His key finding was that all the elements we need to solve the skills crisis, already exists. “What we need is more exposure of these initiatives and more coordination and communication between the various role players,” he said.

His presentation formed part of a number of key action points that were discussed and agreed upon by the Colloquium.

The need for the Colloquium was driven by recognition that software engineers must be represented in the boardroom. Prof Nico Beute of IEEE’s Education Society Chapter commented, “Some of the outcomes the Colloquium seek is to create value through engineering, improve interaction with lawyers, accountants and senior managers, broaden the software community and remove barriers, improve professionalism, recognise excellence and make the South African software community a worthy investment project.”

The morning sessions were chaired by Professor Johannes Cronje, Dean of the Department of Design & Informatics at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) while the afternoon sessions were chaired by Associate Professor Sonia Berman, Head of the Computer Science Department at the University of Cape Town (UCT).

The welcoming address was delivered by Jo-Ann Johnston, the Chief Director: Trade and Sector Development, Provincial Government Western Cape. She highlighted the ICT industry as one of the top four priority industries in the Western Cape and asked the software industry where they needed government help.

“We will be taking the action points agreed out of the Colloquium up with Minister Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development &Tourism for the Western Cape, to request assistance addressing a number of the issues that came out of the Colloquium,” said CITi Executive Director Jenny McKinnell.

Some of the other key action points as agreed by the Colloquium included CEO of KASE Consulting Roderick Lim Banda’s revised Hybrid Hollywood reference model as a potential way forward for developing and supporting the software eco-system in the Western Cape.

A proposal by McKinnell to develop an exhibition with related projects during the 32nd International Conference on Software Engineering later this year was also given the go-ahead.

Furthermore, Dr Joseph Balikuddembe’s, Systems Analyst Sanlam Personal Finance SPS-IT, idea that a Certification Forum be created to work towards the creation of a unifying professional certification programme for software engineers, was supported by the Colloquium and the creation of a working group under Balikuddembe was agreed upon.

Finally, after considerable debate, the Colloquium supported CTO of Korwe Software, Dr David Hislop’s suggestion to establish a working group who will be tasked with writing letters to key stakeholders and lobby for a programme of rewards and recognition of technical skills. “We want to recognise excellence in producing software,” he said.

The Colloquium was well-attended by over 140 representatives from the software industry, including software engineers, representatives from the City of Cape Town, Provincial Government, and the DTI, as well as academics and post-graduate students from various universities.

“The hard work starts now,” said McKinnell at the post-Colloquium cocktail party. “Next year this time I want to be able to report meaningful results that have been achieved across all the agenda items that were discussed at today’s Colloquium. For that reason, we will, as CITi, continue to support all the working groups and communicate their progress during the course of the year.”

In closing, CITi announced the launch of its “IT Heroes and Pioneers” campaign which aims to generate interest among learners and students in becoming technology entrepreneurs. The campaign is currently collating stories of successful entrepreneurs and pioneers, companies and locally developed innovations. The website for this initiative will go live at the end of March 2010.

Today, 72 percent of the world’s 4.6 billion mobile subscribers use pre-paid services. A big barrier to these mobile users spending more is that they can’t see their current balance. Being able to keep track of how much they have left to spend, on the other hand, makes users more willing to splurge on mobile internet and messaging.

In Egypt, where most people use pre-paid services, subscribers are taking control of their spending thanks to a charging system from Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC). The country’s leading mobile operator, Mobinil, is modernizing its charging system serving over 24 million subscribers across the nation.

Mobinil will be able to provide more benefits to its customers as it ensures full control and flexibility over the different offers provided to them. It also improves the company’s marketing capabilities, via customer segmentation, and the fast time to market the different promotional campaigns introduced to the market. The new system instantly calculates any type of transaction and offers both the consumer and operator access to the current balance.

Mobinil CEO Hassan Kabbani stated, “Mobinil’s successful completion of this important and historical milestone is a confirmation of our continuous and long term investments into our network and IT infrastructures on which our valued customers rely for their communications.  Our commitment is to leverage on innovative and responsive partners, such as Ericsson, that can help us offer customized and tailor-made services to suit our customers’ diverse needs. Ericsson’s leading capabilities in revenue management systems perfectly fits our needs for developing our offering and services.”

Jan Wäreby, Senior Vice President and head of Business Unit Multimedia at Ericsson says; “Revenue management is becoming increasingly important for operators. By converging charging and billing, operators can reduce operational costs and offer much better service. Ericsson has performed over 50 similar transformation projects, replacing legacy systems by one single platform in live networks. These are complex projects since they require the seamless transfer of existing subscribers and services to a completely new system.”

About 250 service providers around the world are using Ericsson and LHS’s charging and billing solutions with more than one billion consumers.

Hong Kong, 18 March, 2010 — China’s enterprise software market is forecast to maintain its strong performance, with an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6 per cent from 2008 to 2013 – the highest growth rate in the world, according to Gartner, Inc. Despite current global conditions, the software market in China is expected to rebound to an annual growth rate of 14.8 per cent in 2010. Gartner analysts said that the increasing globalisation of the Chinese economy is leading to a growing need for modern software with the latest features and improved functionality.

“Software vendors have strong growth potential in China, but also face the challenges of operating in a commercial environment that is still developing,” said Hai Hong Swinehart, research analyst at Gartner. “Chinese organisations have historically preferred to develop applications using their own labour because it costs less. However, this tendency has resulted in legacy and quickly obsolete software, as well as inhibiting Chinese organisations’ sustainability and business IT continuity. Growth will mainly be driven by replacing immature infrastructure with standardised systems and the large vendors stand to benefit.”

According to Gartner’s latest forecast[1], in 2010 China will for the first time surpass US $6 billion in software revenue in 2010. China is the largest software market in Asia/Pacific and the country is forecast to account for 27 per cent share of the region’s revenue in 2010, the equivalent to 2.7 per cent of the total worldwide software market share. By 2013, China’s share of the software market in Asia/Pacific is expected to reach 30 per cent, representing US $9.4 billion in revenue or 3.3 per cent of total worldwide software market revenue. Compared with mature countries in the Asia/Pacific region such as Australia (with 21 per cent share of regional spending in 2010), the software market in China is still relatively young and evolving.

The top four major vertical industries in terms of software spending are manufacturing, financial services, communications and government. Gartner estimates that in total these industries account for 60 per cent of total software spending in China.

A 2009 Gartner survey[2] found that 46 per cent of respondents in China planned to increase their software spending in 2010, far higher than other countries surveyed, such as those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, and Latin America. The same survey found organisations in China in 2010 are expected to spend approximately 23 per cent of their IT budgets on software compared with 33 per cent on hardware.

“China is still a hardware-centric country that tends to spend more on infrastructure, and we expect this to continue through the forecast period to 2013,” said Ms Swinehart. “Optimism regarding spending within Chinese organisations reflects confidence in China’s regional economic performance, as well as the need to adopt better technology to effectively compete in a tougher global environment.”

Gartner expects increases in spending across the infrastructure and application software segments in 2010. However, the infrastructure software market’s size is forecast to be nearly double that of application software through 2013, with a CAGR of 15.1 per cent, while application software has an expected CAGR of 13.7 per cent. Priority areas of software spending include enterprise resource planning (ERP), office suites, operating systems and database management systems.

In the next five years, the fastest-growing segment will be data integration and data quality tools, with a CAGR of 32.4 per cent, although it is growing from a small base. Gartner said Chinese organisations are lagging behind in terms of adoption of these tools, resulting in the fast growth of this market.

Measuring 370 x 76.5 x 63 mm, the Multimedia Audio Bar fits under any home or office PC monitor. It offers outstanding sound quality and a powerful bass, thanks to two boosted and magnetically shielded metal speakers with a maximum output of 16 Watts and a frequency range of 120 Hz to 20 kHz.

The Multimedia Audio Bar also features an integrated microphone on the front, making it ideal for VoIP phone calls.  It also supports connection of all line-in audio sources, from MP3 players to game consoles.

“The new Multimedia Audio Bar is the ideal audio solution, is extremely convenient and takes up very little space, “comments Manny Cross, Manager – Sub Sahara Africa at Verbatim.

Availability:

The Multimedia Audio Bar will retail at approximately R599-95.

Furthermore, stringent regulatory requirements in sectors such as the financial services, retail and hospitality have resulted in operators opting for specialist expertise by outsourcing these services, to ensure that their systems are legislation-compliant. While cost cutting has historically been the main reason for outsourcing, in the case of business data services, improved efficiencies and access to skills are the key drivers.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.ITservices.frost.com), the growth partnership company, finds that the South African market for outsourced business data services earned revenues of $158.00 million in 2008, and estimates this to reach $327.00 million in 2015.

“The critical shortage of relevant skills for business data services, the high cost of retaining dedicated in-house staff, and rising legislative and regulatory demands are encouraging companies to outsource their data services processes and systems,” says Frost & Sullivan ICT industry Analyst Spiwe Chireka.

Most of the data services in South Africa have reached the maturity stage or are nearing maturity in terms of adoption and usage. These include Internet services, data storage services and disaster recovery/business continuity services. Consequently, the outsourcing of these services has followed a similar trend.

However, cost savings from outsourcing services have not been as forthcoming as the market initially expected. Additionally, customer service has been below the customers’ expectations, resulting in some providers in-sourcing their data services operations.

“Companies have indicated that it is not always possible to justify the acquisition of a completely new system and as a result, they are often required to integrate new components with legacy equipment, posing issues in terms of interoperability,” explains Chireka. “While strong inroads have been made by vendors, there still remains room for improvement to provide seamless integration and interoperability between the new outsourced and existing in-house systems.”

Business data services have become so mission-critical that companies are prioritising it on the true manageable total cost of ownership, rather than merely on return on investment (ROI). Thus, service providers should have a greater focus on providing the true total cost of ownership benefits and reduce their effort on promoting outsourcing as a means to cost savings.

“Customer service strategies that enhance value for the customer – access to a wide support network, deep and wide technical solutions, and applications that facilitate knowledge sharing – will provide a strong competitive differentiator for operators in the future,” concludes Chireka.

If you are interested more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Patrick Cairns, Corporate Communications, at patrick.cairns@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website and country.

South African Client Requirements for Outsourced Business Data Services is part of the IT Services & Applications Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following markets: Communications Market, Analysis of Channel Partner Strategies in the Kenyan Telecommunications market, and East African Mobile Communications Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

“We have excellent technology and services; Kathea has a great channel to market,” says 1Stream’s Jed Hewson. “We both believe that hosted contact centre services are a growth market for the future.”

1Stream supplies complete hosted solutions for contact centres on a pay-per-use model, using award-winning technology from US-based Interactive Intelligence. “Managing the technical aspects of running a call centre can be complex, and it’s far from core business for most companies,” says Hewson. “With a hosted contact centre solution, we manage the entire technology platform including all hardware, software, maintenance and upgrades. That leaves our clients free to concentrate on managing their people and their service.”

Kathea’s Richard Henn says Kathea, on the other hand, is largely a sales and marketing organisation.  The company is the sole distributor of Polycom voice and video conferencing products and of Jabra headsets, a leading brand sold mainly into contact centres.

“We know all the major contact centres in South Africa,” says Henn. “We supply quality products and have good long-term relationships with loyal customers. We wanted to expand into that market with other lines of business, specifically hosted applications if we could find the right partner, and 1Stream is it. The Interactive Intelligence platform they’re providing is a global market leader.”

1Stream’s Jed Hewson and Kathea’s Richard Henn say the fit between the two companies is excellent.  “Kathea have always chosen quality products to take to market,” says Hewson. “They’re not the cheapest; they target customers who want to do things properly, as do we. They also have a strong service ethic and a reputation for fixing things promptly when they go wrong.”

Hewson says this commitment to service is particularly important to 1Stream: “Hosted contact centres are a fairly new business, and more about service delivery than about products. Very few technology distributors have the kind of service orientation we were looking for. Kathea are used to selling high-value products and they have a national footprint. It’s an excellent match for both of us.”

The calls come after Sophos’s senior technology consultant, Graham Cluley, revealed he is the subject of a fake Fan Page – created without permission by a user pretending to be notorious serial killer Fred West.

“Innocent people – friends, acquaintances, and anyone who might follow my blog – are joining the Fan Page in the belief that they are somehow following me. They have no way of telling that I didn’t create this Fan Page,” says Cluley. “As someone who has received anonymous death threats from Facebook users in the past, I don’t see the funny side in someone called Fred West creating a Facebook Page about me.”

Facebook rules state that only authorised representatives of companies, celebrities and music groups are allowed to create Fan Pages – other users should create groups instead. Cluley has reported the abuse to the Facebook team and asked them to remove the Fan Page, but no action has yet been taken and the page remains in place.

Sophos is reminding Facebook users that creating fake content like this raises serious security and reputation issues and that everyone using the site needs to be especially vigilant.

An impostor could potentially gather hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans, before deciding to update them all with a malicious link or send them a dangerous scam. Victims of fake Facebook fan pages could have their character besmirched by someone choosing to post offensive or defamatory updates in their name.

As well as urging Facebook users to be vigilant, Sophos is also calling for the site to tighten up its processes for creating a Fan Page to prevent this happening in future.

“Simple changes made to the site will make Facebook users safer,” says Brett Myroff, CEO of regional Sophos distributor, Sophos South Africa. “If Facebook tightened up the process for creating a Fan Page on its site, so that the creators needed to verify that they are genuinely affiliated to the celebrity or company they are making the page for it would drastically reduce the number of fake Fan Pages and make the site safer.”

Sophos advises that social networkers should not invite their friends to join any Facebook page or application until they have properly researched it.

“Facebook is by far the largest social network and so it’s not surprising that it is particularly vulnerable to misuse.  While the security team at Facebook works hard to counter threats which appear on their system, policing over 400 million users can’t be an easy job,” Myroff says.

A YouTube video illustrating the Facebook problem is available and it help illustrates the potential dangers.

Her main focus will be to increase traffic on the seventeen mobile site, launched early in February, and to bring together the different new media platforms to engage readers of the title. Searle says, “There are obvious advantages in using mobile and web technology but the key is using them in a way that differentiates and maximises the content offering to users. Seventeen’s digital content strategy has a primary goal of encouraging user participation and content generation”.

Searle’s next project will be NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS digital and 8 Ink custom digital work on HIP2B².

Through her previous work experience as a trade journalist at AdVantage magazine, Searle has had exposure to various digital publishing strategies. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from UCT in Film, Media and Visual Studies, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Rhodes University.

For more information on 8 Ink Media’s digital offerings contact Jennifer on (021) 412 2916 or jennifer@8inkmedia.com.

•    For the first time, iF Product Design has recognised the outstanding design qualities of a Canon document scanner

•    Perfect device for mobile and SoHo users who need a fast and portable scanner

Canon Europe has announced that its newly launched Canon imageFORMULA P-150 has been recognised by International Forum (iF) Design in its awards for the most outstanding quality designs in the marketplace.

The Canon imageFORMULA P-150 was selected from almost 2,500 entries as a winner of the iF product design awards 2010 and can now display the coveted iF quality seal, an internationally recognized trademark for outstanding design. iF Design’s online exhibition has now launched to showcase the winning products, including the Canon imageFORMULA P-150 in the ‘Computer’ category.

Launched in November 2009, the Canon imageFORMULA P-150 is one of the fastest, smallest USB-powered A4 duplex scanners on the market, providing a portable “scan-anywhere” solution. It is perfect for mobile users who need to scan and transfer documents remotely whilst its tiny footprint and stylish design make it well-suited for SoHo environments, where desk space may often be limited. The simple-to-use operation and in-built software also allows users to start scanning quickly using any laptop or PC.

Prakash Naidoo, product manager at Canon SA says, “The Canon design team have reinvented the portable scanner with the one of the fastest, lightest, quickest products in its class. It combines looks, with its contemporary black-piano style finish and user-friendly features, with some truly outstanding performance characteristics demonstrating we are leading the way in imaging technology, innovation and style in this market.

“This award marks the first time that iF Design has recognised the outstanding qualities of a Canon scanner with an automatic document feeder, meaning it is perfect for ad hoc scans through to large batches. As a company we continue to push the boundaries of product development and can bring the contemporary, classic feel of our consumer products into the business arena, with stunning results.”

For the last 56 years, the iF product design award panel has evaluated more than 108,000 products worldwide with a selection criteria that includes; design quality, workmanship, choice of materials, degree of innovation, environmental friendliness, functionality, ergonomics, visualization of use, safety, brand value, branding and universal design.

The product will retail at approximately R3899

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone in red is loaded with features to help you remain social and communicate from almost anywhere life takes you. With email and text messaging, along with BlackBerry® Messenger and social networking apps like Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones, MySpace® for BlackBerry® smartphones, and Twitter you can stay in touch with your different contact groups while on-the-go.

You can also share your life’s best moments with friends and family by capturing pictures and uploading them to photo-sharing websites like Flickr®. These social networking and instant messaging SuperApps ‘deeply integrate with a BlackBerry® smartphone’s native software and hardware, are always-on to provide a truly real-time experience and are highly engaging and relevant, meaning that you won’t miss a beat.

Its large, colourful screen, full QWERTY keyboard, and its innovative touch sensitive trackpad allows quick access to the things that are important to you, while the slim, straightforward design means you can take your life with you almost everywhere you go without sacrificing your sense of style. Wi-Fi® support can give you fast browsing speeds while the BlackBerry App World™ storefront gives you access to the apps you need to personalise your BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone.

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone in red is also a great multimedia player, so you can enjoy your favourite tunes, the latest videos and more right on your smartphone. With dedicated media keys on the top of your BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone, you can easily control your multimedia experience and have more fun.

Step up to the new BlackBerry Curve 8520 in red and discover what life is like on a BlackBerry smartphone.

Key features of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 in red include:
•    Full-QWERTY keyboard and touch-sensitive trackpad for reliable, responsive typing and navigation
•    256MB Flash memory and a 512Mhz next generation processor for enhanced performance
•    Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, and Bluetooth (2.0) support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth peripherals
•    2 MP digital camera with zoom and video recording
•    Advanced media player for music, pictures and videos, with dedicated media keys and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, plus BlackBerry® Media Sync, which makes it easy to quickly sync music from iTunes® or Windows Media® Player with the smartphone*
•    BlackBerry® Internet Bundle support for access to up to 10 supported email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts such as MWEB, Yahoo!®, Windows Live™ Hotmail® and Gmail™; and  BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support, which provides advanced security and IT administration features for corporate deployments
•    Expandable memory via hot swappable microSD/SDHC memory card slot, supporting cards of up to 16 GB today and expected to support next generation 32GB cards when available; a 2GB card is included
•    Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
•    Quad-band world phone: EGDE/GPRS/GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)

The BlackBerry Curve 8520 smartphone will be available to both Vodacom’s Prepaid and Contract customers.

Starting as low as R59.00 per month for the BlackBerry® Internet Bundle (Prepaid and Contract) and R99.00 for BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (excluding device), you get unlimited email, Internet browsing, social networking and access to other mobile data applications on the device.

Presence-enabled communities, such as mobile voice-over-IP (VoIP), will be the primary market driver, followed by rapid growth in the social Web – which encompasses social networking, user-generated content (UGC) and mobile dating, chat & professional applications.

Geolocation will also be an important enabler, and is forming part of an increasing number of Web 2.0 mobile mash-up service offerings.

The mobile social web report found that despite pricing models and monetisation of Web 2.0 presenting a significant challenge for many online service providers, numerous opportunities exist in the mobile market based around advertising, messaging, premium services and virtual economies, coupled with the strategic micro-billing capability of mobile.

Although there are significant revenue opportunities for players across the service delivery chain, the size and complexity of the Web 2.0 mobile market should not be underestimated. There are multiple routes to market, and there is fragmentation at all levels.

“A confluence of Web 2.0 concepts and end-user behaviour exploiting both the Web and the mobile phone as delivery platforms is driving mobile Web adoption and shaping industry development,” says report author, Ian Chard. “Yet the distinction between service provider roles is becoming less clear-cut, meaning some commercial allies are finding themselves increasingly polarised as the market progresses.”

Other key findings from the mobile social web research include:

Off-portal applications and OTT (over-the-top) services – such as mobile IM and VoIP, SMS and social network-based ‘in-mail’ – represent a significant threat to operator revenues Smartphones, app storefronts, and Web 2.0 applications are driving demand for cloud computing, and innovation in the service delivery environment – including Telecom Web Services, open APIs, and PaaS (platform as a service) and SaaS (software as a service)

There are critical differences in the protection offered by non-proxy based and proxy based application firewalls

Hackers are no longer merely scanning for open ports on network firewalls to attack, but have shifted their tactics to targeting applications directly.

These sophisticated attacks evade traditional methods of perimeter and core network protection, making them the current biggest threat to organisations.

The need for increased application defense to protect core data assets has led to the development of Web Application Firewalls (WAF), which add a new layer of protection to an organisation’s security arsenal. However, when looking at investing in a WAF one is faced with a choice: to choose a non-proxy based or proxy based application firewall.

How they differ

In proxy based application firewalls, the connection to the application is controlled by the proxy and no packets or sessions flow to the back-end until the proxy has inspected and validated the incoming data. Separate TCP sessions are used to manage and inspect user sessions and back-end server sessions.

Non-proxy based application firewalls either work off a span port by sniffing the traffic or without fully terminating TCP/IP protocol. These WAF products are an extension of Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS). IPS is a common technology used by data centers to defend common desktops and servers against well-known viral and worm attacks.

When deciding which Web Application Firewall technology best suits your needs, the following functionalities are worth examining:

1. Cloaking

Hackers gather information in order to launch an attack on a Web server by trying to simulate error conditions on a website. Often, the resultant error messages expose information about the Web server, application server, or the database being used. This information is then used to launch a full scale attack on the Web infrastructure.

A proxy based WAF intercepts the response from the back-end server and forwards it to the client only if it is not an error. If the response is an error, the WAF can suppress the response containing debugging information and send out a custom response. The WAF also removes headers such as server banners, which can be used to identify servers.

2. Input validation

A WAF should secure applications where the incoming traffic may be encrypted or encoded using a non standard character encoding.

A proxy based WAF decrypts and normalises data before running various types of checks, in order to ensure that no attacks are smuggled inside of encrypted or encoded packets.  It also offers multiple ways of securing inputs – such as encrypting or digitally signing cookies to prevent against cookie tampering attacks. It can also recognise which fields are read-only or hidden and ensure that these fields are not altered. For other fields, it should offer a host of protection mechanisms such as checking for various attacks on the input fields and locking down those inputs based on data type, such as numeric or alpha numeric.

Non-proxy based WAFs do not provide effective input validation. Although some can encrypt and normalise data, because they are not proxy-based they are not able to enforce rules on individual form parameters passed to the application. They also cannot encrypt or digitally sign the application cookie; relying instead on signature matching for security.

3. Data theft protection

Proxy based WAFs intercept outbound data, so they can be configured to ensure that sensitive data – like credit card numbers – are either masked or altogether blocked to protect data leakage.

This is only possible because the proxy based WAF sits in line with the application server and secures data on both incoming and outgoing paths – so this is not offered by non-proxy based WAFs.

4. Protect against Application Layer DoS attacks

There are many ways of launching an application layer denial of service attack. Web applications maintain state information – such as the number of items in a shopping cart – with the help of sessions, which require some memory resources on the Web servers. By forcing a Web server to create thousands of session leads, memory resources are locked up and this results in performance degradation and can lead to a server crash.

There are other ways these attacks can be done. The WAF should be able to control the rate at which requests reach the Web server, and track the rate of session creation. This is only possible with a system that proxies on behalf of the Web or application server.

5. Centralised security enforcement

The ability to enforce all security policies from a single control point allows for simplified operations and infrastructure. To ensure safer and more efficient security administration, it is advisable that controlling and enforcing attack prevention, privacy (SSL cryptography) and AAA (Authentication, Authorisation, Accounting) policy is done through a single control point.

Because a non-proxy WAF does not terminate TCP connections, it does not have the ability to request credentials from incoming users, issue cookies upon successful credential exchange, redirect sessions to particular destinations, or restrict particular users to particular resources. Proxy based solutions, on the other hand, have the capability to be an AAA authority – or to fully integrate with existing AAA infrastructure.

6. Control the response

Because of the wide range of security violations, it is important that the administrator is able to respond to threats differently. For example, in many cases it would be best to respond to a violation with a custom message or connection reset, while in others the administrator may want to follow up with the main action directly, with a longer block time.

Only proxy based solutions are able to offer this sort of flexibility, as non-proxy based WAFs rely solely on sending TCP resets back to the attacker and temporary network ACLs as their protective mechanisms. Attacking packets will make it through to the server, and blocking actions are time-limited.

7. SSL architectural considerations

Application attacks use SSL cryptography and common encoding techniques to bypass traditional security measures, and hide their attacks. Proxy and non-proxy WAFs are quite different in the way they handle SSL cryptography and key management.

Non-proxy WAF vendors claim that they also have the technology to ’see’ into an SSL encrypted packet as it passes by the non-proxy device. However, because decrypting and analysing the data takes time, by the time the non-proxy WAF is ready to make a decision, the attack will have already reached the back-end servers and completed the transaction.

Proxy based WAFs, on the other hand, are designed to serve as an SSL termination endpoint. Proxies tightly couple TCP, SSL and HTTP termination, giving them complete visibility into application content and allowing them to perform deep inspection on the entire session payload, including headers, URLs, parameters and form fields.

8. Accelerate and scale application delivery

It is important that a WAF product does not negatively affect end user response time. Proxy based firewalls fully terminate the TCP, SSL and HTTP, reducing end user response time. They should be able to cache static content from the application, offloading servers and saving download time; pool TCP connections to the back-end servers and offload SSL processing, thereby reducing server load and end user response time. Non-proxy based WAF products do not offer these features.

To Conclude

While non-proxy based products have evolved, they only provide some of the functionality necessary to fully protect an application. This isn’t adequate when it comes to protecting mission critical business applications and confidential data. On the other hand, proxy based WAFs offer complete and comprehensive protection for enterprise Web applications.

This is according to Christopher Riley, MD of the notebook and accessories retailer, The Notebook Company (www.notebook.co.za).

“But,” he said, “this does not mean that laptops will become obsolete. They arguably won’t lose the edge that they have now over PCs  – but they will fade as the number one chosen mobile device as people opt for more sophisticated handheld devices. But as blackberries and mobile devices take over as the chosen form of mobile devices, laptops will usurp PCs in the desktop arena.  This might sound conflicting but I believe Laptop Sales will continue to grow as they replace Desktops and become the NEW Desktop.

“We are aware of trend and, consequently, we are already looking at providing the consumer more than just laptops,” said Riley.

According to Gartner market research analysts, the next five years will usher in significant changes in the mobile industry. The company is of the opinion that  half of the people who travel will simply leave their notebooks home and swap them with other handheld devices. This will have a noticeable impact on both the IT industry and the related fields – as well as the IT consumers.

Gartner says its research also points to the fact that executives and IT professionals need to take action as soon as this year and exploit the trends before competition becomes aware of them.

Commenting in the press lately,  Daryl C. Plummer, managing vice-president at Gartner, said” “As users begin to make their own decisions about what technologies to use, they shift industry dynamics. Apple has had a resurgence of its leadership in the innovative delivery of PC technologies. As users grow frustrated with PCs, the Apple model [if not its prices] begins to become extremely attractive again. And although this interest continues, users are now gaining enough functionality in mobile and wireless devices that it may be possible to leave the laptop at home in favour of the ubiquitous handheld device. Even in the home and business, individual technologies are growing in prominence.”

When voice joins applications and data on you network, there are a few things you should know

With the adoption of digital telephony and teleconferencing expanding, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has entered the IT mainstream. This means voice, and perhaps fax, voicemail, and video, now joins data and application traffic in the corporate network.

No matter the size of the organisation, VoIP requires certain changes in the management and protection of the network.

When making the move to VoIP, there are a few key considerations that should be taken into account:

1. Security is more than physical

Before VoIP, a PSTN (public switched telephone network) connection, physical access to the PBX (private branch exchange) or the telephone line itself was required to intercept or disrupt a call. However, because VoIP uses an Internet connection and no ‘physical wire’ is needed, it does not have the same security as telephone lines. Interception and disruption don’t need to be physical to cause damage, and these attacks can come from anywhere on the network.

That’s why VoIP firewalls are important. They provide the same level of protection for VoIP traffic as ordinary firewalls do for applications and data traffic.

2. Priority means clarity

VoIP works by converting analogue voice traffic to digital, sending it over the network in packets.  A single VoIP phone conversation will be divided into thousands of packets that can take different routes to their destination VoIP is susceptible to Quality of Service (QoS) concerns – such as latency, jitter, packet loss and echo. A VoIP Firewall avoids these disturbances by tagging and recognising VoIP traffic tags, and giving them the highest priority when receiving, assembling and accepting content.

3. Managing the bandwidth pipe

Because VoIP makes up only a portion of network traffic, it can’t be prioritised at the expense of other traffic. One solution is to manage the bandwidth of all of the traffic (data, applications and voice). This can be done by restricting the bandwidth given to non-VoIP applications and data – such as limiting bandwidth to sites such as YouTube or blocking access to peer-to-peer sites. This frees up bandwidth for essential traffic.

This strategy is best when the IT department has a good sense of how and who uses the available bandwidth.

4. The bandwidth guarantee

Another strategy is to guarantee a minimum amount of overall bandwidth to VoIP traffic. The remaining bandwidth can either be assigned to other applications, or left unassigned.

This strategy is best in situations when the IT department does not have a clear idea of how bandwidth is being used and who is using it.

5. Keep connections clean

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are aimed at disrupting the ability of the firewall to receive and process packets in a timely fashion. VoIP traffic can be affected by two types of DoS attacks: VoIP Spoofing Attacks and Service-Level Attacks.

VoIP Spoofing Attacks involve malformed and invalid packets, which masquerade as VoIP traffic and obstruct the processing of all traffic.

Service-Level Attacks such as Syn Flood, Ping of Death and LAND (IP) attacks attempt to use up firewall connections directly affecting VoIP traffic throughput.

A VoIP Firewall prevents these attempts by:

- Validating packet sequence for VoIP packets
- Using randomised TCP sequence numbers to validate TCP session data flow
- Conducting stateful inspection of VoIP signaling and media packets
- Monitoring attempts to open too many TCP/IP connections

6. Connect, protect and disconnect

A VoIP Firewall tracks each VoIP session from call inception to call end, enabling the firewall to control, manage, and protect each VoIP session based on the unique characteristics of that call. It takes the following actions during a VoIP session:

Connect
- Control incoming calls using H.323 or SIP Proxy authorization and authentication methods
- Open media ports only if a valid request if received and the call is fully connected Protect
- Validate headers and inspect all VoIP traffic
- Dynamic set-up and tracking of both signaling and media streams Disconnect
- Close ALL open connections when call is complete
- Make inactivity time-outs configurable by the admin and enforce them
- Change ports for each call, don’t use static mappings

7. The Signature Wall

IPS signatures are used to block application-layer attacks. Regular updates to the IPS Signature list enable a VoIP Firewall to block these attacks and stay ahead of attacks trying to exploit the latest vulnerability.

8. Partial protection is not protection

In the past, VoIP Firewalls were expected to ’stay out of the way’. However, because network attacks have found vulnerabilities to exploit, and are just as varied as those affecting other types of traffic, VoIP traffic demands the same protection services.

9. Know what’s going on

A VoIP Firewall will provide visability into all network traffic – voice, data and applications. This includes logging signaling and media streams.

It allows insight into the past, present and future of your VoIP traffic.
- Past: for each VoIP connection, audit logs were kept for caller and called parties, call duration, total bandwidth used etc.
- Present: dynamic live reporting of active VoIP calls (including caller and calling party, bandwidth used etc) is possible.
- Future: able to get clear and concise reports that allow you to ‘predict’ the future, by examining trends over hours, days, weeks or months.

10. Adding, moving and removing devices

Thankfully, adding, moving and removing devices from the network does not mean more work every time these actions need to be initiated and completed.

The advanced tracking and monitoring technology in a VoIP firewall ensures that devices are automatically protected – as soon as they are plugged into the network.

Before looking for a VoIP Firewall, one should scrutinise the functionality offered by the current firewall – it’s possible your existing firewall is already meeting these requirements. If not, you may have a firewall not suited to your changing network traffic needs, which are likely to include more and more voice traffic along with data and applications.

Says Riaan Leuschner, Managing Director at Nology, “The move to open an office in Cape Town was a strategic one; as our business grew, we realised we needed a presence in Cape Town providing a better geographically suited office to support our rapidly expanding channel partners in the Western Cape. This decision will allow us to expand and support our distributor network by offering localised stock holding and local support whilst providing clients with faster turn around times.”

The new branch will include a warehouse, a return and repair centre as well as sales and merchandising departments. The team will be headed up by Lecinda Olivier as the Nology Cape Town Branch Manager, who has relocated from the Johannesburg office. Olivier’s main responsibilities are to build, service and support the channel in Cape Town.

“Our Cape Town resources have extensive product knowledge and will assist local resellers with the specification and design of networking solutions for their end user clients as well as technical support and maintenance issues too. Another key benefit to resellers is our merchandising expansion strategy which creates ease of distribution of point of sale and other marketing material,” comments Leuschner.