CTRM Center

Increasing Role of the Internet Threatened by DDoS Attacks

Last week, a French hosting company experienced the largest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack ever recorded. The attack was conducted by a botnet composed of at least 150,000 Internet of Things devices and it reached over 1Tbps. In fact, the company was hit by multiple attacks of over 100Gbps and of gradually increasing magnitude until reaching over 1Tbps. This type of attack is not a new thing, but the re-occurrence of this level of attack on key Internet infrastructure is leading industry analysts to raise the question ‘is some one learning how to take down the Internet?’ DDoS attacks are commonplace and the energy and utilities industry has certainly been targeted. A recent survey by analyst firm, Tripwire, of energy, utilities and gas industry IT staff showed... continue reading

CubeLogic Returns as an Independent Company

Four years after they were acquired by OpenLink, CubeLogic has returned to the market as an independent entity.  In speaking with OpenLink senior management about the divestment of CubeLogic, they indicated they made the move in order to focus more on their flagship products – which they believe is the best strategy, and in the best interest, for both their customers and investors. I spoke recently with Roderick Austin, now a partner in CubeLogic, about the once again independent company.  He noted that the group that had initially founded the company (including David Priestley and Lee Campbell) and most of the development team that were in place at the time of acquisition in 2012 have rejoined forces.  Of the split, he noted that both sides felt it... continue reading

OPEC agrees modest oil output curbs in first deal since 2008

(Reuters) By Rania El Gamal, Alex Lawler and Vladimir Soldatkin – OPEC agreed on Wednesday modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008, with the group’s leader Saudi Arabia softening its stance on arch-rival Iran amid mounting pressure from low oil prices. “OPEC made an exceptional decision today … After two and a half years, OPEC reached consensus to manage the market,” said Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who had repeatedly clashed with Saudi Arabia during previous meetings. He and other ministers said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would reduce output to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day. OPEC estimates its current output at 33.24 million bpd. “We have decided to decrease the production around 700,000 bpd,” Zanganeh said. The... continue reading

Fear of polar vortex repeat lifts U.S. natgas from doldrums

(Reuters) By Scott DiSavino –Fears that the coming winter will be as brutal as the polar vortex of two years ago has started a scramble in markets for natural gas, driving the primary U.S. heating fuel’s price to 16-month highs. Gas futures are up 29 percent so far this year, on track for the largest annual percentage gain in 11 years. Some expect prices to keep rising based on expectations of a tight market this winter, due to lower production and more exports. “Unless we start getting some signs of more material supply growth by the December time frame, this is going to be a very tight market,” said Martin King, vice president institutional research at Alberta energy advisory FirstEnergy Capital. Meteorologists at Commodity Weather Group forecast... continue reading