How Are Those Cyber Security Vendors Performing? (Yes, That Is the Correct Word)
April 30, 2021
This sounds like old news. This is really new news. The trust outfit Thomson Reuters published “U.S. Government Probes VPN Hack within Federal Agencies, Races to Find Clues.” The main idea is that despite the amped up cyber security efforts, another somewhat minor issue has been discovered. The trust outfit reports:
The new government breaches involve a popular virtual private network (VPN) known as Pulse Connect Secure, which hackers were able to break into as customers used it. More than a dozen federal agencies run Pulse Secure on their networks, according to public contract records.
What’s up with VPNs? Here’s the trusted news source’s slick prose answering this question:
The use of VPNs, which create encrypted tunnels for connecting remotely to corporate networks, has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet with the growth in VPN usage so too has the associated risk.
Some questions:
- Do existing cyber security systems ignore VPN traffic?
- Do existing monitoring systems provided by vendors like Microsoft have a “certain blindness”?
- In the aftermath of the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange Server stubbed toes, have systems been enhanced to deal with threats which appear to operate in an undetectable manner?
Answers? No good ones its seems. Ads and speeches. Oh, yeah! Marketing is performance art.
Stephen E Arnold, April 30, 2021, 942 am US Eastern
Enterprise Search: Please Just Give Users What They Are Searching For
April 30, 2021
Here’s a modest proposal. Be upfront about what “enterprise search” can and cannot do. Nope, will not happen. Enterprise search, like a file manager, is a utility. But those with money bet on enterprise search becoming the next big thing will not admit to the craziness of statements like “index all your information.” All? Yeah, violate privacy, health information regulations, secrets related to acquisitions, etc.
Where is enterprise search? What types of things do the builders of enterprise search consider? CIO Applications gives us some insight in its write-up, “Five Important Features of Enterprise Search Platform.” To hear them tell it, it is all about the UI. We’re informed:
“Enterprise search platforms should have a world-class user interface (UI) that makes it simple and stress-free for users and allows for an excellent user experience. Organizations today face unimaginable volumes of unstructured data, necessitating the creation of an efficient enterprise search platform. An enterprise search tool aids in the analysis and interpretation of organizational data. It assists a company in making better strategic decisions and gaining a competitive advantage.”
According to the post, the five key features include data security, user friendliness, scalability, flexibility & customization, and search analytics. We feel this assessment is off the mark. Lipstick on a pig does not capture the cosmeticizing of a basic function. Aside from security, these components are perks that should be considered after the core requirement is met—employees have to be able to find what they seek. Unfortunately, most enterprise search systems fall short on search itself. The rest are just bells and whistles to distract from that reality. Keep in mind that in order for a person to locate a PowerPoint with the changes a slightly out of control sales professional made to close a big deal with a new customers more than enterprise search is needed. How does one make search in an enterprise work? How about wave hands, chant AI AI AI, and close the deal with a faked demo? This has worked for many search vendors for many years.
Cynthia Murrell, April 30, 2021
Google Bets: Chump Change
April 30, 2021
In the midst of stakeholder ebullience about Alphabet Google’s money making prowess, I spotted one interesting comment. “Alphabet Reports Q1 2021 Revenue of $55.3 Billion” included this statement:
The closely-watched “Other Bets” continues to lose money. It reported $198 million revenue primarily generated by Verily and Fiber from $135 million in Q1 of 2020. However, it lost $1.15 billion compared to $1.12 billion in the same quarter of last year.
For a company of Alphabet Google YouTube’s scale this is a modest loss. However, it does beg a couple of questions:
- Is the data analysis used to decide upon what to wager flawed?
- Is there high value information about the firm’s management of certain projects contained in these increasing and continuing losses?
Alphabet does online advertising and data vending. Innovation may be more of a reach than some expected.
Stephen E Arnold, April 30, 2021
Why Metadata? The Answer: Easy and Good Enough
April 30, 2021
I read “We Were Promised Strong AI, But Instead We Got Metadata Analysis.” The essay is thoughtful and provides a good summary of indexing’s virtues. The angle of attack is that artificial intelligence has not delivered the zip a couple of bottles of Red Bull provides. Instead, metadata is more like four ounces of Sunny D tangy original.
The write up states:
The phenomenon of metadata replacing AI isn’t just limited to web search. Manually attached metadata trumps machine learning in many fields once they mature – especially in fields where progress is faster than it is in internet search engines. When your elected government snoops on you, they famously prefer the metadata of who you emailed, phoned or chatted to the content of the messages themselves. It seems to be much more tractable to flag people of interest to the security services based on who their friends are and what websites they visit than to do clever AI on the messages they send. Once they’re flagged, a human can always read their email anyway.
This is an accurate statement.
The write up does not address a question I think is important in the AI versus metadata discussion. That question is, “Why?”
Here are some of the reasons I have documented in my books and writings over the years:
- Metadata is cheaper to process than spending to get smart software to work in a reliable way
- Metadata is good enough; that is, key insights can be derived with maths taught in most undergraduate mathematics programs. (I lectured about the 10 algorithms which everyone uses. Why? These are good enough.)
- Machines can do pretty good indexing; that is, key word and bound phrase extraction and mapping, clustering, graphs of wide paths among nodes, people, etc.
- Humans have been induced to add their own – often wonky – index terms or hash tags as the thumbtypers characterize their tags
- Index analysis (Gene Garfield’s citation analysis) provides reasonably useful indications of what’s important even if one knows zero about a topic, entity, etc.
- Packaging indexing – sorry, metadata – as smart software and its ilk converts VCs from skeptics into fantasists. Money flows even though Google’s DeepMind technology is not delivering dump trucks of money to the Alphabet front door. Maybe soon? Who knows?
Net net: The strongest supporters of artificial intelligence have specific needs: Money, vindication of an idea gestated among classmates at a bar, or a desire to become famous.
Who agrees with me? Probably not too many people. As the professionals who founded commercial database products in the late 1970s and early 1980s die off, any chance of getting the straight scoop on the importance of indexing decreases. For AI professionals, that’s probably good news. For those individuals who understand indexing in today’s context, good luck with your mission.
Stephen E Arnold, April 30, 2021
Ransomware: A Great Lakes of Sitting Ducks
April 29, 2021
I read “No Ransomware Silver Bullet, Crooks Out of Reach.” The explicit point in the write up is that ransomware is a big deal and there’s no fix in sight. The implicit point is that existing cyber security systems don’t work. In the sunshine of SolarWinds, I assumed there was cyber security progress. Yeah, sorry.
The write up states:
The U.S. government now deems ransomware a national security threat. The FBI has just created a task force to tackle it.
The bad actors are slick operators; for example:
Some top ransomware criminals fancy themselves software service professionals. They take pride in their “customer service,” providing “help desks” that assist paying victims in file decryption. And they tend to keep their word. They have brands to protect, after all.
What’s the fix?
Committee meetings, recommendations, legislative action – these are good ideas.
In short, there is a veritable Great Lakes filled with sitting ducks. Have you tried to herd ducks? I have. Tough work. Marketing, reports, and hearings are much easier. Quack, quack, quack.
Stephen E Arnold, April 29, 2021
Works Great But Google Upgrades Android Device Search
April 29, 2021
It goes without question that Android mobile devices are superior when it comes to battery longevity and cost. Apple mobile devices are only better when it comes to communication between other Apple products and a universal device search. Slash Gear shares that Android is finally getting a long needed upgrade: “Android Third-Party Launchers Might Finally Get Universal Device Search.”
Universal device search is an out-of-the-box feature for all Microsoft and Apple products, but Android-based OS were left without the option to search everything. Sure, they could download the Google Search app to get this option, but out was only limited to the Pixel launcher and Google Search home screen widget. In other words, it did not even compare to MacOS Spotlight nor Windows Search.
Third-party Android developers were left little to compete with, but Android 12 could finally resolve the debacle. The Android 12 OS has an AppSearchManager API that offers universal search, but it is currently only in preview mode:
“This is definitely good news for developers of the myriad Android launchers available as it at least takes them one step closer to the functionality previously exclusive to Google’s own. At the moment, however, it doesn’t seem to be available just yet and it might be too early to invest in it until the final version lands in Android 12 beta.”
It is ironic that the supreme search giant Google does not offer a universal search comparable to Spotlight or Windows Search. Google is supposed to be the best search engine in the world, so why does it like a basic search function on its mobile devices? And the “universal” thing, please.
Whitney Grace, April 29, 2021
SEO: Yep, Easy Like 1-2-3
April 29, 2021
Much ado about SEO. VentureBeat has teamed up with StackCommerce to offer a training course the publication describes in, “SEO Is Shrouded in Mystery. This Google SEO Training Can Help Answer those Questions.” The post begins by emphasizing Google’s secrecy behind the specifics of its algorithm, lamenting that the company drops tantalizing hints here and there. Of course, they say, “everyone” wants to know how the algorithm works to make the most of their companies’ Search Engine Optimization. We’re told:
“Thankfully, not everything in the world of SEO is flying blind. The training in The 2021 Complete Google SEO and SERP Certification Bundle is an extremely helpful distillation of what a marketer or brand manager needs to know to make their web pages and content search-friendly so they can scale to that search ranking pinnacle. Over 11 courses, this package explains how SEO is done, as well as all the top tools and techniques to make Google algorithms smile on your website and your brand. It starts with SEO Training 2021: Beginner To Advanced SEO and The Complete SEO Course for Beginners 2021: Zero to Hero, where even digital marketing novices can learn the ropes, understanding what known factors go into a page’s SEO ranking and the factors available to move up those Google search results. The training also includes getting familiar with popular SEO tools like Ahref, Alexa, WordAI, Articleforge, and more, some of the most effective ways Amazon sellers market products, and even how to produce simple YouTube videos that can make a surprising impact on your Google search profile.”
There is a lot of razzle dazzle here, but let us provide a little clarity: creating quality, helpful content has always been the key to higher SEO rankings. That is the whole point of the algorithm in the first place, though the SEO industry has been built on gaming that system. The other alternative is even simpler, and probably the one Google would prefer—just buy Google ads for traffic. Mystery solved? Yep, just have $20,000 per month or more.
Cynthia Murrell, April 29, 2021
Facebook: Everlasting Delight!
April 29, 2021
We are still aghast at the carelessness that allowed hackers to access user information for about a billion accounts between Facebook and LinkedIn. The Facebook breach, at least, has spawned a couple of interesting side stories. First we learned that CEO Mark Zuckerberg uses chat app Signal, a competitor to Facebook’s WhatsApp. We also found out the Facebook breach has forced “Have I Been Pwned” to rework its search functionality, at least for this particular data set.
The folks at Signal must be delighted. India Today reports that the “Leaked Phone Number of Mark Zuckerberg Reveals He Is on Signal.” While both Signal and WhatsApp boast end-to-end encryption, there have been issues with what Facebook does with the back-up files. From Facebook’s point of view, this tidbit about Zuckerberg comes at an unfortunate juncture. Writer Yasmin Ahmed points out:
“The news comes at a time when many users outraged with Facebook-owned WhatsApp’s new privacy policy are moving to seemingly safer alternatives like Signal. WhatsApp’s contentious new terms of service are slated to come into effect from May 2021. The updated privacy policy changes how Facebook can access users’ chats with business accounts.”
Oh dear. In another tangent, we are interested in this change prompted by the leak—“The Facebook Phone Numbers Are Now Searchable in Have I Been HYPERLINK “https://www.troyhunt.com/the-facebook-phone-numbers-are-now-searchable-in-have-i-been-pwned/”Pwned,” explains the security check site’s own Troy Hunt. It is good to see a site adapt its search to evolving circumstances. But why was the site not already searchable by phone number? Hunt explains:
“I’d never planned to make phone numbers searchable and indeed this User Voice idea sat there for over 5 and a half years without action. My position on this was that it didn’t make sense for a bunch of reasons:
1. Phone numbers appear far less frequently than email addresses
2. They’re much harder to parse out of most data sets (i.e. I can’t just regex them out like email addresses)
3. They very often don’t adhere to a consistent format across breaches and countries of originPlus, when the whole modus operandi of HIBP is to literally answer that question – Have I Been Pwned? – so long as there are email addresses that can be searched, phone numbers don’t add a whole lot of additional value. The Facebook data changed all that.”
Indeed. While more than 500 million phone numbers were stolen, only a few million addresses went along for the ride. Until Hunt changed the search, he writes, over 99% of the many people checking on his site received a false negative. He was able to easily parse most phone numbers from well-formatted files in the breached data and normalize their format with a country code. The caveat—this fix only applies to this breach, unless or until a similar batch of phone numbers is harvested. See the post for the technical reasons that making phone-number searches standard is unworkable for the free resource.
Cynthia Murrell, April 29, 2021
Smart Software: What YCombinator Has Been Doing
April 28, 2021
I read a very good overview of Y Combinator’s involvement in smart software. Artificial intelligence generates significant investor interest and spins out massive hyperbole. “What Over a Decade of Y Combinator Data Reveals About Artificial Intelligence” takes a factual approach to characterizing Y Combinator’s activities in this active area of software and services.
The write up states:
The majority of AI funding in YC has been placed into what can be defined as Next Gen AI Infrastructure. The backbone of AI is Infrastructure which consists of numerous subcategories such as AI model development, computer vision, development operations, and natural language generation/natural language processing.
I was surprised to learn that YCombinator has placed emphasis on blocking and tackling, not spray painting the gym walls with slogans.
I circled the conclusion with a red marker.
Y Combinator’s 15 years’ worth of information suggests AI is rapidly heading towards mainstream adoption as companies are utilizing data to automate their activities. The data also suggests certain industries are getting more AI dollar investment than others (e.g., Business Operations, E-Commerce, Sales & CRM). Nonetheless, founders of startups specializing in Next Gen AI Infrastructure, Healthcare, and other mainstream industries should be encouraged that capital allocation will continue to grow in their respective sectors.
Well done. Worth reading.
Stephen E Arnold, April 28, 2021
You Know about CDPs, Right? Good, These Are the In Thing
April 28, 2021
A CDP is a customer data platform. The jargon embraces the idea of a customer list, information about those who are spending money and who might spend money, and the myriad software utilities which are desperate to reimagine themselves as digital tigers, not kitty cats.
Years ago, Vivisimo or another IBM entity, came up with the V idea. Big Data is fast which became velocity. Big data became big which morphed into volume. Big Data is a confection which variety. But three Vs were not enough. Former physical training majors combined with some art history grads and added value and veracity. Data quality became veracity. Yeah, got it.
Now the sales crowd is in the game with CDPs.
ZDNet discusses “The Five Vs of Customer Data Platforms.” Quite a coincidence to me. For the ZD professionals, this overlap with the Vs of Big Data is logical, possibly brilliant.
Research from CRM platform vendor Salesforce indicates customer data platforms were a high-priority investment for marketing executives last year. To describe the unique challenges of wrangling data from multiple channels for these systems, Writer Vala Afshar quotes from the book Customer Data Platforms by Martin Kihn and Salesforce’s Chris O’Hara:
“When it comes to marketing, customers expect the interactions they have on a company’s website to translate to their mobile app experiences and even in-store visits. The problem is that, for most companies, those environments operate off of different datasets—even though the customer is the same. Customers also expect their experiences as they move from channel to channel to be consistent, and ‘in the moment.’ Most customer journeys involve over three different channels (e.g., email, web, and mobile app), and customers tend to move seamlessly and quickly between these channels. Most companies, however, don’t have these data environments connected in real-time. The result is disconnected experiences for consumers and the lack of a single source of truth about customers for the marketer.”
Benefits of gathering all this data and putting it at the fingertips of customer service include more personalized interactions and the ability to prioritize calls from the most loyal buyers, for example. We learn:
“The good news is that this is happening today. Large enterprises with sophisticated IT departments, in-house developers, and large software budgets are connecting these systems to create such results. The bad news is that it’s very expensive, requires constant vigilance and development to keep it working, and its dependent upon licensing solutions from dozens of software vendors for data ingestion to data activation, and everything in between.”
This is where Afshar’s version of the five Vs comes in. For more insight into original thinking, please, see the write-up for his suggestions on how to use those as guidelines for more efficiently creating a comprehensive customer data platform.
Cynthia Murrell, April 28, 2021
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