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Onapsis to Release ERP Vulnerability Testing Suite

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:10:12 +0000

An information security company will soon release a tool that will allow companies to test their ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for security threats.

The first version of X1 works with SAP business platforms, said Mariano Nuñez Di Croce, director of research and development for Onapsis. The company eventually plans to add modules for Siebel, Oracle and PeopleSoft ERP applications, he said.

Nuñez Di Croce said Onapsis hopes X1 will prove to be a cheaper option for companies wanting to do security testing without hiring expensive outside consultants. Also, many of the tools used to analyze ERP applications are focused more on segregation of duties issues rather than the security of the technological components.

X1 can perform several types of security tests, Nuñez Di Croce said. It can scan applications for vulnerabilities and then show how those vulnerabilities could reveal critical business information.

Current exploits are included in X1, and it's possible to drag and drop exploits to illustrate existing risks "so people are aware of what the vulnerability really means for their business," Nuñez Di Croce said.

If a patch or workaround is available, X1 will show it, and it has a reporting engine that can show detailed vulnerability reports and draw up a mitigation plan, Nuñez Di Croce said.

X1 is capable of checking for violations in SAP platforms of the Payment Card Industry's Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of guidelines for protecting payment card data. The tool can also compare to how the current ERP system's configuration compares with an organization's internal security standards.

Pricing will be based on the size of a company's ERP implementation that a company wants to evaluate, Nuñez Di Croce said. Onapsis can build a personalized demonstration of X1 for company if they're interested, he said.

Send news tips and comments to jeremy_kirk@idg.com

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Huawei Debuts Android 2.2 IDEOS Smartphone

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:10:10 +0000

Huawei has launched the IDEOS, or U8150, smartphone, which will cost between US$100 and $200, depending on the market, the company said on Thursday at the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin.

The price is what operators pay Huawei for the device, and it will then be up to them to decide what they charge their subscribers, the company said.

Huawei is convinced that more affordable smartphones will help expand the market, and the IDEOS smartphone will also change what a product in this category should come with. It has a 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 3.2-megapixel camera and GPS. Users will also be able to access the Internet using 802.11n, which is quickly becoming a more common network feature on high-end smartphones. The Qualcomm processor is clocked at 528 MHz, according to Huawei.

Android version 2.2 will allow users to turn the phone into a wireless hotspot. Users will connect to the smartphone with Wi-Fi and the device will then connect them to the Internet using HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at up to 7.2M bps (bits per second).

The phone will start shipping in the next couple of weeks, and will become available in "a number of countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America", according to Huawei.

The company is also getting ready to ship the U8800, which is a more advanced smartphone model. The phone was first announced at Mobile World Congress in February, and it too comes with Android version 2.2. However, its standout feature is HSDPA at 14.4M bps. The phone will start shipping in October, and will become available in both Western Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Going forward, the IDEOS name will be used on several other smartphones, as well, according to Huawei, and a tablet isn't out of the question, it said.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

Five Reasons I Won't Be Using Ping

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Despite all the hardware Apple introduced at its press event Wednesday, the most radical news was Ping, a social network for music that's launching as a feature of iTunes 10. I've taken a brief test drive of Ping to see what it's about, but even before updating iTunes, I knew Apple's new social network was not for me. Here are five reasons I won't be using Ping:

Song Samples, Not Songs

Some people have heralded Ping as MySpace's undoing, but MySpace still does one thing extremely well: it lets you listen to a handful of the artist's best or latest songs, in their entirety. Ping does not. Apple says Ping is all about finding new music, but it's also about selling you more iTunes songs. That's a hard sell when you can only listen to 30 seconds of any track.

It Runs in iTunes

At least on my PC, iTunes is an abomination. I will avoid opening it when possible because of how long it takes to load and how chunky it feels to operate, and that's not going to change because of a social network. Also, people whose work computers don't have iTunes installed won't be able to use Ping for the great American pastime of slacking off at work.

It Doesn't Run on the Web

Social networks belong on the Web, simple as that. You click on someone's Twitter account from another Web page, and you're there. You visit an outbound link from someone's status update by popping open a new tab. One step -- pressing a bookmark button or typing a URL -- is all it takes to get to the social network of your choice. All of these actions get a lot sloppier when you add another layer of software, especially the painful iTunes. Also, the lack of Web access shuts out users of Android, BlackBerry and other non-iOS smartphones. That's lame.

I Don't Care What You Like

Even among my best friends, there are only a few people whose musical tastes overlap my own. This presents a dilemma for using Ping: Ostensibly, it's a network for music discovery, so do I shut out the friends whose music I don't like, or follow everyone and try to filter out the awful stuff? This, of course, assumes my friends will even use Ping, which they won't.

More Versatile Social Networks Are Better

Steve Jobs once said that multipurpose devices will always win the day over single-purpose ones, because people don't want to pay for something that only has one function. I think the same is true of social networks. Even though people don't pay money to use Facebook or Twitter, they invest time in cultivating an online presence. Ping is another potential investment, but it's only meant for sharing music. I'd rather stick with social networks that offer much more.

Meet the Galaxy Tab

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:04:00 +0000

Samsung debuted the Galaxy Tab on Thursday, a portable tablet computer that just might be the first significant challenger to Apple's iPad. The Galaxy Tab features a 7-inch multitouch display, rear- and front-facing cameras, 1Ghz processor, 1080p high-definition video playback, maximum 64GB storage and Android OS 2.2. The new tablet device will also come with 3G, Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11n Wi-Fi connectivity. Samsung says the Galaxy Tab is only the beginning of the company's foray into touch-based tablet devices.

Let's take a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

7-inch Display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab features a 7-inch WSVGA TFT-LCD color display with 1024-by-600 pixel resolution. The device is capable of 1080p HD video playback for all kinds of video formats including XviD, MPEG4 and h.264. The Galaxy Tab is also the first DivX-certified tablet, which means you can play and store DivX video on the Galaxy Tab with no need to convert files to another format.

You can also use the Galaxy Tab to connect to other DivX-certified devices, such as HDTVs, to display copy-protected content, according to DivX Inc. The Galaxy Tab is compatible with DivX paid content from providers such as Roxio CinemaNow and The Warner Bros. Shop.

Android OS 2.2

The Galaxy Tab is based on Google's Android 2.2 (froyo) mobile operating system including support for Adobe Flash 10.1. Samsung has included Exchange Active Sync Support, along with a social hub that brings together your SMS, IM, calendar and e-mail. Calendar support includes Facebook events, Google Calendar and Outlook. Supported Google services include Google Maps, Latitude, Places (Google's not Facebook's) and navigation.

Samsung has also thrown its TouchWiz overlay onto the Galaxy Tab, an interface that has garnered mixed reviews for being attractive but sluggish. Other UI tweaks include the Swype text input technology and the Layar augmented reality browser. The Galaxy Tab includes access to the Android Market as well as Samsung's own application store.

Slim profile

The Galaxy Tab offers a very slim 0.47-inch profile, which is just slightly thinner than the iPad's 0.50-inch figure. Samsung's new tablet measures 7.48 inches wide and 4.74 inches tall, and weighs in at 0.84 pounds. But there's a lot of power packed into this small package. The Galaxy Tab features an A8 Cortex 1.0GHz processor with the PowerVR SGX540 3D graphics processor.

The Tab comes in 16GB and 32GB sizes, and both models feature a microSD expansion slot capable of supporting an extra 32GB of storage space. Samsung claims the Galaxy Tab's battery provides 7 hours of video playback.

The Galaxy Tab features a 30-pin dock connector on the bottom of the device; a volume rocker, power button, and microSD and SIM card slots on the right side. However, it's not clear if the U.S. version will include a SIM slot as rumors suggest the device may be headed to Verizon's CDMA network.

3-Megapixel Camera

The new Galaxy Tab features a 3-megapixel rear-facing autofocus camera with an LED flash for low-light environments. Samsung hasn't indicated whether the rear camera includes zoom capabilities. The camera captures still images and video with 720-by-480 pixel resolution at 30 frames per second.

Samsung says you can use the Tab to "edit, upload and share" photos and videos, but it's not clear if that means you will be able to do onboard image editing as you can with the iPhone 4 and newly announced iPod Touch.

1.3 Megapixel front-facing camera

The front of the device includes a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera for video chat capability over 3G and Wi-Fi. It's not clear if Samsung's Galaxy Tab video chat will let you switch between the rear and front cameras, but the hardware capability is certainly there.

Availability

The Galaxy Tab will be available in Europe within the next two weeks, and Samsung promises a U.S. launch in the coming months. Rumors suggest the 3G-capable Galaxy Tab will launch on Verizon. Samsung has yet to announce pricing or whether there will be a Wi-Fi only version of the Galaxy Tab.