Cisco hits hard times

As noted by IDG News Service/Network World, Cisco Systems reported another soft quarter on February 12, saying that its profits have fallen by more than half, and that its revenue has declined by nearly 8 percent.

"For its second fiscal quarter, which ended Jan. 25, Cisco reported revenue of $11.2 billion and net income of $1.4 billion, or $0.27 per share. That profit figure was down 54 percent from $3.1 billion, or $0.59 per share, a year earlier," writes IDG's Stephen Lawson.

Macroeconomic factors were the most prominent cause of the networking vendor's weak first-quarter results and forecast. "Sales were dramatically lower in most of the company's important developing markets, executives told financial analysts. But transitions in some product lines also hit sales," added the IDG report.

Silver lining:  For its data centers and security businesses, Cisco said it amassed more revenue and orders than for the year prior. Cisco CEO John Chambers said the company's UCS (Unified Computing System) data center architecture continues to gain market share.

More news:  Cisco, Microsoft team on cloud data center

Cisco certifies Proact for European data center supply

Cisco buffs up Catalyst Ethernet switches

Cisco lays off 2% of workforce

Rubber meets road for Internet of Things in 2014?

In an investigative article, TechHive's Caitlin McGarry notes how "over the last few years, companies have used the International CES [Consumer Electronics Show] to show off all types of Internet-connected hardware -- the usual suspects like phones, tablets, and PCs, but also TVs, thermostats and smoke alarms, not to mention cars, refrigerators, lightbulbs, and yes, even Bluetooth-enabled toothbrushes. It exists, therefore it is connected to the Web."

McGarry's reporting then seeks to answer the question, 'But after every device we own has been hooked up to the Internet, what then?', by examing how, this year, companies took to to the CES show floor especially geared up to show how "...smart gadgets "can [now] flawlessly talk to each other to fully automate our lives." Top topics of consideration include "the universal remote" for media devices, and how "smart can [also] be practical."

In related news, as reported by tongue-in-cheek Silicon Valley chronicler Valleywag, Google has just agreed to pay $3.2 billion in cash to buy Nest Labs, the makers of "unloved but important" home devices like thermostats and smoke alarms, "i.e. hardware that could help save and improve lives for a huge demographic of homeowners."

When Google pays $3.2 billion for a thermostat, you know the Internet of Things is real.

Related News:  Corning touts Thunderbolt optical cabling at CES 2014

CES 2014: Amendment to 802.11ac spec unveils MU MIMO technology

Escalating Target data breach (110M and *ulp* rising) exposes major security threat of POS malware, botnets

USA Today reports that Target says its data breach has now reached 110 million customers who had personal information stolen in it is credit/debit card data breach, escalating numbers from previous estimates of 40 million, and then, 70 million cards affected.

TechRepublic's Michael Kassner has the additional reporting: PoS malware and botnets abound.

As reported by Kassner:

Some fallout from the Target data breach has been the acknowledgment that PoS systems are under attack. This US-Cert bulletin from January 2nd mentions:

“For quite some time, cyber criminals have been targeting consumer data entered in PoS systems. In some circumstances, criminals attach a physical device to the PoS system to collect card data. In other cases, cyber criminals deliver malware which acquires card data as it passes through a PoS system.”

The US-Cert quote is an opportunity [...] to introduce Dexter. The PoS malware referenced in the bulletin. Researchers, with Arbor’s Security Engineering and Response Team, in early 2013 discovered servers hosting Dexter.

Dexter steals the process list from the infected computer, and dissects memory dumps looking for the track one and two data I mentioned earlier. At a certain point, the infected machine sends the captured data to the attackers’ command and control server. After which the criminals are free to use the information to clone new cards. The unfortunate thing is that as of yet, no one understands how the malware makes its way into the PoS system.

[However], it seems the bad guys are not content with their success, deciding to bring their game to the next level—PoS botnets.

This from ArsTechnica:

“Underscoring the growing sophistication of Internet crime, researchers have documented one of the first known botnets to target PoS terminals.”

Dan Goodin in the ArsTechnica post mentioned that Dexter went through a major revision, and now incorporates botnet malcode. Grouping all the infected machines into a botnet is beneficial in that it allows the bad guys to monitor, in real time, the goings on of all the infected machines. It also allows the bot masters to issue commands that immediately propagate to all member bots. To put it simply, using botnet technology helps the bad guys steal more money, while improving their odds of avoiding detection.

Google inaugurates Asia data centers

BBC News - Technology reports that Google has opened its first-ever data centers in Asia. The company says it is looking to expand its growth in the region as countries there become increasingly Internet-connected. As noted in the South China Morning Post, Google said it will double its planned investment in its Taiwan facility to US$600 million. The company is also set to kick-off a new data center in Singapore. Google data centers president Joe Kava has issued an informative blogpost regarding the announcements.

See also:  Google's 10 tips for better data center design

Google: Green data centers aren't magic

CommScope punts on IPO price but with good Sox

Things are shaping up well here in Nashua, NH this fine Monday morning: the Red Sox are lighting up the World Series, the Pats ground out a gritty gridiron win yesterday, and Light Reading's Ray LeMaistre has drawn up a nifty blog analyzing the Xs and Os of how CommScope was resigned to settle for a reduced IPO price.

"CommScope's revenues were up more than 10 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, so [the company's] expected third-quarter sales represent something of a speed bump for the vendor's growth momentum and investors might have reacted to that shift," charges the piece.

The blog describes how The Carlyle Group LLC had its sights set on a higher [IPO] price than what it actually got. Monday morning quarterbacking alert: "It could be that investors weren't as keen as Carlyle had hoped on a company that's carrying $3 billion in debt," writes Light Reading's LeMaistre. "Hence the need to use the IPO proceeds to reduce that mountain."

However, much as with a certain beloved MLB baseball franchise, the blog  goes on to note how CommScope has either a stacked bullpen, or a diversely strategic offensive line-up (take your pick of cheesy metaphors).

"[The company] has a range of products well suited to a market that is centered around broadband rollouts,"  LeMaistre points out. "So it looks like a solid business that is on course to grow its full-year 2013 revenues from the $3.32 billion it generated in 2012."

Either way, whatever happens, the deal is a home-run for investors. As recorded by Light Reading, "the Carlyle Group LLC, which has owned the company since January 2011, is selling about 7.7 million shares, which should net it more than $100 million."

Full Blog:  CommScope Settles for Reduced IPO Price (lightreading.com)

Report: Contractors fight over NSA data center delays

The Wall Street Journal's Siobhan Gorman reports that "contractors working on a new National Security Agency data center in Utah are fighting over the causes and responsibility for electrical failures that have caused construction delays costing up to $50 million, project officials say."

Earlier this month, the newspaper revealed how "the NSA's Utah Data Center, which has become a symbol of the agency's potent surveillance power, has been hobbled by the electrical failures", which resulted in a heavily publicized series of fiery explosions.

"The lead contractor on the project says it has uncovered the cause of the explosions -- a defect in electrical switches provided by a subcontractor -- and is installing a fix," adds Gorman's report. However, "outside investigators from the Army Corps of Engineers, which is overseeing the $1.4 billion construction of the center, say the contractors' explanation, and proposed fix, remain unproven."

Full story:  Contractors Fight Over Delays to NSA Data Center (online.wsj.com)

Government shutdown could test IT security at federal agencies

Computerworld is reporting that a government shutdown that lasts more than a few days could test the ability of federal agencies to protect their information systems against security threats. According to a report, over the past few day several agencies, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Social Security Administration, have released contingency plans showing that they will have to heavily scale down their IT teams to maintain, manage and protect IT infrastructure during a a shutdown.

Full story:  Shutdown could test IT security at federal agencies (computerworld.com)

See also:  How the federal government doubled its amount of data centers in just 2 years