IBM tops supercomputer list ... Security flaws persist in e-voting systems

Today's IT News Audio Update
Security flaws persist in e-voting systems ... Microsoft revamps reviled WGA ... Indonesia adopts online system to protect children


HIGHLIGHTS

News: IBM tops supercomputer list, Opteron gains ground
News: For spammers, a picture is better than 1,000 words
News: Novell previews Suse Linux Enterprise
Tip: Remote office backup consolidation centrally made easy
Opinion: Physical and cyber security may be converging, but it has a long way to go
ITwhirled: Tales from the trenches


NEWS UPDATES

IBM tops supercomputer list, Opteron gains ground
The Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers was released Wednesday, with IBM Corp.'s BlueGene continuing to reign and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD's) Opteron processor powering more systems on the list than last year.

For spammers, a picture is better than 1,000 words
Spam is again on the rise, led by a flood of junk images that spammers have crafted over the past few months to trick e-mail filters, according to security vendors.

Novell previews Suse Linux Enterprise
Novell has released a preview version of its upcoming Suse Linux Enterprise distribution, amid a last-minute delay to the software's final release and wider turmoil at Novell.

Aperi consortium boosted by Novell
Aperi, the IBM-founded open source storage consortium, has taken an important step forward Tuesday as SuSE Linux vendor Novell joined up.


TIP

Remote office backup consolidation centrally made easy
By David Hill, Mesabi Group

You have the responsibility for data protection for a number of geographically distributed branch offices or other remote sites. However, you cannot afford to have a dedicated IT professional at each site. The person assigned to the part-time role of backup administrator may not have the necessary skills to handle the complexity of the job -- monitoring backups, moving backup copies offsite, and performing restores. The complex manual process -- a mismatch of skills with typically available hardware/software for the backup/restore process -- is to blame for a continuing thorn in the side of many central IT. What can you do about it? One solution is to manage the remote office data protection processes centrally.


OPINION

Physical and cyber security may be converging, but it has a long way to go
By Brent Huston

There is a chasm of understanding, culture and respect between physical security and cybersecurity teams. But somewhere along the way, you need to make it work and the key is strong executive leadership, determination and a very strong effort on both sides to find a common starting point.