Kameir

Today VirusBlokAda reported the first detection of malware that attacks SCADA systems running on Windows operating systems. The malware is called Stuxnet and uses four zero-day attacks to install a rootkit which in turn logs in to the SCADA’s database and steals design and control files. The malware is also capable of changing the control system and hiding those changes. According to Computerworld the malware was found on 14 systems, the majority of which were located in Iran.

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) designs generally refer to industrial control systems (ICS): computer systems that monitor and control industrial, infrastructure, or facility-based processes, including industrial and infrastructure processes.

SCADA designs are centralized systems which monitor and control entire sites, or complexes of systems spread out over large areas (anything from an industrial plant to states). A lot of control actions are performed programmatic by RTUs or by PLCs. Host control functions are usually restricted to basic overriding or supervisory level intervention (i.e. a PLC may control the flow of cooling water through part of an industrial process, but the SCADA design may allow operators to change the set points for the flow, and enable alarm conditions, such as loss of flow and high temperature, to be displayed and recorded. The feedback control loop passes through the RTU or PLC, while the SCADA design monitors the overall performance of the loop.

Networked SCADA systems (also referred to as 3rd generation systems are accessible from the Internet, and therefore are potentially vulnerable to remote cyber-attacks. On the other hand, the usage of standard protocols and security techniques means that standard security improvements are applicable to the SCADA systems, assuming they receive timely maintenance and update.

Many vendors of SCADA and control products have begun to address the risks posed by unauthorized access by developing lines of specialized industrial firewall and VPN solutions for TCP/IP-based SCADA networks as well as external SCADA monitoring and recording equipment. The International Society of Automation (ISA) started formalizing SCADA security requirements in 2007 with a working group, WG4. WG4 “deals specifically with unique technical requirements, measurements, and other features required to evaluate and assure security resilience and performance of industrial automation and control systems devices”.

Read more on Wikipedia and see this NCS document.

Enterprise collaboration done right by San Diego’s MindTouch.

MindTouch assembles your organization’s genius into strategic content. Using MindTouch for your strategic content you can increase customer acquisition, decrease customer retention costs and enhance your product and services development. MindTouch is also an great general-purpose platform for enterprise collaboration and rapidly developing social business applications.

RockMelt a company backed by some of the old Netscape guys announced that they are coming out with a social web browser. Looks kinda interesting and there’s probably some money to be made. Though I would be really surprised if it garnered more market share than Google’s Chrome (8%). So, I ma not sure where there’s an exit for the venture.

Three weeks into testing it: no crashes or memory leaks. So far, I like it 🙂

Anametrix, the leader in cloud-based business analytics technology, and iPost, a leader in strategic email marketing services, together announced a partnership agreement to offer clients a comprehensive digital marketing measurement solution with real-time strategic insights across email campaigns, social media and Google Analytics.

The Anametrix-iPost collaborative technology will debut at the DMA:2010 Conference & Exhibition October 9 – 14 at the San Francisco Moscone Convention Center, Booth #1732 or by appointment.  Maximizing ROI via integration of data is the overarching theme of this Direct Marketing Association global event; yet to-date, very few brands have successfully and cost-effectively implemented multichannel measurement programs. Utilizing the Anametrix analytics dashboards to correlate results across different media channels, iPost will demonstrate email campaigns’ clear halo effect on social media buzz as well as increased traffic and sales offline in brick-and-mortar stores.

For over a decade, iPost has provided email marketing campaign tools and services to hundreds of diverse industry customers including TD Ameritrade, Foster Farms, Garden Botanika, and Totes-Isotoner.  The Anametrix partnership enables iPost’s digital marketers to overlay data from many sources including social media listening, Census demographics, search engine marketing (SEM), online advertising, and web site traffic pattern analysis with their email campaigns. A customized series of InstaVista™ dashboards correlate and display unified Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from these data sources to provide a rich, actionable picture of customer engagement opportunities.

“Correlating online email marketing efforts with offline results allows marketers, for the first time, to quickly analyze diverse data in a single dashboard interface for deeper targeting and segmentation,” said Bart Schaefer, CEO of iPost.  “Combining iPost’s email marketing solutions with Anametrix’s business analytics technology enables richer and more relevant customer engagement.”

“It’s exciting to help iPost digital marketers compete on a global scale by offering actionable analytics that show the true revenue of email campaigns,” stated Blaise Barrelet, Anametrix CEO.  “Email remains one of the most effective ways for brands to engage customers, and the Anametrix-iPost dashboards demystify multi-channel impact for rapid value analysis.”

iPost will offer the InstaVista™ dashboards as a premium add-on service to its iMM™ email marketing platform.  The real-time interactive data visualizations can also include information from offline sources including customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point-of-sale (POS) transactions for a more comprehensive business picture.

To schedule a demonstration of the iPost – Anametrix technology during the DMA:2010 Conference & Exhibition, please contact Michelle Moody at 214-363-3460 or by email.

Google just bought BlindType, a startup that auto-corrects the words a user types on his or her mobile phone.  The technology is very advanced; a demo shows that a user could type “Rgod vskjieyh pa vskjieyh pa vqsyrudik,” which the software would correct to “This ballpark is beautiful,” recognizing that the user is one letter off for each character). BlindType wasn’t yet being used on any phones, although the company says the technology supports iPhone, iPad and Android devices. In a short blog post, BlindType confirms the deal but leaves out other details, like how much Google paid or how soon the technology will be integrated with Android.

“We are excited to announce that BlindType has been acquired by Google. We’re excited to welcome the BlindType team to Google. With their help, we hope to make touch typing on your mobile device easier and faster than ever,” stated Aaron Zamost, a spokesperson for Google to confirm the acquisition.

The San Francisco-based company has announced the acquisition in a blog post, promising to continue offering its customers a unique experience with typing on mobile phones.