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U.S. hosts 72% of compromised DNS domains
This week, networking bloggers examine why the United States has so many compromised DNS domains, architecting for things and Brocade's acquisition plans.
According to a recent Infoblox survey examining compromised domain name system domains, the United States ranks No. 1 in the world in the number of hosted DNS domains used to launch malicious attacks. Infoblox found that the United States hosted a whopping 72% of compromised DNS domains, with Germany a distant second.
Blogger Drew Conry-Murray wrote that these compromised DNS domains are part of a growing criminal industry of concern to cybersecurity professionals and the enterprises they serve. Today, attackers have set up infrastructure to support exploit kits, as well as command and control systems, with the aim of launching attacks and capturing data.
For groups that manage DNS domains, prevention is key, and tracking changes to customer records is critical. Customers with hundreds of domains are a red flag. Conry-Murray added that multifactor authentication is also a good way to boost security and to keep DNS domains from being compromised
Read more of Conry-Murray's thoughts on DNS domains.
How to architect networks for things
Gartner analyst Don Scheibenreif recently explored the topic of architecting for things. In conjunction with a new Gartner special report that examined the economic value of a more fully connected world, Scheibenreif wrote that companies need to think more about their notions of what or who a customer is. In the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), as "things" increasingly resemble customers, businesses need to consider new trends.
Scheibenreif and fellow Gartner analysts identified three key recommendations. First of all, he suggested that enterprise network architects must prepare to meet the demand created by IoT devices requesting customer support. With Gartner projecting as many as 6 billion gadgets will be capable of interacting with customer support departments by 2018, enterprises will need to retool for potentially overwhelming numbers of service requests. Architects will also need to collaborate with marketing teams on new marketing algorithms to set apart requests from human customers. Finally, Scheibenreif said architects need to adapt for programmatic sales and disband incentive systems that won't hold any appeal to IoT devices.
Explore more of Scheibenreif's suggestions on architecting for things.
Brocade snaps up Ruckus
Dan Conde, an analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group Inc., in Milford, Mass., examined Brocade Communications Systems Inc.'s $1.2 billion deal to acquire Ruckus Wireless Inc. -- a vendor that currently sells both enterprise wireless LAN and service provider Wi-Fi. Since the acquisition of Meraki by Cisco and Aruba by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the number of independent Wi-Fi suppliers has winnowed down to very few firms, with Aerohive and Xirrus among them.
Conde said he believes that as the wired and wireless worlds continue to converge, Brocade is working to expand from its service provider base and reach customers on the network edge, including connecting with a growing number of IoT devices. Conde added that from Brocade's perspective, if its service provider customers offer a managed WLAN for a retailer, they will then be able to rely on Ruckus access points, and Brocade network functions virtualization and software-defined networking offerings.
Dig deeper into Conde's thoughts on the Brocade acquisition.
