PRESS RELEASE: Symantec Report Finds Cyber Threats Skyrocket in Volume and Sophistication


Symantec Report Finds Cyber Threats Skyrocket in Volume and Sophistication

                                                                                                                               

Targeted attacks, social networking threats, mobile device security and the proliferation of attack toolkits

are top growing trends to watch in today’s threat landscape

 

TORONTO, ON. – April 5, 2011 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the findings of its Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 16, which shows a massive threat volume of more than 286 million new threats last year, accompanied by several new megatrends in the threat landscape. 

 

The report highlights dramatic increases in both the frequency and sophistication of targeted attacks on enterprises;  the continued growth of social networking sites as an attack distribution platform; and a change in  attackers’ infection tactics, increasingly targeting vulnerabilities in Java to break into traditional computer systems.  In addition, the report explores how attackers are exhibiting a notable shift in focus toward mobile devices. 

 

Click to Tweet: Symantec identified more than 286 million new threats last year: http://bit.ly/e2reeC

 

2010: The Year of the Targeted Attack

Targeted attacks such as Hydraq and Stuxnet posed a growing threat to enterprises in 2010.  To increase the likelihood of successful, undetected infiltration into the enterprise, an increasing number of these targeted attacks leveraged zero-day vulnerabilities to break into computer systems.  As one example, Stuxnet alone exploited four different zero-day vulnerabilities to attack its targets.

 

In 2010, attackers launched targeted attacks against a diverse collection of publicly traded, multinational corporations and government agencies, as well as a surprising number of smaller companies.  In many cases, the attackers researched key victims within each corporation and then used tailored social engineering attacks to gain entry into the victims’ networks.  Due to their targeted nature, many of these attacks succeeded even when victim organizations had basic security measures in place.

 

While the high-profile targeted attacks of 2010 attempted to steal intellectual property or cause physical damage, many targeted attacks preyed on individuals for their personal information. For example, the report found that data breaches caused by hacking resulted in an average of more than 260,000 identities exposed per breach in 2010, nearly quadruple that of any other cause. 

 

Social Networks: A Fertile Ground for Cybercriminals

Social network platforms continue to grow in popularity and this popularity has not surprisingly attracted a large volume of malware.  One of the primary attack techniques used on social networking sites involved the use of shortened URLs.  Under typical, legitimate, circumstances, these abbreviated URLs are used to efficiently share a link in an email or on a web page to an otherwise complicated web address. Last year, attackers posted millions of these shortened links on social networking sites to trick victims into both phishing and malware attacks, dramatically increasing the rate of successful infection.

 

The report found that attackers overwhelmingly leveraged the news-feed capabilities provided by popular social networking sites to mass-distribute attacks.  In a typical scenario, the attacker logs into a compromised social networking account and posts a shortened link to a malicious website in the victim’s status area.  The social networking site then automatically distributes the link to news feeds of the victim’s friends, spreading the link to potentially hundreds or thousands of victims in minutes.  In 2010, 65 percent of malicious links in news feeds observed by Symantec used shortened URLs. Of these, 73 percent were clicked 11 times or more, with 33 percent receiving between 11 and 50 clicks.

 

Attack Toolkits Focus on Java

In 2010, attack toolkits, software programs that can be used by novices and experts alike to facilitate the launch of widespread attacks on networked computers, continued to see widespread use. These kits increasingly target vulnerabilities in the popular Java system, which accounted for 17 percent of all vulnerabilities affecting browser plug-ins in 2010. As a popular cross-browser, multi-platform technology, Java is an appealing target for attackers.

 

The Phoenix toolkit was responsible for the most Web-based attack activity in 2010. This kit, as well as many others, incorporates exploits against Java vulnerabilities. The sixth highest ranked Web-based attack during the reporting period was also an attempt to exploit Java technologies.

 

The number of measured Web-based attacks per day increased by 93 percent in 2010 compared to 2009. Since two-thirds of all Web-based threat activity observed by Symantec is directly attributed to attack kits, these kits are likely responsible for a large part of this increase.

 

Mobile Threat Landscape Comes Into View

The major mobile platforms are finally becoming ubiquitous enough to garner the attention of attackers, and as such, Symantec expects attacks on these platforms to increase.  In 2010, most malware attacks against mobile devices took the form of Trojan Horse programs that pose as legitimate applications.  While attackers generated some of this malware from scratch, in many cases, they infected users by inserting malicious logic into existing legitimate applications.  The attacker then distributed these tainted applications via public app stores.  For example, the authors of the recent Pjapps Trojan employed this approach.

 

While the new security architectures employed in today’s mobile devices are at least as effective as their desktop and server predecessors, attackers can often bypass these protections by attacking inherent vulnerabilities in the mobile platforms’ implementations. Unfortunately, such flaws are relatively commonplace - Symantec documented 163 vulnerabilities during 2010 that could be used by attackers to gain partial or complete control over devices running popular mobile platforms.  In the first few months of 2011 attackers have already leveraged these flaws to infect hundreds of thousands of unique devices. According to findings from Mocana, it is no surprise that 47% of organizations do not believe they can adequately manage the risks introduced by mobile devices. And, that more than 45% of organizations say security concerns are one of the biggest obstacles to rolling out more smart devices.[i]

 

Click to Tweet: Targeted attacks achieving success with help from zero-day vulnerabilities and rootkits: http://bit.ly/e2reeC

 

Click to Tweet: 43 percent more mobile vulnerabilities, says Symantec report: http://bit.ly/e2reeC

 

Click to Tweet: Attack toolkits are targeting Java vulnerabilities, according to Symantec report: http://bit.ly/e2reeC

 

Click to Tweet: Mocana: 47% of organizations don't believe they can adequately manage risks from mobile devices: http://bit.ly/e2reeC

 

Quotes:

“Stuxnet and Hydraq, two of the most visible cyber-events of 2010, represented true incidents of cyberwarfare and have fundamentally changed the threat landscape,” said Stephen Trilling, senior vice president, Symantec Security Technology and Response. “The nature of the threats has expanded from targeting individual bank accounts to targeting the information and physical infrastructure of nation states.”

 

Threat Landscape Key Facts and Figures:

  • 286 million new threats – Polymorphism and new delivery mechanisms such as Web attack toolkits continued to drive up the number of distinct malware programs.  In 2010, Symantec encountered more than 286 million unique malicious programs.

 

  • 93 percent increase in Web-based attacks –Web attack toolkits drove the 93 percent increase in the volume of Web-based attacks in 2010.  The use of shortened URLs also impacted this increase. 

 

  • 260,000 identities exposed per breach – This is the average number of identities exposed per breach in data breaches caused by hacking during 2010. 

 

  • 14 new zero-day vulnerabilities – Zero-day vulnerabilities played a key role in targeted attacks including Hydraq and Stuxnet.  Stuxnet alone used four different zero-day vulnerabilities. 

 

  • 6,253 new vulnerabilities – Symantec documented more vulnerabilities in 2010 than in any previous reporting period. 

 

  • 42 percent more mobile vulnerabilities – In a sign that cybercriminals are starting to focus their efforts on the mobile space, the number of reported new mobile operating system vulnerabilities increased, from 115 in 2009 to 163 in 2010. 

 

  • One botnet with more than a million spambots – Rustock, the largest botnet observed in 2010, had more than one million bots under its control at one point during the year.  Other botnets such as Grum and Cutwail followed with many hundreds of thousands of bots each.

 

  • 74 percent of spam related to pharmaceuticals – Nearly three quarters of all spam in 2010 was related to pharmaceutical products—a great deal of which was related to pharmaceutical websites and related brands. 

 

  • $15 per 10,000 bots – Symantec observed an advertisement that listed the price for 10,000 bot-infected computers as $15 on an underground forum in 2010. Bots are typically used for spam or rogueware campaigns, but are increasingly also used for DDoS attacks.

 

  • $0.07 to $100 per credit card – The price for credit card data on underground forums ranged widely in 2010. Factors dictating prices include the rarity of the card and discounts offered for bulk purchases.

 

Related

 

Connect with Symantec

 

About the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report

The Internet Security Threat Report is derived from data collected by tens of millions of Internet sensors, first-hand research and active monitoring of hacker communications, and it provides a global view of the state of Internet Security. The study period for the Internet Security Threat Report Volume 16 spans January 2010 to December 2010.

 

About Security Technology and Response

The Security Technology and Response (STAR) organization, which includes Security Response, is a worldwide team of security engineers, threat analysts and researchers that provides the underlying functionality, content and support for all Symantec corporate and consumer security products. With Response centers located throughout the world, STAR monitors malicious code reports from more than 130 million systems across the Internet, receives data from 240,000 network sensors in more than 200 countries and tracks more than 25,000 vulnerabilities affecting more than 55,000 technologies from more than 8,000 vendors. The team uses this vast intelligence to develop and deliver the world’s most comprehensive security protection.

 

About Symantec

Symantec’s Canadian operations are headquartered in Toronto with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.  For more information on Symantec products or current promotions, access Symantec’s Canadian Web site at www.symantec.ca. Symantec is an active member of the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

 

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world.  Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

###

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news. All prices noted are in U.S. dollars and are valid only in the United States.

 

Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Forward-looking Statements: Any forward-looking indication of plans for products or programs is preliminary and all future release or delivery dates are tentative and are subject to change. Any future program plans, or release of the product or planned modifications to product capability, functionality, or feature are subject to ongoing evaluation by Symantec, and may or may not be implemented and should not be considered firm commitments by Symantec and should not be relied upon in making program participation or product purchasing decisions.

 

Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

 

 

: Phishing scams take advantage of tax season

Tax season often sees an increase in phishing scams and this year is no different.  MessageLabs Intelligence has seen an increase in the volume of tax related scams in mid-February and throughout March. In fact, on March 20th 48 per cent of all malicious mail was tax-related phishing with the majority alleging to be from the UK's tax office, Her Madjesty's Revenue and Customs, or the US tax office, Internal Revenue Service.

 

Phish use social engineering to try and fool the recipient into giving away personal information and credit card details and unlike 419 scams, they are characterized by grammatically correct language and sophisticated, convincing web pages.

 

For more information on tax-related phishing scams, please visit Symantec.cloud’s blog: http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/stay-safe-online-during-tax-time

 

Please let me know if you’re interested in speaking with a Symantec.cloud expert about phishing scams.

 

Thanks,

Natasha

 

Example of a sophisticated phishing web page:

cid:<a href=image001.jpg@01CBF375.17539D30" width="409" />

 

 

 


 

 

http://www.hillandknowlton.com/oldbinaries/hksig_logo.gif

 

Natasha Parnanzone

 

Consultant

 

Hill & Knowlton Canada

 

 

Direct Line: +1 416 413 4740

 

 

Fax: +1 416 413 1550

 

 

natasha.parnanzone@hillandknowlton.ca

 

 

 

 

 

160 Bloor Street East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3P7 Canada

 

http://www.hillandknowlton.com

 

 

 



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Symantec's Internet security expert presents industry-leading report at UOIT

For Immediate Release

April 5, 2011

 

 

Symantec’s Internet security expert presents industry-leading report at UOIT

 

OSHAWA, ON – Marc Fossi, the author and executive editor of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) Volume 16, released today, will present key report findings during a presentation on Monday, April 11 at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

Invited to speak in Oshawa by UOIT’s Faculty of Business and Information Technology and the Management Development Centre, Mr. Fossi will provide a detailed analysis and discuss the Internet threat activity seen over a 12-month period. He will discuss topics such as Internet attacks, vulnerabilities, malicious code, phishing and spam affecting the public and private sector as well as end-users. Mr. Fossi will also take a deeper dive into the Stuxnet Worm, the first worm targeting industrial software and equipment. Symantec has been following the development of the Stuxnet Worm since it was first uncovered in July 2010.

When:

Monday, April 11, 2011

5 p.m.

 

There will be an informal reception following the presentation.

 

Where:

Business and Information Technology building, Room 2080

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

2000 Simcoe Street North

Oshawa, Ontario

 

For driving directions to campus, click here.

 

Parking:

Follow either Commencement Drive or Founders Gate from the Simcoe Street North entrances to Founders Lot 1.

 

 

If you are interested in attending and/or would like to arrange an interview with Marc Fossi following the presentation, please contact:

Bryan Oliver

UOIT Communications and Marketing

905.721.8668 ext. 2209

289.928.3653 (cell)

bryan.oliver@uoit.ca

 

 

 

 

 

Iomega Partners with Axis Communications to Connect the Cloud with Raid-Protected Storage for Hosted Video Surveillance in the SMB Market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Iomega Partners with Axis Communications to Connect the Cloud with
Raid-Protected Storage for Hosted Video Surveillance in the SMB Market

Iomega StorCenter Network Units Equipped with AXIS Video Hosting System
Provide On-Site, High-Resolution Recording Option for Hosted Video
Integrators and Customers

SAN DIEGO, April 5, 2011– Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE:EMC) and a
leading innovator in data storage solutions for small and medium
businesses as well as distributed enterprises, today announced the
integration of Iomega StorCenter™ network storage products with the AXIS
Video Hosting System (http://www.axis.com/products/avhs/) (AVHS) from
Axis Communications, the market leader in network video. Iomega is now
shipping the first of its StorCenter™ network attached storage (NAS)
models with an integrated AVHS client that enables customers to store
video files locally and at HDTV or megapixel resolution while
simultaneously streaming video data to a secure off-site storage
facility developed by their hosting provider.

The AVHS-enabled Iomega network storage devices, along with Axis
network cameras and encoders, allow resellers and integrators to deliver
world class video surveillance capabilities to small and medium-sized
customers that are secure, remotely accessible, and a cost effective
solution compared to DVR-based analogue systems with small camera
counts.

“Eliminating the need for expensive and complex DVRs, as well as
reducing the necessity of elaborate onsite infrastructure for low camera
count deployments, gives our mutual customers a more secure, highly
available and cost-effective solution for their video surveillance
needs,” said Jonathan Huberman, President of Iomega Corporation. “By
partnering with Axis to integrate AVHS into our award-winning StorCenter
network storage products, powered by EMC’s world class security and
storage technologies, Iomega continues to deliver advanced yet
economical network storage solutions to the marketplace."

About AVHS

AXIS Video Hosting System (http://www.axis.com/products/avhs/) AVHS)
software is Axis’ platform for creating a service provider-specific
portal to manage video surveillance hosting and monitoring services for
any end-user with an Internet connection. The platform, which was
created for professional-level video surveillance, is currently designed
for fast onsite deployments of a few cameras per site – typically less
than 10 – and is especially beneficial for organizations with many
sites, such as franchises and bank branches.

“Before the emergence of hosted video surveillance, end-users who
needed only a few cameras per site to secure their properties – such
as convenience stores, gas stations and small offices – were left to
use outdated analogue technology as the most cost-effective solution,”
said Fredrik Nilsson, General Manager, Axis Communications Inc. “By
working together with reputable storage and IT security partners such as
EMC’s Iomega, we can deliver IP-based video systems to these
end-users, which provides much more flexibility, superior image quality
and local intelligence with easy-to-install products.”

Iomega and Axis Partnership Pays Early Dividends

As part of the Axis Technology Partner Program (TPP), Iomega
co-developed the solution with Axis to ensure the highest degree of
integration and support. Iomega has included the AVHS client on its new
double-drive desktop Iomega® StorCenter™ ix2-200 Cloud Edition NAS unit,
which ships with up to 6TB* of networked storage capacity, as well as
the new quad-drive desktop Iomega® StorCenter™ ix4-200d Cloud Edition,
with up to 12TB of storage capacity.

In video storage terms, users monitoring even a busy scene can expect
approximately 40 days worth of storage for four cameras recording to
4TBs of usable capacity at typical default settings (640x480, 30 per
cent compression, and full frame r
ate). To maximize storage
functionality, integrators can work with end-users to set event-based
recording triggers that will stream higher quality, HDTV or megapixel
video to the device on motion or audio detection, for example.

In the second half of 2011, Iomega will integrate the AVHS client into
its rackmount network storage products, including the four-drive Iomega®
StorCenter™ ix4-200r, with up to 8TB of networked storage capacity; and
the 12-drive Iomega® StorCenter™ ix12-300r, with up to 24TB of networked
storage capacity.

An Integrator’s Take on New Iomega-Axis Hosted Video Surveillance
Solution

“Iomega’s unique StorCenter devices are proof that end-users are
the ultimate beneficiary when the physical security industry works
closely with innovations driven from the IT and consumer worlds,” said
Phil Atteberry, Director of Managed Security Solutions, Siemens
Industry, Inc. “Those customers operating limited surveillance assets
are no longer confined to using analogue technology because of cost.
They now have the option to reap all the benefits of IP surveillance at
an attractive price.”

The combination of Iomega StorCenter storage devices and Axis network
cameras allows customers to select different recording and retention
policies for both on-site and off-site video files, and also allows
remote access from any web browser. The solution enables businesses to
leverage the power and cost effectiveness of cloud services, or select a
proprietary onsite system with the StorCenter unit acting as the NAS.
Hosted video customers will pay for only the storage they need, allowing
them to grow their infrastructure without requiring additional capital
investment. Deployment times will also be greatly reduced due to limited
infrastructure requirements.

Iomega StorCenter Network Storage Capabilities

The Iomega StorCenter network storage units utilize the acclaimed EMC
LifeLine™ software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and
suite of applications that is designed for cross-platform support with
Windows®, Mac® and Linux computers. The LifeLine operating system
presents a simple-to-use graphical interface that makes it easy to
perform valuable business tasks while remaining confident that data is
securely stored, protected, and accessible whenever and wherever you
need it.

Available in 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB and 12TB capacities, the StorCenter
ix2-200 Cloud Edition and the StorCenter ix4-200d Cloud Edition desktop
NAS devices utilize a simple four-step setup process that has the units
operational in a matter of minutes. Starting at less than US$300.00,
Iomega StorCenter desktop NAS units provide robust data management and
protection for the serious business user, as well as the latest in
multimedia serving and remote access features that make it a breeze to
access data, whether in the office or anywhere else in the world (with
an Internet connection).

Among the many business features of the StorCenter ix2-200 and the
StorCenter ix4-200d Cloud Editions:
* Iomega’s new Personal Cloud technology, which allows users to
remotely access and share encrypted files with up to 250 co-workers and
friends without any of the monthly or annual fees associated with
traditional cloud services.
* Device-to-device replication for business continuity and file
recovery
* iSCSI block-level access for efficient storage utilization
* RAID 1 configuration for StorCenter ix2-200, and multiple RAID
configurations for StorCenter ix4-200d for optimized data protection
* Remote access and management
* Windows® Active Directory support
* A front panel QuikTransfer button for easy copying of selected files

* User replaceable hard drives
* Multiple IP security camera support
* iSCSI block-level access with the StorCenter ix4-200d for efficient
storage utilization
* And for the forward-thinking small business, VMware®, Microsoft
Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer certification for virtualization
installations.

Pricing, Availabil
ity and Warranty

The Iomega® StorCenter™ ix2-200 Cloud Edition NAS starts at less than
US$300.00.The Iomega® StorCenter™ ix4-200d Cloud Edition NAS starts at
less than US$800.00. (Pricing is U.S. suggested retail.)

For more information on Iomega's complete line of storage products,
including current pricing for all StorCenter models, please go to
www.iomega.com.

Iomega StorCenter devices carry a three-year warranty with
registration.

About Iomega

Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation
headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage
solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The
Company has sold more than 425 million digital storage drives and disks
since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega’s product portfolio
includes industry leading network attached storage products for the home
and small business; one of the industry’s broadest selections of
direct-attached portable and desktop external hard drives; and
multimedia drives that makes it easy to move video, pictures and other
files from the computer room to the livingroom. To learn about all of
Iomega’s digital storage products and network storage solutions,
please go to the Web at www.iomega.com. Resellers can visit Iomega at
www.iomega.com/ipartner.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world’s leading developer and
provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that
enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and
create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products
and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC Canada (www.EMC2.ca), headquartered in Toronto with nine offices
from coast to coast, is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

- 30 -

For more information contact:
Mike Martin/Michelle Chang
StrategicAmpersand
416-961-5595
mike@stratamp.com
michelle@stratamp.com


NOTE: This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined
under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a
result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i)
adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or
reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to
protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing
the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions
and investments and the challenges and costs of integration,
restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in
VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of
VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to
pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and
varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the
volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component
and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new
products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product
offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient,
excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the
ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii)
fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and
other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in
EMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC
disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements
after the date of this release.


*   1 TB = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.


Copyright© 2011 Iomega Corporation. All rights reserved. Iomega and
StorCenter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Iomega Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries. EMC and LifeLine are
trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

If you do not wish to receive news releases from EMC Canada please
reply to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject header.

Nokia Siemens Networks appoints Rick Corker to lead Nort

Nokia Siemens Networks appoints Rick Corker to lead North American
business

Nokia Siemens Networks has announced the appointment of Rick Corker to
lead its business in North America. Corker, an Australian citizen, is
currently head of the company´s Asia-Pacific region, where he has
delivered strong growth, particularly in the key countries of Korea
and Japan. Corker will be based in Dallas and his appointment is
effective from April 15 2011.

Corker succeeds Sue Spradley, who will continue to serve as a
non-executive advisor to Nokia Siemens Networks and as a member of the
company´s external advisory board. Spradley, who joined Nokia
Siemens Networks in July 2007, is stepping down to pursue
opportunities outside the firm.

"Sue has been a key member of our team during an important time in
our history, expanding our customer base and strengthening our
position with existing customers. We wish her the very best as she
pursues the next step in her career," said Bosco Novak, executive
board member and head of customer operations west* for Nokia Siemens
Networks.

"We are very proud to have someone of Rick's calibre to take over
leadership of our business in North America," Novak continued.
"Sue and Rick will work very closely together over the coming period
to ensure an absolutely smooth transition from the point of view of
our customers and employees."


About Nokia Siemens Networks
Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading global enabler of
telecommunications services. With its focus on innovation and
sustainability, the company provides a complete portfolio of mobile,
fixed and converged network technology as well as professional
services including consultancy and systems integration, deployment,
maintenance and managed services. It is one of the largest
telecommunications hardware, software and professional services
companies in the world. Operating in 150 countries, its headquarters
are in Espoo, Finland. www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com

Talk about Nokia Siemens Networks´ news at
http://blogs.nokiasiemensnetworks.com and find out if your country is
exploiting the full potential of connectivity at
www.connectivityscorecard.org

Media Enquiries

Nokia Siemens Networks
Carol Dematteo
Communications, North America
Phone: +1 214 728 6197
E-mail: carol.dematteo@nsn.com

Media Relations
Phone: +358 7180 31451
E-mail: mediarelations@nsn.com

Notes to editors
* Customer operations west consists of the company´s North East
Europe, West South Europe, Africa, North America and Latin America
regions.

______________________
If you would rather not receive future communications from Nokia
Siemens Networks, please go to
http://eu.vocuspr.com/OptOut.aspx?519382x25353x23088x1x3965529x240
00x6

&Email=pr%40itincanada.ca. Nokia Siemens Networks, Karaportti 3,
Espoo, NA 02610 Finland
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Thank you,
Dave



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NEWS RELEASE: EMC Expands Greenplum Big Data Analytics Appliance Family

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EMC Expands Greenplum Big Data Analytics Appliance Family

New Models Feature Solid-State-Drive-Based Storage for Maximum
Performance, High Density Storage for Archive Layer Analytics and
Accelerated Data-Loading for Big Data Ingest

HOPKINTON, Mass. – April 5, 2011 – EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the
world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced
three new additions to its EMC® Greenplum® Data Computing Appliance
(http://www.emc.com/campaign/global/greenplumdca/) (DCA) line of
products – the High Capacity DCA, the High Performance DCA and the
Data Integration Accelerator – and version 4.1 of Greenplum Database
(http://www.greenplum.com/products/greenplum-database/). High Capacity
DCA and High Performance DCA join the first and award-winning Data
Computing Appliance (announced in October 2010
(http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2010/20101013-01.htm)) to expand
the EMC Greenplum family of lightning-fast data warehouse systems that
leverage massively parallel processing (MPP) architecture to enable Big
Data to be processed and analyzed significantly faster at substantially
lower cost. The announcement comes on the same day that SAS, the leader
in business analytics (http://www.sas.com/businessanalytics/) software
and services, said that it will expand its high-performance computing
(http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/highperformancecomputing-seriesberlin2010.html)
offerings with the introduction of SAS® High-Performance Analytics
(http://www.sas.com/news/preleases/emc-greenplum.html) on the EMC Data
Computing Appliance platform.

“EMC is truly driving the future of data warehousing and analytics
with the release of its Data Computing Appliance family of products.
There’s a growing recognition that there are new value-generation
opportunities that can arise from assembling unprecedented amounts of
information. The Performance and Capacity versions of EMC Data Computing
Appliance enable organizations to gain greater insight and value from
Big Data to support new business initiatives, new competitive
advantages, new sources of revenue and new ways of doing research, while
addressing the increasing needs for performance and storage options,”
said Bill Cook, President and General Manager of the Data Computing
Division, EMC.

“The requirement to turn all data into actionable information is only
accelerating and requires companies to adopt new and more effective
strategies to manage Big Data. Together with SAS High-Performance
Analytics, these new Greenplum offerings from EMC demonstrate continued
innovation and a world of new opportunities for our mutual customers,”
said Keith Collins, SAS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology
Officer.

The EMC Data Computing Appliance line of purpose-built, highly scalable
data warehousing appliances integrate database, computing, storage and
network into an enterprise-class, easy-to-implement system. The core
base-model EMC DCA is the foundation of this product line. It is the
industry’s best price/performance leader and has the ability to scale
up to 864TB of uncompressed data. Technology enhancements enable new and
advanced applications of EMC DCA:

* The High Capacity EMC DCA is designed to host petabyte-levels of data
without taking up additional space, surging power consumption or
increasing costs. For businesses that require detailed analysis of
extremely large amounts of data, this model offers the lowest
cost-per-unit data warehouse.

* The High Performance EMC DCA is the industry-leading solution for
data loading and data scanning performance. With its cutting edge purely
solid-state-drive (SSD)-based storage, it allows for a high number of
users to access concurrently. The combination of fast loading speed and
high simultaneous query performance allows businesses to access
time-sensitive analytical data effortlessly.

* The new Data Integration Accelerator is an add-on
module that solves
the challenges of data loading in a parallel and scalable model. It is
purpose-built for customers who need to shorten batch loads and
implement micro-batch loading, and leverages a growing catalogue of data
applications.

At the heart of the EMC DCA family of products is version 4.1 of
Greenplum Database. This new version introduces new functionality that
simplifies Hadoop integration, extends the range of analytics functions,
improves client and application connectivity and expands on the
platform’s workload management and system health monitoring
capabilities.

“The declining cost of infrastructure combined with vast rivers of
information presents incredible opportunities for leaders. But in order
to reap the value of this data, organizations need a comprehensive
platform that enables advanced analytics and unified data access. The
EMC Greenplum Data Computing Appliance is that platform. It can help
those leaders get exponentially more value from their information,”
said Cook.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world’s leading developer and
provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that
enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and
create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products
and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC Canada (www.EMC2.ca), headquartered in Toronto with nine offices
from coast to coast, is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation.

- 30 -

For more information contact:
Mike Martin/Michelle Chang
StrategicAmpersand
416-961-5595
mike@stratamp.com
michelle@stratamp.com


EMC and Greenplum are trademarks or registered trademarks of EMC
Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.


Forward-Looking Statements
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those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain
risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in
general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in
information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our
proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth
of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and
investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring
and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s
operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock;
(vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures
and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of
product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of
product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and
availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of
customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and
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or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly
qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and
(xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed
previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to
update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this
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SURVEY - 48% OF CIOS SELECT HYPERVISOR ON EASE OF MGT, NOT FUNCTIONALITY


Hello ITinCanada Folks,

 

I thought that perhaps someone might be interested in getting the following news in advance and possibly doing a story.

 

On April 11, Veeam will release the results from another international survey of CIOs on virtualization, this time focusing on management. (The November survey may be found here.)

 

Here are some of the findings:

 

·         Management vs. Functionality: 48 percent of CIOs are selecting hypervisors based on ease of management rather than functionality

·         Delays from Lack of Visibility: 49 percent of organizations using virtualization suffer from delays resolving IT problems due to a lack of visibility into the IT infrastructure

·         Traditional Management Tools Lack Virtualization Functionality: 80 percent of CIOs who are using specialist tools to manage their virtual infrastructure would prefer to use their traditional enterprise-wide management tools but can’t due to a lack of functionality

·         Management concerns slowing adoption: 45 percent of those surveyed stated that management concerns are slowing their adoption of virtualization.

·         Importance of dual hypervisor management: 68 percent of all companies believe that it will become important to manage both VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V from a single dashboard.

 

The survey was commissioned by Veeam and fielded by Vanson Bourne, an independent market research company. Vanson Bourne surveyed 253 CIOs from organizations across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France that employ more than 1,000 people and use VMware vSphere.

 

I’d be happy to set up an interview with Doug Hazelman of Veeam to discuss these findings and will send you a release as soon as it’s final.

 

Best,

Marty Querzoli

Davies Murphy Group

(781) 418-2433

 

Two Ontario Companies Pay Over $54,000 to Settle Claims of Unlicensed Software Use

 

 

 

TWO ONTARIO COMPANIES PAY OVER $54,000 TO SETTLE CLAIMS OF UNLICENSED SOFTWARE USE

The Business Software Alliance Continues Enforcement Effort to End Under-Licensing in Canada

 

TORONTO (April 04, 2011) – Two more Canadian organizations have settled claims of unauthorized copying of copyrighted software with the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The companies, which are based in Ontario, paid a combined total of $54,322 and agreed to delete all unlicensed copies of software, purchase any licenses necessary to become compliant, and commit to implementing software asset management (SAM) practices. BSA was alerted to the unlicensed software use via confidential reports made on its web site www.nopiracy.ca .  

 

As part of its worldwide mandate of promoting a safe and legal digital world, BSA is committed to raising awareness about the risks associated with software piracy and taking action against illegal software use. 

These settlements are the result of BSA’s enforcement program which investigates cases concerning alleged under-licensing, a form of copyright infringement that occurs when software is installed on multiple computers without proper authorization. Under the Canadian Copyright Act, under-licensing can result in fines of up to $20,000 for each software title illegally copied.

 

“Under-licensing continues to be an issue across Canada, affecting companies of all sizes and in all industry sectors,” said Michael Murphy, Chairman of the BSA Canada Committee.  “Proper software asset management policies and procedures can help to ensure your business doesn’t risk paying damages for unlicensed software.”

 

The companies that have settled with BSA are as follows:

 

Ontario

Company

Description

Location

Settlement

TMF Foods Ltd.

Food manufacturer

Stoney Creek

$34,322

DVI Lighting

Lighting designer and distributor

Concord

$20,000

 

“DVI Lighting is committed to using only licensed software on our company computers,” said a spokesperson for the company. “We’ve developed a comprehensive software license management program and we’re confident that our software is fully and appropriately licensed.”

 

Most of BSA’s software investigations begin with a call to its anti-piracy hotline, 1-888-NO-PIRACY, or with a report to an online reporting form at www.nopiracy.ca. The majority of reports come from current or former employees. Upon receiving information of alleged software piracy, BSA contacts the company to explore the matter further by asking them to perform an audit of its software assets. If a settlement cannot be reached, both parties have the option of turning the matter over to the courts. In the cases announced today, BSA’s attorneys contacted the companies and invited them to work towards an informal resolution.

 

Software piracy continues to be a serious problem in Canada.  According to a 2010 BSA-IDC study, 29 per cent of PC software installed on computers in Canada in 2009 was pirated, with a retail value of approximately US$943 million.* A BSA-IDC study released last month on the economic impact of piracy in Canada suggests that reducing Canada’s piracy rate by 10 percentage points over four years would create an estimated 6,445 high-tech jobs, over US$3 billion in new economic activity, and nearly US$1.5 billion in new taxes by 2013, with 85 per cent of those benefits expected to remain in the local economy.**

 

In an effort to help prevent software piracy and promote the most effective utilization of software assets, BSA recently launched SAM Advantage, the first comprehensive online Software Asset Management course aligned to the global ISO SAM standard.  

 

About BSA

The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world.  BSA is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace.  Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world.  BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Altium, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Corel, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Microsoft, Minitab, Progress Software, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, and The MathWorks.

 

*Global Software Piracy Study, conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance, released May 2010.

**The Economic Benefits of Reducing Software Piracy Study, conducted by IDC for the Business Software Alliance, released September 2010.

 



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Press Release: Canada 3.0’s Road to Banff Competition to be Powered by Powernoodle

http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=4975


Submitted by kalexander on Mar 31, 2011 - 02:42 PM | Bookmark and Share


Canada 3.0 is the preeminent digital media conference in the country and organizers are upping the ante this year with the launch of the Road to Banff business plan competition. When 100 start ups from across Canada make their pitches to a panel of judges at Canada 3.0 in Stratford this May, they will be using Powernoodle to make their decision. The top three pitches will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Banff Venture Forum, Canada's premier Venture Capital forum, where they will join the hottest hi-tech, life sciences and cleantech companies in Canada, in  a quest to secure financing from investors from across North America. The winners will also be receiving a complimentary one year license from Powernoodle.

Stratford, Ontario --March 30 2011-- Powernoodle, the web-based collaboration tool that just made news as the first recipient of FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation Initiative (IIBI), will be powering the judging of the Road to Banff competition at the coming Canada 3.0 conference.

Canada 3.0 is all about Canada’s digital media future and Stratford has evolved into a hotbed of innovative, hi-tech development. From the University of Waterloo’s Stratford campus and the Stratford Institute, to an investment in 60 km of fibre optic cable and city wide Wi-Fi, the city has aggressively pursued a hi-tech economy, culminating in global recognition with a spot in the exclusive Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year for 2011, from the ICF.

“The Road to Banff Challenge aligns with Powernoodle’s solution for running competitions in the Evaluations space,” says Powernoodle CEO Deb Krizmanich. “Powernoodle’s collaboration features line up perfectly with the Canada 3.0 evaluation and rating requirements for the competition. The judges needed to be up and running quickly with little training and intuitively process a lot of data effectively. Powernoodle is a product of the Stratford technology ecosystem and while we have a global focus, being a part of Canada 3.0 is like a homecoming for us.”

With up to 100 companies making ten minute pitches to the panel of judges, there will be a great deal of information flying around and trying to track it all in a meaningful way presents many challenges. Each competing company will face a panel consisting of at least three judges (including venture capitalists, angel investors and professional services providers) and will be scored based on how compelling their product or service is, the viability of their business model, proven entrepreneurship and overall presentation. Powernoodle was chosen because it excels at empowering a team (in the same room or attending virtually) to collaboratively review, comment and rate a series of ideas, quickly and efficiently generating real-time results and reports of the very best ideas, solutions or in this case, companies.

According to Steve Currie, VP Business Services, Communitech: “It was critical for us to have real-time results reporting, even with judges evaluating companies in different rooms at different times. Powernoodle lets us move 100 companies to 16 finalists to three winners in real-time, using twenty different rating criteria, in a point and click interface. Best of all, Powernoodle generates an automatic report of the entire process, capturing the judges’ anonymous comments, feedback and scores through the two rounds of competition. Using technology to evaluate technology companies is a perfect fit for the Road to Banff pitch contest.”

Attendees of Canada 3.0 will see Powernoodle in action and will also be able to talk to company executives at the conference. Look for Powernoodle’s booth in the main conference exhibit hall.

About Powernoodle:

Powernoodle is a web-based (SaaS) collaboration and decision making tool that engages people to move ideas from brainstorm to action. Gaming inspired features and anonymous participation give everyone a voice and bring the best ideas forward. Essential for leaders focused on effectiveness of virtual teams, diversity, collaboration, innovation, productivity and engagement. www.powernoodle.com

Contact Kim Alexander - kima@powernoodle.com1-855-797-6353

About The Canadian Digital Media Network:

The Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) www.cdmn.ca is dedicated to establishing Canada as a world leader in Digital Media by enabling connections and collaboration of people across the country – entrepreneurs, companies, research institutes and government – and bringing more digital solutions to market. The CDMN comprises Canada’s largest concentration of business-driven digital media research, technology development, and digital commercialization expertise; it connects digital media expertise and capability from coast-to-coast, creating a digital convergence corridor. Digital Media covers a broad spectrum of technology and services, and includes any information created and shared virtually.