Playground 2.0

My backyard is apparently either connected to the internet or somehow got included in a mobile game app.

Like many families, we like to play in the back yard.  Ahhh, the back yard.  Many, many, many configurations exist from grass to pools to gardens to trees to BBQs to swing-sets to concrete to nothing to...you get the idea.  We play ball, fake sword fights, run around, have picnics and all the fun things that can happen outside, on the grass, in the sun.  'Turn off that radio, TV, tablet, game, device, whatever and play outside!' many parents have said over the years.  Including mine. 

But something bizarre has happened to my backyard over the last year.  Levels.

No, not the Kramer style - 'Levels, Jerry, Levels,' not the rulers with the water bubble to make sure something is level nor the 2nd floor balcony protruding from the house.  But game levels. 

It started at one of the trade shows last year.  We always have our F5 squishy balls available at the booth and I usually grab a few to juggle, give to others and take back for my kid.  She loves them.  One day we were tossing them to each other and she decided to become a target - like in a game.  So she started to pace back and forth (as a moving target) for me to hit the target.  After the 1st 'round,' she says, 'ok 2nd round,' and paces back and forth again but this time, she also ducks up and down.  2nd round, harder level.  We continued to add various 'challenges' to the simple back and forth target practice with a squishy ball.  It was fun but then dissolved into one of those, 'remember when we...?'

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago.  We are out back playing some kingdom game having a pretend sword fight.  I got a Wiffle bat and she has a bamboo stick.  We both have kid water boards as our shields and swing away, complete with sound effects.  We complete our joust and I'm informed that she won and for the next level, I needed to wear a mask.  A mask?  Since when did Infinity Blade land in my back yard?  Multiple costume changes later, she reached level 10, along with all the accolades that comes with such an achievement.

And just last weekend, we got our various 'swords' sticking out of an old, round bamboo/wicker ottoman looking thing, that's lost its pillow top.  You know, outside furniture that has been outside for too long?  So she gives me my default Wiffle sword and then announces that I can upgrade to the cooler bamboo sword if I get enough coins.  Coins?  I don't see any Temple Run coins floating around the back yard.  'How do I get coins?' I wonder.  'Oh, you earn them by winning battles,'  she asserts.  'But wait, you always win - how am I gonna get some coins?' I lament.  Noting my concern, she assures, 'Oh, don't worry about it daddy, this is all fake.' 

Got it.

ps

 

Technorati Tags: games,gaming,real,physical,digital,playing,kids,silva,squishyball,back yard

 

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TechEd2013 – Gimme 90 Seconds Betcha Didn’t Know Edition (feat. Simpson)

The coolest trade show game show is back! F5 Business Development Manager Phil Simpson tests his F5 knowledge in this special ‘Betcha Didn’t Know’ Edition. When people hear of the many BIG-IP capabilities their response is often, ‘I didn’t know you could do that!’ Let’s see if Phil can win the limited edition psilva autographed F5 ball by sharing some unique BIG-IP features that you may not have known about. These are always fun.

ps

Related:

• TechEd2013 – Find F5
• TechEd2013 – Network Virtualization & Cloud Solutions
• TechEd2013 – Secure Windows Azure Access
• TechEd2013 – The Top 5 Questions
• TechEd2013 – NVGRE with Microsoft’s System Center 2012 VMM (feat. Korock)
• F5® Scales and Optimizes Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Network Virtualization and Cloud Environments
• F5 Bridges the Physical and Virtual Worlds at Microsoft Tech Ed
• F5's YouTube Channel
• In 5 Minutes or Less Series (23 videos – over 2 hours of In 5 Fun)
• Inside Look Series
• Life@F5 Series

Technorati Tags: f5,teched,microsoft,msteched,azure,nvgre,network virtualization,silva,video,trade show,Hyper-V,big-ip

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Pulse2013 – Gimme 90 Seconds: IBM Edition

I welcome F5 Solution Architect Nojan Moshiri as his next contestant on the hit trade show game show, Gimme 90 Seconds. See if Nojan wins the coveted psilva autographed F5 squeeze ball if he’s able to answer how F5 products secure, optimize and provide high availability for IBM solutions. Had a little camera blip at the end so thanks to Janice Merk for handling the camera and Nojan for playing!

 

ps

Related:

• Pulse2013 - Find F5
• IBM Pulse2013 Conference
• F5's YouTube Channel
• In 5 Minutes or Less Series (23 videos – over 2 hours of In 5 Fun)
• Inside Look Series
• Life@F5

Technorati Tags: f5,ibm,pulse,ibmpulse,psilva,video,security,

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The Land of a Thousand Twist-Ties

Have you unpacked a children’s toy set, game, doll things or any kid’s play thing that has several pieces recently?  My 5 year old got a big box with a baby doll, her bassinette, bottle, baby food, rattles, and the other accessories any new born and mommy may need to care for the infant.  I’ve this noticed before but trying to take, rather unlatch all the stuff included is a major task.  Every little item was so secured to the inner packaging that it took me several minutes to untie, clip, cut and otherwise unshackle the items from the box.  Everything was locked down with either thick twist-ties or those plastic things with the ‘T’ on both ends – you know the ones where if it’s stuck to the item, you cut one end and shove the other end inside the item, never to seen again.  And just when you think you’ve got them all and ready to pull everything out, there’s always one more hidden one that snags the escape….and the adult’s patience.  This packaging, this method of securing toys sure makes getting to the toys a challenge.  There sometimes comes a point where you just want to rip it right out but you know it’ll damage the toy along with the kid’s excitement watching each accessory painstakingly extricated from the box.  And don’t get me started on those blister wrap packages – it’s like they soldered them closed and you need a chainsaw or a blowtorch just to open it.

Of course, this got me thinking.  These companies go to great lengths to secure the items within the packaging system.  Not only to keep them in place for a nice display but to also keep them from getting lifted in the store.  Each item is locked down from different angles at multiple points.  They are secured to the packaging and each other.  The twist-ties are wrapped in ways that I never thought they could.  The plastic ties are just strong enough to require a scissors or some hardened tool in some cases.  You can’t just snap it with your fingers and if you yank it, it might break, rip or otherwise damage the item it is holding.  It takes time to get to the good stuff.  It’s layered security.

Think about your own home.  People put locks, alarms and guard dogs to protect their house - they invest in layered security - and they feel safe, confident and don't worry about their valuable or sensitive possessions.  But when it comes to protecting data, systems and infrastructure, some might think that maybe one solution in one area will stop an intruder.   It is often difficult to quantify Information Security business value and ‘didn’t get attacked' doesn’t always equate to some monetary savings.  Often it is avoiding things like negative press, breaking customer loyalty/trust, damaging brand reputation, failing regulatory compliance, downtime and so forth.  Security is often thought of as insurance and the business value is not necessarily measured in dollars and cents....until you are exposed.  The real value is avoiding all of the above.  What would be the business value to any of the recent breached companies if they had not been hacked?  The value is keeping the people (users and employees) and business safe.  The value is comfort, confidence and compliance. It’s not that you need multiple twist-ties at every segment of your infrastructure but dated, static devices cannot protect against evolving, dynamic threats.  Protect your systems and your business with solutions that are adaptable, intelligent and provide the secure, strategic point of control for your application delivery infrastructure. 

Security is not only about risk mitigation/management but security is also Peace of Mind.  Knowing that stuff is protected and secure; knowing that the infrastructure will be available and scale; knowing that if something bad does happen, that the proper mechanisms are in place to mitigate the damage.  Plus, intruders will need more than scissors to play with their toys.

ps

Resources:

• Six Tips to Better Toy Packaging
• Toy Packaging Be Damned!
• Toy packaging then and now
• Federal Agency Sets New Security Rules for Financial Institutions
• FFIEC Guidance: Multifactor Authentication and Layered Security
• The Multi Layered Security Efforts Needed to Protect the Bulk Power Grid
• F5 Security Solutions

Technorati Tags: F5, data breach report, threats, Pete Silva, security, malware, technology, layered security, cyber-threat, attacks, risk, web, internet, cybercrime, identity theft, scam, data breach, toys

photo courtesy: http://commentarista.com/

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CloudFucius Is: Ready for Some Football

With the opening game of the NFL season in the books and a Sunday (and Monday) of Week 1 matchups filling our living rooms, home team stadiums, fantasy leagues and mobile devices, I was curious just how the NFL and sporting events in general are using cloud services.  Technology used within the professional sporting realm has always fascinated me from statistics giant Stats Inc to the 1st down graphics from the likes of Sportvision, Princeton Video Image and SportsMEDIA to Skycam, the cable suspended camera giving you a bird’s eye view of the action and of course, the NFL banning Twitter during games.  Media companies are jumping all over cloud computing for the elasticity of services (jump in traffic), digital content, storage and to optimize communication and collaboration of workflows of content production, post-production and delivery.

Last week, IBM announced that it was bringing cloud computing to the US Open.  This allows the US Tennis Association (USTA) to scale up capacity during the event.  They can also take real-time and historic sports data, merge them on a common platform and deliver it to their various consumers: media, officials, fans and the players themselves no matter what the platform – web, mobile, broadcast, social media and so forth.  They can also analyze data from the courtside radar guns, the umpire systems, the court statistician and TV feeds.

The annual NFL Scouting Combine is when college players ‘audition’ for spots on NFL rosters.  They are tested for physical performance like the 40 yard dash along with their mental and problem solving skills to determine if they will make it in the NFL.  All the information (data) is collected and then evaluated by owners, coaches, scouts, medical staff and team executives.  The amount of data is huge and in years past, it was done with paper and pencil and then entered into computer systems or burned to CD’s and then mailed.  there were entry errors, delays and the systems were potential targets for breaches.   Now, the capturing, collecting and distribution of player data is done in the cloud making it much more efficient.  The data is merged with a master database using a secure connection and then a secure website is provided to the NFL teams to login and view content, download collateral and subscribe to feeds.  Pretty cool.

When the NFL wanted to extend it’s brand to an international audience, they created NFL360, an interactive media site with videos, game history, player profiles and many other goodies available for fans around the world.  Here they deployed a system with Digitaria using technology based on cloud computing.  The site also has games and other activities for the NFL fan.

NY Jets owner Woody Johnson is testing some cool technology in the skybox this year.  He’ll have a touch-screen device to keep track of all the game day operations from his device and get a view of the entire stadium's data flow.  From concessions to merchandise to ticket info to the traffic jam in the Meadowlands parking lot, he’ll have access to it all.

I’m excited to see the Dolphins win the AFC East and my fantasy team kick butt this year.  The cloud will be there too, domed stadium or not.

And one from Confucius: He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good..

ps

The CloudFucius Series: Intro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Related:

• IBM Takes the Cloud to the US Open
• The N.F.L. Has Identified the Enemy and It Is Twitter
• The Cloud Zone: Explore Consulting's NFL Solution
• New NFL Technology Brings Fans Closer to the Action
• Going Deep: The Future of Technology in the National Football League
• The NFL comes to Verizon's Android phones

Technorati Tags: F5, infrastructure 2.0, integration, cloud connect, Pete Silva, security, business, education, technology, application delivery, intercloud, cloud, context-aware, infrastructure 2.0, automation, web, internet, blog

twitter: @psilvas

How Terms Have Changed over Time

Meanings and terms often change or get adjusted over time, especially with Information Technology.  While never walking 5 miles to school in two-feet of snow, I did live during an era of TV’s without remotes and vinyl record players.  I tend to include many ‘remember when…’ type stories in my blogs so just chalk (or chuck) this one in the nostalgia pile.  A few are a stretch and most still hold their old definition but come along for the ride anyway.  :-)

When I was a kid:

• An Appliance was a fridge, oven, toaster, etc.
• You Breached a contract not a network and used a Buffer for shiny car polish.
• A Cloud was in the sky, Cache was money, and C is for Cookie – which is good enough for me.
• A Disk was made by Frisbee.
• An Engineer drove a train.
• A Firewall was an actual physical barrier in a building or vehicle.
• Googol meant the highest number before infinity. 
• Bears went into Hibernation
• Inter and Intra described personal relationships.
• Java was coffee.
• Keys opened the house, started the car and got lost.
• Your Local Host was your guide when traveling to foreign places.
• When someone got too close you told them, ‘Get out of My Space.’
• The Networks were ABC, NBC and CBS.
• An OASIS was your own personal paradise, tropical for many.
• You could stand on a Platform, I turned my head for my Profile and Port was a sweet wine.
• QWERTY is still the same.
• RAM was a male sheep & the NFL team from Los Angeles.
• Spam and eggs, Hawaiian style.
• There’s a game called Tag, and you are IT.
• Utility had nothing to do with computing but could be a belt.
• Viral meant a doctor visit.
• Rode a WAV on the North Shore.
• 802.1X flipped is an extension in Idaho or maybe Vermont.
• A Yahoo was a local yokel.
• Finally, Zip up your pants!!

Come on everyone, play along!  I’m sure you got your own entries to add.

ps

Technorati Tags: Pete Silva, F5, security, application security, network security, business, education, technology

X marks the Games

Sony Playstation Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary, Happy 20th birthday, Game Boy, Happy 10th anniversary, Sega Dreamcast! and November Marks the Launch Anniversary of Many a Gaming Platform.  Gaming has come a long way since the Atari 2600 and the Fairchild Channel F when we would screw those little U connectors to the UHF/VHF thingy.  Then we got ColecoVision’s arcade quality games like Donkey Kong and the early Nintendo’s and Sega’s to today’s Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox (there’s your 24th letter) and Nintendo Wii.  These days, not only can you hook you console up to your TV monitor, you can connect to the internet and play games online, even without a console.  While gaming threats & breaches don’t always make the splashy headlines like stolen credit cards and hacked financial applications, there is still plenty of things to worry about while you’re having fun.  Whether you’re a player or provider, the risks are out there and many (both technical & social) are no different than the exploits, malware and thieves we typically hear about from general online communities. 

Over the last couple years, a number online gaming sites experienced DDoS attacks that forced outages and tossed some sites offline and even Pirate Bay got hit with a DDoS attack when their users were not happy about the sale to Global Gaming Factory.  Even back in 2004, there were articles that covered the Security Issues of Online Gaming and a few of those mentioned still hold today.

For users, the risks loom since they spend a lot of time and money on these games and there are always crooks out there looking to exploit that.  There is also significant amount of social interaction with other players and many of the social media threats, like being tricked into exposing personal or financial information, are just a prevalent.  And it’s not just hidden criminals.  Full on media companies offering rewards, points or other game enhancements trick users into signing up for bogus offers and monthly subscriptions all while capturing their email address, credit card and other personal info.  This is quick money for game developers (and social sites, advertisers and others) even if it is done in an unscrupulous way.

Malware infection whether it be worms, viruses or bots are also a risk.  Most of us have learned that we should not click on an embedded email link for fear of computer infection.  But do you use the same technique when searching for a new/hidden game file or conversing with another player over IM?  They might have been part of your online ‘team’ for some time and you’ve exchanged tips.  Then they promote some cool new ‘add-on’ and send you an IM saying, ‘download this hidden gem – earn points faster!!’  Would you use the same caution as a phishing email or click away?  If the game required administrative rights for installation, would you grant it?  Would you allow all JavaScript and ActiveX to run, knowing the inherent browser risks?  Also, since you’re playing online, you have to be connected to a server somewhere.  Is that server vulnerable?  Has it been compromised?  If it has, then you too can be vulnerable – it’s really no different than other server exploits.  This applies to game operators also.  How are you protecting your infrastructure from malicious behavior?

This document (pdf) from US-CERT has a nice overview of avoiding online gaming risks, was an inspiration for this blog post and offers several protective measures….which look a lot like the general security good practices we hear on a daily basis:

• Use antivirus and antispyware programs.
• Be cautious about opening files attached to email messages or instant messages.
• Verify the authenticity and security of downloaded files and new software.
• Configure your web browsers securely.
• Use a firewall.
• Identify and back up your personal or financial data.
• Create and use strong passwords.
• Patch and update your application software.

Not to dampen any of your fun this year as many of us rip open new gaming consoles, connect them to the internet and start firing away, just use the same caution, suspicion and protection when you enter that fun zone.  Don’t let your guard down just because you’re having a great time – that holiday glee can morph into your winter of discontent with a single click.
ps

• #24 out of 26 Short Topics about Security
• previous stories: 23, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13.5, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Related resources:

• Layer 4 vs Layer 7 DoS Attack
• ASM Layer 7 DoS And Brute Force Protection
• An Unhackable Server is Still Vulnerable
• Scamville: The Social Gaming Ecosystem Of Hell