Lori MacVittie

Some have tried to distinguish between “mobile cloud” and “cloud” by claiming the former is the use of the web browser on a mobile device to access services while the latter uses device-native applications. Like all things cloud, the marketing fluff is purposefully obfuscating and sweeping under the rug the technology required to make things work for consumers, whether those consumers be your kids or IT professionals. Infrastructure is not eliminated when organizations take to the cloud nor do the constraints of web-based protocols and methodologies become irrelevant when Bob uses a service to store photos of his kid’s piano recital on Flickr. The applications and web browsers on a mobile device are using the same technology, the same protocols, suffering under the same constraints as the rest of us in wireline land. If developers are as smart as they are lazy (and ... (more)

The Mobile Chimera: Three Converging Technology Trends

In the case of technology – as with mythology - the whole is often greater (and more challenging) than the sum of its parts. The chimera is a mythological beast of scary proportions. Not only is it fairly large, but it’s also got three, independent heads – traditionally a lion, a goat, and a snake. Some variations on this theme exist, but the basic principle remains: it’s a three-headed, angry beast that should not be taken lightly should one encounter it in the hallway. Individually, one might have a strategy to meet the challenge of a lion or a goat head on. But when they conve... (more)

The Fundamental Problem with Traditional Inbound Protection

The past year brought us many stories focusing on successful attacks on organizations for a wide variety of reasons. Why an organization was targeted was not nearly as important as the result: failure to prevent an outage. While the volume of traffic often seen by these organizations was in itself impressive, it was not the always the volume of traffic that led to the outage, but rather what that traffic was designed to do: consume resources. It’s a story we’ve heard before, particularly with respect to web and application servers. We know that over-consumption of resources impair... (more)

Why SSL VPN Still Matters

You might have noticed a couple of news items from F5 this week that appeared related. If you noticed you were right, they are. First, we were very excited to announce recognition of our hard work on our SSL VPN solutions: F5 Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of SSL VPN Magic Quadrant. Second, we were even more excited to announce adding industry-leading support for Android’s 4.x OS, enhancing its SSL VPN capabilities. Why would be excited about that? Because mobile devices and virtualization (desktop, a la VDI, and server, a la cloud) continue to drive the need for secure remote ... (more)

The Ascendancy of the Application Layer Threat

Many are familiar with the name of the legendary Alexander the Great, if not the specific battles in which he fought. And even those familiar with his many victorious conquests are not so familiar with his contributions to his father’s battles in which he certainly honed the tactical and strategic expertise that led to his conquest of the “known” world. In 339 BC, for example, then Macedonian King Phillip II – the father of Alexander the Great – became engaged in a battle at Chaeronea against the combined forces of ancient Greece. While the details are interesting, they are not ... (more)