IBM service uses DNS to deliver multicloud connectivity

IBM is rolling out a new DNS-based service that will let customers securely control connectivity between distributed multicloud environments.NS1 Connect is one of the first fruits from IBM’s acquisition of DNS specialist NS1 earlier this year. The service is aimed at helping organizations set up the best connection between clouds and end users to deliver applications optimized for performance, cost, security and availability.Core to the NS1 Connect package, which will be available Oct. 17, is traffic-steering technology that intelligently distributes DNS traffic across the network. DNS is often described as the Internet’s phone book, working in the background to match the names of web sites that users type into a search box with the corresponding IP address.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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IBM X-Force: Use of compromised credentials darkens cloud security picture

As connectivity to cloud-based resources grows, cybercriminals are using valid, compromised credentials to access enterprise resources at an alarming rate.That’s one of the chief findings of the IBM X-Force Cloud Threat Landscape Report, which also found a 200% increase (about 3,900 vulnerabilities) in cloud-oriented Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) in the last year.“Over 35% of cloud security incidents occurred from attackers’ use of valid, compromised credentials,” wrote Chris Caridi, strategic cyber threat analyst with IBM X-Force, in a blog about the report. “Making up nearly 90% of assets for sale on dark web marketplaces, credentials’ popularity among cybercriminals is apparent, averaging $10 per listing – or the equivalent of a dozen doughnuts.”To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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Cisco software targets enterprise cloud security, risk assessment

Cisco is adding a security module to its observability platform that promises to help enterprises assess threat risks and protect cloud-based resources.The Cisco Secure Application module, available now, is part of the vendor’s Full Stack Observability (FSO) platform, which is designed to correlate data from application, networking, infrastructure, security, and cloud domains to make it easier for customers to spot anomalies, preempt and address performance problems, and improve threat mitigation.FSO is designed to make intelligent use of metrics, events, logs and traces. With it, organizations can consolidate to fewer tools, collect data from any source, correlate information, and enable AI-driven analysis to predict and prevent problems, Cisco said at the FSO launch event in June.  To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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Google’s Cross-Cloud Network service aims to simplify multicloud networking

Google Cloud has added a new service that promises to make it easier for enterprise customers to securely network multiple cloud-based resources.The Cross-Cloud Network service consists of new and existing Google Cloud technology and includes a partner ecosystem to help organizations develop, build and support distributed enterprise applications across clouds.“We know that 70-plus percent of our enterprises are going to adopt multicloud. [The] idea behind Cross-Cloud Network is that today many organizations operate bespoke networks with turnkey security to connect to those clouds that are operationally complex to manage and build, thereby resulting in a much higher total cost of ownership and soaring costs,” said Muninder Sambi, vice president and general manager of networking for Google Cloud. “They set up private data centers to connect and secure the hybrid workforce to access cloud and on-prem resources and manage multiple CDN clouds to accelerate web apps. All of this can also lead to an inconsistent security posture and drives up total costs,” Sambi said.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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IBM wants drag-and-drop connectivity for hybrid cloud applications

IBM is developing a SaaS package to help enterprises securely network heterogenous environments, including edge, on-prem and multicloud resources.The IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh is a SaaS service that implements a virtualized Layer 3-7 environment to rapidly enable secure connectivity between users, applications, and data distributed across multiple locations and environments, according to Andrew Coward, general manager of IBM’s software defined networking group. In a nutshell, Hybrid Cloud Mesh deploys gateways within the clouds – including on-premises, AWS or other providers’ clouds, and transit points, if needed – to support the infrastructure, and then it builds a secure Layer 3-7 mesh overlay to deliver applications, Coward said. At the application level, the exposure to developers occurs at Layer 7, and the networking teams see Layer 3 and 4 activities, Coward said.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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VMware overhauls Workspace One for better performance

VMware has revamped its Workspace One mobile and virtual desktop platform by boosting performance, making it more service-oriented and easy to manage.Workspace One is VMware’s endpoint-management package for delivering, managing and securing application access to any device across the a cloud or distributed on-premises enterprise. The highly-integrated suite includes device management, single sign-on, remote access control, endpoint security, analytics, automation and virtualization.The changing way workers are using and accessing applications from multiple devices prompted the over-arching need to change Workspace One and how its services are delivered.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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IBM’s mainframe operating system upgrade will embrace AI

IBM said this week it will soon roll out an AI-infused, hybrid-cloud oriented version of its z/OS mainframe operating system.Expected in the third quarter, z/OS 3.1 will  support technologies intended to enable deployment of AI workloads co-located with z/OS applications, IBM said in a customer preview letter.The new OS will work best with the newest version of the Big Iron, the z16, but it will support z14 models and above, IBM says.The z16 includes an AI accelerator built onto its core Telum processor that can do 300 billion deep-learning inferences per day with one millisecond latency and includes what IBM calls a quantum-safe system to protect organizations from anticipated quantum-based security threats.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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Survey: NetOps is essential but undervalued in making multi-cloud decisions

By 2024, 88% of enterprises will use two or more infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providers, according to research by EMA, which believes that network infrastructure and operations teams must take a leadership role in defining network architecture that ensures the performance and security of their multi-cloud digital services.EMA recently polled a group of these enterprises, surveying 351 IT stakeholders, including 39% in network engineering, 21% in the CIO suite, 15% on cloud teams, and 11% in cybersecurity.EMA found that networking teams and network technology have become more important in 81% of multi-cloud strategies in recent years. Unfortunately, only 24% of research participants firmly believe that their networking teams have enough influence over cloud decision-making.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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Data center networking trends to watch for 2023

Hybrid and multicloud initiatives will continue to shape enterprise IT in 2023, and the impact on data-center networking will be felt across key areas including security, management, and operations. Network teams are investing in technologies such as SD-WAN and SASE, expanding automation initiatives, and focusing on skills development as more workloads and applications span cloud environments.“The most important core trend in data centers is the recognition that the hybrid cloud model – which combines current transaction processing and database activities with a cloud-hosted front-end element for the user interface – is the model that will dominate over time,” said Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp. and a Network World columnist. The industry is seeing a slow modernization of data center applications to support the hybrid-cloud model, Nolle says, “and included in that is greater componentization of those applications, a larger amount of horizontal traffic, and a greater need to manage security within the hosted parts of the application.”To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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Google Cloud adds networking, security features for enterprises

Google Cloud is rolling out new network and security features, including a service that provides Layer-7 security.The new offerings announced at Google Cloud Next also include firewall and web application-protection options aimed at advancing existing cloud connectivity and ensuring the security of cloud-based resources.“We are fundamentally enhancing our network fabric—which includes 35 regions, 106 zones and 173 network edge locations across 200-plus countries—and making it simpler and easier for organizations to migrate their existing workloads and modernize applications all while securing and making them easier to manage,” said Muninder Sambi, vice president and general manager of networking for Google Cloud.To read this article in full, please click here READ MORE HERE…

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