Lulz Security Issues "Final" Statement after 50 Day Campaign

Lulz Security issued a "final statement" saying it is disbanding after 50 days of high-profile cyber attacks.


Lulz has claimed credit for, or be associated with, malicious intrusions, SQL injections, data breaches and DDoS attacks against Sony, PBS.org, Nintendo, Black & Berg Cybersecurity Consulting, Bethesda Game Studios, Minecraft, Finfisher, Infragard (associated with the FBI), U.K. National Health Service, CIA.gov website, Senate.gov website, U.K. Serious Oragnised Crime (SOSA), Brasil.gov.br, Petrobras, U.K. Census 2011, Arizona Department of Public Safety, TheSun.co.uk, AT&T, AOL, and possibly others as well. In a final act, Lulz released a massive data dump of stolen documents, user accounts & passwords and network maps from various multinational corporations and government agencies.


In its farewell statement, Lulz said it was motivated by "uninterrupted thrill of entertainment and anarchy." The group, which claims a crew of six, encouraged others to carry on its mideeds through Anonymous and other Antisec hacker groups.


Several analyst reports cited internal dissent amongst the Lulz crew as the likely cause of its disbanding. So far, only one arrest has been announced in connection with Lulz -- Ryan Cleary, a 19-year old in the U.K.http://lulzsecurity.com

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Orckit-Corrigent Extends its Packet Transport

Orckit-Corrigent has extended its Packet Transport Network (PTN) portfolio with the introduction of a new CM-401x PTN access product line. Three PTN access devices will be offered, all of which are based on 16G full duplex of non-blocking, switching capacity, packed in 1RU with broad mixture of Ethernet, PDH and SDH interfaces.


CM-401x products highlights:

• Highly scalable mixture of Ethernet, PDH and SDH interfaces


• Dual stack IP/MPLS and MPLS-TP


• PDH and SDH circuit emulation over packet


• Full support for MEF based Ethernet services


• Packet synchronization, including SyncE and 1588v2


• SDH/Ethernet/MPLS/MPLS-TP OAM


• Sub 50ms protection and restoration


• Hard Quality of Service (QoS)

"We have identified strong demand from our customers and prospects for a smooth migration from their existing legacy SDH networks to an end to end future proof, packet based infrastructure which supports the mix of emerging data services together with large scale of legacy SDH/PDH leased lines" said Mr. Sharon Mantin, Vice President, Marketing, at Orckit-Corrigent. "Adding the CM-401x product line to our PTN product portfolio, improves our end-to-end PTN offering from access to core edge enabling cost-effective, highly scalable and future proof solution for 2G/3G/4G Mobile Backhauling as well as Ethernet and legacy SDH/PDH business services."http://www.orckit.com

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Huawei Debuts Unified Network Management System

Huawei introduced its iManager U2100 network management system (NMS) for super-large-scale bearer networks. The U2100 assists operators with grooming their end-to-end trails and manages its network faults, while also acting as a data center to provide information for planning network-wide resources, services, software and hardware versions, and standby parts.


Huawei said its U2100 also uses scalable software architecture and a carrier-class hardware platform to manage operator networks on a number of different scales.
http://www.huawei.com

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Infonetics: SAN Equipment Sales up 10%

The combined SAN switch and adapter market totaled $755 million globally in 1Q11, up 0.8% from the previous quarter, and up 9.8% from the first quarter of 2010, according to a new report from Infonetics Research which tracks storage area network (SAN) switches and adapters.


"We see steady growth ahead for the overall SAN equipment market. The long shift to cloud computing will propel the SAN switch market to more than triple from 2010 to 2015, and we forecast the SAN adapter market to grow at a 20% compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015, spurred by demand for FCoE (Fiber Channel over Ethernet) converged network adapters," expects Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier and data center networks at Infonetics Research.


Other highlights include:

• SAN switch revenue grew 4% and adapters declined 8% in 1Q11 from 4Q10.



• While most vendors in the SAN switch and adapter space had a down 1Q11 and lost share, Cisco picked up 3 percentage points of market share.



• Meanwhile, perennial market leader Brocade's market share and revenue held steady.



• FCoE (Fiber Channel over Ethernet) switches represent 15% of the total SAN switch market, and are expected to be a strong growth driver moving forward.

http://www.infonetics.com

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Infonetics: Data Center Equipment Slows in 1Q11

In 1Q11, the worldwide data center network equipment market, which includes data center Ethernet switches, application delivery controllers (ADCs), and WAN optimization appliances, declined 7% from the previous quarter, but is up 2% year-over-year (1Q10 to 1Q11), according to Infonetics' First Quarter (1Q11) Data Center Network Equipment report.


"After massive growth (+50%) in 2010, the data center network equipment market is slowing significantly in 2011, as some of the 2010 drivers like pent-up demand disappear and new challenges arise, such as slowing public sector spending. This dynamic is already playing out, with sales down on a sequential basis in the first quarter and year-over-year increases moving down to single-digit percent territory. Purpose-built data center Ethernet switches continue to enjoy strong growth as buyers transition to these devices to better address performance requirements in their data centers," notes Matthias Machowinski, directing analyst for enterprise networks and video at Infonetics Research.


Some other highlights:

• In 2010, the global data center equipment market grew to $8 billion, and Infonetics Research forecasts it to top $10 billion by 2015.



• Cisco continues to lead the data center Ethernet switching market by far, with over 80% market share.



• ADC market leader F5 increased quarterly revenue only slightly, but gained 4 points of market share as rivals Cisco and Citrix declined.



• The data center equipment markets in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Central and Latin America (CALA), posted strong year-over-year growth in 1Q11, driven by emerging economies.

http://www.infonetics.com

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AT&T Holds Dividend at $0.43 per Share

AT&T declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 a share on the company's common shares. The dividend is payable on August 1, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 8, 2011.
http://www.att.com

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Charter Buys Missouri Systems from US Cable

Charter Communications will acquire cable television systems from US Cable of Coastal Texas for an undisclosed sum. These systems serve approximately 16,000 customers in Missouri, including the communities of Hannibal, Mexico and Moberly.


Charter serves more than 5 million homes and businesses in 25 states.
http://www.charter.com

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FCC Implements Fraudulent Caller ID Spoofing Fines

Last week, the FCC adopted new protections against fraudulent and deceptive use of caller ID. Callers are still permitted to alter caller ID if their purpose is not fraudulent or harmful -- such as calling a domestic abuse hotline -- but fines may be imposed for malicious intent.


Under the FCC's new rules:

• Violators are subject to up to $10,000 for each violation, or three times that amount for each day of continuing violation, to a maximum of $1 million for any continuing violation.



• The FCC may assess fines against entities it does not traditionally regulate without first issuing a citation.



• The FCC can impose penalties more readily than it can under other provisions of the Communications Act/

http://www.fcc.gov

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Wi-Fi Alliance and Wireless Broadband Alliance Collaborate

The Wi-Fi Alliance and Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) agreed to harmonize their programs related to Wi-Fi hotspot ease of use and roaming. Specifically, the organizations will align WBA's inter-operator Wi-Fi roaming efforts and Wi-Fi Alliance's planned certification program for Wi-Fi equipment. The two organizations will coordinate on testing methodologies and models, and will share information about their respective specifications and technologies to ensure that the programs are aligned. Members from the groups will also collaborate on the brand identity for hotspots implementing the solutions, enabling end users to easily identify products and hotspots based on the advanced specifications.


"Working together to harmonize these two programs helps ensure that there will be a complete solution to evolve the user experience in Wi-Fi hotspots around the world," said Edgar Figueroa, CEO of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "The Wi-Fi Alliance's work to bring streamlined access and WPA2™ security to hotspot environments is well complemented by the work in WBA to enable seamless Wi-Fi roaming."


"With the number of hotspots growing worldwide, and the increasing importance of Wi-Fi to service providers' strategies, this is a crucial time for our organizations to work together," said Shrikant Shenwai, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance. "WBA's Next Generation Hotspot program aims to deliver a seamless Wi-Fi user experience across operators globally, and the cooperation with Wi-Fi Alliance will maximize the benefits of innovation for end users, manufacturers and service providers."http://www.wi-fi.org

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ICANN Upgrades Internet Domain Name System with gTLDs

ICANN approved a plan to increase the number of generic top-level domains (gTLDs), from the current 22, which include such familiar domains as .com, .org and .net. The move is expected to facilitate the global expansion of the Internet by allowing any language script, such as Cyrillic, Arabic and Chinese, as a top-level domain. The approval follows many years of public debate and planning on the topic. Applications are expected to be accepted beginning on January 12, 2012.


At its meeting in Singapore, ICANN also approved a new .NET registry agreement with VeriSign for another six years.http://

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Telstra Launches HD Voice Network

Telstra has activated HD voice capabilities across Australia, greatly enhancing voice quality and reducing disturbance from background noise. A handset with HD voice capabilities is required. There is no additional cost for HD voice connections.


Ericsson supplied software upgrades for Telstra's core and WCDMA radio access network based on an existing contract between the companies. In addition, the integration of Mobile SoftSwitch Solution (MSS) and WCDMA software was done without interruption to current services.


HD Voice uses Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate coding (WB-AMR), which provides a wider dynamic range. Over twice the range of voice frequencies are transmitted allowing customers to hear the full range of a person's voice and makes it much clearer to distinguish between similar sounds like ‘S' and ‘F'.


Mike Wright, Director of Networks and Access Technologies, Telstra, said: "Telstra has launched many firsts on the Australian market, including HSPA+ and we are the first Australian operator to commence deployment of LTE, the 4th generation of mobile communications technology. So not only do Telstra mobile customers have access to the largest and fastest national mobile network, they also have access to the latest voice technology."


Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson's Business Unit Networks, says: "We believe HD voice is an innovation for voice services similar to the shift from standard TV to HDTV. The marked difference in quality is a leap in voice services, and we're delighted that the strong partnership between Ericsson and Telstra has made it possible to create the largest HD voice network in the world. Many recently released handset models have HD voice capabilities built in, such as recent models from the Sony Ericsson Xperia family."


Ericsson noted that close to 70% of global mobile revenues are still linked to voice calls.
http://www.telstra.com
http://www.ericsson.com

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Skyworks Unveils Range Power Detectors for 3G/LTE

Skyworks Solutions introduced high dynamic range power detectors for smart phones and data cards.



Skyworks' RF detectors are compatible with various baseband architectures and accommodate multiple 3G and LTE band combinations. The devices have been designed to work with the SKY7770X and SKY7772X series of 3G and 4G power amplifiers to expand the compatibility of the integrated daisy chain coupler for the majority of basebands and transceivers.



Skyworks' SKY77002 is manufactured with Skyworks' gallium arsenide hetero junction bipolar transistor process. The detector circuit technology is optimally aligned for transceivers that require external detection for power control. Exceptional temperature and voltage compensation maintains accuracy over extreme operating conditions.http://www.skyworksinc.com

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Singapore's Nucleus Connect Studies 10G GPON with Huawei

Nucleus Connect, Singapore's Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network Operating Company (OpCo), has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to study the use of 10G GPON across the Next Gen NBN.



10G GPON promises downlink speeds of up to 10 Gbps and uplink speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps, enabling emerging services like 3D TV and Ultra HD TV, while co-existing with the current GPON system.



As part of this MOU, Nucleus Connect and Huawei will collaborate to explore the possibilities to develop the Next Generation Passive Optical Network based on Open Access for Singapore's Next Gen NBN. Studies will be made on possible deployment scenarios like FTTC/B, Enterprise, and Mobile Backhaul for 3G & LTE, etc.



"We are pleased to further our relationship with Huawei by undertaking this joint study," said Chong Siew Loong, Vice President of Networks & Systems, Nucleus Connect. "This study - the world's first 10G GPON investigation based on an Open Access scenario - will set a global example, and we are happy to contribute as a leader in innovation and development in the next generation network arena."http://www.nucleusconnect.com

• In 2009, Huawei was awarded the contract to supply and build the end-to-end network solution for Nucleus Connect and its Open Access Network.

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Broadband World Forum 2011: 27-29-September, Paris

Broadband World Forum 2011, which is slated 27-29 September 2011 at CNIT La Défense, Paris, has been expanded this year to include the Transport and Energy sectors, and contains two new forums – the Connected Transport Summit and the Smart Energy Summit - as well as the Executive Leadership Summit and four programme tracks.



The show will feature the largest conference program to date for a Broadband World Forum event. Last year's Broadband Forum attracted over 5,000 attendees.
http://www.broadbandworldforum.com

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Charter Delivers Long-Haul Ethernet over MPLS Backbone

Charter Communications, which is the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S., introduced a long-haul Ethernet option for its Charter Business Optical Ethernet service. The long-haul service extends the reach of Optical Ethernet service beyond a metro area, allowing enterprise and carrier customers to seamlessly connect multiple business locations within Charter's network footprint, regardless of distance.



The long-haul Ethernet transport service is carried over the company's nationwide MPLS network. Charter's national backbone currently transports more than 300 Gbps of traffic and will now leverage that capability to extend the reach of commercial services.

http://www.charter.com

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Alcatel-Lucent Appoints VP of Wireless Marketing

Alcatel-Lucent has appointed Parker Moss as Vice President of Wireless Marketing, where he will be responsible for the promotion of the company's wireless products, including the lightRadio portfolio. Parker joins Alcatel-Lucent from the international GSM Association, where he was Head of Strategy. He previously served as Head of Technology & Telecom Research at Reuters and as a Telecoms Equity Analyst at Sanford C Bernstein.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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House Committee Acts to Halt Any FCC Expenditures Related to LightSquared

The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from expending any funds related to a conditional waiver it granted to LightSquared until all concerns have been resolved about interference with Global Positioning System (GPS).


The "Coalition to Save Our GPS" noted the ongoing concern about harmful interference to GPS systems if the FCC permits LightSquared to deploy 40,000 ground stations using adjacent spectrum. The amendment was offered by U.S. Reps. Steve Austria (R-Ohio) and Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) and was part of the Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee's bill.
http://www.SaveOurGPS.org

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Verizon's Terremark Expands its Global Reach

Terremark, which was recently acquired by Verizon, announced an expansion of its cloud, security and IT capabilities in North America, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.


Specifically, by leveraging Verizon's network and facilities, Terremark will deliver enterprise IT capabilities through nearly 50 leading-edge data centers, greatly boosting Terremark's existing data center footprint and enabling an expansive array of IT solutions.


Terremark will deliver advanced infrastructure and managed IT and security offerings, functioning as Verizon's arm for the delivery of enterprise-class IT services to businesses and government agencies around the globe. In addition to best-of-breed IT and cloud services, the Terremark portfolio includes Verizon's managed security, risk and compliance, and identity and access management services, as well as application management services and IT and security professional services, all of which are critical enablers to the delivery of enterprise-class cloud services.


"With the assets and resources of two market leaders, we have created a unique and powerful combination of highly skilled and seasoned people, strategically located infrastructure assets and unique intellectual property in IT resources orchestration, security and compliance that will propel global business forward in ways only possible via the enterprise-class cloud," said Kerry Bailey, group president of Terremark. "Terremark's vision is to transform and secure enterprise-class IT on a global scale so that enterprises and governments can realize the full benefits of the cloud, including better economics, faster time to market and ubiquitous access to information and content sharing."http://www.terremark.com
http://www.verizon.com

• Verizon Communications agreed to acquire Terremark, a global provider of managed IT infrastructure and cloud services, for $19.00 per share in cash, or a total equity value of $1.4 billion.
  
  
  At the time of the acquisition, Terremark, which is headquartered in Miami, operated 13 data centers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America (Miami, Dallas, Wash. D.C., Santa Clara, Bogota, Sao Paolo, Santo Domingo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid and Istambul. It provides secure cloud computing, colocation, and managed hosting services. For its most recent quarter, Terremark reported revenue of $84.9 million, a 22% increase over the previous year.
  
  
  Prior to the deal, Verizon operated more than 220 data centers across 23 countries, including 19 premium centers and five smart centers.

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Huawei Shows Prototype OTN Switch/Router

Huawei disclosed plans for an over-10T MS-OTN (multi-service optical transport network) platform featuring dense OTN cross-connection capacity and packet-based features such as Ethernet Layer 2 switching and MPLS-TP cross-connection.


A prototype, which was presented at the WDM & Next Generation Optical Networking 2011 event in Monaco this week, promises 10 Tbps of switching capacity. The device can be upgraded to manage capacity of over 20T.


The prototype features ultra-large capacity, uniform service switching, all-service access and 400G per slot, which fully supports the future evolution of OTN networks. Additionally, the prototype supports a uniform intelligent control plane for λ/ODUk/packet/VC services, which significantly enhances the reliability and durability of networks and reduces maintenance costs for customers.


"This achievement is Huawei's latest effort to address our customers' challenges by providing leading transport network solutions," said Christian Chua, President of Transport Network, Huawei. "We believe that this device will significantly alleviate pressure from our customers' operations and will help them tackle long-term challenges resulting from the uniformed grooming of multi-services and services with high-levels of traffic."http://www.huawei.com

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Krish Prabhu Appointed President of AT&T Labs

Krish Prabhu has been appointed president and CEO of AT&T Labs. He replaces retiring president and CEO Keith Cambron, who has led AT&T Labs since 2005.


Prabhu most recently served as CEO of Tellabs. His telecoms industry career began in 1980 at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories. He has served in several telecoms executive positions, including as chief executive officer of Alcatel USA. He also has worked with the start-up and developer communities as a venture capitalist.


Prabhu holds a Master of Science degree in physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also serves as a member of the Board of Visitors at the School of Engineering. In addition, he is a life member of the Development Board of the University of Texas at Dallas.


"Krish has a passion for innovation that fits our culture, and the right professional experience to lead AT&T Labs at a dynamic time in our innovation program," said John Donovan, AT&T Chief Technology Officer. "He'll be a key driver for AT&T's innovation strategy, which focuses on creating an open environment and bringing the best minds together to deliver the best products and services for our customers."
http://www.att.com

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