In this edition: Symantec Statement Regarding New York Times Cyber Attack; Red Hat's Top 10 IT Predictions for 2013; State & Local Turn to a New CIO: Chief Innovation Officer; Pentagon Expanding Cybersecurity Force to Protect Networks Against Attacks

In 2004, Cabir became the first mobile-based worm, infecting Symbian-based devices including old Samsung and Nokia models. Although it was developed as a proof-of-concept, within a year Cabir helped spawn mobile malware including the first mobile Trojan (Qdial) and mobile application hack (Skulls). Today, explosion of smartphones and tablets has spawned an entirely new hacking industry – one that has the potential to bypass your current cybersecurity strategies if you have not included mobile protection.

The Senate worked throughout last year to gain consensus on a cybersecurity bill. The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 sought to establish a National Cybersecurity Council to be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The thrust of this particular legislation would have been to put in place a framework for protection of so called “critical infrastructure” - power plants, refineries, chemical production installations and similar facilities.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of hearing Henry Sienkiewicz, Vice Chief Information Assurance Executive for the Defensive Information Systems Agency (DISA), at a luncheon hosted by the Northern Virginia chapter of the Air Forces Communications and Electronics Association. In his opening remarks, Mr. Sienkiewicz identified three vectors challenging their cybersecurity delivery: budget decreases, strong demand from the services, and how cybersecurity is being conducted to defend and protect the mission. My five key takeaways are the following...

In this edition: Symantec to Rely on Partners After Restructuring; Touchdown! NetApp & The Super Bowl Partner; Autodesk and NASA Developing New Technology; Red Hat Uses ManageIQ Acquisition to Further Cloud Offerings

If you’ve ever found yourself walking the aisles of Ikea, enjoying your meatballs and lingonberry jam, wondering what a data center would look like if Ikea’s designers made one, wonder no longer – MDC Stockholm just built it.

One of the most frequently misused quotes references the bottom of the totem pole. Many people associate it with negativity - “I’m stuck at the bottom of the totem pole.” However, the bottom is one of the places you wanted to be because it was one of the most honorable positions. It was those at the bottom who everyone relied on to hold society up. Cybersecurity is no different. Those at the bottom now must help hold those at the top.

One of the most common questions I get from clients is, “What are the differences between a 1GB and 10GB Ethernet network?” The two biggest are speed and security.

Technically News scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a weekly source of IT news, information, and ideas that impact the public sector. In this edition: Using GIS Technology to Develop Government Apps; 20 State and Local Government Technology Infographics; Big Data: What to Consider Before Releasing Information to the Public; Virtualization Will Drive the Storage Market; Cloud Computing Adoption Grows, Bandwidth Isn't

Non-technical readers may be surprised to learn that software defects are the most common root cause of information security vulnerabilities. Whether through poor design, improper coding techniques, inadequate testing, or incorporation of third-party software modules of dubious quality; in many cases the threat vector is baked in before users install the software.