Cisco survey: Security holes unpatched

The release of Cisco's Annual Security Report shows that corporate security teams are not patching holes in their software or security tools. Less than half of the respondents at 1,700 companies in nine countries use standard tools for ensuring they are running the latest versions of software. This study comes in the year that saw [...]

Config errors better than hackers?

The Facebook downtime event on January 27th, where an hour-long outage at Facebook cut off access to critical status updates worldwide in addition to Instagram posts and Tinder hook-ups, shows the sensitivity of large organizations to public perception of hacking threats. The Lizard Squad hacking group, which apparently took control of the Malaysia Airlines website [...]

v5.1 release expands scope & speed of local mgmt

The v5.1 release of the Uplogix Local Management Software (LMS) is now available with a number of new features and improvements that include expanding the number of devices that can be managed, a new cellular modem for faster out-of-band, stronger security features, expanded support for Cisco and more. The release supports the new Uplogix 16-port [...]

Better security through config management

Gartner says that the average firm makes 10,000 changes annually to its IT environment. It's no wonder change management can make or break your network. Literally. Security patches, interdependencies among various components of your network, and the ability to recover from a disaster are driving factors to companies attempting to create a Configuration Management Database [...]

Taking Network Management Local to Enable REAL Automation

Despite decades of advancements in network speed, reach and security, the management of network devices is still a hands-on task. It involves reactive and often tedious actions open to human error. Traditional Network Management tools rely on the network itself to manage critical devices. This dependence on the network to manage the network is a [...]

Three ways that network management is like a horror movie

Network management is kind of like a horror movie. Go with me on this -- in a horror movie only a few hearty and clever survivors get to the see the sunrise, or the sequel. Network management has many hands-on components that tend to weed out those not able to remember an obscure command to [...]

Config changes: damned if you do, damned if you don’t

Cisco alone averages more than one “significant” security advisory a week that requires an upgrade or configuration change. The Digital Energy Journal says the lack of security patch upgrades are the biggest threat to energy infrastructure. Yet Gartner says that over 40% of all network outages are due to human error – mostly from configuration [...]

The risk and pain of configuration change

To update or not to update. Too often it's the question asked in IT. Even when the answer is that yes, you should update. Security patches, OS upgrades and password updates take time and effort, and often provide an opportunity for introducing errors. Enterprise Management Associates estimated upwards of 60% of network downtime is caused [...]

Groundhog Day for network configuration

Every year, on February 2nd, crowds in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania gather at dawn to witness a rodent pass judgment on just how much longer winter weather will torment the country. The Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day combined the weirdness of this 127-year tradition with a time loop/karma story where an unpleasant TV weatherman relives the same [...]

Next-Generation Firewalls Benefit from Local Management

Secure your firewall by taking its management interface out of the network path and more with Uplogix Lots of firewall news this week. First, HP announced its Next-Generation Firewall line, joining Palo Alto Networks, Cisco and Check Point in the evolving world of firewalls that blend traditional port-based controls with application controls and intrusion prevention. [...]