Attack of the Killer IoTs?

By Jeff Joyner

Well, maybe they weren’t killers but it was definitely an attack.  

A couple of weeks ago, on Oct. 21, a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack was executed against a DNS provider named Dyn. This attack affected the Internet traffic for prominent web sites such as Twitter, Pandora, Netflix, Pinterest, Spotify, PayPal and PlayStation Network. In some cases, access was shut down completely.

Domain Name Service (DNS) is like a phone book for the Internet. DNS translates human readable text (such as your website name, like www.ctgva.com) into Internet addresses (which are numeric, such as 72.10.49.31) that devices connected to the Internet can understand. In a nutshell, DNS providers deliver this translation service. 

A Denial of Service (DoS) attack is an attempt to prevent legitimate users from accessing information or services. The primary method is to flood a particular website’s Internet connection, exhausting the resources of a router, firewall or server, thereby shutting off access to anyone else. With a DDoS attack, you find it more difficult to defend yourself and your business. Instead of the attack coming from a single device, a DDoS attack enlists an army of network devices to do the same thing. Tens of thousands or more devices, all working together to cut off a company’s resources. Even the largest companies find it difficult to defend against.

So, who owns the network devices used in these attacks? In this particular example, large numbers of webcams were used. Why would webcams launch an attack on a DNS provider? What did Dyn do to the webcams?

This is where it gets interesting.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a phrase used to describe all of the various Internet-connected devices we have today, which includes video game systems, home thermostats, security cameras, smart phones, and much more. In many cases, these devices come with passwords that are never changed and/or weak protocols enabled for active use. Sitting behind a firewall doesn’t necessarily mean that the device can’t be reached.

A protocol that runs on most home routers/firewalls is Universal Plug’n’Play (UPnP).  When enabled – and it is by default – UPnP allows devices on the inside or protected part of your network to request ports be opened and forwarded to them without any user intervention. Why have this protocol? Because it’s easier on people who might not be as technically minded. Your best security practice is to disable UPnP on home routers/firewalls. After disabling, test all internal device that rely on the Internet to ensure disabling UPnP didn’t disrupt any connections. Leaving UPnP enabled makes things easier but compromises home network security.

Meanwhile, what can be done to make these devices less vulnerable to being turned into “zombies” and used in attacks against unsuspecting victims? Vendors need to tighten up the security on IoT devices during manufacturing, long before these devices hit the retail shelves. Additionally, manufacturers must make ready updates to correct security holes in the products already in service. Consumers should create strong passwords (16 characters or more with mixed case, numbers, symbols) to replace the widely documented default passwords all too often left on devices connected to the Internet.

We know cyber security is seemingly daunting, so let us help. Contact Convergent Technologies Group through our website to have all the right resources to defend against cyber attacks. 

Jeff Joyner is a senior network engineer at Convergent Technologies Group.

3. Docker Delivers Innovation to Container Strategy

By Rod Knowles

So, what exactly is Docker? Docker is an engine that enables any application to be encapsulated as a lightweight, portable, self-contained entity or, as they’re more infamously known as, containers – an approach we discussed in the previous post. It also allows for the standardization of packaging applications and all of their dependencies for rapid development and deployment.

Employing Docker enables DevOps and IT organizations to provide continuous integration and deployment. This gives developers the power to not only build code but, to test their code in any environment type and as often as possible to catch bugs early in the development life cycle. With Docker, development teams can perform 13 times more software releases than what they now are achieving and cut the time needed to determine and resolve issues.

Earlier this year, I attended HPE’s Discover, an annual customer conference in Las Vegas, NV. Though most of my trip is eluding me at this time, I do remember two things: feeling like I was the star of a bad crossover movie between Groundhog Day and The Hangover and the announcement of the strategic alliance between HPE and Docker. 

Yes, it was like a marriage made in heaven, more memorable and electrifying than Cory and Topenga, Chandler and Monica, or Howard and Bernadette. I mean really, the number one leader in worldwide server shipments, HPE, teaming up with the leader in containerization, Docker. 

Through a joint worldwide enterprise agreement covering sales, engineering, go-to-market, support, services and knowledge sharing, HPE and Docker are collaborating to help customers transform and revolutionize their data centers to benefit from a more agile development environment. At the core is HPE’s Docker-ready server program, which ensures that HPE servers are bundled with Docker engine and support. This will enable customers to build distributed applications that are portable across any infrastructure. 

By combining the strength of the leading cloud infrastructure provider and the leader in containerization, HPE and Docker will deliver infrastructure solutions and an application portfolio, fully supported by HPE. By 2018, more than 50 percent of new workloads will be deployed into containers in at least one stage of the application life cycle. The joint HPE and Docker alliance will deliver unique and value-added solutions and services including but not limited to: Docker-ready HPE servers, Docker-ready Converged and Composable HPE systems, enterprise-grade consulting services and 24x7 Docker support. 

With up to 90 percent of IT budgets being consumed by app testing, configuration and distribution, businesses need a better way to support hundreds of daily builds using a continuous deployment/integrated DevOps model. The partnership between HPE and Docker provides just that.

I know by now, most of you must be wondering how do I get started with this container thingy so I can stay ahead of my competitors and bring ideas to fruition at the speed of light. The answer is ingenuous. Get in touch with an HPE Platinum Partner. 

Not just any partner, but one who values your business, employees, customers and your success just as much as you do. Convergent Technologies Group is one of a few exclusive HPE Platinum Partners that can help you and your IT organization transform to a hybrid infrastructure. 

Together with HPE, CTG has the resources and expertise to get you started today on changing the way you turn ideas into world-class applications and services for your customers. Whether you’re looking for an enterprise-class infrastructure, ready-to-run containerized applications or assistance in designing and implementing your DevOps strategy, we’re your one-stop call.

Rod Knowles is a solution architect with Convergent Technologies Group.

2. Ease Pressures on Your DevOps Environment

By Rod Knowles

DevOps is the transformational effort to create harmony and productivity between development and IT operations teams, a topic we started to explore in our last post. 

The adaption in creating DevOps does not come without its own challenges. The lack of agility/portability and a plethora of operational inefficiencies usually leads to oppressed productivity, a loss of the competitive edge and, more importantly, unhappy developers. Nobody – and I mean nobody – wants unhappy developers. (It’s almost as bad as taking away their beer and Xbox controller.)

Server virtualization is the ability to run multiple operating system images – at the same time, on the same hardware. Server virtualization utilizes a software layer called the hypervisor. It is this hypervisor that emulates the underlying hardware, which includes (but is not limited to) the CPU, memory, network and I/O. While the performance of this virtual operating system usually isn’t equal to the performance of running on true hardware (though I have seen some applications and systems perform better when virtualized), this does allow for greater flexibility, control and reduced operating costs. 

You’ll find two types of hypervisors in use today:

•  Type 1 hypervisors run on the host system hardware.They control the hardware resources and manage the guest operating system. Those include VMWare ESXi, Citrix XenServer and Micrsoft Hyper-V.
• Type 2 hypervisors run within a formal operating system, usually LINUX, Windows or MacOS. This type of hypervisor runs as a distinct second layer while the operating system runs as a third layer just above the hardware. Some of those VMWare Fusion, Virtual Box and Parallels.

Containerization is the ability to encapsulate an application in a container within its own operating system. Containers are more streamlined and lightweight than VMs so you may be able to run six to eight times as many containers as VMs on the exact same hardware – which can help you reduce capital and operational costs. 

Containers include the application and all its dependencies - but they share the OS kernel with other containers. They run as an isolated process in user space on the host operating system. Virtual machines include the application and all of its dependencies, as well as an entire guest operating system ­­­– which could be hundreds of GBs in size. 

You’ll find several distinct advantages to using both containers and/or virtual machines. Containers are maintained at the application level, use less storage, memory and compute, have a considerable faster boot time, run on any infrastructure (cloud, physical and virtual) and require fewer OS instances to maintain so you’ll find lower OPEX and CAPEX costs. Virtualization allows for a single physical server to run and behave like many virtual servers and encompasses everything that is on a physical machine, allowing it to be flexible. It’s mature and established, resulting in a vast knowledge base of use cases, solutions and support, can run a wider range of operating systems and results in lower infrastructure costs. 

Using containers comes with disadvantages as well. Container technologies are advancing extremely fast. At times, it’s hard to know which technology you should us and you might end up purchasing from a less-established vendor. In addition, there are some perceived security concerns with running applications in containers - specifically around kernel exploits, DoS attacks from other containers, container breakouts and poisoned images downloaded from the internet. Virtual machines are not free from having their own set of drawbacks as well. They are much slower to share, require more OS licenses to purchase, are hard at times to size appropriately and require more OS patching and time to maintain. 

Containerization is moving forward fast. More applications are becoming containerized, which creates thousands of container images to validate, scan for vulnerabilities and deploy.Orchestration mechanisms like Docker Swarm, which allows for a pool of Docker hosts to be turned into a virtual Docker host, are becoming more available as well. Cloud-native development platforms like Docker Datacenter and HPE Helion Cloud Native Application Platform are becoming increasingly popular. They allow for developers and IT operations to collaborate more efficiently bringing security, policy, and controls to the application life cycle without sacrificing agility or portability.

Next time, we'll dig a little deeper into one of the hottest container resources in the market today.

Rod Knowles is a solution architect with Convergent Technologies Group.

1. Look Around: The Idea Economy Is Here

By Rod Knowles

Several weeks ago, as I was engulfed in watching yet another exhausting and ludicrous presidential debate, I was wondering why I wasn’t watching re-runs of “Beverly Hills 90210.”

My kids, on the other hand, were clueless. They were involved in a lengthy, unfathomable and meaningless conversation. If you have kids, then you already know they weren’t actually talking to each other – they were communicating through their mobile devices. They successfully had a 90-minute conversation without any dialogue, whatsoever. The only people talking in the room were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, which sounded to me more like Mrs. Donovan – Charlie Brown’s teacher.

It was then that it became apparent that my kids might never actually talk to each other, as long as brilliant minds continue creating mobile interaction applications. SnapChat, Twitter, TeleGram and Wickr are just a few that they use. My children relentlessly add and remove applications faster than anything I have ever witnessed. They also don’t seem to have any patience in dealing with applications that are slow, buggy and/or just don’t work. Whether it be their iPhones, tablets, laptops, whatever, it really doesn’t matter, they are consistently looking for the latest, cool app they can use and share with their circle of friends.

It’s here, the Idea Economy. 

Some experts would say that change is coming; I believe it’s already here. Businesses must evolve and adapt, or they will perish similar to 8-track tapes and the bubble gum that used to come in my Topps baseball card pack. 

Some businesses are already adapting. They have realized that its not enough to just take an idea and turn it into a product or service: They must be faster than their competition to be successful. 

Others still face development and IT operational challenges. The inability to develop, secure, deploy, monitor and maintain a quality application is becoming more difficult as consumers want things faster. Time is the biggest enemy companies face today. 

Moving faster and staying ahead of the competition necessitates several changes to traditional IT organizations:

• Instituting practices that emphasize collaboration and communication between developers and other IT professionals while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes (DevOps).
•  Efficiently scaling and managing resources while ensuring industry-leading availability and redundancy through the use of server virtualization technology.
• Increasing the frequency of software releases through continuous integration and continuous deployment while reducing operational and capital expenditures by containerizing your applications.

Today, almost all businesses are software companies. Applications, including mobile, are becoming more critical for almost any business to succeed and stay ahead of its competitors. If your application fails, so does your business. 

But what does that mean in your day-to-day world? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog.

Rod Knowles is a solutions architect at Convergent Technologies Group.

CTG Promoting Career Growth for Women in IT

By Alexandra Suder and Caylor Feeley

The biggest take-away from CTG’s participation in the RVATech/Women conference last week? Women are empowered to drive career growth in our IT industry.

Courtney Ferrell, the master of ceremonies, began the all-day event at the Science Museum of Virginia with an encouraging perspective on the creativity needed in the technology industry. She pushed the idea of finding inspiration, away from the desk and with the community. Ferrell reminded the attendees of the importance of women involving themselves within the community groups of: Richmond, other women, and the technology industry. 

                

The five keynote speakers brought strong records of success in technology. Throughout the Oct. 6 event, each shared a different perspective on the power of women in the technology community – with the lessons including:

• Yvonne Wassenaar, CIO of New Relic: Women must overcome personal fear to reach the fullest career potential in the tech industry. She encouraged the presence of more women leaders in the industry, as the current state of women leaders is caused by a perception problem.
• Laishy Williams-Carlson, CIO of Bon Secours Health System: With her experience in changing careers, Williams-Carlson encouraged all women to create and know their own personal career brand.
• Jocelyn Mangan, Chief Product and Marketing Officer of Snagajob: Mangan encouraged women to see value in every aspect of their career, to push past judgements that often follow them as they make career decisions, and to always love their job.
• Joey Rosenberg, representing Women Who Code: Breaking news from Rosenberg was that Women Who Code has officially been established in Richmond. Throughout her presentation, she encouraged women to applaud other women as they tackle the male-dominated industry of technology. Rosenberg gave CTG a shout out during her presentation because half of our company’s employees are women!
• Dr. Karen Rheuban, M.D., professor of pediatrics at University of Virginia. She shared with us the exciting innovations in technology that allow for telemedicine.

Our CTG employees attended different breakout sessions. One session focused on building ideas in a real-world setting through the use of Legos, while creating an environment that opened the mind to ideas and communication. The second session introduced the concept of intrapreneurship and how to use this concept in the workplace, where you act as an entrepreneur within the enterprise. The final breakout session explored the changing world of virtual reality and augmented reality, with a look at privacy concerns and how the VR/AR affects the technology, business and personal spheres.

We and our female colleagues are inspired and motivated by what we learned at this year’s RVATech/Women conference – and we’re looking forward to doing our part to continue to build empowering communities within the technology industry. With an understanding of community comes inspiration and with inspiration comes innovation. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Alexandra Suder and Caylor Feeley run CTG’s marketing department.

Doing My Part to Close Gender Gap in IT (Part II)

By Carley Wessler

Earlier this week, I wrote about gender experiences throughout my career, including the strong women I’ve encountered in jobs from education to manufacturing to now IT.  

The first visual encounter I had when I entered the Convergent Technologies Group office was a picture of Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman with CTG's two owners, John Monahan and Jeff Garell. According to Forbes magazine, Whitman ranks as the ninth most powerful woman in the world for 2016. That is no surprise, as she came up in the professional world by way of Hasbro, Walt Disney and EBay before joining HPE. Her voice is heard in many ways be it her position as CEO for HPE or as board member for SurveyMonkey, Procter & Gamble. When Whitman speaks, people listen. Her experience, poise, intelligence and ability to lead leave no doubt that she is paving the way for not just women in IT but in every discipline When I attended the Richmond Technology Council’s TechJam in July, the first thing I noticed was that I was only one of three women at our lunchtime event. Both the topic, “Cyber Security,” and the presenter, Jake Kouns, were engaging, and the program really made you think about how secure our homes, work and more truly are. 

That afternoon, I went to the Carpenter Center for a viewing of “CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap” where the tables were turned as I was surrounded by women.

This rousing documentary draws attention to the void in the number of women software engineers and the reasons for that gap. The film focuses on the contributions women have made and the disparity of women in code. The film boasts: “There will be 1.4 million jobs in computing 2020. Twenty-nine percent will be filled by Americans – and 3% of that 29% will be filled by women.” 

“CODE” features interviews with Danielle Feinberg, Pixar’s director of photography, and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. These two women provided incredible insight about their feelings of being women in their field and sharing what they believe it will take to close the gender gap in IT.

Right here in Central Virginia, we are tackling the future role of women in IT during RVATech/Women on Oct. 6. My female co-workers and I will attend this event, with some accomplished female speakers: Laishy Williams-Carlson, CIO, Bon Secours Health System; Joey Rosenberg, Global Business & Non-Profit Leader, Women Who Code; Jocelyn Mangan, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, SnagAJob; Karen Rheuban, Professor of Pediatrics, UVA Health System; and Yvonne Wassenaar, CIO, New Relic. I am looking forward to hearing from them and being surrounded by more outstanding and innovative women in IT at this event. 

In the meantime, I come to work each day in a place where I am valued as an equal.  With the help of my supervisors and peers at CTG I am able to further sharpen my skills and knowledge as not just a person in the IT field but as a woman in this industry.  I believe, as a woman, that I have to take extra steps to be taken as seriously as men in a male-dominated discipline. I never want to leave the impression that I am anything less than the best at what I do. I do it for my family, and I do it for the women that came before me and those that we are paving the way for in the future. I smile each time I encounter another woman in IT and I feel pride as I encounter more and more female executives and CIOs. 

All good things come in time, and each day I am leaving no doubt that I’m joining with other women to break down barriers in all professional arenas. 

http://www.codedocumentary.com/ 

Carley Wessler is an account executive with CTG.

Struggling with the Gender Gap (Part I)

By Carley Wessler

I arrived in IT in a slightly roundabout way, starting my career as a special education teacher for children with autism and then in sales and distribution for a tobacco company.

Let me get this out of the way upfront: IT isn’t the only industry struggling with a gender gap. During my professional life, I’ve seen and experienced workplaces where women who are supported in their careers soar; on the opposite end, I’ve worked where our intelligence and contributions are undermined.

When I was teaching, I was surrounded by a strong staff of women, and only worked with eight men at two different schools. Most of the staff members were women, who excelled at finding unique ways to help children from all socio-economic backgrounds and even those with disabilities to not only meet expectations educationally but to surpass them.

After four years, I took a leap of faith and moved to the corporate world. When I joined that tobacco company, I worked for an intelligent woman whom was well respected, evidenced by the number of people who went to her with questions because they knew she’d have the answers. During my six years there, I took on other roles reporting to a variety of managers, who each had different leadership styles.

Our director was another strong woman, who was smart, assertive, talented and sharp. Early on, I learned from her that to be taken seriously as a woman there are things you must do to be heard and respected. To start, she was highly versed in all areas she was responsible and even areas she was not. She knew how to keep her people engaged, keeping communication lines open with often weekly meetings with her direct reports, and she knew the ins and outs of her team’s projects. At the same time, she was sympathetic to the personal things that each of us face.

I remember one specific thing she shared: Always make sure your attire is professional because you want people to listen to the words coming out of your mouth. The example she set and the knowledge she shared still have an impact on me today.

Throughout that time, I read a great deal about business and leadership, and that’s when I first encountered Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg and her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. I was pregnant with our son, and I was empowered by that book. I still focus on her insights and what I learned from my previous director daily.

Fast forward to 2016, where Forbes has named 16 women as the most powerful in technology, an industry that has “a reputation for being unwelcoming to and biased against women.” While the list has been whittled by two, Sandberg has earned the top spot for the fifth year in a row – no surprise because she inspires women around the world with her “lean in” message. She makes no apologies that she expects equality and balance between men and women in the home and office. This list of brilliant, diverse and accomplished women never took no for an answer, and they kept going even in the face of adversity in an industry where they were outnumbered.

But we still have a long way to go, and I’ll talk about a great step forward in my next post, coming on Thursday.

Carley Wessler is an account executive with CTG.