j-j.co.za
Sharing thoughts and ideas on business, security and photographyMicrosoft’s largest security patch release (ever?) #in
Posted on August 06, 2010Microsoft are set to release their biggest set of patches ever next week Tuesday. According to the Microsoft Security Response Center, Microsoft will issue fourteen Security Bulletins addressing thirty four vulnerabilities, and that excludes the out of band patch release done earlier this week for the LNK vulnerability. The list of affected operating systems includes all supported versions of Windows, as well as various versions of MS Office (for Mac and Windows) and Silverlight. They will also be updating Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services and Microsoft Update.
Microsoft will host a webcast after the patches are released. See the details here.
Find the full content of Microsoft’s bulletin advance notice here.
Network security podcast covers Cisco 2010 Midyear Security Report #in
Posted on August 04, 2010I was listening to the Network Security podcast this morning (Blackhat mini-cast) and they had an interview with Mary Landesman, a Senior Cisco security researcher, who discussed the Cisco 2010 Mid-year security report that is now available. Download here. Direct link to PDF.
Quoting the intro from the report :
The Cisco 2010 Midyear Security Report examines the major forces of change reshaping the global security landscape. These changes demand that organizations rethink their approaches to enterprise security. Current shifts — from the virtualization of operations to collaboration and social networking — provide new opportunities for criminals to infiltrate networks and steal high-value business data.
The Cisco 2010 Midyear Security Report includes:
- Results and analysis from two new Cisco studies — one focused on employee collaboration and the other on the concerns of IT decision-makers worldwide
- International trends in cyber-security and their potential impact on business
- Insight into how hackers penetrate “soft spots” in enterprise security to steal sensitive data and sell it to the highest bidder
- An update on global spam trends since late 2009 and spam volume predictions for 2010
- Guidance from Cisco security experts to help businesses improve their enterprise security by 2011
Read the Cisco 2010 Midyear Security Report, and find the best strategies to help you meet current security demands for your organization.
During the podcast it was also mentioned that Cisco put out weekly and monthly reports. I hadn’t seen these reports before and have just whipped through some quickly and it’s quite interesting, definitely something I will come back to and have a look at on a weekly basis. To quote the site blurb “The weekly Cyber Risk Reports provide strategic intelligence that highlight current security activity. The reports address seven major risk management categories: vulnerability, physical, legal, trust, identity, human, and geopolitical.”
You can find the weekly reports and supporting podcasts here.
ZaCon call for papers closes 20th August 2010 (17 days folks)
Posted on August 03, 2010Just a reminder that the free (low cost) security conference ZaCon is being held on Saturday 9th October 2010 at the University of Joburg.
The call for papers went out some time ago and closes on the 20th August. If you are interested in attending, diarise, if you have something to share then write up that abstract and send it through.
Sophos mid-year 2010 Security Threat Report
Posted on August 03, 2010IT security company Sophos has released its mid-year 2010 Security Threat Report. The report provides some insight into Cybercrime as well as other IT security trends and developments for the first half of 2010.
The report provide a short history and background into the cybercrime economy, then covers some noticeable arrests and sentences over the last 12 months, making for interesting reading. Of particular interest is the particularly “tolerant” attitude of those survyed to government cyber-crime activities.
Some thoughts around social media as an attack vector are also explored, as well as some insights into the threats to the major mobile platforms (iPhone, Blackberry, Android).
The report also provides details on the top malware/spyware hosting countries for January to June 2010.
Blackberry Bold 9000 extended battery replacement (update)
Posted on July 30, 2010I posted a week ago around the extended capacity battery that I had ordered off E-bay for the grand total of $10. Just a quick update after a week’s usage.
First foremost, this thing does what was advertised, and the battery life is a HUGE improvement over what I was getting from the the year old 1500mAh original Blackberry battery. The old battery was struggling to get me through a day. Even with some USB laptop charging during the day, with a full overnight charge and the day beginning at 6am, my battery was flat by 5pm.
This battery is new and yes it’s only the first week, however, with the same usage patterns as above (and described in my original post), the extended battery is lasting to 11pm and still having some life left over. Tonight as we speak I still have half a battery charge left. Wow, I don’t think I could go back to the old battery.
That said, the phone still feels HUGE. The new battery cover makes the phone feel twice the size. I read quite a bit on the device using the Kindle App (and that works great) so I had to get used to holding the phone all over again is it doesn’t feel the same. It also doesn’t fit neatly into my pocket with the Nokia E71. So I’m changing the little habits to make this thing work. Some people just won’t be able to get over the size, but for me, I’m sticking with the extended battery and would definitely recommend it to anybody who is struggling to get through a day.
$10 from soonhua_digital on ebay (US) with free shipping to SA, took a week to arrive (from China). Best R75 I have spent in a long time.
MSc/PhD Scholarships:The Dept of Science & Technology and National Research Foundation, Cosmology,Radio astronomy
Posted on July 30, 2010Thanks to @cecilia_vdm for tweeting about this :
The South African SKA Project is a project of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation and comprises Africa’s bid to host the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope (SKA), the design, construction and operation of the Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT) and a youth into science and engineering programme focused on supporting science and engineering students and postdoctoral fellows. Africa has been short-listed with Australia to host the SKA. If Africa is selected to site the SKA,the core of the telescope will be located in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape.
Scholarships are being offered aligned to the SKA project. The research focus for the SKA PhD and MSc scholarships must align very closely with specific areas of MeerKAT, SKA, PAPER and C-BASS science and technology where research is required.
For 2011, the research projects must be in the following general fields:
• Observational radio astronomy and cosmology.
• Experimental cosmology
• Radio astronomy engineering and instrumentation technologies
Alternatively, if a student wishes to undertake a project that does not appear on this list, he/she is free to submit a proposal for consideration, together with motivation for why the proposed project is relevant to the design, construction and scientific research goals of the MeerKAT and / or SKA.
Closing date for applications is 31 August 2010.
This project sounds really interesting and there are some wonderful research opportunities here. Go and read up further on their website. http://infoscholarship.net/nrfsa-ska-phd-and-msc-scholarships-2011-south-africa.html
P.S. If you are interested in scholarships being offered around the world in many diverse research areas, follow @infoscholarship on Twitter.
Security and ethics presentation to UKZN MBA class – copy of presentation
Posted on July 30, 2010On Tuesday evening (27th July 2010) I did a presentation to the University of KwaZulu Natal MBA class. The presentation was rather enjoyable (from my perspective) and with all the questions and interactions with the class we spoke for around and hour and a half or so.We did go a bit over time for the normal end time for the lecture, so thanks to the class for their patience and thanks again for you attention and questions.
Attached is a copy of the presentation for anybody who is interested.
UKZN Graduate School of Business Seminar : Spiritual Intelligence at Work
Posted on July 27, 2010Spiritual Intelligence at Work : improving integrity, vitality and productivity
The University of KwaZulu Natal’s Graduate School of Business is pleased to advise that Dr Richard Steele will present at a forthcoming Business Seminar addressing the topic: Spiritual Intelligence at Work – improving integrity, vitality and productivity.
The word “spiritual” derives from the Latin word spiritus, which means “that which gives life or vitality to a system”. Spiritual intelligence is the ability to find meaning and purpose in life, and a way of connecting with the underlying patterns of the universe and all within it. The use of the word spiritual in relation to intelligence has no necessary connection with institutional religion.
This seminar will examine questions such as:
- How is spiritual intelligence (SQ) different from intellectual intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ)?
- How can we increase our integrity and vitality by connecting with, exploring, and improving our spiritual intelligence?
- How can spiritual intelligence contribute to organisational wellbeing and productivity?
Spiritual intelligence at work provides an organisational environment based on respect for life and openness to change. Alignment of core values with business practice leads to a more emotionally healthy working environment which increases staff loyalty, motivation, creativity and productivity and adds depth to the triple bottom line principles of environmental, social and financial sustainability.
Dr Richard Steele is a homeopath in private practice and a part-time lecturer in the Department of Homeopathy at the Durban University of Technology. He graduated from UCT in 1979 with majors in English and Psychology and a teacher’s diploma. Up until 1993, when he registered at DUT for his Master’s degree in homeopathy, he was a fieldworker for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, based in Durban. In that capacity he conducted many workshops and training events related to peace, justice, human rights and non-violent direct action.
Date: 19 August 2010
Time: 16h30 (1 hour)
Cost: R100.00 pp
Venue: GSB, UKZN Westville Campus
To Book Contact:
Ms Debbie Main: 031 260 1627, maind1@ukzn.ac.za
ISACA KZN – A tale of two cities – and frameworks
Posted on July 27, 2010The topic and speaker for the next ISACA KZN Chapter meeting (Thu 5th August 2010 at EY’s offices on La Lucia Ridge) is now confirmed. After much deliberation and debate, the speaker is non other than yours truly.
Topic : ” A tale of two cities – and control frameworks”
Speaker : Justin Williams
This is the same presentation that I gave at the IT Web conference earlier in the year. If you caught the presentation there you are still welcome to come along and contribute to the discussion/debate on the topic.
The meeting will take place at Ernst & Young in the main Boardroom, 2pm start with the presentation kicking off at 2:30pm, we need to be out by 4:30pm.
Attendees please confirm with Nadine (for catering purposes) by no later than 12:00hrs Friday 30th July 2010. Contact: – 011 803 0803 – admin@isaca.org.za
Help out an MBA student by completing questionnaire on Phishing
Posted on July 23, 2010I, RAJAN MUNIEN, an MBA student, at the Graduate School of Business, University of Kwazulu-Natal, hereby invite you to participate in a research project entitled “Internet Phishing – Hook, Line and Hopefully not Sunk…” The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding about online user’s awareness to the problem of Internet Phishing (IP). Through your participation I hope to determine the level of awareness amongst users and to present a strategy in creating further awareness on the problem. The results are intended to contribute towards implementing an awareness programme that will prevent further users from becoming victims to the threat of Internet Phishing. Your participation in this project is voluntary. You may refuse to participate or withdraw from the project at any time with no negative consequence. There will be no monetary gain from participating in this survey group. Confidentiality and anonymity of records identifying you as a participant will be maintained by the Graduate School of Business, UKZN.
If you agree to the above and want to proceed to the questionnaire, please click on the link below. This survey will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete.
http://internetphishing.questionpro.com
If you have questions at any time about the survey or the procedures, you may contact the author hereunder:
Rajan Munien, Cell : 084 – 5800 176, email : rajan.munien@gmail.com
ISACA KZN Chapter meeting, Thu 5th August 2010
Posted on July 23, 2010The next KZN ISACA Chapter meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday 5 August 2010. This meeting was going to take place at Deloitte, however, there has now been a change in plans.
The meeting will take place at Ernst & Young in the main Boardroom, 2pm start with the presentation kicking off at 2:30pm, we need to be out by 4:30pm.
With the planned speaker having canceled on me I am still busy organising a replacement speaker. This will be confirmed early next week. Anybody wishing to speak at the event (or having any good ideas for a speaker/topic) is welcome to drop me a mail or tweet me.
Attendees please confirm with Nadine (for catering purposes) by no later than 12:00hrs Friday 30th July 2010. Contact: – 011 803 0803 – admin@isaca.org.za
What people say
Close block