HP turnaround message flops on Wall St

Coming off the biggest quarterly loss in Hewlett-Packard's history, chief executive Meg Whitman braced investors for even more trouble ahead as she methodically tries to fix a wide range of longstanding problems. Those challenges will be compounded by a feeble economy that Whitman expects to weaken even more during the next year.

HP said the internal and economic turmoil will cause its earnings to fall by more than 10 per cent next year, a decline that hadn't been anticipated by analysts who follow one of the world's largest and most dysfunctional technology companies.

Whitman delivered the disappointing forecast at a meeting that the ailing Silicon Valley pioneer held for analysts and investors. The gathering gave Whitman the opportunity to persuade Wall Street that she has come up with a compelling strategy for turning around HP one year after being named CEO.

Investors evidently didn't like what they heard. HP's stock plunged 13 per cent after Whitman's presentation, shoving the company's shares to their lowest level in nearly a decade.

HP's troubles stem from a combination of managerial malaise, high-priced acquisitions that haven't paid off and an inability to offset the damage done to its personal computer and printer divisions by the rising popularity of smartphones and tablet computers.

Whitman maintained that she inherited a bloated, poorly managed company that hasn't been innovating quickly enough in any of its divisions, which span from PCs and printers to software and data storage.

In a recurring theme during her tenure, Whitman said that she will instil the discipline, focus and accountability needed to rehabilitate HP, but she reiterated that the recovery will take several years to complete.

It could be 2015 before Hewlett-Packard`s revenue growth begins to accelerate again, according to Whitman. By 2016, she envisions HP's revenue increasing as the same pace as the US economy's overall growth, with earnings rising at a faster clip.

"It is going to take longer to right this ship than any of us would like," Whitman said.

Investors are worried HP's woes will allow its competitors a long list that includes such technology powerhouse as Apple, IBM and Oracle to race even further ahead. In that scenario, HP is constantly scrambling to catch up with new technology trends, leaving the company in a state of perpetual disarray.

Whitman, who won acclaim during a successful decade-long stint running eBay, is confident HP can recapture the drive and creativity that established the company as an industry leader through most of its 73-year history.

She hopes to orchestrate the same kind of turnaround that has revitalised IBM after a long stretch of decay brought on by the shift from mainframe computers to personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s. IBM managed to transform itself into a company focused on providing technology services and software, a transformation that HP is struggling to duplicate.

In her shake-up of HP, Whitman has already reshuffled management and started to eliminate 29,000 jobs through employee buyouts, attrition and layoffs. She's trying to trim the company's annual expenses by more than $3 billion.

She assured analysts on Wednesday that she is imposing more internal controls to align employees' paychecks with their performance. She said she is also requiring the company to subscribe to technology services offered by smaller companies such as Salesforce.com Inc. and Workday Inc. to automate many of HP's customer management and personnel systems.

HP also is reducing the number of different printers that it makes. It is also rolling out a new line of personal computers and tablets running on Windows 8, an overhaul of Microsoft`s operating system that's designed to appeal to consumers and companies that want more mobile devices with touch-control display screens.

Whitman also is placing big bets on "cloud computing" a term that refers to the increasingly popular trend of storing software applications in remote data centres that are accessed over the internet instead of installing programs on individual machines.

HP also is angling for a bigger piece of the "Big Data" market, a field devoted to helping companies and government agencies navigate through the torrent of information cascading through internet-connected devices.

But the payoff from those initiatives won't come in HP's fiscal 2013, which starts Nov. 1.

The company, which is based in Palo Alto, California, expects its earnings for fiscal 2013 to range from $3.40 to $3.60 per share, after stripping out charges for layoffs and other accounting measures unrelated to its ongoing business. The projection translates to an 11 per cent to 16 per cent drop from the adjusted earnings of $4.06 per share that HP expects to deliver in its current fiscal year.

Whitman's forecast for next year caught investors off guard because analysts, on average, had predicted HP's adjusted earnings would be $4.17 per share.

HP shares shed $2.22 to close Wednesday at $14.91.

Next year's revenue also will decrease, although HP didn't say by how much. The biggest problems will be concentrated in HP's technology consulting division, where revenue is expected to fall by 11 per cent to 13 per cent next year. Technology consulting also faltered during the past year, prompting HP to absorb an $8 billion charge to account for the diminished value of Electronic Data Systems, which HP bought for $13 billion in 2008.

The EDS charge is the main reason that HP lost $8.9 billion during its most recent quarter, which ended in August. Some analysts are worried HP will have to absorb another charge on an $11 billion acquisition of software maker Autonomy, which hasn't lived up to expectations since the deal closed last year.

HP bought EDS while it was being run by Mark Hurd, who resigned in 2010 after the company's board raised questions about his expense reports. The company agreed to buy Autonomy during the reign of Leo Apotheker, who lasted less than a year as CEO before being replaced by Whitman last September.

"There are no silver bullets to solve our challenges," Whitman said Wednesday. "We will solve our challenges through consistency of leadership, focus, good blocking and tackling and, most importantly, great products and services delivered in the way that customers want to buy them."

Facebook rolls out NZ-trialled pay to promote

Facebook has long declared that it's "free and always will be." And it still is unless you want more friends to see what you have to say.

The social media giant is rolling out a feature in the US that lets users pay to promote their posts to friends, just as advertisers do. Facebook has been testing the service here in New Zealand, where it tries out a lot of new features, and has gradually introduced it in more than 20 other countries.

Facebook said on Wednesday that promoting a post such as announcing a garage sale, charity drive or big news like an engagement will bump it higher in your friends' news feeds.

"Every day, news feed delivers your posts to your friends. Sometimes a particular friend might not notice your post, especially if a lot of their friends have been posting recently and your story isn't near the top of their feed," wrote Abhishek Doshi, a software engineer at Facebook, on Facebook's news site.

Facebook didn't say how much it will cost to promote the posts, only that it's considering a range of prices as part of the test. On Wednesday, though, some US users could see $US7 as a cost per each update that they want to promote.

-AP

(ISC)2 board member on security industry growth vs. member value

(ISC)2 faces what David Melnick calls "an interesting challenge" -- creating value for existing members while growing its ranks as quickly as possible.

"Clearly there is a demand for millions of security professionals in the coming years," said Melnick, (ISC)2 board member, "and millions that aren't even in the market today."

Melnick holds the CISSP, CIPP and CISA certifications and works as principal for security & privacy services with the audit & enterprise risk services practice at Deloitte & Touche LLP. In this video interview, he discusses (ISC)2's top challenges and opportunities, its strategy to balance the need to foster security industry growth with the advancement of its member community, recent governance changes  within the organization, and the growing momentum behind its Safe and Secure Online youth education program.

For U.S. Mint, cloud computing security transparency effort pays off

TORONTO â€" For the United States Mint, its effort to gain insight into the systems and processes that secure its SaaS ecommerce system proved to be a worthwhile investment of time and resources. According to its chief information security officer, however, it faced a tough battle dealing with the resistance from its cloud provider.

Be prepared for resistance and unprepared -ness, because they aren't always prepared for these kinds of questions and requests.

Chris Carpenter, CISO, U.S. Mint

Speaking to attendees at the 2012 SecTor security conference, U.S. Mint CISO Chris Carpenter said he insisted on understanding how his organization's SaaS application was being secured, from system architecture to firewalls and how the provider conducts security internally and externally.

However, he was shocked when his inquiry to the provider was met with the response, "No one has ever asked us that before." 

Carpenter quizzed the firm during the Cloud contract negotiation on how it vets its employees, its security controls, its corporate policies, how often it conducts penetration testing, and its incident response plan. Seeking to improve his provider's cloud computing security transparency, he requested to visit the security operations center and forced the firm to provide an example of how it responded to an incident.

"There was tap dancing and delays," by the provider, Carpenter said. "Be prepared for resistance and unpreparedness, because they aren't always prepared for these kinds of questions and requests." 

Case in point: Carpenter said his request for continuous monitoring and access to firewall, Web server and database logs specific to the Mint's SaaS application was met with resistance. The cloud provider, recognizing his insistence, eventually created a portal to the information and built the requirement into the contract.

"Cloud providers don't really give you specific logs for your stuff, but your data is there, so you've got to ask for it," Carpenter said. "Down the road, we want it to be a steady stream into our IDSes."

In seeking cloud transparency, it doesn't hurt to ask
IT security pros have been seeking increased transparency from cloud providers, but industry analysts say they often don't have the bargaining power to demand it. Carpenter acknowledges that the cloud provider was eager to sign a contract with the U.S. Mint. The Mint had more than $700 million in sales in 2011, Carpenter said, and would have been its first government client.  The U.S. Mint manufactures all of the coins circulating as legal government tender in the United States.

Carpenter, a former pen tester at Fairfax, Va.-based ManTech, joined the U.S. Mint in 2011, and said he was immediately thrust into contract negotiations with the cloud provider, which he declined to name. The Mint's ecommerce system was aging and plans had already been in place to overhaul or replace it. Managed hosting, he added, was seen as a way to reduce costs and transfer risk, while admitting a better scenario would have been to be involved in the project prior to selecting the vendor. 

Carpenter urged attendees to ask for their cloud providers' report on compliance or RoC, system security plans and testing results before signing a contract.

Carpenter urged CISOs to conduct aggressive pen testing. A cloud provider may say it runs a Nessus scans, he said, but organizations should do their own intensive testing. Carpenter negotiated external and internal pen testing into his agreement with the provider.

"If you can demonstrate that you have a credible testing program," Carpenter said, "they'll let you in."

Carpenter said the way in which the cloud provider conducted incident response was also initially unclear. The firm reported no incidents, which Carpenter said was clearly an omission.

"As for specific incidents and results," Carpenter said. "You want to see an incident and how they handled it."

SLAs must have incentives for the cloud provider
The U.S. Mint negotiating team clarified incident response notification times in its service level agreement, but more importantly, according to Carpenter, the team inserted language into the service level agreement (SLA) stating that the more features the cloud provider offers, the more money it will make. 

"You've got to understand the true impact, or lack of impact of SLAs," Carpenter said. "You have to have an incentive or hold a carrot out so they work hard for you."

The SLA had an escape plan in place in the event that the relationship soured. The Mint got a data escrow vendor to hold its data, which Carpenter said also required extensive research. The Mint's goal was to keep any credit card data out of its data center, eliminating the need to manage the PCI DSS compliance program.  

Despite having been more than a year since contract negotiations began, the system is not yet live, Carpenter said. Fortunately, he added, security is not a factor; the implementation has been paused while the cloud provider meets technical requirements on the functional side.

Tibbr Partners With Box, Adds Features in Latest Update

Tibbr 4, the latest group collaboration offering from Tibco, was recently announced and offers some new features for business users including a partnership with Box, integration with other third party apps, and a service that measures influence within a workplace setting.

Tibbr is an enterprise social network that is mainly subject-based. It gives employees tools to organize data into categories and share with people or groups, then easily find it later if needed. It is available in both on-premise and cloud versions to fit businesses of different types and sizes.

Tibbr 4 brings an entirely new design that includes social profiles for users, timelines for specific subjects or projects, sharing widgets, company insights, and mobile compatibility. The update also includes a new social graph API, which integrates some third party apps into the user experience.

This is where the partnership with Box comes in, but other apps like behavior platform Badgeville and sharing platform Wayin are also available.

And as for the new feature that gives employees Klout-like influence insights, the service measures each user's activity in the context of their work and produces a score along with charts and infographics illustrating their activity. While the score may seem a little obsolete for this type of service, the insights into actual use and activity might prove helpful to some.

These changes come just after Salesforce revealed the latest version of its Chatter social networking feature, as well as a new sharing service that offers many of the same features as Dropbox and Box.

Of course Tibbr and Salesforce are just two in a long line of services aimed at providing collaboration and enterprise networking tools for businesses. But Tibbr's integration with Box and other third party tools that are already used by many businesses certainly makes it a more attractive offering.

Tibbr Partners With Box, Adds Features in Latest Update

Tibbr 4, the latest group collaboration offering from Tibco, was recently announced and offers some new features for business users including a partnership with Box, integration with other third party apps, and a service that measures influence within a workplace setting.

Tibbr is an enterprise social network that is mainly subject-based. It gives employees tools to organize data into categories and share with people or groups, then easily find it later if needed. It is available in both on-premise and cloud versions to fit businesses of different types and sizes.

Tibbr 4 brings an entirely new design that includes social profiles for users, timelines for specific subjects or projects, sharing widgets, company insights, and mobile compatibility. The update also includes a new social graph API, which integrates some third party apps into the user experience.

This is where the partnership with Box comes in, but other apps like behavior platform Badgeville and sharing platform Wayin are also available.

And as for the new feature that gives employees Klout-like influence insights, the service measures each user's activity in the context of their work and produces a score along with charts and infographics illustrating their activity. While the score may seem a little obsolete for this type of service, the insights into actual use and activity might prove helpful to some.

These changes come just after Salesforce revealed the latest version of its Chatter social networking feature, as well as a new sharing service that offers many of the same features as Dropbox and Box.

Of course Tibbr and Salesforce are just two in a long line of services aimed at providing collaboration and enterprise networking tools for businesses. But Tibbr's integration with Box and other third party tools that are already used by many businesses certainly makes it a more attractive offering.

Are Older Workers Better For Your Small Business?

Is it true that workers over 50 have a harder time getting hired than younger employees? Not according to the results of a new survey from Adecco Staffing US. In the poll, hiring managers in a wide range of industries nationwide say they are three times more likely to hire a worker age 50 and up (60 percent) than a Millennial employee (20 percent).

Why the huge gap?

It seems older workers have what companies are looking for. Almost all (91 percent) of respondents say they consider older workers reliable, and 88 percent say they are professional. But that doesn't mean they're perfect. What are some stumbling blocks preventing companies from hiring older workers?

Slightly more than one-third (39 percent) say the biggest challenge is older workers' difficulty in adapting to new technologies. In addition, 51 percent say older workers often ask for too much in terms of salary and compensation, and 48 percent think they seem “overconfident” about their abilities and experience during job interviews. Finally, 33 percent are concerned older workers won't want to take direction from younger managers.

What's keeping companies from hiring Millennials?

The biggest obstacle (cited by 46 percent) is uncertainty about Millennials' long-term commitment to the company. About one-fourth (27 percent) are also worried that Millennials won't take direction from older managers.

In addition, hiring managers say Millennials make some common mistakes that can hurt their chances of a job offer, including “wearing inappropriate interview attire” (75 percent) and “posting potentially compromising content on social media channels” (70 percent).

As someone over 50 myself, I'm happy to see older workers' contributions and experience getting their due. Adecco also cited the top jobs for mature workers, based both on their skills and on current growth areas. If you're hiring a training/learning instructor, financial consultant or advisor, tourism guide, retail sales or customer service representative, technical writer or quality control engineer, consider an older worker, who is likely to have the right combination of traits for the job.

However, I'm also concerned about the stereotypes I see in these responses. Yes, Millennials may not be committed to your company long-term-but is that a bad thing, or is it just to be expected of entry-level employees who are still finding out where their interests and strengths lie?

Older workers may want more compensation-but isn't that a fair trade for the experience, stability and loyalty they bring to the table? I've met plenty of “overconfident” twenty-somethings and just as many “uncommitted” fifty-somethings.

As someone who's been hiring employees for more years than I care to count, I've seen a few generations come and go. Today's older workers were once young newbies themselves, shocking their elders with their inappropriate dress (I once got reprimanded for wearing pants to work in sub-freezing temperatures), refusal to listen to their elders, and “compromising” openness about their lives.

The best solution for hiring the right people for your team?

Look at people as people-not as representatives of a generation-and work with them to bring out their strengths, whatever those may be.

Employees Photo via Shutterstock

New Book Helps Small Businesses “Amp Up” Their Marketing Efforts

There's no denying social media has changed the world of business marketing in recent years. Small business owners are eager to soak up any information they can about this new way of reaching consumers.

International speaker and marketing expert Whitney Keyes has seen the need and met it. In her book Propel: Five Ways to Amp Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business, Keyes uses real-life scenarios to illustrate modern-day methods for marketing a business.

While traditional marketing was done differently between large and small organizations, in today's business world the divide between small and large businesses appears to be shrinking. As Keyes pointed out, what once would be handled differently between a small and large organization is now handled very similarly.

“In today's competitive marketplace, size doesn't matter,” Keyes says. “Success for every organization boils down to these five keys: strategy, story, strength, simplicity, and speed.”

In the pre-digital age, large companies had even larger marketing budgets that allowed them to cover the world with their message via print ads, billboards, radio and TV commercials, and the like. Today, marketing can be done through social media and other electronic means for a cost of nothing more than time. This has leveled the playing field and made it easier than ever for small businesses to take on the big dogs for consumer dollars.

According to Keyes, the five areas for success are:

• Strategy: Set a course for success. Make sure all marketing campaigns are well-directed.
• Story: Success is about telling the right story, at the right time, to the right people. That story is your brand.
• Strength: Extend your reach by collaborating with allies who can help boost your message.
• Simplicity: Keep the plan as straightforward and simple as possible.
• Speed: There are many things you can do starting now to put your plan in motion.

Propel: Five Ways to Amp Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indie Bound. Keyes also offers a sample chapter for free on her website. Those interested in meeting the author in person can watch the Speaking section of Keyes' website for an upcoming appearance near them. In upcoming months, Keyes will be speaking to groups throughout Washington on the subjects of marketing and leadership.

An accomplished speaker and marketing executive, Whitney Keyes has spent more than twenty years working to help make businesses more successful. Her work includes serving as a senior manager at Microsoft and as an adviser for American Express. Additionally, she's been a marketing adviser for businesses of all sizes around the world.

One of Keyes' marketing campaigns was the launch of Office 2000 while working for Microsoft. During her time with Microsoft, she also implemented Unlimited Potential, the company's main philanthropic program. Today, Keyes runs her own consulting firm, where she helps businesses of all sizes increase their bottom line through marketing efforts. She is also co-host of the weekly online radio show Whitney and Wyatt.

“She draws on her years of experience with big-time brands and game-changing startups to provide a cutting-edge manifesto for marketersâ€"and a manual to make things happen,” Fast Company co-founder William C. Taylor wrote. “This book will propel your business forward.”

9 Steps to Close Your Startup Sales Deals

Selling a brand new product or service is tough. And a startup selling to big companies is one of the hardest jobs around. Your product is still being built. Your team is still gelling-or coming apart-or both. You can't afford marketing support and you have few (if any) customer references. You've got only a few bucks in the bank. And, worst of all, you aren't at all sure how well the rest of the team is going to execute once you actually close a deal.

To give you a hand, below are 9 tips for startup salespeople:

1. Prequalify and Target Your Opportunities

Start with five companies to focus on. Too many options is confusing and leads your team to chase its tail. Once you've made some progress with those five, you can expand your search-hopefully with positive feedback from them. There's no need to rush.

2. Treat Your Network As a Precious Resource-Be Selective

Since you don't know how the rest of your startup team is going to perform yet, save your big contacts and the full power of your network until you know everyone on-board is up for the challenge.

3. Take the Plunge with Cold Calling

There is no single better way to hone your pitch than cold calling. Don't be that LinkedIn spammer who always needs introductions. Do 10 cold calls a day to companies outside your target list. That way you may land a client you may not have initially intended upon-and you'll be ready when the boss of your top target picks up the phone.

4. Respond Instantly

You must address any indication of interest, curiosity, or objection right away. I mean employ a drop-everything-now sense of urgency. Nothing is more important than that inbound email from someone on your list.

5. Qualify Constantly and Find an Inside Evangelist

Don't waste time on small deals, one-offs, partnerships, or anything outside the “win-win” column. Relentlessly go after the biggest companies that can pay you this year. If they respond slowly, move on. Time is your enemy. One way to close the gap is to enlist the help of an insider who already knows and loves your product. This person will push on the inside so you don't have to-and give you the all-important inside track to key decision makers.

6. Don't Push, You Already Have a Brand Ambassador

Desperation gives off a stench that repels big companies. When the other side hesitates be the first to say, “I'm not sure you guys are ready for this. Let me come back when we have made more progress.” Your contacts will always remember you for giving them some breathing room.

7. Relentlessly Prepare for Meetings so You Don't Rely on Your Slides

You must know why the potential customer is willing to take a risk on you and your company before the meeting starts. Come up with three reasons why you're the right choice and run them by your in-house champion the week before and ask for feedback, especially objections. Polish your answers to those objections like a sword before a duel. Now that you're in the conference room, don't read off your slides, just use them as a backdrop. Discuss the product, how it will help solve the client's pain, your passion for this issue-even run a demo. Anything but mindlessly clicking through the slides.

8. A Quick No Is Better Than…

It hurts. It stings. There's nothing good about getting rejected on a deal except for taking too long to get rejected. Respect the folks who decide quickly, and make a note to come back to them with the next version.

9. It's Not a Done Deal Until the Money's in the Bank

The only thing worse than being told “no” is having a “yes” fall apart. Unexpected and unusual things happen in corporations, and you'll never really know what's going on. Keep driving and stay in touch until a deal is 100 percent complete.

After the check's cleared and the client's happy, you're still not done. You have to make sure the rest of your team delivers on what you just sold. You've got to do it all again with other clients.

And after your huge success, your quota will likely go up next quarter. But before you dive back into the work, take a moment and celebrate the big win with the people who helped you make it happen. Those moments can be as sweet as getting your bonus check.

Closing A Deal Photo via Shutterstock

5 Ways To Put A Human Touch To The Online “You”

If two businesses sell the same product at the same price, what incentive does the customer have to go with one rather than the other besides random chance? The answer: It all has to do with how the business speaks to the customer. It's a story told time and again. Businesses have to connect with their customers to establish meaningful relationships.

Now that the Internet's become a more social climate, people are looking for something other than a pretty picture and some professionally-written text to accompany it. Broadway's got it right: There's no business like show business. The Internet is your chance to shine, but you've got to do it right.

Today, David Lee King â€" author of Face2Face: Using Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media Tools to Create Great Customer Connections â€" has a couple of pieces of advice for appealing to your customers in just the right way:

• Be casual and let your inner conversationalist talk. King says to forget everything you learned about formal writing in high school. These things should be reserved for official company papers, not a Facebook post or a tweet.
• Read what you write. Write down what you had to say. If your handwriting is horrible like mine, there's always Notepad. Now, read it aloud. Would you tell this to your friends at a diner?
• Include people and processes in your photos. This one might be tough to explain. King explains it perfectly: “The trick is to find something interesting to share via a photo. If you travel to fun locations for your organization, by all means take photos. If there's a busy time at your store or organization, that's also a great time to take a photo or two and share online. Customers using your product also make great photo opportunities.” He also mentions using your phone to take “on the spot” pictures. Customers don't want some high-def product photo. They want to see that your company's alive!
• Be more “improv” with your videos. If you have a YouTube channel and post videos regularly, don't script your videos. Perhaps you can outline some key points in your script, but that's it! Try figuring out how you're going to do your intro/outtro; and then just talk. Let customers know you have a soul in there somewhere.
• Take a page off your own book. Are you a relatively social person on Facebook? Check out your timeline. Take note of how you share stuff with your friends. Now, do that with your business page. In fact, mimic everything in your social life with your business and you've got it made!

When I wrote this article, I didn't outline anything. There was no planning whatsoever. It's just me blabbing away, but it kind of speaks to the reader, doesn't it? The more you do this, the more you'll become a heart-warming business and customer magnet!

HMRC deploys Becrypt software for laptop security

HMRC has become the latest government organisation to deploy CPA certified encryption software from Becrypt.

The CPA scheme was announced by CESG earlier this year as a more user-friendly option for protecting data up to Impact Level 3 (restricted) and in some cases, IL 4. HMRC has deployed Becrypt's Disk Protect across 7,000 laptops after it, Becrypt and CESG worked closely together to ensure that Disk Protect met the functional and security requirements of the former Inland Revenue.

Stewart Weston-Lewis, head of service design at HMRC, said: “We considered a need/use case and believe that the CPA solution is appropriate for these devices where we would have traditionally defaulted to the CAPS solution (CESG Assisted Products Service). The security is appropriate for the protective marking of these devices.

“Implementing a CAPS solution was not justified given that the cost would have been £2.4 million more and the CPA solution is sufficient for our requirements. CPA does not compromise standards. It balances the security of the product to the risks it is exposed to.”

According to Becrypt, the technology offers the ability to encrypt in the background while the user is still using the machine, with no discernible loss in performance. It said its unique key management processes within Becrypt's CPA certified solution allows management to be centralised.

Jonathan Hoyle, director general for government and industry cyber security at GCHQ, said: “CESG developed CPA to help UK public sector organisations identify good commercial security products and thus help to keep information secure. We needed to ensure that we maintained a pragmatic level of security, ensuring UK government can deliver its business whilst remaining safe against the likely risks we face.”

Bernard Parsons, CEO of Becrypt, said: “In these austere times where all organisations, particularly those in the public sector, are facing budget cuts, Becrypt is more committed than ever to providing innovative solutions to protect data. Even though budgets are reducing, cyber crime and threat levels are on the increase, which is why it is crucial for organisations to find new ways of working.

“The collaboration between CESG, HMRC and Becrypt to deliver this new cost effective solution supports the government's cyber security agenda and shows what can be achieved in the public sector when organisations work together.”

Domain owner agrees to work with Microsoft to destroy malicious domains

A man recently named as owning a malware-hosting domain has agreed to work with Microsoft to prevent cyber criminals from using the domain.

Peng Yong, the registered owner of 3322.org, was named by Microsoft after the Nitol botnet was hosted on the domain, which it said had links to malicious activity since 2008 and contained 500 different strains of malware hosted on more than 70,000 sub-domains.

Microsoft was granted an ex-parte temporary restraining order against Yong, his company and others and it took control of the 3322.org domain through its created domain name system (DNS). Yong said at the time that the company had a ‘zero tolerance' attitude towards illegal activity on the domain.

In a statement, Richard Domingues Boscovich, assistant general counsel at the Microsoft digital crimes unit, said that Microsoft had resolved the issues in the case and had dismissed the lawsuit pursuant to the agreement.

He also said that Yong had agreed to work in cooperation with Microsoft and the Chinese Computer Emergency Response Team (CN-CERT) to resume providing authoritative name services for 3322.org and block all connections to any of the subdomains identified in a 'block list', by directing them to a sinkhole that will be designated and managed by CN-CERT.

Yong will add subdomains to the block list as new 3322.org subdomains associated with malware are identified by Microsoft and CN-CERT.

“Since the case is settled, all evidence and discovery collected during Microsoft's investigation will be handed over to CN-CERT, who will work with the defendant to identify the people behind the malicious subdomains pursuant to Chinese law,” Boscovich said.

“We're very pleased by this outcome, which will help guarantee that the 70,000 malicious subdomains associated with 3322.org will never again be used for cyber crime.”

He also said that in the last 16 days since it began collecting data on the 70,000 malicious subdomains, it had been able to block more than 609 million connections from over 7,650,000 unique IP addresses to those malicious 3322.org subdomains.

He said: “In addition to blocking connections to the malicious domains, we have continued to provide DNS services for the unblocked 3322.org subdomains. For example, on September 25th, we successfully processed 34,954,795 DNS requests for 3322.org subdomains that were not on our block list.”

DDoS attacks used compromised web servers and 30 million packets per second

Sophisticated and diverse tools that point to a carefully coordinated campaign were used in a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on major US banks recently.

According to Reuters, the attackers were highly knowledgeable about the defensive equipment used by the banks and likely spent months on reconnaissance, with some researchers saying that the assaults were among the strongest and most complex the world has seen to date.

The campaign of DDoS attacks has seen customers of top US banks including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, US Bancorp and PNC Financial Services reporting having trouble accessing their websites.

SC Magazine US reported in mid-September that Bank of America was suffering from an attack that was causing sporadic issues that affected access for customers. Then in another story nine days later, it claimed that DDoS attacks had been made against Wells Fargo, PNC Bank and US Bancorp.

Security researchers said the botnets that the attackers were using were much more powerful, as they comprised web servers, rather than PCs. Tom Kellermann, vice president of Trend Micro, said that 'tens of thousands' of servers were involved.

The report also claimed that the attacks could have involved as many as 30 million packets per second at the websites. Scott Hammack, chief executive of Prolexic, said that volume "would overwhelm almost anyone, including large telecommunications companies".

Sources familiar with the bank attacks have previously told Reuters that they could be part of a year-long cyber campaign waged by Iranian hackers against major U.S. financial institutions and other corporate entities. A group that calls itself the Cyber Fighters of Izz ad-din Al Qassam has claimed credit for the recent bank attacks, declaring them a protest against the anti-Islam video posted on YouTube.

Following reports of Iranian attacks on US banks, the head of Iran's civil defence organisation, Gholam Reza Jalali, said that westerners are trying to portray Iran as a threat in cyber space to achieve their goals. He said that reports were aimed at demonising Iran in cyber space to portray the country as a global threat to cyber security and justify the US and Israeli cyber attacks on Iran.

7 Rules For Writing Awesome Content

Blogging, social media updates, newsletter, articles!

You know the drill â€" it's content, content and more content as you try to attract customers, show them who you are, and, ultimately, give them a reason to care about your business. The success of your business is often tied to your ability to craft a compelling message and deliver it in a way that inspires customers to act. It doesn't matter if you fancy yourself a writer or not â€" in today's market, you have to be.

If you've ever felt like you're just spinning your content wheels or you're looking up to tighten what's already working, below are seven writing rules to help you do just that.

1. Tell stories

Take a look at the marketing channels that are seeing the biggest play right now â€" Twitter, Facebook, your blog. You'll notice they all have something in common. They require that you earn someone's attention by telling them a story they want to hear. As marketers, we must be able to deliver a message that not only captures our audience, but that makes them take a desired action. That's our goal. And that requires storytelling.

If you want to improve your writing, stop lecturing to people and to start telling them stories. Stories that explain how your products can serve a consumer's need, but which do so in a way that also exposes your brand a little and shows customers what's behind the surface. Because there are a lot of products out there that will make my clothes cleaner. I want to know what's relatable about yours. I need a reason to care about you. Stories deliver that.

2. Don't hide

It's time to cut the marketing speak and the ten dollar-words that fill space but say nothing. Stop hiding! Show people what you're passionate about and let them see you getting all riled up about it. Take stands that will mean something to your customers. Maybe you'll lose some in the process, but you'll also attract the people who fall on the same side of the fence. People who won't just be customers of your business, but who will be engaged fans who will spread your word. That's the audience you want. And you'll only find it when you stop hiding behind messages that don't say anything and start letting people see who you are, your core values, and the lines you absolutely won't cross in your business.

3. Experiment

If the idea of writing another blog post makes you want to hurt yourself â€" your customers probably feel the same way about reading one. So don't write a post.

• Make a video.
• Create an infographic.
• Hold a contest.
• Start a poll.
• Invite some new voices to your blog.
• Host a Twitter chat.

Improve your writing by experimenting with new mediums instead of getting caught in the same pattern of content. The more you can try new things, the more energy and life you bring to you content.

4. Master headlines

A good headline generates interest, sets up your promise/benefit, and sparks emotion beforebefore the reader ever lands on your page. I don't pretend to be a headline master, but the folks at Copyblogger are. Read their blog and learn from the best.

5. Use power words

Another lesson I've learned from the folks at Copyblogger â€" the importance of using trigger words in your writing. There are certain words that elicit an immediate response from when people when they read them â€" words like suck, fail, overcome, seize â€" learn how to use them. Selecting the right words for your message can heighten the impact that message has and help it spread to wider audiences. If your words aren't getting the message across, use trigger words to spice it up.

6. Write for one reader

You're writing for your entire audience. You're creating a message that you believe they'll all relate to or that will help solve a need they all face. But think of how you feel when someone sends you a generic email or when they speak to you as part of a group â€" it turns you off a little bit, right? It makes it easier for you to ignore the message when you know you're just one recipient of many.

When you're crafting any piece of content, write it as if you're writing to one reader. Talk to them like it's the two of you in a room. Address them. It's a simple change of focus when you're writing, but you'd be surprised how dramatically it will change your words and help you captivate your audience.

7. Have a benefit

The goal of your content is to provide a benefit to the reader. Know what your benefit is and make explaining it your sole purpose for that piece of content. It's easy to get off track or to waste time being clever or inserting jokes (I am all too guilty of this!), but your audience doesn't care about how funny you think you are. They care about solving their problem, learning a new tactic, or getting information on a certain topic. If your goal to make them happy, not the other way around. Know your benefit, obsess over it, and over-provide.

Above are some simply ways anyone can improve writing. What are some secret writing tactics you live by

Writer's Block Photo via Shutterstock

Your Data Is In The Cloud But How Do You Access Your Software and Applications? Give Remote Access A Try

By now, we've all heard of the “virtual desktop,” where one day we all may be logging into a remote server where all of our software applications, files, and even our operating system may reside. But most of us assume this technology is a faraway reality.

However, customers are clamoring for the ability to get to files from any device. Unfortunately, even with all of the advancements in Cloud-based computing, apps are required to run the files users have stored in the Cloud. What customers need is to use the device as a mere mechanism to get the user to the operating system and all it contains.What customers need is for someone to begin offering this as an option.

LogMeIn is ahead of its time. The company is offering members the ability to access your files and software from anywhere you have an Internet connection. It's not quite a virtual desktop…it's remote access. All you have to do is leave your device on and you can get to it while you're on the road.

Here are a few possible scenarios where LogMeIn can help:

For a small business with limited technical support, LogMeIn Pro can be a great way to grant an outside I.T. contractor access to your computers for managed support. If you do your own technical support, you can manage your office's computers from home or while on the road, which can be a plus if you have a technologically-challenged staff member or two.

For many people LogMeIn's free version will suffice. If you looking for access to more computers, the Pro version may be for you and you can try it out using the site's 30-day free trial. After the trial ends, you'll have the choice to either return to the free version or pay $69.95 per year for one computer, $49.90 per computer per year for up to five computers, or a reduced per-computer rate for up to ten or up to 25 computers.

LogMeIn isn't the only player in the remote access game, however.  You can also try GoToMyPC, which has a free 30 day trial and then plans starting at $9.99/mo. CrossLoop is another option, with a free version for single computer access and a two computer subscription for $19.50/year.

While Cloud-based file storage is available from a variety of services, LogMeIn lets you access your entire computer from anywhere, which is the first step toward having everything in the Cloud.

Exclusive: Identity-as-a-Service platform API launched by miiCard

Online identity verification company miiCard has launched a global Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) platform through an open application programming interface (API) and developer kit.

MiiCard said that IDaaS allows companies to integrate the identity verification service and can prove a user's identity to the level of a photo ID within minutes, enabling businesses to offer a wider range of products and services than previously available.

James Varga, CEO of miiCard, said: “With the launch of our global IDaaS platform, miiCard is deploying the engine that we believe will drive trust on the internet.

“We are now making it easy for any company to seamlessly integrate a LOA3 identity verification technology to enhance the security of and reduce fraud across their business.”

Launched earlier this year in beta, its Level of Assurance 3 (LOA3) identity verification service allows consumers to track, monitor and take control of their identity online by using the authority and security inherent in a user's online financial accounts to validate identity, according to the company.

The release of the IDaaS platform marks the official launch of miiCard's partner program.

Facebook Discovers a New Business Model

Sometimes the first model for even the best business idea doesn't work as well as planned. Perhaps you intended to sell a subscription service for your online site and then realized only ad-supported content would work with your audience. Maybe you focused on one product only to discover your audience really preferred another. When a business makes such a discovery, it's time to change course, as Facebook did recently after figuring out it has been chasing the wrong business model. Now the question is, what can other businesses learn from Facebook's example.

Facebook Flipovers

Facing up to model mistakes. No one would dispute the unrivaled success of Facebook when it comes to building the largest online social network on the planet. But when examining the business model Facebook developed to monetize that network, it turns out the company got it wrong. Here is the story of how Facebook discovered re-targeting, and found the real key to its value. Business Insider

The creepiest network around. However, at the very moment business observers decided the social network finally found itself in terms of leveraging its data as a viable business model, some declared that approach…well…creepy. Take the recent revelation that Facebook tracks users' drug store purchases in order to more effectively target ads. This is no joke! If your customers feel your model is icky, it may mean trouble down the road for your business. The Atlantic

Small Biz Social

Adding to your ad effectiveness. Turning things around a bit, suppose you are the advertiser trying to get attention with Facebook ads. For many small businesses out there, this is the scenario about which you are most concerned. Blogger and entrepreneur Faissal Alhaithami has collected 25 general tips that help you get everything you want and need from Facebook advertising, and then some. Fans Bridge

The cutting edge of EdgeRank. Some bloggers claim EdgeRank, the algorithm Facebook uses to measure engagement on its fan pages, like the one you probably have for your business, may have been altered recently. Though Facebook has offered no official word on a change, Cendrine Marrouat reports on some of the rampant speculation out there about what's happened and what it means. Like it or not, EdgeRank is one example of how dependent all brands promoting themselves on Facebook have become. Let us know whether the alleged change has affected you. The Examiner

Escaping the social media death trap. While Facebook and other social media sites can be excellent tools for your business for things like networking, marketing, and collecting information, they can also be a tremendous time sink if you don't use the time you spend on them wisely. Marketer Ti Roberts goes as far as calling Facebook a potential “death trap” when it comes to productivity. Here are her tips to escape unscathed. The Bus Ridin' Internet Marketer

Revenue Resuscitation

The client magnet. Social media can serve as an awesome tool for building your business in other ways too. Take LinkedIn, a social networking site more specifically targeted at professionals. If you're seeking clients for your business, there may be few better places to start your search, and here is one approach that should land you clients repeatedly from this social business driver. Corporation Centre.ca

In search of your online model. While in this post blogger Holly Hanna focuses mainly on home-based business models, which may or may not be online, the point is that the possibilities for business models are almost endless. You may wish to change your business model if your existing venture isn't working out, or combine business models for a one-two punch that takes advantage of new opportunities. The Work At Home Woman