Modus Operandi’s launch of its Via platform shows how far companies will go to differentiate their products in the hotly-contested Big Data Analytics niche, in this case by pretending the software is something it isn’t -- artificial intelligence (AI). Either that or certain journalists reporting on Via deserve a thrashing. Or maybe both. A story in the Feb. edition of … [Read more...]
Big Data Bubble: Surveillance and the Coming Market Shakeout
Two years have passed since analytics guru Ravi Kalakota penned his now famous screed lampooning Big Data hype & the profusion of market entrants -- and soothsaying the inevitable bursting of the Big Data Bubble. Hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean Big Data analytics providers and government clients shouldn’t keep an eye open. In his Big Data Fatigue and Company … [Read more...]
Bulk Metadata: It’s About the Analytics, Dummy!
Passing the one-year anniversary of his remarks proposing to abolish bulk metadata collection, President Obama late yesterday took baby steps to curtail U.S. surveillance powers. The usual media uproar ensued, with privacy advocates bewailing the Administration’s “weak” response to their demands for reform. NSA and FBI spokespersons by and large bit their tongues and went along … [Read more...]
India’s Aglaya: Cracking Apple iOS Without a Jailbreak?
Good news (or bad if you own one) for those who think Apple systems are impervious to malware -- India’s Aglaya says it can crack any iOS device without a jailbreak. That’s an eyeopener for law enforcement and intel agencies following last year’s revelation that FinFisher and Hacking Team are just airware when it comes to penetrating and taking over an iPhone or iPad. If the … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened to Bull Amesys? Ask PLATH, Sarkozy — and Dubai
Months before Edward Snowden made his debut on the world scene, Bull Amesys -- a one-time giant of France's IT industry -- found itself embroiled in a public imbroglio over the sale of surveillance technologies to Libya's Muammar Qaddafi, a controversy that linked all the way up to the office of then President Nicolas Sarkozy. In the time since, the companies involved have … [Read more...]