza and Angor Wat. The Google Art Project contains quality images of important artworks from 400 art museums all over the world and allows users to build their own collections for take audio tours to learn more about famous pieces. Overall, the projects encourage increased engagement with technology, culture, and creativity.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 18, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Was the Silk Road Trial Fair?
February 17, 2016
The Dark Web burst into the general consciousness with underground Web site called the Silk Road was busted. Ross Ulbricht aka the Dread Pirate Roberts ran the crime ridden Web site Silk Road that was a darknet playground for drug pushers, sex traffickers, money launders, hackers, and just about every other relatable crime that wants an untraceable presence. The Naked Security blog by Sophos proposes the question “Ross Ulbricht Appeals Silk Road Conviction-Did He Get A Fair Trial?”
In 2015, Ulbricht was convicted for money laundering, drug and hacking-related charges, and sentenced to two life terms with an additional forty years for running the entire Silk Road network. Ulbricht’s lawyers appealed the case based on the grounds that the law enforcement officials were guilty themselves of stealing bitcoins and extorting from Ulbricht. The evidence proving this was, of course, withheld in the trial and any favorable pro-Ulbricht evidence was suppressed.
“Ulbricht’s family paints a very different picture of him than federal prosecutors. The family has been waging a campaign to “Free Ross Ulbricht” that accuses the government of framing Ulbricht as part of the “failed War on Drugs,” and depicting his case as a milestone in the government’s crackdown on Internet freedom. Ulbricht’s defense attorneys argued at trial, and in his appeal, that Ulbricht had founded the Silk Road using the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, but that he had sold his stake and was framed by subsequent operators.”
Ulbricht’s family says that the two corrupt agents Shaun Bridges and Carl Force had administrative privileges on Silk Road and would have been able to manipulate information in their favor. They claim the information was withheld when Ulbricht’s case went to court and the government kept it under seal to protect its agents.
Ulbricht and his family have many supporters saying that the two consecutive life terms without parole was too harsh of a punishment. They also claim that Ulbricht’s Fourth Amendment rights were breached.
The US government, however, thinks otherwise. They want to make an example of Ross Ulbricht and send a message to cyber criminals that they cannot hide behind the Dark Web’s invisibility cloak. The Dark Web might be a mask criminals wear, but a light can unmask them.
Whitney Grace, February 17, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
UK Government Digital Services Board without an Alphabet
February 16, 2016
I read “Government Creates Digital Board to Advise on Tech Matters.” The idea is that the UK government wants to be more informed about technology. Hmm. What about the National Health Services’ on the job learning? I assume those experiences were not sufficiently rich and deep. The entities on the board, according to the write up, are:
- Amadeus Capital
- Amazon
- Aviva
- Baroness (one)
- Entrepreneur First
- Founders Factory
- Goldman Sachs
- Improbably
- LoveFilm (founder)
- Open Data Institute (founder)
- WeAreTheCity.com.
My question, “No Alphabet Google?” I do like the inclusion of baroness and some MBA types.
Stephen E Arnold, February 16, 2016
Dark Web Crime Has Its Limits
February 12, 2016
The Dark Web is an intriguing and mysterious phenomenon, but rumors about what can be found there are exaggerated. Infomania examines what is and what is not readily available in that murky realm in, “Murder-for-Hire on the Dark Web? It Can’t Be True!”
Anonymity is the key factor in whether certain types of criminals hang out their shingles on the TOR network. Crimes that can be more easily committed without risking identification include drug trafficking, fraud, and information leaks. On the other hand, contract assassins, torture-as-entertainment, and human trafficking are not actually to be found, despite reports to the contrary. See the article for details on each of these, and more. The article cites independent researcher Chris Monteiro as it summarizes:
The dark web is rife with cyber crime. But it’s more rampant with sensationalized myths about assassination and torture schemes — which, as Chris can attest, simply aren’t true. “What’s interesting is so much of the coverage of these scam sites is taken at face value. Like, ‘There is a website. Therefore its contents must be true.’ Even when mainstream media picks it up, very few pick it up skeptically,” he says.
Take the Assassination Market, for example. When news outlets got wind of its alleged existence in 2013, they ran with the idea of “Murder-for-hire!!” on the Internet underground. Although Chris has finally demonstrated that these sites are not real, their legend lives on in Internet folklore. “Talking about the facts — this is how cybercrime works, this is how Tor and Bitcoin work — is a lot less sexy than saying, ‘If you click on the wrong link, you’ll be kidnapped, and you’ll end up in a room where you’ll be livestreamed, murdered, and you’re all over the internet!’” Chris says. “All I can do is point out what’s proven and what isn’t.”
So, next time someone spins a scary tale about killers-for-hire who are easily found online, you can point them to this article. Yes, drug trafficking, stolen data, and other infractions are big problems associated with the Dark Web, but let us not jump at shadows.
Cynthia Murrell, February 12, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
To Search the Dark Web
February 11, 2016
If you have wondered how, exactly, one searches for information on the Dark Web, take a gander at “The Best TOR Search Engines of 2016” at Cyberwarzone. Reporter CWZ writes:
“On the TOR network you can find various websites just like you find on the ‘normal web.’ The websites which are hosted on the TOR network are not indexed by search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo, but the search engines which are listed below, do index the TOR websites which are hosted via the TOR network. It is important to remember that you do need the TOR client on your device in order to access the TOR network, if you cannot use a TOR client on your device, you can use one of the free TOR gateways which are listed below in the web TOR providers tab.”
The article warns about malicious TOR clients, and strongly suggests readers download the client found at the official TOR website. Four search engines are listed— https://Ahmia.fi, https://Onion.cab, https://onion.link/, and http://thehiddenwiki.org/. CWZ also lists those Web TOR gateways, through which one can connect to TOR services with a standard Web browser instead of using a TOR client. See the end of the article for that information.
Cynthia Murrell, February 11, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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