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December 2020 Archives
Akamai's Technical Enablement and Education Team, Pa ...
On October 2020, the Akamai Technical Enablement and Education (TE&E) Team -- responsible for creating product-training certifications for employees (Global Services and Support [GSS]), customers (Akamai University), and channel partners (Advanced Partner Enablement) -- won its second industry award for program design, functionality, and impact.
Evaluating Our Core Principles
Reflecting on the past year led me to put together this post about how I believe this incredibly challenging year has had an irreversible effect on the way the workforce will collaborate, innovate, and do business in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic emerged at the beginning of 2020 and led to new guidelines that affected the workforce around the globe. Countries around the world introduced policies to help contain infection
Akamai Prolexic and Equinix Cloud Exchange Unite, Br ...
In terms of cyberthreats and digital risk, 2020 has been all about DDoS attacks. We've seen threat actors launch record breaking 1.44 Tbps and 809 Mpps attacks, cybercriminals conduct the largest global DDoS extortion campaign, and a significant uptick in cyberweek DDoS attacker activity aimed at disrupting digital commerce. Now, more than ever, organizations see DDoS as an insurance policy to keep internet-facing applications and services available -- it is
Smart DNS for the New Network Edge: Emerging Require ...
This blog post -- the fourth in a series -- will discuss how smart DNS resolvers can enhance ongoing ISP and MNO network transformation efforts, such as the transition to 5G, better integration of Wi-Fi, and new network designs that optimize the edge to improve service delivery and network efficiency.
Launching a New Game Studio and Planning for Growth
So, you're starting your own game studio. This is an incredible opportunity! You and your team get to start fresh and build the game of your dreams! But, let's be honest, if you have just founded your own game studio, odds are that you're not a technical architect. You may have some technical know-how, but studio founders typically come from the creative side.
How the Edge Improves Microservices
Microservice architecture has transformed the way we develop and operate our applications. Microservices aren't a technology or a programming language. Instead, they create a structure for designing and building applications based on the idea that the individual functions of a website should operate independently. From this simple concept comes a multitude of benefits including:
What's the Value of a Key-Value Store?
A database back end for your application is vital, and odds are that your database is a relational database or a "not only SQL" (NoSQL) database. Relational databases have dominated the software industry for decades, even as other technologies have radically changed around it. A relational database management system (RDBMS) should be understood as though management system is in bold type, as you must actively manage the data contained within
Smart DNS for the New Network: Optimizing Content De ...
This is the third in a series of blog posts that will discuss how smart DNS resolvers can enhance ongoing internet service provider (ISP) and mobile network operator (MNO) network transformation efforts, such as the transition to 5G, better integration of Wi-Fi, and new network designs that optimize the edge to improve service delivery and network efficiency.
10 Ways to Protect Against DDoS Attacks
Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks continue to grow in size, frequency, and complexity, threatening businesses and service providers around the world. A warning was recently issued about a steep uptick of DDoS attack threats demanding bitcoin ransom with thousands of organizations across industries and around the world targeted. In June, AWS disclosed a record-setting 2.3 Tbps DDoS attack, breaking the previous record, a 1.3 Tbps attack mitigated by Akamai back in
Stopping Active Attacks with Penalty Box
A web application firewall (WAF) is most often used by organizations for external security controls to detect and block individual attack attempts against target web application assets.
Smartphones are not the problem with MFA security
We've recently seen big attacks play out on prominent technology companies despite their use of smartphone-based multi-factor authentication. These attacks are real, they do happen, and it appears that even the smartphone cannot protect us anymore.
The Importance of Feedback Loops with Akamai (Part 1 ...
The dictionary defines feedback as "The modification or control of a process or system by its results or effects, for example in a biochemical pathway or behavioral response."
Smart DNS: Delivering the Best Subscriber Experience
This is the second in a series of blog posts that discuss how smart DNS resolvers can enhance ongoing network transformation efforts such as the transition to 5G, better integration of Wi-Fi, and new network designs that optimize the edge to improve the subscriber experience, service delivery, and network efficiency.
Cyberweek 2020 Attracted Both Online Shoppers and DD ...
As we close out 2020, it should come as no surprise that Cyberweek (the week of Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) proved big for DDoS attacks. Threat actors were out in force during this key shopping season, and they shifted their sights toward disrupting digital commerce-related industries.
How DevOps Tools Can Help Publishers Thrive
Agility has proven to be a key weapon in the publisher arsenal during the pandemic. Agile firms -- particularly news publishers -- that switched directions or added digital services quickly reaped the rewards of new readers and viewers, even if the audience boost didn't result in a similar increase in revenues for ad-based services in the short term.
The evolution of MFA authentication technology and w ...
Authentication attacks are big business, and no one is immune from them. In fact, two men were recently arrested and charged in the Twitter employee account compromise that happened in July 2020. Using employee account credentials, the attackers took over several highly visible celebrity Twitter accounts, which were then used for bitcoin scams. Think: "If you give me one bitcoin, I'll give you two!" Sounds legit, right?
Don't reward your loyal customers by treating them l ...
I am CIAM not IAM Imagine shopping in your favourite wine merchant or checking in to the brand of hotel that you afford the most loyalty, and at the point of self-identification (either to prove age or verification) security is called over and you are frisked. Not a great experience. Would you patronise the establishment again?
Can Edge Computing Exist Without the Edge? Part 2: E ...
In part 1 of this series, I drew the architectural distinction between a centralized cloud platform and a distributed edge network. This is an important foundation upon which to explain the difference between cloud computing and edge computing. The two serve very different and complementary purposes. However, in my experience, business leaders, product owners, and application developers often mistake them as competitive.
Distinguishing Among DNS Services Part 2: The Econom ...
This is Part 2 of a 3-part blog series highlighting some of the distinguishing aspects of Akamai's DNS services, Edge DNS and Global Traffic Management. Part 1 focused on Akamai's DNS platform and what sets it apart. In Part 2, we take a closer look at the economics of DNS pricing models and why Akamai's approach is unique.
Add Security Events to Your Monitoring Tools
Real-time monitoring is important in every organization because it enables stakeholders to understand what is happening at any given time and react quickly. There are a lot of systems and devices we can and should monitor using tools such as application performance monitoring, digital performance management, synthetic monitoring, and more. In this post, we will explore website traffic monitoring, how security information can enrich it, and the benefits of adding
Cyber Monday - The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year? ...
Do you remember when Cyber Monday wasn't a thing? In late November 2005, The New York Times reported: "The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked." At that time, internet connections in most homes were slow.
Using Akamai Edge DNS with PCI DSS Environments
Overview The PCI DSS scoping guidance indicates that common shared services that provide services to the CDE, such as DNS, can be in scope and must be assessed for PCI DSS compliance.
Understanding Emerging Video Formats
In my previous post, we discussed two new image formats: High-Efficiency Image File (HEIF) and AV1 Image File (AVIF). In this article, we'll take a closer look at two emerging video formats built on the same foundations.
Understanding New Image Formats
Akamai Image & Video Manager (IVM) already supports key modern image types, such as WebP, JPEG 2000, and JPEG XR, but the imaging industry is always evolving and raising the bar on the balance of compression and quality. In addition, creative and development teams are regularly asking about new formats, and it's important to understand the leading ones. In this article, we'll examine two newer image formats that are gathering
Akamai Foundation and Employee Resource Groups Unite
Written by Kara DiGiacomo, Executive Director, Akamai Foundation and Marco Irizarry, Global Manger, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Responsibility On Giving Tuesday, we celebrate joining others in a global movement to give, collaborate, and transform communities and the world. As we think about how 2020 has challenged us in immeasurable ways, we have experienced an extraordinary amount of change, uncertainty, loss, and conflict.