Protecting your Domain Names: Taking the First Steps

Everyone and everything on the Internet depends on the Domain Name System DNS being functional. The DNS has been a common vector for attacks in recent years, and 2019 seems to be no different. Many of these attacks have goals far more sinister than simply taking a company offline or defacing a...

Phishing Attacks Against Facebook / Google via Google Translate

When it comes to phishing, criminals put a lot of effort into making their attacks look legitimate, while putting pressure on their victims to take action. In today's post, we're going to examine a recent phishing attempt against me personally...

Powering Low Latency Live Streaming

Live streaming has grown immensely over the years. Today, we can watch live events from all around the world via our laptops, mobile phones, set-top-boxes, Smart TVs, and other connected devices. A big challenge with live streaming is achieving the same level of availability as over-the-air...

DNS Flag Day & Akamai

Written by Jon Reed & Barry Greene DNS Flag Day is an industry event that promotes the adoption of the most up-to-date DNS features and ensures that non-standards-compliant servers don't negatively impact the global performance of the Internet. The 2019 DNS Flag Day will remove a number of...

Protect Your Network From Malware

There are two types of companies: Those who have been hacked, and those who don't yet know they have been hacked1 With data breaches frequently making the news and causing panic among network administrators, the above statement by former Cisco boss John Chambers in 2015 certainly doesn't seem...

State of the Internet, Volume 5, Issue 1

Is it too late to still say "Happy New Year?" We don't think so. We're kicking off 2019 with our first issue of the State of the Internet / Security. Goal setting is something that security teams around the world are doing right now. What are your team's goals? How do your goals align with the...

Software Defined Perimeter - a Modern VPN with Traditional Challenges

Application Servers are implemented as a means of providing services and making resources available to users. However, any server connected to the Internet is inevitably targeted by malicious users using open listening ports. There are millions of these ports on the Internet, which means there is...

A Look Back At The DDoS Trends of 2018

As mentioned in the 2018 Year in Review State of the Internet / Security report, trends in DDoS are remarkably stable. The size of the largest attacks have grown by approximately 6% on an annual basis, with occasional outliers like the Mirai botnet. The median size of attacks has been much more...

Securing Social / Locking Login / Armoring Authentication

Authentication might be the single biggest hazard for web security over the next decade. It's not that the fundamentals of authentication are particularly challenging; we've understood the basic principles behind password management, push-based authorization, and device certificates for some time...

A Vulnerability in Debian’s Apt Allows for Easy Lateral Movement in Data Centers

Learn about the new vulnerability that was found in Debian’s Advanced Package Tool that allows for easy lateral movement in data center...

#OTTuesday: Who Wins in a Format War - A Chat with Encoding.com

If you asked anyone 10 years ago who the winner would be in the over online video formats, you would have heard some strong opinions -- and some incorrect predictions. Video standards and formats will continue to change as long as users demand new ways to view content. AkamaiTV's Nelson Rodriguez...

A Deep Dive into Point of Sale Security

For many, Point of Sale systems are the weakest link in the IT security chain. Learn the microsegmentation policies that can make a difference...

Targeted Security Attacks Impact Holiday Shopping

Part 2 - Security In the first post, web performance was discussed, especially for the mobile visitor. While web performance is critically important, security is also a vital area of focus and investment because, threat actors don't take holidays. They're always out on the internet probing sites,...

Mobile Optimization Should be Your Highest Priority

Predicting and preparing for peak traffic volume and resource demands is a difficult task for online retailers around the world. They need to be ready for both expected and unexpected traffic spikes at any time. No one wants the CEO on their doorstep asking why their website is down and losing...

#OTTuesday: The Current State of Linear Broadcast and OTT

Over the last two years, we've seen a surge in OTT offerings as viewers insist on watching what they want, when they want, on any device, anywhere. Major content creators like Netflix and Amazon have made significant strides to push this technology into the mainstream, however true mass adoption...

Preparing for Y2038 (Already?!)

It somehow doesn't seem that long ago, but nineteen years ago during Y2K I spent my New Year's Eve in the Akamai Network Operations center, waiting to respond to anything that might go awry as the clock struck midnight in key time zones such as Greenwich and Boston. As of January 9, 2019, we are...

Preparing for Y2038 (Already?!)

It is possible that the need to upgrade and replace systems in the lead-up to 2038 will force the retirement of some remaining IPv4-only systems and networks...

#OTTuesday: AI Destined for Big Role in Entertainment

After years of hype, AI is finally making headway in industries like manufacturing, medicine and transportation -- and it's beginning to play a supporting role in media & entertainment. AkamaiTV's Paul Jackson chatted with Peter Chave, Principal Architect here at Akamai, to learn how AI is steppi...

From the Core to the Edge: 3 Security Imperatives and the Evolving Digital Topology

The breathtaking pace at which everyone and everything is becoming connected is having a profound effect on digital business, from delivering exceptional experiences, to ensuring the security of your customers, applications, and workforce. Consider this: There are over 20 billion connected device...

Digital Identity, Digital Trust, Janrain and Akamai

Authentication on the World Wide Web is badly broken. We all know it, or at least sense it. Every web site or mobile app that we want to use asks us to register and set up yet another account with yet another username and password. With the typical end user having tens of online accounts, this...

From the Core to the Edge: 3 Security Imperatives and the Evolving Digital Topology

The breathtaking pace at which everyone and everything is becoming connected is having a profound effect on digital business, from delivering exceptional experiences, to ensuring the security of your customers, applications, and workforce...

Christmas Day was Quiet for Online Retailers But Picked Up Immediately on Boxing Day

Christmas Holiday Retail Sales In early November, eMarketer forecast that the 2018 U.S. online retail holiday sales would be $106 billion, a healthy increase of 16.6% over 2017. The Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales results confirmed that optimistic forecast with a combined total of nearly $14b i...

Life at Akamai: Making Connections

By the numbers, Akamai's scale, reach and ability to help brands connect users to immersive and immediate online experiences while protecting their businesses from threats, is quite impressive. While I'm proud that Akamai connects with billions of devices daily and...

Low, Medium and High Interaction Honeypot Security

Honeypots are a popular way to protect data centers and learn about attackers. Learn the difference between high and low interaction honeypot security...

Zero Trust and the Case for Application Microsegmentation

Data breaches have become incessant. Recently, a very popular airline sevices company revealed a suspected breach involving customer credit card information. Even more recently, a hospital in Indiana reported that a virus had infected some of its systems that caused the hospital to be placed on...

New Delegated Administration feature in Enterprise Threat Protector

Managing security configurations for large organizations with locations scattered around the world can be challenging. Likewise, some businesses have multiple operating divisions that are separate entities but all use the same IT infrastructure. As an IT leader, you likely want to have consistenc...

Zero Trust Security Protects Businesses while Enabling Growth

Many companies have their own applications, internal domains, and local area network LAN. But when it comes to business applications, organizations are increasingly dependent on cloud-based resources. These may include email servers, customer relationship management CRM software, or other...

#OTTuesday: Five Technologies Shaping the Future of OTT

The world of OTT is changing radically with new innovations, from player technologies to standards convergence, propelling the industry forward. As 2018 comes to a close, AkamaiTV sat down with DASH legend and Akamai's very own Will Law to get his pulse on the major trends and technologies that a...

Akamai Received Top Scores in Gartner's New Report "Critical Capabilities for Cloud Web Application Firewalls Services"

Are you in the process of selecting a web application firewall WAF or thinking about whether your current solution is adequate? For many organizations selecting the right WAF to protect their business is not an easy task. The threat landscape is changing fast and hackers are very creative in thei...

The Market of Billions -- Are You Prepared For The Peaks?

Yes, we truly are the market of billions! I love Graham D. Brown's distinctive representation of this massive business opportunity in South Asia in his Asia Matters report. In 2018, over 50% of the world's total online retail sales happened in the Asia-Pacific region. eMarketer reports that onlin...

Quiz Phishing: One Scam, 78 Variations

Over the past year, Akamai Enterprise Threat Research team monitored the usage of one particular phishing toolkit in the wild. We previously wrote about this phishing toolkit as "Three Questions Quiz". The "Quiz" toolkit is not new to the threat landscape, as its been used in many phishing...

#OTTuesday: iTV on Live Streaming the World Cup

Imagine you're iTV. One of the UK's biggest commercial broadcasters. You have the rights for the World Cup and England has made the semi-finals. The whole country is watching. How do you make sure you're meeting the gold standard of delivering a glitch-free, "TV-like experience" over the internet...

Defending Credentials From Automated Attack Tools

By Danny Wasserman The folks on the Akamai Professional Services team are the people who help implement, configure, and tune the cloud security products that protect our customers' web applications from the daily onslaught of bots blasting login attempts against their websites, mobile apps, and...

Domain Name Consolidation - Observations from the Field

Domain Name Consolidation The market and marketing of Web property domain names is changing. Companies prefer to promote top level domains TLDs, have the option of selecting brand-relevant domain extensions e.g. SaaS.com, and no longer need country-relevant domains to optimize search engine resul...

Mobile Trends during the US Holiday Weekend

Over the past few years we've seen a tremendous growth in mobile traffic on the web. Because of this many of the most successful websites have invested in optimizing the experience of users on whatever device they use and however they connect to the internet. With mobile traffic now exceeding...

#OTTuesday: How to Secure the Bank of OTT

What does the concept of Herd Immunity have to do with OTT? To find out, I spoke with security expert Jay Coley for this AkamaiTV interview at IBC. Jay explained the biology - and the power - of cooperation in the face of growing security risks to broadcasters. Herd immunity is the concept that t...

ZERO TRUST SECURITY - THREAT REPORT FOR EDUCATION

Originally Published: Generation Z and New Challenges in the Education Field The youth of Generation Z grew up with Windows 2000 and XP, and many played with iPhones, iPads, and Android products. Known as digital natives, they are an essential part of today's educational landscape -- where cloud,...

Bread And Butter Attacks

We continuously find that the most basic attack methods that worked ten years ago still work and will probably continue to be effective in the future...

As Predicted, Mobile Continued eCommerce Dominance Over the Holiday Weekend

Akamai predicted in September 2018 that mobile shopping would continue its growth this holiday shopping season. That prediction held true as we saw mobile devices increase their share of Black Friday online shopping traffic volume to 57.55%, with desktop traffic dropping to 35.91%. And for the...

An Experiment With Reverse Mentoring at Akamai India: Women Mentoring Senior Leaders on Gender Inclusion!

Rumi said, "Clean out your ears, don't listen for what you already know." And that's exactly what leaders at Akamai India did during the pilot event of Flip, a reverse mentoring event, held earlier this month. High potential women from...

India's Startup Story - The Future of India's Digital Economy

India's goal of reaching a $1 trillion digital economy by 20221 is said to be fuelled, in part, by the spurt in the growth of startups across the country. The number of Internet users in India is growing at an enormous rate with close to 500 million internet users today2. Indians are at the...

Overcoming OpenStack Obstacles for vCDN at the Edge

Akamai and Wind River have collaborated to provide a validated, joint solution for virtual CDN services delivered with the reliability, scalability, and edge-optimized footprint that are required for cost-effective deployments in telecom networks. As the competition for viewers continues to heat...

Get the message: Your shopper data is trying to tell you something

This article originally appeared in Internet Retailer As we head into the thick of the holiday shopping season, web teams must make sure the path from discovery to purchase is as easy and painless as possible. Knowing where potential fail points are ahead of time makes it easier to prepare, while...

Image Management 101: The Web Developer's Guide

This article originally appeared on DevOps.com Online experiences have in many ways supplanted in-person experiences. Today, no one would hesitate to buy a luxury watch online instead of from a jewelry brick-and-mortar store. But as these online experiences become the norm, user expectations for ...

Adaptive Media Player Named Readers' Choice Finalist

In its first time being nominated, Akamai's Adaptive Media Player AMP was named a runner up in the 2018 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards "Video Player/SDK" category. The Awards annually survey Streaming Media's readers for the top products and services for streaming video and audio. We are...

U.S. Mid-term Elections and Akamai Enterprise Threat Protector

The last few years have witnessed seismic changes in the world's political landscape and the way elections have been conducted. As of yet, there's no conclusive evidence that the results and outcomes of a country's election process have been impacted by the cyber efforts of internal or foreign...

Scanning Akamai’s Edge Servers for Vulnerabilities, Correctly

Continuous monitoring of the Akamai Edge Platform for security vulnerabilities is an integral part of all engineering efforts at Akamai. In addition to our internal vulnerability management program, we engage with third-party assessors to periodically perform external scans of our systems since...

Protecting Your Website Visitors from Magecart

Learn mitigation options that prevent your site from JavaScript skimmer code threats and protects your customers...

Akamai Takes Home Three Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards

Streaming Media has announced its 2018 Readers' Choice Award winners at Streaming Media West in Huntington Beach, Calif. Recognizing technological excellence in the online video industry, Streaming Media readers cast more than 25,000 votes across 30 categories. Akamai was honored to win in three...

Singles' Day Blows Away Its Own Records

Singles' Day in China is the world's largest shopping event. Since its beginnings in 1993 at Nanjing University, it has grown to become a national phenomenon. Singles' Day was originally started as a way to celebrate singles and as a protest against couple-centric festivals. The date 11/11 was...