Although encryption is increasingly used to combat security breaches, a salient lack of expertise among developers, coupled with overly complex libraries, has led to widespread implementation failures in business applications. According to IDG’s Lucian Constantin, the scale of the problem is quite significant. Indeed, a recent report published by Veracode confirms that cryptographic issues are now the second most common type of flaws affecting applications across all industries.
Data centers need a new paradigm
Semiconductor Engineering editor in chief Ed Sperling has written an article exploring the evolution of the data center in the context of the Cloud. As Sperling notes, corporate data centers are notorious for their reluctant adoption of new technology.
“There is too much at stake to make quick changes, which accounts for a number of failed semiconductor startups over the past decade with better ideas for more efficient processors, not to mention rapid consolidation in other areas,” he explained. “But as the amount of data increases, and the cost of processing that data decreases at a slower rate than the volume increases, the whole market has begun searching for new approaches.”
Building the IoT with solar-powered smart sensors
As MIT’s Larry Hardesty notes, the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to boast extremely low-power sensors capable of running for months on a single charge using various energy harvesting techniques. Indeed, MIT researchers have designed a power converter chip designed to both power a device and charge a battery that’s more than 80 percent efficient, even at the extremely low and variable power levels characteristic of tiny solar cells. Previous iterations, says Hardesty, had efficiencies of only 40 or 50 percent.
Bolstering mobile security for the IoE
Writing for Semiconductor Engineering, Ernest Worthman notes that approximately six billion people rely on a variety of mobile devices to shop, bank, interface with social media and monitor their health. “Unless you are on the inside track and know better, one would think that all that data is secure. Reality is somewhat different,” Worthman explains. “A mobile society has tremendous benefits, but those benefits come with a price. The advantages are obvious, but the price can be very steep if security isn’t a primary consideration.”
Can Big Data take on cancer?
Writing for Forbes, Bernard Marr terms the fight against cancer as the “Holy Grail” of modern medicine. “Almost everyone will be affected at some point in their lives, either personally or by proxy through a loved one,” he explained. “So it’s no surprise that Big Data is being put to use in many ways to aid the task of improving care, identifying risks and hopefully eventually producing cures.”
Bringing your own encryption and keys to the Cloud
Sean McGrath of InformationWeek recently confirmed that the rise of the public Cloud as a “de-facto standard” has prompted businesses to ask new questions about their respective security procedures. “The answer to numerous security questions and concerns lies, of course, in encryption,” he explained.
