IT SECURITY SUPPORT
ENCRYPTION: Security Experts Support Dutch Stance on Encryption. Security experts have come out in support of a Dutch government statement against weakening encryption for the purposes of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Read more
[COMPUTERWEEKLY.COM]
MICROSOFT: As Microsoft Support Winds Down, Security Risks Ratchet Up. When it comes to security, government IT managers do their best to balance risk and cost. In 2016 that balance will be harder to maintain when “extended support” for some Microsoft products ends. Read more
[GCN.COM]
WEB BROWSERS: Web Developers Rejoice; Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 Die Soon. Internet Explorer has long been the bane of many Web developers’ existence, but here’s some news to brighten your day: Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10 are reaching ‘end of life’, meaning they’re no longer supported by Microsoft. A patch, which goes live on January 12, will nag Internet Explorer users on launch to upgrade to a modern browser. KB3123303 adds the nag box, which will appear for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 users still using the old browsers after installing the update. Read more
[THENEXTWEB.COM]
SOFTWARE: Schools Face Security Risks as End of Support for SQL Server 2005 Looms. Microsoft will end security support for SQL Server 2005 in April 2016, and schools must prepare to upgrade. Read more
[EDTECHMAGAZINE.COM]
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
PREDICTIONS: Six Business Intelligence Predictions For 2016. #1: The big bang you hear is the explosion of innovation. #2: We must adapt or die. #3: Whose BI will you buy? Read the rest
[FORBES.COM]
ANALYTICS: 3 Trends for Government Data Analytics. In 2015, data discovery moved out of the IT shop and onto users’ desktops. Tools such as Tableau, QlikView, Domo and Datameer augmented existing enterprise IT systems and allowed individuals to apply sophisticated visualization capabilities to vast amounts of existing data without writing code. The days of submitting requirements, designing and developing solutions and testing and deploying systems over many months (or years) for all things data-related have faded. Read more
[GCN.COM]
STATE CIOs: Top Priorities For State CIOs: 2016. State government CIOs face many of the same challenges that private sector IT executives do, such as updating systems for a digital world, securing those systems, and leveraging big data. Here are their top 10 priorities, according to NASCIO’s annual membership poll. Read more
[INFORMATIONWEEK.COM]
SOFTWARE: Forrester Predicts Boom Time for Software. Cloud, Saas and business analytics set to drive up demand for software. Read more
[COMPUTERWEEKLY.COM]
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NOW ON SLIDESHARE: Tech Update Summary from Blue Mountain Data Systems December 2015 http://www.slideshare.net/BMDS3416/tech-update-summary-from-blue-mountain-data-systems-december-2015.
IT SECURITY SUPPORT: Blue Mountain Data Systems is actively involved in implementing FISMA and NIST standards with Federal Civilian Agencies. Due to our extensive experience in this area, Blue Mountain has developed processes and organizational techniques to help ensure security deliverables are completed on time, and performed in the most efficient manner possible. We ensure that NIST-800-53 control requirements are treated consistently during definition, analysis, implementation, auditing, and reporting phases of a system. Find out more about Blue Mountain Data Systems IT Security Support Services. Call us at 703-502-3416.
BLUE MOUNTAIN DATA SYSTEMS HAS THE EXPERIENCE: 1994 to Present – U.S. Dept. of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Responsible to the Office of Technology and Information Systems for information systems architecture, planning, applications development, networking, administration and IT security, supporting the enforcement of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act — ERISA. Within the EBSA, Blue Mountain is responsible for design, development and support for its various enforcement database management systems, as well as all case tracking and customer service inquiry systems. Blue Mountain also provides IT security services to the EBSA, in the form of FISMA Assessment and Authorization, System Security Plans, Risk and vulnerability assessments, monitoring and investigation support. Read more.
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