• McAfee acquires MX Logic to enhance cloud security

    McAfee acquires MX Logic for $140 million; MX Logic has 40,000 customers and four million end users; the deal is designed to bolster McAfee’s existing “security as a service” portfolio; McAfee, alongside Panda and Trend Micro, is among the most aggressive players in the security market in talking up the benefits of cloud-based architectures

  • Clampi virus targets businesses' financial accounts

    A new virus is spreading, specifically targeting companies’ financial accounts; at least 500,000 computers have been infected by Clampi since March

  • Fort Meade leads the competition for new U.S. cyber center site

    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is recommending the Defense Department create a new agency, U.S. Cyber Command, at Fort Meade, Maryland; if Fort Meade is chosen, Maryland will see the addition of as many as 50,000 government and contracting jobs, bringing in salaries of about $1.7 billion annually

  • Eleven questions to ask -- and answer -- about your organization's crisis plan

    The H1N1 influenza virus has caused anxiety as businesses, schools, and governments contemplated the prospect of widespread quarantines and shutdowns; other disasters may have similar consequences; is your organization ready?

  • New technology locks up Biometrics

    Communication encryption relies on authentication being symmetric to work: the user’s password or PIN must match the password or PIN stored by the recipient (online shop, bank, etc.) to lock and unlock the data; biometric may be used for encryption — but biometrics is not a symmetric process; South African researchers now show how biometrics can nevertheless be used to make a consistent secret key for encryption

  • Nasal vaccine developed for swine flu

    Maryland-based Medimmune developed a nasal vaccine for the swine flu; so far, the U.S. government has ordered 12.8 million doses of H1N1 vaccine from Medimmune for $151 million and could order millions more doses

  • ImageID tracks and traces cargo -- for better business and tighter security

    ImageID’s Visidot system uses high-powered cameras and lighting that scan tags and barcodes more quickly and efficiently than hand-held scanning systems do — and at a much lower price than RFID systems

  • Apple says jailbreaking may knock out transmission towers

    The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked the U.S. Copyright Office to instruct Apple to allow “jailbreaking ” — that is, modification of the iPhone’s software without Apple’s approval; Apple responded that modifying the iPhone’s operating system could crash a mobile phone network’s transmission towers or allow people to avoid paying for phone calls

  • Encouraging student technology start-ups

    Wolverhampton University’s program gives students the opportunity to set up their own business while they are still at university

  • Force Protection to upgrade MRAPs

    Providing IED-resistant vehicles — Mine Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP — to the U.S. military is a growing business; South Carolina-based Force Protection, a manufacturer of the Cougar MRAP, upgrades the Cougar’s suspension

  • Addressing cloud computing confusion

    New report sheds light on federal government cloud computing progress; industry and government are at equal cloud adoption pace

  • Taser shows multi-shot stun gun

    The new device is capable of shocking three people without having to reload

  • IBM acquires Ounce Labs

    Securing software code is a growing business, and IBM is buying code security specialist Ounce Labs

  • Northrop Grumman opens new cybersecurity center

    Northrop opens its Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) in suburban Maryland; the center will monitor the company’s more than 105,000 clients and 10,000 servers worldwide; more than 1.5 billion daily cyber events that occur on the Northrop Grumman network

  • Dayton's new UAV center receives initial funding

    UAVs are becoming more and more ubiquitous in military and homeland security missions; Dayton, Ohio — a neighbor to Wright-Patterson Air Force base — wants to capitalize on the UAV trend, and it opens a new UAV technology center