The Apple App Store hit the 10 billion app download mark overnight on Friday, marking a milestone involving an awful lot of Doodle Jump, Tap Tap Revenge and Angry Birds playing, not to mention Facebook and Pandora usage.
Apple is rewarding the downloader of the 10 billionth free or paid App Store app with a $10,000 iTunes gift card in a bit of showmanship that Willy Wonka would be proud of. As of 7AM EST, however, Apple hadn’t publicly identified the winner, only saying that you’d need to come back later to find out who won.
MORE APPLE: iPhone 5 "iPhoneys" emerge
Apple put an iOS app countdown ticker on its Website last week to build buzz around the milestone and generated about 250 million app downloads since. It also revealed a list of all-time most downloaded free and paid iPhone and iPad apps.
The Apple App Store hit the 1 billion mark in April of 2009, after opening in July of 2008.
Apple celebrated the 10 billionth song downloaded a little less than a year ago: Johnny Cash's "Guess Things Happen That Way.
ANALYSIS: A billion reasons to read about Apple, Facebook and others
Apple’s year has gotten off to a captivating start, with CEO Steve Jobs taking a medical leave, the company posting stellar financial results for Q1, Apple showing up among the top 50 patent recipients in the United States, and with buzz building for the iPhone 5 smartphone and iPad 2 tablet computer.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Will Google CEO shift undermine enterprise efforts?
In the nascent battle between Google and Microsoft for enterprise software customers, there is one stark reality that customers who choose Google must accept: Google's future does not depend on the success of Google Apps.
Whereas Microsoft needs Windows and Office to maintain long-term financial success, Google makes nearly all of its money on advertising, rather than on software licenses. In 2010, Google earned $28.2 billion in advertising revenue, and only $1.1 billion in non-advertising revenue.
HEAD TO HEAD: Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office
That doesn't mean Google can't make great business software. But it does mean current or potential Google customers and business partners should carefully examine any change to the core structure of the company, in case it affects the future of Google's enterprise software business.
Such a change occurred Thursday, when longtime CEO Eric Schmidt said he will step aside in April so that co-founder Larry Page can take over the reins. Schmidt, previously CEO of Novell and CTO of Sun Microsystems, has by far the most enterprise experience in the triumvirate that runs Google, which also includes co-founder Sergey Brin.
"Eric clearly had passion for enterprise software," says Gartner analyst Whit Andrews. "He cared about enterprise software. He worked at a lot of companies that sold enterprise software and bunch of enterprise products. That history is not in place with Page."
Google officials consider Google Apps a strategic business, and "they're highly ethical so they wouldn't just pull the plug," adds Gartner analyst Tom Austin.
But it remains to be seen how committed new CEO Larry Page will be to enterprise customers. From an investor perspective, a blow to Google's enterprise business would be bad but not catastrophic. But "from an enterprise customer's perspective, obviously there is a great deal more concern," Andrews says.
What to say
To reassure these customers, Andrews says Page should say several things. "He could say, 'We intend to grow the portion of our revenue that is coming from the enterprise business. We are investing in the enterprise. We see it as an exciting area for growth. We hope that it takes off.'"
Unless Page delivers that kind of message, it will be difficult for customers to know for sure how much of an emphasis he intends to put on the enterprise business. "If Google is a real enterprise company, then we will need to see Page act like that is the case," Andrews says. "That will include evangelism for the enterprise business, similar to what we saw from Eric."
In addition to paying customers, "If I were a managed services provider I would be looking for that same kind of message," Andrews adds.
Google boasts that more than 3 million businesses are running Google Apps, which costs $50 per user per year and includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and several other services.
These are mostly small businesses. Gartner says Gmail has captured less than 1% of the enterprise e-mail market, counting only businesses with at least 100 paid seats.
Managed services partners are jumping on board, though. "A growing number of MSPs have embraced the Google Apps Reseller program," says an article on MSPmentor.net, which tracks the managed services provider market.
MSPmentor says Schmidt's Google has gained "more channel partner momentum with managed services providers. Indeed, 29 of the world's top 100 MSPs now promote Google Apps to their end-customers." The article asks ,"Will that trend continue when the CEO crown soon shifts from Schmidt to Google co-founder Larry Page?"
Spin off?
While there's no reason to think Google would kill off Google Apps, there are scenarios that could trouble enterprise customers, Gartner analysts say. Google investors could conceivably push the company to spin out the Google Apps business in order to create more value, Andrews says.
Even if that is unlikely, it's possible Google's efforts could shift away from the enterprise if the company struggles in other areas.
"Google Apps is less strategic for them than mobile, Android or all their advertising-related businesses. It has to be," Austin says. "And the strategic threat they have to deal with is their failure in social, which is attracting more and more user time. If push comes to shove and management decides to jettison less-strategic initiatives, Google Apps could be in trouble."
Page, obviously, has his roots in the consumer business, teaming up with Brin to build the Google search engine that made them famous billionaires. Will he stand up for the enterprise the same way Schmidt would? It's probably too early to know for sure.
"Page has less enterprise business experience. Schmidt has deeper enterprise roots," Austin says. "Does that mean they will back off on their enterprise investment on GAPE [Google Apps Premier Edition]? We don't know but we would be surprised if they don't raise (or re-raise) that question."
Whereas Microsoft needs Windows and Office to maintain long-term financial success, Google makes nearly all of its money on advertising, rather than on software licenses. In 2010, Google earned $28.2 billion in advertising revenue, and only $1.1 billion in non-advertising revenue.
HEAD TO HEAD: Google Apps vs. Microsoft Office
That doesn't mean Google can't make great business software. But it does mean current or potential Google customers and business partners should carefully examine any change to the core structure of the company, in case it affects the future of Google's enterprise software business.
Such a change occurred Thursday, when longtime CEO Eric Schmidt said he will step aside in April so that co-founder Larry Page can take over the reins. Schmidt, previously CEO of Novell and CTO of Sun Microsystems, has by far the most enterprise experience in the triumvirate that runs Google, which also includes co-founder Sergey Brin.
"Eric clearly had passion for enterprise software," says Gartner analyst Whit Andrews. "He cared about enterprise software. He worked at a lot of companies that sold enterprise software and bunch of enterprise products. That history is not in place with Page."
Google officials consider Google Apps a strategic business, and "they're highly ethical so they wouldn't just pull the plug," adds Gartner analyst Tom Austin.
But it remains to be seen how committed new CEO Larry Page will be to enterprise customers. From an investor perspective, a blow to Google's enterprise business would be bad but not catastrophic. But "from an enterprise customer's perspective, obviously there is a great deal more concern," Andrews says.
What to say
To reassure these customers, Andrews says Page should say several things. "He could say, 'We intend to grow the portion of our revenue that is coming from the enterprise business. We are investing in the enterprise. We see it as an exciting area for growth. We hope that it takes off.'"
Unless Page delivers that kind of message, it will be difficult for customers to know for sure how much of an emphasis he intends to put on the enterprise business. "If Google is a real enterprise company, then we will need to see Page act like that is the case," Andrews says. "That will include evangelism for the enterprise business, similar to what we saw from Eric."
In addition to paying customers, "If I were a managed services provider I would be looking for that same kind of message," Andrews adds.
Google boasts that more than 3 million businesses are running Google Apps, which costs $50 per user per year and includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and several other services.
These are mostly small businesses. Gartner says Gmail has captured less than 1% of the enterprise e-mail market, counting only businesses with at least 100 paid seats.
Managed services partners are jumping on board, though. "A growing number of MSPs have embraced the Google Apps Reseller program," says an article on MSPmentor.net, which tracks the managed services provider market.
MSPmentor says Schmidt's Google has gained "more channel partner momentum with managed services providers. Indeed, 29 of the world's top 100 MSPs now promote Google Apps to their end-customers." The article asks ,"Will that trend continue when the CEO crown soon shifts from Schmidt to Google co-founder Larry Page?"
Spin off?
While there's no reason to think Google would kill off Google Apps, there are scenarios that could trouble enterprise customers, Gartner analysts say. Google investors could conceivably push the company to spin out the Google Apps business in order to create more value, Andrews says.
Even if that is unlikely, it's possible Google's efforts could shift away from the enterprise if the company struggles in other areas.
"Google Apps is less strategic for them than mobile, Android or all their advertising-related businesses. It has to be," Austin says. "And the strategic threat they have to deal with is their failure in social, which is attracting more and more user time. If push comes to shove and management decides to jettison less-strategic initiatives, Google Apps could be in trouble."
Page, obviously, has his roots in the consumer business, teaming up with Brin to build the Google search engine that made them famous billionaires. Will he stand up for the enterprise the same way Schmidt would? It's probably too early to know for sure.
"Page has less enterprise business experience. Schmidt has deeper enterprise roots," Austin says. "Does that mean they will back off on their enterprise investment on GAPE [Google Apps Premier Edition]? We don't know but we would be surprised if they don't raise (or re-raise) that question."
Google copied Java in Android, expert says
An intellectual property expert has uncovered 43 instances where it appears that Google copied Java code without permission in the most recent versions of the Android operating system.
The discovery could challenge Google's defense in a dispute with Oracle over Java patents and copyright material in Android.
"The discovery process could be very fruitful for Oracle, and may become dreadful for Google," wrote Florian Mueller, who has been closely following the case and founded the NoSoftwarePatents campaign, in a blog post.
Mueller has closely examined the Android code and found six files, in addition to one that Oracle pointed out in its complaint, that are nearly identical to Java files. The files are found in Froyo, which is Android 2.2, and Gingerbread, Android 2.3.
In addition, Mueller points to 37 files in the Android code that include notices that say the code is proprietary to Sun.
"No matter what Google says, that copyright header is anything but a permission to relicense the file under the Apache Software License," Mueller wrote. Google licenses Android to users under the Apache license. "Even if one claimed that Oracle/Sun later made the file available under the GPL (for which I haven't found any conclusive evidence), that wouldn't allow such a license change either."
While there are some minor differences between the code that Google is using and the original Java code, Mueller found that the differences come from the use of a decompiler. When he used a Java decompiler called JAD and decompiled seven different Java files, he found that the result was nearly identical to files found in Android.
Google did not reply to a request for comment about Mueller's allegations.
One developer who writes for ZDnet, Ed Burnette, argued in a blog post that some of the code Mueller points to wouldn't be shipped in devices and has been deleted. Seven of the files are test code, which doesn't get shipped with the product, he said. In addition, those files were deleted from Android either late last year or in January, he said.
The remaining files are in a directory used for native code audio drivers for one kind of chip set, Burnette said. Those files also don't ship with Android, were probably uploaded by accident and should be deleted, he said.
However, Mueller says that the code in the test tree actually contains code related to security and that there are many Android devices that shipped with that code, as well as with the code from the remaining files.
Though the files are not in the current Android code tree, they were used in the two versions that currently make up more than half of the Android phones in use, he noted.
"From a legal point of view, you can't make an infringement undone only by removing it from one particular set of files -- you just avoid additional damage," Mueller said in an e-mail interview.
Oracle filed the lawsuit in August, claiming that Google's Android operating system infringes on Java copyrights that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun. Google has called the suit baseless, denying infringement.
If Google is found to infringe, it could be required to pay Oracle a licensing fee for each handset made that uses Android. It could pass that cost on to device vendors, but that would diminish the attractiveness of Android as a free operating system.
Android, which has grown dramatically in popularity over the past year, is under legal attack from many companies. Other Android-related lawsuits include Apple's suit against HTC; Microsoft's suit against Motorola; and Gemalto's suit against Google, Motorola, HTC and Samsung.
The discovery could challenge Google's defense in a dispute with Oracle over Java patents and copyright material in Android.
"The discovery process could be very fruitful for Oracle, and may become dreadful for Google," wrote Florian Mueller, who has been closely following the case and founded the NoSoftwarePatents campaign, in a blog post.
Mueller has closely examined the Android code and found six files, in addition to one that Oracle pointed out in its complaint, that are nearly identical to Java files. The files are found in Froyo, which is Android 2.2, and Gingerbread, Android 2.3.
In addition, Mueller points to 37 files in the Android code that include notices that say the code is proprietary to Sun.
"No matter what Google says, that copyright header is anything but a permission to relicense the file under the Apache Software License," Mueller wrote. Google licenses Android to users under the Apache license. "Even if one claimed that Oracle/Sun later made the file available under the GPL (for which I haven't found any conclusive evidence), that wouldn't allow such a license change either."
While there are some minor differences between the code that Google is using and the original Java code, Mueller found that the differences come from the use of a decompiler. When he used a Java decompiler called JAD and decompiled seven different Java files, he found that the result was nearly identical to files found in Android.
Google did not reply to a request for comment about Mueller's allegations.
One developer who writes for ZDnet, Ed Burnette, argued in a blog post that some of the code Mueller points to wouldn't be shipped in devices and has been deleted. Seven of the files are test code, which doesn't get shipped with the product, he said. In addition, those files were deleted from Android either late last year or in January, he said.
The remaining files are in a directory used for native code audio drivers for one kind of chip set, Burnette said. Those files also don't ship with Android, were probably uploaded by accident and should be deleted, he said.
However, Mueller says that the code in the test tree actually contains code related to security and that there are many Android devices that shipped with that code, as well as with the code from the remaining files.
Though the files are not in the current Android code tree, they were used in the two versions that currently make up more than half of the Android phones in use, he noted.
"From a legal point of view, you can't make an infringement undone only by removing it from one particular set of files -- you just avoid additional damage," Mueller said in an e-mail interview.
Oracle filed the lawsuit in August, claiming that Google's Android operating system infringes on Java copyrights that Oracle acquired when it bought Sun. Google has called the suit baseless, denying infringement.
If Google is found to infringe, it could be required to pay Oracle a licensing fee for each handset made that uses Android. It could pass that cost on to device vendors, but that would diminish the attractiveness of Android as a free operating system.
Android, which has grown dramatically in popularity over the past year, is under legal attack from many companies. Other Android-related lawsuits include Apple's suit against HTC; Microsoft's suit against Motorola; and Gemalto's suit against Google, Motorola, HTC and Samsung.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Schmidt to step aside as Google CEO, Page taking over
Google co-founder Larry Page will take over as Google CEO in April from Eric Schmidt, who will remain with the company as executive chairman.
The change is an attempt to streamline the company's top-level decision making process, the company said on Thursday, when it reported its 2010 fourth quarter earnings.
Google generated US$8.44 billion in revenue in the quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2010, up 26 percent compared with 2009's fourth quarter. Subtracting commissions paid to partners and other fees, revenue came in at $6.37 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Net income came in at $2.54 billion, or $7.81 per share, up from $1.97 billion, or $6.13 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
On a pro forma basis, which excludes certain items, net income was $2.85 billion, or $8.75 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $8.09 per share and compared to $2.19 billion, or $6.79 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
In a statement, Schmidt called the fourth quarter "a terrific end to a stellar year" and credited the success on a strong core search advertising business and to the momentum in emerging businesses such as display advertising and mobile.
Page praised Schmidt in the statement, saying he has done an "outstanding job" and calling him a "tremendous leader."
"There is no other CEO in the world that could have kept such headstrong founders so deeply involved and still run the business so brilliantly," Page said in the statement.
Schmidt said this change has been under discussion "for a long time" as the company tries to "simplify" its management structure. "By clarifying our individual roles we'll create clearer responsibility and accountability at the top of the company. In my clear opinion, Larry is ready to lead and I'm excited about working with both him and Sergey for a long time to come," he said in the statement.
Google's other co-founder Sergey Brin will oversee strategic projects, specifically new products.
Schmidt became Google's CEO in 2001, steering the company through its massive financial growth, including its IPO, as well as through a significant expansion of its technology and business focus beyond its core search engine market.
The change is an attempt to streamline the company's top-level decision making process, the company said on Thursday, when it reported its 2010 fourth quarter earnings.
Google generated US$8.44 billion in revenue in the quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2010, up 26 percent compared with 2009's fourth quarter. Subtracting commissions paid to partners and other fees, revenue came in at $6.37 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Net income came in at $2.54 billion, or $7.81 per share, up from $1.97 billion, or $6.13 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
On a pro forma basis, which excludes certain items, net income was $2.85 billion, or $8.75 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $8.09 per share and compared to $2.19 billion, or $6.79 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
In a statement, Schmidt called the fourth quarter "a terrific end to a stellar year" and credited the success on a strong core search advertising business and to the momentum in emerging businesses such as display advertising and mobile.
Page praised Schmidt in the statement, saying he has done an "outstanding job" and calling him a "tremendous leader."
"There is no other CEO in the world that could have kept such headstrong founders so deeply involved and still run the business so brilliantly," Page said in the statement.
Schmidt said this change has been under discussion "for a long time" as the company tries to "simplify" its management structure. "By clarifying our individual roles we'll create clearer responsibility and accountability at the top of the company. In my clear opinion, Larry is ready to lead and I'm excited about working with both him and Sergey for a long time to come," he said in the statement.
Google's other co-founder Sergey Brin will oversee strategic projects, specifically new products.
Schmidt became Google's CEO in 2001, steering the company through its massive financial growth, including its IPO, as well as through a significant expansion of its technology and business focus beyond its core search engine market.
AT&T may give away MicroCells for weakly covered homes
AT&T may be getting ready to systematically give away its 3G MicroCell indoor base stations to some subscribers who are likely to have very poor coverage in their homes.
The MicroCell is AT&T's name for its femtocell, a small cellular base station designed for use in a home to improve the signal there. Femtocells use local broadband connections such as cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) for backhaul to the Internet. They can reduce the traffic on a carrier's own cell towers and backhaul lines as well as improve the user's experience.
On Sunday, AT&T will begin mailing coupons for free Microcells to the 7.5 percent of its mobile subscribers who are most likely to have very limited AT&T coverage in their homes, according to a Friday report by Engadget. The report includes what appears to be an internal AT&T message about the upcoming offer. The deal would be open only to customers who received the coupon and would require a "verbal" commitment to keep AT&T service for one year, the message said.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel declined to comment on future offers but said the carrier has experimented in the past with offering the devices free of charge. AT&T announced in April that it would begin a national rollout of the devices after trials in several states. Pricing the MicroCell at US$149.99, AT&T said it would offer a $100 mail-in rebate on the device and an additional $50 mail-in rebate to customers signing up for a new DSL plan with at least 1.5M bps (bits per second).
The MicroCell is intended specifically for subscribers who get very little or no signal in their homes, Siegel said.
"It is a product with a very narrowly defined use. We don't mass-market it," Siegel said.
AT&T has been offering the MicroCell to customers based on their own reports of weak indoor signals, and an AT&T store employee might recommend it based partly on information from the carrier's coverage map, Siegel said. The MicroCell is only available in markets served by AT&T, he said.
Other U.S. mobile operators are also adding femtocells to their offerings. Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless have already offered femtocells for their voice networks, and last August Sprint quietly launched one for its 3G data network as well. Verizon said at the time that it would have a 3G femtocell within the next few months.
Giving away femtocells would be a good idea for AT&T, because they can help both consumers and carriers, said Mobiletrax analyst Gerry Purdy. He expects to see more such devices in the future, including home gateways that may include cellular, Wi-Fi, mobile digital TV and other types of wireless capability.
The MicroCell is AT&T's name for its femtocell, a small cellular base station designed for use in a home to improve the signal there. Femtocells use local broadband connections such as cable or DSL (digital subscriber line) for backhaul to the Internet. They can reduce the traffic on a carrier's own cell towers and backhaul lines as well as improve the user's experience.
On Sunday, AT&T will begin mailing coupons for free Microcells to the 7.5 percent of its mobile subscribers who are most likely to have very limited AT&T coverage in their homes, according to a Friday report by Engadget. The report includes what appears to be an internal AT&T message about the upcoming offer. The deal would be open only to customers who received the coupon and would require a "verbal" commitment to keep AT&T service for one year, the message said.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel declined to comment on future offers but said the carrier has experimented in the past with offering the devices free of charge. AT&T announced in April that it would begin a national rollout of the devices after trials in several states. Pricing the MicroCell at US$149.99, AT&T said it would offer a $100 mail-in rebate on the device and an additional $50 mail-in rebate to customers signing up for a new DSL plan with at least 1.5M bps (bits per second).
The MicroCell is intended specifically for subscribers who get very little or no signal in their homes, Siegel said.
"It is a product with a very narrowly defined use. We don't mass-market it," Siegel said.
AT&T has been offering the MicroCell to customers based on their own reports of weak indoor signals, and an AT&T store employee might recommend it based partly on information from the carrier's coverage map, Siegel said. The MicroCell is only available in markets served by AT&T, he said.
Other U.S. mobile operators are also adding femtocells to their offerings. Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless have already offered femtocells for their voice networks, and last August Sprint quietly launched one for its 3G data network as well. Verizon said at the time that it would have a 3G femtocell within the next few months.
Giving away femtocells would be a good idea for AT&T, because they can help both consumers and carriers, said Mobiletrax analyst Gerry Purdy. He expects to see more such devices in the future, including home gateways that may include cellular, Wi-Fi, mobile digital TV and other types of wireless capability.
HTML versioning eliminated
The working group for HTML has done away with version numbers for the Web page rendering standard.
The decision comes just after the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) introduced a new logo for the newest version of the standard now being worked on, HTML5.
There will be no HTML version 6 or version 6.2.3, or any other numbered version. Instead, HTML will just be considered a "living document," one that will be updated on an ongoing basis, said Ian Hickson, a member of the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), in a blog post Wednesday.
Instead of version numbers for the standard as a whole, changes in the standard will instead be annotated on a section-by-section basis.
The change in numbering was necessary to reflect the more dynamic process of developing the standard, Hickson wrote. The group has been laboring to finish HTML5 by 2012, even as requests for more capabilities are coming in.
The change "doesn't really mean much from the point of view of how the WHATWG operates, since we've never really paid much attention to version numbers," Hickson wrote in an earlier e-mail to the group.
The WHATWG is not alone in its dissatisfaction with version numbering. For the past several years, the maintainers of the Linux kernel have been debating a switch from their approach of numbering as well. The current version of the Linux kernel, which tends to be updated every three months or so, is the unwieldy 2.6.37. Linux developers have not reached consensus yet about what would constitute superior version numbering, though.
For the W3C, the group plans to produce an HTML5 snapshot in 2012 in order to say that HTML5 has been completed.
The decision comes just after the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) introduced a new logo for the newest version of the standard now being worked on, HTML5.
There will be no HTML version 6 or version 6.2.3, or any other numbered version. Instead, HTML will just be considered a "living document," one that will be updated on an ongoing basis, said Ian Hickson, a member of the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), in a blog post Wednesday.
Instead of version numbers for the standard as a whole, changes in the standard will instead be annotated on a section-by-section basis.
The change in numbering was necessary to reflect the more dynamic process of developing the standard, Hickson wrote. The group has been laboring to finish HTML5 by 2012, even as requests for more capabilities are coming in.
The change "doesn't really mean much from the point of view of how the WHATWG operates, since we've never really paid much attention to version numbers," Hickson wrote in an earlier e-mail to the group.
The WHATWG is not alone in its dissatisfaction with version numbering. For the past several years, the maintainers of the Linux kernel have been debating a switch from their approach of numbering as well. The current version of the Linux kernel, which tends to be updated every three months or so, is the unwieldy 2.6.37. Linux developers have not reached consensus yet about what would constitute superior version numbering, though.
For the W3C, the group plans to produce an HTML5 snapshot in 2012 in order to say that HTML5 has been completed.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Cisco beefs up Wi-Fi mobile payment security
Cisco is beefing up wireless transaction security with new software features for its Wi-Fi access points. The vendor says the changes add needed protection over and above that mandated by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard.
More on Wi-Fi: 6 useful Wi-Fi tools for Windows
A December 2010 survey by Cisco of 500 retail customers found that about one-third of them pass payment or credit card data over internal Wi-Fi networks. (For more details from that study, check out "Survey on PCI: How it's impacting network security".)
The PCI specification, set by the PCI Security Standards Council, outlines how payment-card data is to be secured and stored. Several provisions apply to wireless networks used to transmit that information. The 2.0 PCI spec was released in October 2010 (and formally ratified in January 2011), but doesn't fully address the fast-rising use of mobile payment technologies.
One issue is that the standard requires physical and logical inspections, to detect when a device attaches to the network, and whether it's an authorized device. But it doesn't specify how this is done. In practice, according to Cisco, the PCI specification focuses on only one key threat: rogue wireless access points. "But it can't address [others such as] ad hoc wireless bridging, evil twin/honeypot exploits, denial of service, reconnaissance, or cracking tools," says Cisco's Chris Kozup, director, mobility and borderless networks.
To fill this gap, Cisco has created a feature called Enhanced Local Mode (ELM) for its Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System. ELM expands the number of threats that IT groups can monitor, and lets the monitoring be done with existing Cisco access points.
Previously, Cisco offered only basic rogue detection, and individual access points had to be dedicated to radio monitoring, unable to support data traffic.
With ELM active on one two-radio access point, the monitoring functions can jump from channel to channel, now able to cover all channels in both Wi-Fi frequencies (2.4 and 5 GHz), and covering a much wider range of threats. No dedicated access points or separate sensors are needed to implement a full Wi-Fi intrusion-prevention system.
Cisco also added expanded PCI-specific reporting features to its Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS). In the past, Cisco offered a general PCI compliance report. Now, WCS can create summary reports, and use filters to focus on compliance in individual locations or even individual devices. Enterprise security staff can administer reports and audits and keep a continuous eye on PCI compliance.
Using the new ELM feature with access points that make use of Cisco CleanAir technology lets IT identify access points running on non-standard channels or running proprietary extensions.
The new PCI-related features will be part of a free software upgrade to all Cisco 11n access points in late March 2011.
More on Wi-Fi: 6 useful Wi-Fi tools for Windows
A December 2010 survey by Cisco of 500 retail customers found that about one-third of them pass payment or credit card data over internal Wi-Fi networks. (For more details from that study, check out "Survey on PCI: How it's impacting network security".)
The PCI specification, set by the PCI Security Standards Council, outlines how payment-card data is to be secured and stored. Several provisions apply to wireless networks used to transmit that information. The 2.0 PCI spec was released in October 2010 (and formally ratified in January 2011), but doesn't fully address the fast-rising use of mobile payment technologies.
One issue is that the standard requires physical and logical inspections, to detect when a device attaches to the network, and whether it's an authorized device. But it doesn't specify how this is done. In practice, according to Cisco, the PCI specification focuses on only one key threat: rogue wireless access points. "But it can't address [others such as] ad hoc wireless bridging, evil twin/honeypot exploits, denial of service, reconnaissance, or cracking tools," says Cisco's Chris Kozup, director, mobility and borderless networks.
To fill this gap, Cisco has created a feature called Enhanced Local Mode (ELM) for its Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System. ELM expands the number of threats that IT groups can monitor, and lets the monitoring be done with existing Cisco access points.
Previously, Cisco offered only basic rogue detection, and individual access points had to be dedicated to radio monitoring, unable to support data traffic.
With ELM active on one two-radio access point, the monitoring functions can jump from channel to channel, now able to cover all channels in both Wi-Fi frequencies (2.4 and 5 GHz), and covering a much wider range of threats. No dedicated access points or separate sensors are needed to implement a full Wi-Fi intrusion-prevention system.
Cisco also added expanded PCI-specific reporting features to its Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS). In the past, Cisco offered a general PCI compliance report. Now, WCS can create summary reports, and use filters to focus on compliance in individual locations or even individual devices. Enterprise security staff can administer reports and audits and keep a continuous eye on PCI compliance.
Using the new ELM feature with access points that make use of Cisco CleanAir technology lets IT identify access points running on non-standard channels or running proprietary extensions.
The new PCI-related features will be part of a free software upgrade to all Cisco 11n access points in late March 2011.
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