Microsoft intros Azure confidential computing

Microsoft Azure is introducing a new data security capability called Azure confidential computing that provides encryption for data that is in use.

Microsoft said it has been working on this capability with Intel for over four years.

Confidential computing protects data in use from the following threats:

• Malicious insiders with administrative privilege or direct access to hardware on which it is being processed
• Hackers and malware that exploit bugs in the operating system, application, or hypervisor
• Third parties accessing it without their consent

Microsoft said that when data is “in the clear” it is protected inside a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE - also known as an enclave), which ensures there is no way to view data or the operations inside from the outside, even with a debugger.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-azure-confidential-computing/

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Vertical Systems: Mid-Year 2017 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD

Orange Business Services (France), Colt (U.K.), AT&T (U.S.), Level 3 (U.S.), BT Global Services (U.K.), Verizon (U.S.) and NTT (Japan) hold the top spots (in rank order based on retail port share) in Vertical Systems Group’s Mid-Year 2017 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD, which ranks companies that hold a 4% or higher share of billable retail ports at sites outside of their respective home countries.

Based on mid-year 2017 port share results, Orange, Colt and AT&T continue to rank as the top three companies on the Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD, respectively. Level 3 moves up to fourth from fifth position, displacing BT Global Services.

The Challenge Tier of Global Providers includes companies with share between 2% and 4% of this defined market. Six companies qualify for the mid-2017 Challenge Tier (in alphabetical order): Cogent (U.S.), SingTel (Singapore), T-Systems (Germany), Tata Communications (India), Telefonica Worldwide (Spain) and Vodafone (U.K.).

“Demand for global Ethernet networking continues to expand. As retail Ethernet providers extend their network footprints through partners worldwide, the growth outlook for wholesale services is increasing,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “Orchestration across multiple provider networks is the top challenge constraining new service deployments, according to our research. This obstacle is being addressed through collaboration among industry players and standards organizations, including efforts to standardize on open APIs and service specifications.”

https://www.verticalsystems.com/vsglb/mid-year-2017-global-provider-ethernet-leaderboard/

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Mobile World Congress Americas attracts 21,000

The 2017 Mobile World Congress Americas, held September 12-14 in San Francisco, attracted more than 21,000 attendees, according to GSMA.

Over 55 percent of Mobile World Congress Americas attendees held senior-level positions, including more than 2,400 CEOs, and 20 per cent of all attendees were female. Over 300 members of the media and industry analysts attended to report on the event.

“We are very pleased with the success of our first Mobile World Congress Americas event,” said John Hoffman, CEO, GSMA Ltd. “The strong level of engagement at the show, particularly among senior-level attendees, underscores the integral role that mobile plays across the entire Americas region. I would like to thank our partner CTIA and also extend our gratitude to all attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and partners who were a part of the 2017 Mobile World Congress Americas.”

http://www.mwcamericas.com

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VeriSign: Internet domain name registrations growing at 2.1% annually

Approximately 1.3 million domain name registrations were added to the Internet in the second quarter of 2017, bringing the total number of domain name registrations to approximately 331.9 million across all top-level domains (TLDs) as of June 30, 2017, according to the newly-updated Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief.

The increase of approximately 1.3 million domain name registrations globally equates to a growth rate of 0.4 percent over the first quarter of 2017.1

Compared to last year, domain name registrations increased by 6.7 million, or 2.1 percent.

As of June 30, 2017, the .com domain name base totaled 129.2 million domain name registrations, while the .net domain name base totaled 15.1 million domain name registrations.

http://www.Verisign.com/DNIB

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DISH Network picks Amdocs CES 10 for business services

DISH Network has selected Amdocs CES 10 for its DISH Business customers, including private offices, hotels and apartments.

Under the contract, Amdocs will provide an advanced business and operational support system (BSS/OSS) that integrates all the elements that define the DISH Business experience. This includes delivering the best possible entertainment experience in a wide range of properties with innovative services powered by DISH’s SMARTBOX and EVOLVE set-back box for hotels, and supported by Amdocs CES 10.  

“With Amdocs CES 10 as our next generation platform for the business sector, we’ll be able to launch new services and further enhance the customer experience,” said John Swieringa, executive vice president of operations at DISH.

http://www.amdocs.com

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Spirent launches Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3) testing

Spirent Communications has updated its flagship security testing solution, CyberFlood, to support Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3), a new encryption protocol.

Specifically, this newCyberFlood Advanced Fuzzing update provides support for TLS 1.3 draft-19, draft-20, and draft-21.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the underlying technology that enables secure communication between web browsers and servers on the Internet.

“As the first to market with fuzz testing for TLS 1.3, Spirent is extending its leadership in security testing and validating the way the world communicates,” said David DeSanto, director of products and threat research at Spirent Communications. “The industry is ripe for an encryption protocol update, and our customers are relying on Spirent to provide them with the realistic preemptive intelligence that ensures their TLS 1.3 implementations are stable, reliable and secure before they go to market.”

http://www.spirent.com/security

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