Sean Michael Kerner

One of the key new features in Chrome 21 is the getUserMedia API. That API enables the browser to get access to your webcam and microphone, directly through the browser and not through a third party plugin like Flash. The getUserMedia API is part of a larger effort to enable richer in-browser interactivity, known as […]

From the ‘CentOS vs. Oracle Linux’ files: Red Hat makes its money from selling support subscriptions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Mostly the same bits are available entirely for free by way of the community led CentOS project that clones RHEL. I recently chatted with Red Hat CEO about CentOS and the long story […]

The IBM Security Network Protection XGS 5000 is first in the new product family that aims to go beyond what IBM’s traditional IPS devices have provided to date with a deeper and more integrated level of threat intelligence. he XGS series is intended to initially supplement and perhaps one day replace, IBM’s GX series of […]

NDS is now going to be absorbed into the Video and Collaboration Group at Cisco that is led by Marthin De Beer. The former CEO of NDS Dr. Abe Peled, is now the senior vice president and chief strategist for Cisco’s Video and Collaboration Group. With the NDS technology in-hand Cisco now has a more […]

In the modern world of web development there are a set of new and emerging specifications sometimes grouped under the moniker HTML5. One of those specifications is the WebSocket API, that enables two-way communications. WebSockets offer the promise of faster communications that than traditional TCP, but according to a pair of security researchers, there is […]

From the ‘Open Source Heroes’ files: The first time I spoke with Kevin Fleming, was back in 2006 about a new collaboration that Asterisk built at the time with Zimbra. I had spoke with Mark Spencer, the founder of Asterisk many times before, but Fleming was the ‘new’ guy, taking on a leadership role in […]

Exalogic is what Oracle refers to as an engineered system, which includes compute, storage, networking and software in an pre-configured chassis. Mike Palmeter, Senior Director of Exalogic product marketing at Oracle, explained to ServerWatch that Oracle has made some minor tweaks to the system over the last year and half. That said, the Exalogic 2.0 […]

The movement toward more fluid and flexible Software Defined Networking (SDN) constructs is alive and well. Today Oracle became the latest vendor to jump into the space by way an acquisition. Oracle announced its intention to acquire Xsigo for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close in the fall of 2012. Xsigo is […]

From the ‘Linux Desktop Lives!’files: There are some people that don’t believe the Linux Desktop is relevant. I’m not one of them, and apparently neither are hordes of security professionals that were at the recent Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas (including me). The show itself doesn’t calculate who uses what..but Aruba Networks (they […]

General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), Chief of the Central Security Service (CSS), and Commander of the United States Cyber Command came on stage, out of his military uniform. Instead he wore a DEFCON Kids shirt, voicing his support at multiple points during talk for the DEFCON effort that trains children […]

The myth of the elite super hacker is not the reality in the case of all modern IT security attacks. When it comes to basic malware and phishing attacks, the more common culprit is a Web Exploit Toolkit, essentially a packaged application that provides point and click malware vulnerability exploits. Jason Jones Advanced Security Intelligence […]

SAP applications could potentially be at risk from an emerging type of exploit known as Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF). That’s the message coming from security researcher Alexander Polyakov at this week’s Black Hat security research conference. “By tunneling over Gopher we can bypass SAP security restrictions and exploit the system,” Polyakov said. Gopher is […]