Technically News - 12/9

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.

Battling Malware and Madware

Symantec’s Brian Witten recently coined the term “madware.” Madware is software you download on your mobile device that taps into your personal information without asking. Information can include your location, behavior, and ID credentials. He predicts that 40% of mobile apps are madware. Read more about madware on LightReading.

Is PaaS the Savior of the Federal Datacenter Consolidation Initiative?

In the past, we’ve extensively reported on the problems facing the Federal Datacenter Consolidation Initiative. Today, we bring you a potential painkiller. According to a recent MeriTalk study, Federal IOT executives see Platform-as-a-Service as the way to move forward with their plans to reduce their datacenter dependency. Read more insights from the report on ZDNet.

Symantec Gets FISMA Certification for Shared Service Products

Symantec’s Shared Service Provider PKI and Non-Federal Shared Service Provider PKI Service were recently certified under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). “The products that received the FISMA certification are known as PKI, or public key infrastructure, products. This refers to a system of digital certificates and registrations that verify parties involved in an Internet transaction.” Read the full story at GCN.

7 IT Strategies for 2014

The year-end predictions for 2014 are in full force this month. Today, we bring you ”7 IT Strategies for 2014” from GovTech. Among the trends, they foresee more virtual training due to limited budgets and an emphasis on solving deeper problems instead of focusing on new technology.

Less Malware Predicted for 2014 But New Tactics Emerge

Experts are predicting that the amount of new malware produced in 2014 will be less than 2013. This is because mass-produced, low hanging fruit malware is easier for security professionals to find and protect against. Instead, next year will see the rise of low-key, but highly targeted malware attacks that focus on very specific organizations. GCN has the full story.