Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems July 2017

Blue Mountain
Data Systems
Tech Update
Summary
July 2017

For CTOs, CIOs & CISOs
Visit Blue Mountain Data Systems
https://www.bluemt.com

For CTOs, CIOs & CISOs
Every business day, we publish a Daily Tech Update for Federal & State CTOs ,CIOs & CISOs on the Blue
Mountain Data Systems Blog. We hope you will visit our blog for the latest information.
You can also receive these updates via email. Click here to subscribe.
Here’s the summary of the Daily Tech Updates for July 2017. Hope the information and ideas prove
useful.
Best,
Paul Vesely
President and Principal Architect
Blue Mountain Data Systems Inc.

Network Security
PRODUCTS: The 10 Coolest Network Security Products Of 2017 (So Far). Security
vendors are continuing to step up their game when it comes to network security
technologies as customers face an ever-rising tide of threats. The year so far has
seen vendors launching new capabilities to help customers respond to the more
advanced threats facing their businesses, as well as expand beyond traditional
perimeter technologies. Those advancements have included capabilities around
artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, advanced threat protection, cloud
security and more. While 2017 is far from over, here are 10 security offerings that
have stood out so far in network security. Read more
[CRN.COM]

Network Security
TUTORIAL: Passive Python Network Mapping. Do you know what’s running on
your networks that you don’t know about? In this excerpt from chapter two of
Passive Python Network Mapping, author Chet Hosmer discusses securing devices
against network security threats. Read the rest
[SEARCHSECURITY.TECHTARGET.COM]
MAC MALWARE: Creepy FruitFly Mac Malware Spies on Its Victims. Mac users
beware: Law enforcement agents are investigating malware that’s been affecting
Mac computers. The malicious code appears to be purely for targeted surveillance,
according to Forbes. The malware, called FruitFly, allows hackers to jump into
webcams of affected computers and take screenshots. The malware also has the
capability to take over the entire computer, according to CBS Sacramento.
Find out more
[TOPTECHNEWS.COM]

Network Security
IoT: New RiskSense Service Detects IoT and OT Network Security
Threats/Vulnerabilities. RiskSense, Inc., the pioneer and market leader in pro-
active cyber risk management, today announced it has expanded its RiskSense
Attack Surface Validation capabilities beyond networks, Web applications, and
databases to Internet of Things (IoT) devices and Operational Technology (OT)
networks to provide a holistic view of an organization’s cyber risk exposure.
Read more
[DARKREADING.COM]

Encyption
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Suing to See the Feds’ Encrypted Messages? Good Luck.
The conservative group Judicial Watch is suing the Environmental Protection
Agency under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking to compel the EPA to hand
over any employee communications sent via Signal, the encrypted messaging and
calling app. In its public statement about the lawsuit, Judicial Watch points to
reports that EPA staffers have used Signal to communicate secretly, in the face of
an adversarial Trump administration. But encryption and forensics experts say
Judicial Watch may have picked a tough fight. Delete Signal’s texts, or the app
itself, and virtually no trace of the conversation remains. “The messages are pretty
much gone,” says Johns Hopkins crypotgrapher Matthew Green, who has closely
followed the development of secure messaging tools. “You can’t prove something
was there when there’s nothing there.” Find out more
[WIRED.COM]

Encyption
WHY: We Need to Encrypt Everything. Many major websites already encrypt by
default. Here’s why encryption and multifactor authentication should be
everywhere. Find out more
[INFOWORLD.COM]
NEWS: Make Encryption Ubiquitous, Says Internet Society. The Internet Society
has urged the G20 not to undermine the positive role of encryption in the name of
security, claiming it should provide the foundation of all online transactions. Find
out more
[INFOSECURITY-MAGAZINE.COM]

Encyption
FBI: $61M to Fight Cybercrime, Encryption in Trump Budget Proposal. President
Donald Trump’s budget blueprint for the federal government proposes a $61
million increase for the FBI and Justice Department in fiscal 2018 to better track
terrorist communications and combat cybercriminals. Find out more
[FEDSCOOP.COM]

Encyption
ENCRYPTION: Usage Grows Again, but Only at Snail’s Pace. Deployment pains and
problems with finding data in the corporate maze are being blamed for business’
lack of interest in crypto. Read more
[ZDNET.COM]
ATTACKS/BREACHES: The Long Slog To Getting Encryption Right. Encryption
practices have improved dramatically over the last 10 years, but most organizations
still don’t have enterprise-wide crypto strategies. Read the rest
[DARKREADING.COM]

Encyption
ENTERPRISE: Keeping the Enterprise Secure in the Age of Mass Encryption. How
can businesses ensure enterprise security in a world with mass encryption, given
Mozilla’s revelations recently that over half of webpages loaded by Firefox use
HTTPS. Find out
[INFORMATION-AGE.COM]
READ: Encryption Won’t Stop Your Internet Provider From Spying on You. Data
patterns alone can be enough to give away what video you’re watching on
YouTube. A 2016 Upturn report sets out some of the sneaky ways that user activity
can be decoded based only on the unencrypted metadata that accompanies
encrypted web traffic—also known as “side channel” information. Read more
[THE ATLANTIC.COM]

Databases
SECURITY: End-to-End Encryption is Key to Securing Government Databases. If the
Internal Revenue Service’s Data Retrieval Tool had used end-to-end encryption
from the start, the federal government may have been able to avoid a privacy
breach that ultimately occurred over the past year. Read more
[NEXTGOV.COM]
STATES: State Election Officials Fear Feds Are Making Security Worse. Secretaries
of state are concerned about not just the federal government’s request for voter
information but also the information they’re not getting about election security
breaches. Read more
[GOVTECH.COM]

Databases
MICROSOFT: SQL Server Diagnostics Extension for SQL Server Management
Server. Microsoft has been on a rapid clip of releasing new SQL Server focused
products and plugins as they also continue to move strongly forward with their
scale-out to Linux and continued leadership in cloud data with Azure SQL Database
and Azure SQL Warehouse. The newest release is the SQL Server Diagnostics
extension within SQL Server Management Studio. Find out more
[SQLMAG.COM]
OPEN SOURCE: MySQL Tops Database Rankings. MySQL remains the world’s most
popular open source database while MySQL skills are by far the most in-demand
among recruiters, according to the latest rankings of popular databases. Read
more
[DATANAMI.COM]

More About Blue Mountain
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S.
Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. Responsible to the
Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems
architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and
IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for
design, development and support for its various enforcement database
management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry
systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form
of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and
vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.

Federal Tech
TECH: A Tool That Can Keep Federal Data Centers Safe Amid Cloud
Chaos. It is known that the federal government has a love/hate
relationship with data centers. First embraced as an efficient way to
handle advanced government networks, they eventually grew out of
control, leading to wasted resources, overlapping capacities and a
loss of visibility as to what government was paying for in their data
centers. The Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative was created
in 2010 to try and reverse the historic growth of federal data centers,
with the Data Center Optimization Initiative more recently replacing
it, but with similar goals. Read more
[NEXTGOV.COM]

Federal Tech
TECH: Federal CIOs Weigh in on Why Tech Talent Should Go Government.
Government has struggled to recruit talent lured away from D.C. by high Silicon
Valley salaries and the promise of bureaucracy-free “disruption.” But it is a
situation that every federal CIO faces. In her recent congressional hearing, for
example, Small Business Administration CIO Maria Roat told the House Small
Business Committee that one way she’s seeking to strengthen her office is by
attracting and retaining more IT talent. Read the rest
[FEDSCOOP.COM]

Federal Tech
QUESTION: Should Other CIOs Be Concerned About What Happened to
Treasury’s Bhagowalia? Sonny Bhagowalia, the Treasury Department’s chief
information officer since October 2014, has been moved out of his position and
put on detail to the Bureau of Fiscal Service. Find out more
[FEDERALNEWSRADIO.COM]
BLOG: A Golden Age in Federal Technology Procurement. The National Institute of
Standards and Technology’s (NIST) benchmark for encryption modules has seen
recent innovation, opening the playing field for competition. Read more
[AFCEA.ORG]

State Tech
SURVEY: Cybersecurity Concerns May Keep One in Four Americans
from Voting. Cybersecurity concerns may prevent one in four
Americans from heading to the polls in November, according to a
new survey by cybersecurity firm Carbon Black. The company
recently conducted a nationwide survey of 5,000 eligible US voters to
determine whether reports of cyberattacks targeting election-related
systems are impacting their trust in the US electoral process. The
results revealed that nearly half of voters believe the upcoming
elections will be influenced by cyberattacks. Consequently, more
than a quarter said they will consider not voting in future elections.
Read more
[HSTODAY.US.COM]

State Tech
ALASKA: Unique Challenges in IT Consolidation. The Last Frontier is
centralizing IT operations under Alaska’s newly created Office of
Information Technology. But consolidating IT in a sprawling state like
Alaska offers challenges not found in other environments, says the
state’s new CIO Bill Vajda. Read the rest
[GCN.COM]
ALABAMA: Acting CIO Jim Purcell Is a Man on a Mission for Smarter
State IT. Jim Purcell wasn’t expecting a call from Alabama’s new
governor, Kay Ivey, and he certainly wasn’t expecting her to ask him
to head up the Office of Information Technology (OIT) – but that’s
exactly what happened last week. Find out more
[GOVTECH.COM]

State Tech
ILLINOIS: Inside a State Digital Transformation. Hardik Bhatt, CIO of the State of
Illinois, sought to become the nation’s first Smart State – a process that required
reorganizing its 38 IT departments into one, improving government services, and
finding new sources of innovation to apply to its revenue model. Within 18
months, Illinois rose in national rankings from the bottom fourth of state
governments to the top third. Read more
[ENTERPRISERSPROJECT.COM]

Electronic Document Management

CFPB: Looks to Embrace Cloud for Email, Office Application Needs. The Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau wants to move to a public cloud setup for some of its
core enterprise apps. The financial watchdog agency recently sent out a Request
for Information (RFI) on the process, technical requirements and costs of moving to
cloud services in fiscal year 2017. CFPB wants to establish a more complete
understanding on the costs associated with moving fully to a cloud solution for
email and office applications (e.g., documents, spreadsheets, presentations,
SharePoint and more).Read the rest
[FEDTECHMAGAZINE.COM]

ROI: 4 Ways Business Document Management Software Can Save You Money. Lisa
Croft, Group Product Marketing Manager at Adobe Document Cloud, talks about
the many ways business document management can save your company time,
space, and more importantly, loads of money. Here are the four most obvious ways
these tools provide excellent return-on-investment. Read more
[PCMAG.COM]

Security Patches
GOOGLE: Patches Critical ‘Broadpwn’ Bug in July Security Update. Google
released a security patch that addresses a critical vulnerability dubbed “Broadpwn”
found in millions of Android devices that could allow remote attackers to execute
code on targeted devices. Read more
[THREATPOST.COM]
WINDOWS XP: Microsoft Releases New Windows XP Security Patches, Warns of
State-Sponsored Cyberattacks. Microsoft issued a “highly unusual” patch for
Windows XP last month to help prevent the spread of the massive WannaCry
malware. At least 75,000 computers in 99 countries were affected by the malware
which encrypts a computer and demands a $300 ransom before unlocking it.
Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP in April 2014, but the software giant is
now taking the unprecedented move of including it in the company’s Patch
Tuesday round of security updates. Read more
[THEVERGE.COM]

Security Patches
MICROSOFT OFFICE: Microsoft Releases 15 Office Patches for July, but Some
June Bugs Still Stink. Microsoft has shipped a fix for the bugs introduced by last
month’s patches to Outlook 2010. Dubbed KB 4011042, the fix appears to be a
non-security patch that fixes bugs created by a security patch—a red flag for many
advanced patchers. Microsoft released a “fix” that was supposed to take care of
this group of bugs on June 27, 2017—KB 3015545—but quickly pulled the patch
when it started crashing 32-bit versions of Outlook 2010. Thus, this week’s non-
security update KB 4011042 is a fix for a bug in a bug fix for a botched security
patch. Find out more
[COMPUTERWORLD.COM]

Security Patches
LINUX: Don’t Panic, but Linux’s Systemd Can Be Pwned Via an Evil DNS Query.
Systemd, the Linux world’s favorite init monolith, can be potentially crashed or
hijacked by malicious DNS servers. Patches are available to address the security
flaw, and should be installed ASAP if you’re affected. Read more
[THEREGISTER.CO.UK]

For the CIO, CTO & CISO
CIO: Is a Cabinet-Level CIO the Future of Government I.T.? The push to purge out-
of-date, unsecure IT systems from the federal government has a least one White
House adviser wondering whether services should be consolidated into a single
agency. Read more
[NEXTGOV.COM]
CTO: HHS Taps Former Louisiana Health Official for CTO Post. Bruce Greenstein, a
private-sector executive with public-sector experience at the state and federal
levels, is the new chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human
Services. Read more
[FCW.COM]

CIO, CTO & CISO
CISO: CISOs Believe CEOs are Breaking Security Rules. A report from the
security vendor Symantec has found three-quarters of CISOs believe their CEO
has broken internal security protocols. Find out more
[ZDNET.COM]
STATES: Virginia’s Cybersecurity Training Program for Veterans Begins
Producing. The first graduates of a program designed to ameliorate the state’s
cybersecurity talent shortage are now testing for credentials that could place
them in the workforce. Read more
[STATESCOOP.COM]

Penetration Testing
GSA: Wants Info on Crowdsourced Security & Penetration Testing Sources. The
General Services Administration‘s Technology Transformation Service has kicked
off a search for potential industry sources of crowd-sourced security and
penetration testing services. Read more
[BLOG.EXECUTIVEBIZ.COM]
TECH: 18F is Looking for Crowdsourced Penetration Testing Systems to Hit
login.gov. The General Services Administration’s 18F digital team is making
strides in developing the open-source login.gov, a single sign-on for government
services, and is now looking to do some penetration testing. Read the rest
[FEDSCOOP.COM]

Penetration Testing
ETHICAL HACKING: At WPI, a Search for Computer Vulnerabilities. Unlike
cybercriminals, ethical hackers intentionally break into companies’ computer
networks and report the vulnerabilities they discover. Businesses can then make
changes to prevent future security liabilities. As more information becomes
digital, hacking becomes a greater threat. In 2016, more than 188,000 residents
in Massachusetts were affected by a digital security breach, according to the
Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations. To reduce
the likelihood of a data breach, companies increasingly rely on cyber security
defenses, creating an increased demand for ethical hackers. Find out more
[TELEGRAM.COM]

Penetration Testing
FYI: Why Offering Bug Bounties Will Be Widespread, Even in Government.
Coordinated vulnerability disclosure programs, often called “bug bounty”
programs, will become much more widely adopted over the next few years.
Here’s an exclusive interview with Marten Mickos, a leading cyber industry
expert, to explain why bug bounties are growing fast – and how your
organization can benefit. Read more
[GOVTECH.COM]

Open Source
CLOUD: How Google Turned Open Source Into A Key Differentiator For Its
Cloud Platform. Open source software has come of its age. Today it’s impossible
to think of a platform company that doesn’t have an open source strategy. Even
Microsoft – a company that once compared open source to cancer – has
embraced it fully. Of course, we have companies like CloudBees, Red Hat and
Docker that built highly successful business models with OSS. But when it comes
to cloud platform vendors, the story is slightly different. Read more
[FORBES.COM]

Open Source
BREVENT: Open Source Alternative to Greenify, Works Without Root. A popular
application called Greenify works by letting the user “hibernate” an application
when it’s not in use. If you haven’t had a good experience with Greenify in the past,
or maybe you’re just looking for an alternative, consider an open source application
called Brevent. Read more
[XDA-DEVELOPERS.COM]
GSA: What’s Coming in Data.gov’s Next Revamp. The code behind Data.gov is due
for modernization. Currently the site runs on an open source platform called CKAN,
but on a version that has been superseded. Developers have had to customize the
code to keep using the older version, but developers are looking to more fully
embrace an open source solution without relying on custom code. Find out more
[FCW.COM]

Open Source
FIVE LESSONS: How to Be Smart About Open Source. Open source is
everywhere in government, but many agencies still struggle with the specifics of
choosing, contracting for and contributing to open-source software projects.
Here are five fundamental lessons from open-source advocates in government
and industry. Read more
[GCN.COM]

Business Intelligence
DISCOVER: 7 Forces Driving Modern Business Intelligence Growth. The number of
organizations embracing business intelligence platforms continues to grow, but
more focus is being placed on business-led, agile analytics and self-service features
rather than IT-led system-of-record reporting. That is the finding of a recent study
by Gartner, which looked at market trends in business intelligence and analytics
overall, and differences between traditional BI investments and modern BI. Find out
more
[INFORMATION-MANAGEMENT.COM]
GOOGLE: The AI Talent Race Leads Straight to Canada. America’s biggest tech
companies are remaking the internet through artificial intelligence. And more than
ever, these companies are looking north to Canada for the ideas that will advance AI
itself. Find out more
[WIRED.COM]

READ: The Unmistakable Conviction of Visual Business Intelligence. Visual business
intelligence represents the summation of BI’s time-honored journey from the
backrooms of IT departments to the front offices of business analysts and C level
executives alike. It seamlessly merges the self-service movement’s empowerment
of the business via user-friendly technology with the striking data visualizations
servicing everything from data preparation to analytics results. Find out more
[KMWORLD.COM]
NGA: Looks to “Reinvent security’ with Fast-Churn Cloud Architecture. To better
protect the nation’s intelligence networks, the National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency is moving most of its IT operations to the cloud and looking to “reinvent
security” in the process. Jason Hess, the NGA’s chief of cloud security, wants to take
advantage of cloud’s flexibility to tear down the agency’s IT architecture and rebuild
it every day so that would-be attackers will confront a confusing operating
environment and enjoy limited time-on-target. Find out more
[GCN.COM]

Operating Systems
WINDOWS 10: Is Windows 10 an Operating System or an Advertising Platform?
Windows 10 has certainly gotten its share of lumps since it was released. Some
users really liked it, while other detested the changes made by Microsoft. Windows
10 has proven to be a great example of beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
One writer at BetaNews recently wondered if Windows 10 was an operating system
or an advertising platform. Find out more
[INFOWORLD.COM]

Operating Systems
MOBILE: Android is Set to Overtake Windows as Most Used Operating System.
After more than eight years in the hands of consumers, Android is poised to
overtake Windows as the most used operating system in the world. This
measurement comes by way of web analytics firm StatCounter, which follows
trends in worldwide web traffic. Microsoft Windows holds the slimmest of margins
over Android, and they could trade positions very soon if current trends continue.
Find out more
[EXTREMETECH.COM]

Operating Systems
PERSONAL TECH: Just What Was in That iOS System Update? When you get the
notice of a software update for iOS, there’s usually a link to read about the security
content of the update. But where does Apple officially tell you about all other things
that change in these upgrades? Find out more
[NYTIMES.COM]
LEARN: The Best Alternatives Operating Systems. For most people, the only
operating systems they know of are Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. However,
there are other operating systems you can consider. Here’s a list of six alternative
operating systems for your review. Find out more
[HACKREAD.COM]

Incident Response
BREACH RESPONSE: Incident Response Reconsidered. Many security leaders argue
over whether their incident response posture needs to be proactive or reactive. But
Rsam CISO Bryan Timmerman says it isn’t either or – that organizations need both.
Here’s why. Read more
[GOVINFOSECURITY.COM]
HHS: Officials Say WannaCry Cybersecurity Response Shows Value of HCCIC.
Senators questioned whether the Department of Health and Human Services’ cyber
command center is duplicating DHS efforts. Read more

Incident Response
GAO: More Needs to Be Done to Address IoT Security Vulnerabilities, GAO Says.
The Internet of Things presents great opportunities for the private sector and
federal agencies, but a lack of consensus on security protocols invites threats. Find
out more
CYBERSECURITY: If You’re Going to Set a Cyber Trap, Don’t Do This. If you go to a
conference, be wary of charging stations for mobile devices. If you’re an agency
setting up a cyber sting, be sure to follow the rules. Read more
[NEXTGOV.COM]

Cybersecurity
CITIES: As Cities Get Smarter, Hackers Become More Dangerous. This Could Stop
Them. As governments create smarter cities, they need cybersecurity measures
built from the ground up – or they risk costly data breaches which could
compromise the privacy of their citizens. Find out more
[CNBC.COM]
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Looking to the Feds for Help in Fighting Cybercriminals.
Cybercriminals are unrelenting in their attacks on state and local government
computer networks, which contain detailed personal and business information —
such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers and even bank
account or credit card numbers — on millions of people and companies. Now, state
and local officials are hoping Congress will give them some help in fending off the
constant threat. Find out more
[GCN.COM]

Cybersecurity
INSURANCE: How AIG’s Cyber Security Gamble Could Pay Off. American
International Group (AIG) has recently begun offering personal cyber security
insurance plans to individuals. The company appears to be riding a wave of
individuals’ fears about losing online data or having their bank accounts emptied,
and should find success with wealthier customers who have a lot to lose. But it
remains to be seen whether ordinary consumers will come to regard cyber security
insurance as a necessary expense. Find out more
[FORTUNE.COM]

Cybersecurity
NIST: Must Audit Federal Cybersecurity Because DHS Isn’t, Hill Staffer Says. A
senior House science committee staffer Friday defended controversial legislation
expanding the authorities of the government’s cybersecurity standards agency,
saying it’s necessary because other agencies aren’t stepping up to the job. The bill,
which passed the committee nearly entirely with Republican support earlier this
month, would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to audit
agencies’ cyber protections within two years, giving priority to the most at-risk
agencies. Find out more
[NEXTGOV.COM]

Cybersecurity
STATES: Rhode Island Names First State Cybersecurity Officer. Mike Steinmetz
brings a wealth of public- and private-sector experience to the Ocean State, where
he will serve as the first cybersecurity officer. Read more
[GOVTECH.COM]
MANAGEMENT: NASCIO Midyear 2017 – Cybersecurity, Agile Take Center Stage.
Mitigating hacking attacks, implementing more nimble procurement methods and
more will be explored at this year’s National Association of State Chief Information
Officer’s Midyear Conference. Read the rest
[STATETECHMAGAZINE.COM]

Cybersecurity
WHY: You Must Build Cybersecurity Into Your Applications. One of the largest
changes underway in the way we create software is that cybersecurity is no longer
an afterthought, but instead is being built into every application. The challenge
many companies face is how to keep up and make sure the software they create is
just as safe as the products they buy. Find out
[FORBES.COM]
NETWORKS: Trump’s Cybersecurity Mystery: 90 Days In, Where’s the Plan? An
executive order was shelved without explanation, and a promised cybersecurity
report hasn’t materialized. Read more
[NETWORKWORLD.COM]

Cybersecurity
SECURITY: Greg Touhill’s Cyber Advice – Think Like a Hacker. DHS aims to get ahead
of cybersecurity adversaries via automation tools, but the former U.S. CISO
recommends a change of mindset as well. Read more
OPINION: Here’s Why Agencies Shouldn’t Give Up on Firewalls. There has been a
lot of talk lately about the death of the security perimeter for computer networks,
which is an especially sensitive topic for the federal government that helped to
create the concept. Everyone seems to think it’s now impossible within
cybersecurity to draw a line and keep bad guys on one side and authorized users on
the other. Read the rest
[NEXTGOV.COM]

Cybersecurity
ENTERPRISE: Keeping the Enterprise Secure in the Age of Mass Encryption. How
can businesses ensure enterprise security in a world with mass encryption, given
Mozilla’s revelations recently that over half of webpages loaded by Firefox use
HTTPS. Find out
[INFORMATION-AGE.COM]
COMMENT: Securing the Government Cloud. What many government network
defenders have forgotten is that security in a cloud environment is a shared
responsibility. The cloud provider secures the internet and physical infrastructure,
but the cloud customer is responsible for protecting its own data. FedRAMP and
third-party certifications assure that the cloud provider is doing its part. But it is
ultimately up to customers to ensure they’re taking steps to prevent, detect and
respond to cyber adversaries during the attack lifecycle. Read more
[FCW.COM]

Project Management
GUIDE: Scrum Agile Project Management: The Smart Person’s Guide. Here’s a
go-to guide on scrum, a popular agile project management framework. You’ll
learn scrum terminology, how to use the methodology in software and product
development projects, and more. Find out more
[TECHREPUBLIC.COM]
TOOLS: 7 Project Management Tools Any Business Can Afford. There’s no
shortage of project management solutions for mid-size and large businesses.
Startups, though, have limited budgets and simply can’t afford high-priced
project management software. Here are seven affordable options. Find out more
[CIO.COM]

Project Management
RISK: Open Source Project Management Can Be Risky Business. Learn how
open source code is a huge factor in mitigating risk. Find out more
[OPENSOURCE.COM]
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Get on the Same Platform, CIO Council Urges. Taking a
government-as-a-platform approach to IT service delivery by leveraging cloud-
supported solutions can help modernize and digitize federal agencies, according
to a new report from the CIO Council. Find out more
[GCN.COM]

Project Management
FITNESS TRACKING: Weight Loss On Your Wrist? Fitness Trackers May Not Help.
Fitness trackers remain wildly popular, but do they make us fit? Maybe not,
according to a study that asked overweight or obese young adults to use the tiny
tracking tools to lose weight. Read the rest
[NPR.ORG]

Application Development
INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 4 Steps to Agile Success. There’s a noticeable shift toward agile
development taking place within the federal government. Driven by a need for
accelerated application development and meeting internal customers’ needs on the
very first attempt, agencies like the General Services Administration and
Department of Homeland Security have begun to move away from traditional
waterfall project management frameworks and toward iterative, agile frameworks
like scrum. Read more
[GCN.COM]

IT MODERNIZATION: 3 Strategies for Building Successful Agile Teams. Is the
federal government truly ready to embrace agile software development?
Successful agile environments do not start with technology; they start with
creating the right team. This can be harder than it may first appear, because agile
challenges preconceived norms of how federal IT teams should be structured and
the way they approach projects. Agile teams are typically a combination of
individual contributors (particularly those from development and quality assurance
backgrounds) who rarely work together but must now collaborate to achieve
common goals. Read the rest
[NEXTGOV.COM]
ENTERPRISE: Air Force Intelligence Unit Goes Agile. The US Air Force is
determined to get more agile to produce applications that can be useful in times of
conflict. Find out more
[INFORMATIONWEEK.COM]

PEOPLE & CAREERS: Sloughing Off the Government Stereotypes. What are CIOs
doing to lure millennials into government IT? Government CIOs across the board
are being forced to confront the retirement wave that’s about to decimate their
ranks. But does the next generation of IT pros want the jobs their parents and
grandparents are leaving behind? Read more
[GOVTECH.COM]

Big Data
TRENDS: 5 Trends Driving Big Data in 2017. The ways companies are using data is
changing, marking the advancement of tools and the investment from executive
leadership of forecasting more parts of the business. To touch on the changing Big
Data market, here are five major trends: Read more
[CIODIVE.COM]
INVESTING: Warren Buffett’s Disarmingly Simple Investment Strategy, Explained
by Big Data. In a fascinating new book, a former Google data scientist offers a
whole chapter about his brief misadventures in trying to apply big data – what we
know from massive amounts of Internet searches – to investing. There is also an
interesting analysis as to why Warren Buffett seems to always win big at investing.
Essentially, the data say, it’s because he’s a positive guy. Read the rest
[MARKETWATCH.COM]

Big Data
TECH: Big Oil Turns to Big Data to Save Big Money on Drilling. In today’s U.S. shale
fields, tiny sensors attached to production gear harvest data on everything from
pumping pressure to the heat and rotational speed of drill bits boring into the rocky
earth. The sensors are leading Big Oil’s mining of so-called big data, with some firms
envisioning billions of dollars in savings over time by avoiding outages, managing
supplies and identifying safety hazards. Find out more
[REUTERS.COM]

Big Data
LEARN: 3 Massive Big Data Problems Everyone Should Know About. Today, Big
Data gives us unprecedented insights and opportunities across all industries from
healthcare to financial to manufacturing and more. But, it also raises concerns and
questions that must be addressed. The relentless changes to technology and Big
Data are keeping everyone on their toes, and the reality is that organizations and
tech departments, government agencies, consumer protection groups and
consumers are struggling to keep up. For me, there are 3 Big Data concerns that
should keep people up at night: Data Privacy, Data Security and Data
Discrimination. Read more
[FORBES.COM]

508 Compliance
STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Prepare Now for Upcoming Website Accessibility
Mandates. Is your local government website designed and organized in a way that
makes finding information easy or even possible for citizens with visual, auditory,
cognitive or other disabilities? Federal mandates calling to remove barriers that
prevent interaction with or access to websites by people with disabilities are a
growing concern for government agencies. New rules on Americans with Disabilities
Act website compliance will be issued in 2018, and existing guidelines — such as
ADA, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and Section 508 —
increasingly are being enforced. Read more
[GCN.COM]

508 Compliance
EGOV & DIGITAL STANDARDS: Website Accessibility – Why There’s Still Work to be
Done on Government Portals. While there are many tools for disabled individuals
to utilize computers and mobile devices (e.g., screen readers for the blind), there
are still major challenges that stem from how content is provided. So what issues
do individuals with disabilities face when accessing websites? According to Sachin
Pavithran, chair of the U.S. Access Board and director of the Utah Assistive
Technology Program, much of it comes down to how information is presented. “The
bigger problems are that a lot of these websites have a lot of information,” he said.
“Even though you can access it, the way the information is laid out could create a
barrier because it’s hard to navigate due to the structure. That’s one of the biggest
barriers right now: how information is laid out.” Read the rest
[GOVTECH.COM]

508 Compliance
FED TECH: 7 Steps to Ensure Your Site Meets Citizen Expectations. Citizens today
expect their digital interactions with government to be as straightforward and
compelling as those on commercial applications and devices. To meet these new
citizen expectations, government agencies need to look at their digital properties
and ask themselves some tough questions. Here is a short checklist to ensure your
agency is delivering an optimal digital experience for a public audience.
Find out more
[NEXTGOV.COM]

508 Compliance
ACCESSIBLE ANALYTICS: What Companies Lose by Ignoring Digital Accessibility.
Without a digitally accessible business, you will lose out on customer opportunities.
You also risk fines, legal fees, and brand damage due to noncompliance with
accessibility laws, such as Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, which requires
that technology used by federal agencies be accessible, and the 21st Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which mandates that accessibility laws
enacted in the 1980s and 1990s adapt to new digital, broadband, and mobile
capabilities. Meeting the needs of all abilities has become a must-have instead of a
nice-to-have. Read more
[DATA-INFORMED.COM]

Mobile
JOBS: How RMAD Tools Affect IT and Mobile Developer Jobs. Professionals who
use rapid mobile app development tools don’t need to know how to code, but
these products don’t take job opportunities away from mobile app developers.
Read more
[SEARCHMOBILECOMPUTING.TECHTARGET.COM]
ENTERPRISE: A New Generation of Enterprise Mobile App Development –
Welcome to RMAD 3.0. With the mass-market availability of these more
‘comprehensive’ RMAD 3.0 solutions, enterprises are beginning to adopt
technology that for many years they were skeptical of or adverse to. For those that
haven’t embraced RMAD 3.0 yet, a recent study found that more than a third of
companies are considering doing so. With momentum at its back, RMAD 3.0 seems
poised to become the enterprise mobile app development solution that even the
most skeptical organisations can trust. Here’s what you need to know. Read the rest
[APPSTECHNEWS.COM]

Mobile
MOBILE WEB: FCC, FEMA and SSA Retool Their Digital Services To Meet Rising
Expectations. How is federal IT changing to appease citizens who demand more
responsive and consumer-grade tech services? Find out more
MOBILE SECURITY: How to Secure Your Agency’s Increasingly Mobile Workforce.
Millennials expect increasingly remote working opportunities, but governments
need to ensure that smart home tech isn’t making government networks vulnerable
to attack. Read more
[STATETECHMAGAZINE.COM]

Programming & Scripting Development
Client & Server-Side

JAVASCRIPT: 10 JavaScript Concepts Every Node.js Programmer Must Master.
JavaScript can be a boon if used with care – or a bane if you are reckless. Following
structured rules, design patterns, key concepts, and basic rules of thumb will help
you choose the optimal approach to a problem. Which key concepts should
Node.js programmers understand? Here are 10 JavaScript concepts that are most
essential to writing efficient and scalable Node.js code. Read more
[INFOWORLD.COM]
JAVA: 7 Reasons Java Is Not Heading to Retirement. Three billion devices currently
run on Java, according to Oracle, the billion-dollar computer tech corporation that
champions the platform. But even with its worldwide popularity, skeptics challenge
the ability for Java to retain its predominance. However, arguments for
modernization don’t always translate into “out with the old and in with the new.”
Read the rest
[FEDERALNEWSRADIO.COM]

PYTHON: The Python Programming Language Grows in Popularity. Stack
Overflow’s recently released Trends solution shows Python has grown 14.3% from
2015 and 2016. According to the Python Software Foundation (PSF), “Python is
being used in a variety of ways. Many computer programming languages have a
niche area that they serve. For example, Bash scripts focus on operating system
tasks, while Ruby focuses more on web development. It seems like Python is used
in every domain – system operations, web development, deployment, scientific
modeling, etc etc. There is no other language that is so versatile.” Find out more
[SDTIMES.COM]
SWIFT: Apple Launches a Curriculum for Schools Teaching Swift. Apple has
launched a curriculum for schools teaching app development using the company’s
beloved Swift programming language. Now available on the iBooks store, the ‘App
Development with Swift’ curriculum is a full-year course designed by Apple’s
engineers and educators which aims to help students get started with various
elements of app design. Read more
[DEVELOPER-TECH.COM]

JAVASCRIPT: Chrome Makes Surfing Faster with JavaScript Upgrades. Chrome
version 59 has brought back its focus on improving the browsing experience
through speed rather than the interface. On Android there are noticeable
improvements to load times over its predecessor. The improvement is a result of
the optimisation of the JavaScript engine that lets faster loading of pages alongside
bringing down the consumption of memory. Google has been tweaking the metrics
inside JavaScript for around two months to better the real-world quantification.
Read more
[DEVICEMAG.COM]

JAVA: Java is Alive and Well in Federal IT. Mark Twain famously stated, “The report
of my death was an exaggeration” — a quote that can also apply to the Java
programming language. Java’s impending death has been discussed, blogged about
and ruminated on for many of its two-plus decades of existence. Yet not only has it
persevered, one could say it’s thriving. And that’s good news for federal agencies.
Read the rest
[GCN.COM]
PHP: Speeding up MySQL Data Imports. Advice on how to best load large amounts
of external data into MySQL database(s) as efficiently as possible. Read more
[DATABASEJOURNAL.COM]

PYTHON: Creating Neural Networks in Python. Artificial neural networks are
machine learning frameworks that simulate the biological functions of natural
brains to solve complex problems like image and speech recognition with a
computer. Packages for coding neural networks exist in most popular programming
languages, including Matlab, Octave, C, C++, C#, Ruby, Perl, Java, Javascript, PHP
and Python. Python is a high-level programming language designed for code
readability and efficient syntax that allows expression of concepts in fewer lines of
code than languages like C++ or Java. Two Python libraries that have particular
relevance to creating neural networks are NumPy and Theano. Find out more
[ELECTRONICS360.COM]

Cloud Computing
INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES: When Clouds Break: the Hidden Dangers of Cloud
Computing. Today’s companies are often faced with the complex decision of whether
to use public cloud resources or build and deploy their own IT infrastructures. This
decision is especially difficult in an age of mounting data requirements when so many
people expect limitless access and ultra-flexibility. For these reasons, cloud
computing has become an increasingly popular choice for many organizations –
though not always the right choice. Read more
[DATACENTERKNOWLEDGE.COM]
EXPLANATION: What Cloud Computing Really Means. Cloud computing has evolved
beyond basic SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS offerings, as the cloud matures to become the
engine of enterprise technology innovation. Read more
[INFOWORLD.COM]

Cloud Computing
INVESTING: What Is the ISE Cloud Computing Index? Cloud computing has taken
the technology sector by storm, making it possible for major enterprises to gain
access to cutting-edge data analytics and storage capacity without building out a
huge in-house technology infrastructure framework. Many of the companies that
have helped their clients establish their presence in the cloud have performed quite
well for investors, and the ongoing trend toward coming up with new technologies
makes it likely that cloud computing companies will remain strong. The ISE Cloud
Computing Index provides a handy benchmark for investors to use to track the
budding industry, and you can even invest in an ETF that offers direct exposure to
the index to let you take advantage of its future potential for growth. Find out more
[FOOL.COM]

Cloud Computing
MANAGEMENT: Cloud Computing Consuming Greater Share of IT Budgets. Total
spending on IT infrastructure products, including servers, enterprise storage
systems, and Ethernet switches, for deployment in cloud environments will increase
12 percent year over year in 2017 to $40.1 billion, according to a report from
International Data Corp. Public cloud data centers will account for the majority of
this spending (61 percent) and will grow at the fastest rate year over year (14
percent). Off-premises private cloud environments will represent 15 percent of
overall spending and will grow 12 percent year over year, IDC said. Read more
[INFORMATION-MANAGEMENT.COM]

Announcement
Blue Mountain Data Systems DOL Contract Extended Another Six Months
The Department of Labor has extended Blue Mountain Data Systems Inc. contract
DOLOPS16C0017 for 6 months for network administration and application
support.
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
1994 to Present Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems
for information systems architecture, planning, applications development,
networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I
of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue
Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various
enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and
customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services
to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security
Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support.

IT Security | Cybersecurity
PETYA: Cyber-attack was About Data and Not Money, Say Experts. The Petya
malware variant that hit businesses around the world may not have been an
attempt to make money, suspect security experts. The malicious program demanded
a payment to unlock files it scrambled on infected machines. However, a growing
number of researchers now believe the program was launched just to destroy data.
Experts point to “aggressive” features of the malware that make it impossible to
retrieve key files. Read more
[BBC.COM]
OPINION: Why Cybersecurity Should Be The Biggest Concern Of 2017. Professional
hacker Cesar Cerrudo believes most technology is vulnerable and can be hacked.
Some experts predict that by 2020 there will be 200 billion connected things. Cars,
planes, homes, cities, and even animals are being connected. As technology
becomes more and more deeply integrated into our lives, Cerrudo believes our
dependence on technology makes us vulnerable if technology fails. Read more
[FORBES.COM]

IT Security | Cybersecurity
SECURITY THINK TANK: Patching is Vital and Essentially a Risk Management
Exercise. How should organisations address the need to keep software up to date
with security patches without it costing too much or being too labour intensive?
Find out more
[COMPUTERWEEKLY.COM]
MICROSOFT: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update – What’s Coming on the Security
Front. Microsoft will be adding a number of new security features to Windows 10
Fall Creators Update, but for Enterprise and Windows Server users only.
Read more
[ZDNET.COM]

From the Blue Mountain Data Systems Blog
Personal Tech
https://www.bluemt.com/personal-tech-daily-tech-update-october-28-2016
IT Management
https://www.bluemt.com/it-management-daily-tech-update-october-27-2016
https://www.bluemt.com/business-intelligence-daily-tech-update-october-26-
2016
Incident Response
https://www.bluemt.com/incident-response-daily-tech-update-october-25-2016

Security Patches
https://www.bluemt.com/security-patches-daily-tech-update-october-24-2016/
BYOD
https://www.bluemt.com/byod-daily-tech-update-october-21-2016/
Databases
https://www.bluemt.com/databases-daily-tech-update-october-20-2016/
Operating Systems
https://www.bluemt.com/operating-systems-daily-tech-update-october-19-
2016/

Encryption
https://www.bluemt.com/encryption-daily-tech-update-october-18-2016/
Cloud Computing
https://www.bluemt.com/cloud-computing-daily-tech-update-october-17-2016/
Programming & Scripting
https://www.bluemt.com/programming-scripting-daily-tech-update-october-14-
2016/
Incident Response
https://www.bluemt.com/incident-response-daily-tech-update-october-13-
2016/

Cybersecurity
https://www.bluemt.com/cybersecurity-daily-tech-update-october-12-2016/
Big Data
https://www.bluemt.com/big-data-daily-tech-update-october-11-2016/
Mobile Applications
https://www.bluemt.com/mobile-applications-daily-tech-update-october-7-
2016/
Cloud Computing
https://www.bluemt.com/cloud-computing-daily-tech-update-october-6-2016/

Open Source
https://www.bluemt.com/open-source-daily-tech-update-october-5-2016/
CTO, CIO and CISO
https://www.bluemt.com/cto-cio-ciso-daily-tech-update-october-4-2016/
Programming & Scripting
https://www.bluemt.com/programming-scripting-daily-tech-update-october-3-
2016/

Feds Report Mixed Responses to Shared Services
https://www.bluemt.com/feds-report-mixed-responses-to-shared-services
Federal Employees Are Not Security Experts
https://www.bluemt.com/federal-employees-are-not-security-experts
Survival Guide for Network Administrators
https://www.bluemt.com/survival-guide-for-network-administrators
DBaaS: OpenStack Trove Changes DB Management
https://www.bluemt.com/dbaas-openstack-trove-changes-db-management

Help Wanted: Certified Cybersecurity Professionals
https://www.bluemt.com/help-wanted-certified-cybersecurity-professionals
Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center Preview
https://www.bluemt.com/cyber-threat-intelligence-integration-center-preview/
Cloud Moves in 1-2-3
https://www.bluemt.com/cloud-moves-in-1-2-3/
Change Management for Disaster Recovery
https://www.bluemt.com/change-management-for-disaster-recovery/

Jeffersonian Advice For C-Suite Career Advancement
https://www.bluemt.com/jeffersonian-advice-for-c-suite-career-advancement/
Ways To Survive The “Mobile-Pocalypse”
https://www.bluemt.com/ways-to-survive-the-mobile-pocalypse/
Microsoft Cloud Services Receive FedRAMP Authority to Operate
https://www.bluemt.com/microsoft-cloud-services-receive-fedramp-authority-
to-operate/
Hiring Pentesters? Here Are 10 Things You Need to Know
https://www.bluemt.com/hiring-pentesters-here-are-10-things-you-need-to-
know/

Home Router Malware Alert
https://www.bluemt.com/home-router-malware-alert/
Threat Model Deconstruction
https://www.bluemt.com/threat-model-deconstruction/
Business Email Scam Nets $214 Million
https://www.bluemt.com/business-email-scam-nets-214-million/
How to Prevent Unauthorized Software from Taking Over Your Organization
https://www.bluemt.com/the-cios-guide-to-happy-end-users-2/

Digital Marketing Predictions for 2015
https://www.bluemt.com/digital-marketing-predictions-for-2015/
SDN: Network Administrator’s Friend or Foe?
https://www.bluemt.com/sdn-network-administrators-friend-or-foe/
Mobile Payments: A Must for Federal Agencies
https://www.bluemt.com/mobile-payments-a-must-for-federal-agencies/
Soft Skills Are A Must-Have For Careers In IT
https://www.bluemt.com/soft-skills-are-a-must-have-for-careers-in-it/

Security Risks Most Prevalent in Younger Workers
https://www.bluemt.com/security-risks-most-prevalent-in-younger-workers/
The Security World’s Maturation
https://www.bluemt.com/the-security-worlds-maturation/
Data Breach Concerns Keep CISOs Up At Night
https://www.bluemt.com/data-breach-concerns-keep-cisos-up-at-night/
Personalized Govt Equals Instant Gratification for Citizens
https://www.bluemt.com/personalized-govt-equals-instant-gratification-for-
citizens/

People-Centric Security
https://www.bluemt.com/people-centric-security/
Pentagon Tries BYOD To Strike Work/Life Balance
https://www.bluemt.com/pentagon-tries-byod-to-strike-worklife-balance/
Open Source Model Considered for MS Windows
https://www.bluemt.com/open-source-model-considered-for-ms-windows/
Open Internet: To Be or Not to Be?
https://www.bluemt.com/open-internet-to-be-or-not-to-be/

Malware Stays A Step Ahead Infecting One Third of Websites
https://www.bluemt.com/malware-stays-a-step-ahead-infecting-one-third-of-
websites/
Machine-Generated Data: Potential Goldmine for the CIO
https://www.bluemt.com/machine-generated-data-potential-goldmine-for-the-
cio/
Government Legacy Programs: Reuse vs. Replacement
https://www.bluemt.com/government-legacy-programs-reuse-vs-replacement/
It Takes a Whole Village to Protect Networks and Systems
https://www.bluemt.com/it-takes-a-whole-village-to-protect-networks-and-
systems/

Governance For the CIO
https://www.bluemt.com/governance-for-the-cio/
Help Desk Consolidation – Lessons Learned
https://www.bluemt.com/help-desk-consolidation-lessons-learned/
One Year Later, Companies Still Vulnerable to Heartbleed
https://www.bluemt.com/one-year-later-companies-still-vulnerable-to-
heartbleed/
Federal Projects Cultivate Worker Passion
https://www.bluemt.com/federal-projects-cultivate-worker-passion-2/

ABOUT US
Blue Mountain Data Systems Inc.
Blue Mountain Data Systems Inc. is dedicated to application
and systems development, electronic document management,
IT security support, and the automation of workflow processes.
Read more about our experience here:
>> http://bluemt.com/experience

Recent Experience
U.S. Dept. of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
1994 to Present
Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information
systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking,
administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue
Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various
enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and
customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services
to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security
Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support.

MANAGEMENT
Paul T. Vesely
Founder, President, CEO and Principal Architect
Mr. Vesely is a recognized thought leader in systems
architecture and delivery, having designed and
delivered many enterprise wide information and
document management solutions. Mr. Vesely’s history
includes 33 years experience in the information
systems industry, with Unisys, Grumman, PRC and a
host of clients in both government and private sectors.

CONTACT US
Contact Us Today to Discuss Your Next IT Project
HEADQUARTERS
366 Victory Drive
Herndon, VA 20170
PHONE 703-502-3416
FAX 703-745-9110
EMAIL
paul@bluemt.com
WEB
https://www.bluemt.com

Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems July 2017

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen (20)

Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems July 2017