Network stress testing tools are not for the underfunded, the underskilled or the faint of heart. Consider them carefully before deciding whether to purchase them or how to use them. See the companion article "Stress-testing your network" for details on software from BreakingPoint, Mu Dynamix, Spirent and Ixia. Here are dos and don'ts to help you get the most from these tools.. Do consider how often the tools will be used and in what ways. They are expensive to buy and support. Make sure the use justifies the expense. Do get full and accurate information on the application and protocol mix to be sure you create a representative test environment. Don't assume you know what your performance requirements are for the new application, security device or network. Do engage security, network and business managers to determine current and projected requirements so you understand what needs to be tested. The link for this article located at CSO Online is no longer available. . Assess stress testing instruments with diligence to enhance their utility and prevent superfluous expenditures.. Network Performance, Stress Testing, Security Assessment. . Alex
Patient care will not be affected by an NHS decision to pull a doctors' appraisal website offline to improve its security, but the life of UK doctors will be complicated. The return of the NHS Appraisal Toolkit, which provides an online database that allows NHS doctors to prepare for their annual appraisals, is not due until 3 March. . The removal of the resource means the assessment of the performance of 27,000 hospital doctors and GPs who use it will almost certainly be delayed, the GP who was the first to tell us that the site had been laid low explained. "There is no back-up for those doctors using the system," the family doctor, who asked not to be named, explained. "They have been told they can phone the helpline and have their forms emailed to them (but not to their appraisers). Some but not many may have local copies on their desktops. Otherwise, it's a question of trying to get the info and keeping your fingers crossed." The timing of the closure coincides with the run-up to appraisal deadlines for many doctors, so it could hardly have come at a worse time for many medics. "Deadlines are technically fluid, but there is a contractual obligation for GPs to engage in a Primary Care Trust's appraisal process, which would normally run from April to March," the doctor explained. The link for this article located at The Register is no longer available. . The removal of the resource means the assessment of the performance of 27,000 hospital doctors and G. patient, affected, decision, doctors', appraisal, website, offline. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Selective acknowledgment (SACK) is an optional feature of TCP that is necessary to effectively use all of the available bandwidth of some networks. While SACK is good for throughput, processing this type of acknowledgment has proven to be CPU intensive for the TCP sender. This weakness can be exploited by a malicious peer even under commodity network conditions. This article presents experimental measurements that characterize the extent of the problem within the Linux. . Selective acknowledgment (SACK) plays a crucial role in optimizing bandwidth usage yet introduces potential vulnerabilities affecting TCP effectiveness.. TCP Selective Acknowledgment, Network Performance, Bandwidth Efficiency. . Brittany Day
Renowned researcher HD Moore and startup BreakingPoint Systems's "baby" has finally arrived -- the company is launching its new all-in-one network and security testing appliance that Moore helped build. . The BPS-1000, which has been under development and under wraps for more than a year, conducts performance, integrity, and security testing of the network and network devices. It's different from penetration tools in that it tests both sides of the connection, says Moore, director of security research at BreakingPoint, and developer of the popular open-source Metasploit tool. The link for this article located at Dark Reading is no longer available. . The NCS-2000 evaluates system efficiency, reliability, and protection, transforming risk evaluations and network diagnostics.. network assessment, security tool, BreakingPoint Systems, performance evaluation. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Achieving IT security goals requires more than information technology. It requires a set of metrics to tell you how close you are to reaching your goals. . The link for this article located at Government Computer News is no longer available. . Formulating robust cybersecurity aims necessitates the definition of quantifiable indicators to steer advancements toward desired results.. IT Security Metrics, Cybersecurity Assessment, Performance Measurement. . Brittany Day
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