Wireless Broadband: The Road to 802.16e

There seems to be a lot of buzz about the 802.16e standard that should be finalized by the end of the year. Apparently, this new standard will make it possible for you to have a personal wireless broadband connection that you can carry with you wherever you go - kind of like a cell phone. The only company I've heard of doing anything in this space is Navini Networks www.navini.com. They have a carrier in Australia already using their smart antenna technology. This carrier, Unwired, has signed up subscribers and apparently, they can go anywhere in the greater Sydney area and have a broadband connection. The thing is supposed to work through walls and windows as well, so you don't just have to sit outside to enjoy the speed.

It's all made possible by something they call "adaptive beam forming." This is where the "smart" antenna makes a connection with the user and creates a beam that adapts as the user moves about. Anyway, Navini Networks is definitely worth checking out.

Wireless Security Update - May 6, 2005

And the hits just keep on comin'... These guys have gotta learn about Credant Technologies... they're the bomb! www.credant.com

Guarding Information
http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=93910

Lawmakers study ways to handle data theft
http://www.al.com/business/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/business/1115304667148510.xml

Expert: Cell phone virus threat is overblown
http://news.com.com/Expert+Cell+phone+virus+threat+is+overblown/2100-7349_3-5696744.html

Hackers Keep Up With Every High-Tech Development
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/coughlin050505.html

House Committee Talks Data Breach Notification
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artprevbot.cgi?article_id=32731

The new telephony: Let your laptop do the dialing
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050506/SPNEWS01/50413142

'Wi-Phishing' Threatens Wireless Internet Connections (local story)
http://www.nbc5i.com/money/4456438/detail.html

IT Asset Management >> Watch Your Assets
http://www.campus-technology.com/article.asp?id=11043

Wireless Security Update - May 5, 2005

More news on the problem...

The new telephony: Security, privacy, reliability among risks of Internet phones
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050505/SPNEWS01/50413140

Don't Lose Your Gadgets
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,120486,00.asp

Schools Inform Parents About Autism Study After 7NEWS Investigation (follow up to a story from a few days ago)
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/7newsinvestigates/4449137/detail.html

Mobile phone viruses: 'Don't panic!'
http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=6631

Over 50% Of UK Security Managers Believe Negligent Or Malicious Employees Pose A Significant Threat To Business Security
http://www.securitypark.co.uk/article.asp?articleid=23760&CategoryID=1

Gadget Security (reprint of NYT article with Trust Digital quote)
http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_gadgettheft05.589a4.html

Firms call for action on wireless security
http://www.itweek.co.uk/news/1162847

Execs Testify In Favor Of National Data-Security Law
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=162101575

Hackers Exploit Wireless Internet Connections
http://www.nbc4.com/technology/4447812/detail.html?tabbox=blurb

Wi-Fi Hotspot Security
http://www.windowsitpro.com/Emea/Article/ArticleID/46298/46298.html

Official Looks To Pull Health Care Into High-Tech Age
http://www.investors.com/editorial/tech01.asp?v=5/5

Burger King Emergency

OK, this is pretty ridiculous. I am a big carnivore and like my burgers as much as the next Texas Girl, but I can't imaging calling 911 because someone didn't get my order right. The worst part about this is that her kids were witnessing the whole thing, so on top of being a complete idiot, she is teaching her kids that if something doesn't go your way then you need to act like a moron and call the police. Yeah, good lesson mom...

http://blogging.la/media/burger_king.mp3

My favorite part is when she says the police are there to protect her... from what??? Mad cow disease... again, worth listening to just to see how incredibly stupid people can be.

Telecom mega mergers... don't tick off god!

OK, just need to vent about the gianormous telecom giants being created by the AT&T/SBC and MCI/Verizon merger. Those two are going to control 80% of the telecom market... doesn't anyone care about that? I thought we broke up Ma Bell because she proved she had a wicked god complex. There are some great companies who are going to get caught in the wake of these two big mergers. XO Communications and Vonage are two of the larger ones, and then there are smaller companies like Transcom and VarTec who might hang on for a while longer if they get some protection from the courts. In fact, Transcom scored a great ruling the other day on their disputed ESP exemption status (http://www.isp-planet.com/politics/2005/transcom.html).

Here's some more news about the testimony from Carl Grivner before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Somebody's got to do something, or we'll be in a state of communist telecommunications before you know it.

http://news.webhosting.info/t-5391

http://www5.sys-con.com/read/77067.htm

More about the Transcom case...

http://www.isp-planet.com/politics/2005/transcom.html

http://telephonyonline.com/broadband/finance/wts_transcom_verizon_032805/

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-17-2005/0003204329&EDATE=

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

I just finished reading the book for the next movie, and OH MY GOD... it is going to be tragic. While we all know the ending (Anakin becomes Darth... duh!), there are some things that happen that are just evil, evil, evil. I really hate the Emperor even more but am fascinated by his strategy and patience. You gotta give it to the guy... he really knows how to manipulate the system to get what he wants. And it's clear he's wanted Anakin from the beginning.

Let me know if you want some spoilers or if you've read the book too... would love to chat!

OK, here's the links Sadie posted... they are awesome, but again, don't read unless you want to know what happens.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003620/
http://viewaskew.com/news/sith/

VoIP - what's next?

So what's next for VoIP? I think it's going to be security... seems like when you get too much bandwidth going through the same pipe, it's a recipe for disaster... anyone have any thoughts?

Wireless Security for Devices

Lots of mobile devices are getting stolen... many with sensitive information on them like people's social security numbers, blood types... you know, things that really could wreak some havoc if they fall into the hands of the right diabolical mind. It seems everyone in the news is only talking about the tragedy and aftermath of losing mobile devices like PDAs, laptops and smartphones, but no one wants to talk about the solutions. There are some great companies out there who have real mobile security solutions. My personal favorite is a company called CREDANT Technologies - www.credant.com - they actually have a network administration piece that gives IT people full view of all the mobile devices with access to their networks (no more John Does coming into the office with their latest gadget and stealing company information), and the solution actually gives the administrators control of the devices on their networks. It's pretty cool stuff that is really needed out there in the wild, wild west of mobility.

The part that really peeves me is that no one wants to talk about the solution... it's like they're standing there saying the 'sky is falling' but oblivious to the shelter that could protect them. Anyway... just venting.

OK - even just today, here's all the noise out there about the PROBLEM... again, not the solution, the problem... AGH!

New computer virus causing global chaos
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=115&art_id=qw111520620144B251

New computer virus causing headaches here in the Valley and around the worldhttp://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=3296217&nav=9qrxZPty

Mobile Security: Data goes walkabout (byline by PointSec)http://www.ebcvg.com/articles.php?id=701

Why IT managers should pay attention to cell phone security
http://software.itmanagersjournal.com/software/05/04/29/0235223.shtml?tid=26&tid=46

Fresh Warning for Businesses to Comply with Data Protection Act (Pointsec mentioned)
http://www.securitypark.co.uk/article.asp?articleid=23745&CategoryID=1

So your employer 'lost' your information
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/03/pf/security_employees/

Destroying old hard drive data is difficult but necessary
http://www.newstarget.com/007343.html

Two-Factor Authentication: The Next Wave in Security? http://www.iseriesnetwork.com/content/f3/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.viewArticle&webID=1001&newsID=5021&issueID=5198&articleID=50860

Patient information not for public discussion
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary%5C22968.html