In a cryptic statement, Chinese government regulators today demanded that Microsoft explain "major issues" in data authorities collected from the company last year during an antitrust investigation. It was the first time in more than a year that China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) hinted that its probe is continuing. "We're serious about complying with China's laws and committed to addressing the SAIC's questions and concerns," a Microsoft spokesperson said. Read more

Not a week went by in 2015 without a major data breach, significant attack campaign, or serious vulnerability report. Many of the incidents were the result of disabled security controls, implementation errors, or other basic security mistakes, highlighting how far organizations have to go in nailing down IT security basics. Read more..

32c3 Anonymous programmers, from malware writers to copyright infringers and those baiting governments with censorship-foiling software, may all be unveiled using stylistic programming traits which survive into the compiled binaries – regardless of common obfuscation methods. t was accompanied by the publication of an arxiv [PDF] titled When Coding Style Survives Compilation: De-anonymizing Programmers from Executable Binaries, written by researchers based at Princeton University in the US, one of whom is notably part of the Army Research Laboratory. Read more..

Microsoft has had a good 2015. The company introduced a new laptop, the Surface Book, launched a new version of Windows, updated a lot of its software for businesses, and updated its Surface Pro tablet and fitness Band.  But Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is just getting started. He has big plans for Microsoft, including getting Windows 10 onto over one billion devices, expanding its current set of services, and introducing new hardware that will compete with Apple, Google, and Amazon. Read more at http://www.businessinsider.my/microsoft-announce-in-2016-2015-12/#r3OkUyvUdyauZX8z.99  

Cybercriminals are becoming more sophisticated and collaborative with every coming year. To combat the threat in 2016, information security professionals must understand these five trends.  Read more 

Hybrid clouds provide organizations with the option of hosting some workloads in the public cloud, and others in an on-premises private cloud. A hybrid cloud model provides multiple advantages, allowing an organization to choose the best location for a specific workload, rather than being in a position where workloads can only be hosted in one location or another. What determines the best location isn’t always a simple technical argument, and factors such as regulatory compliance can override arguments about efficiency and economy. Read more.

Oracle has announced a few moves in the last week that line up to bolster the tech giant's cloud agenda next year. A few days ago, it was quietly confirmed that Oracle acquiredStackEngine, a startup with a container operations platform for DevOps based in Austin, Texas. Read More.  

The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the latest and greatest buzzwords of the past year. But what exactly is the IoT and how can it help your business? Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite and Cortana Analytics Suite are designed to enable you to take advantage of the IoT related to your business by capturing, collecting and analyzing the data from your company. The Azure IoT Suite helps you get started quickly by providing you with a set of preconfigured IoT solutions. Read More..

Orin Thomas shares a surprising tactic that could go a long way in boosting VDI user satisfaction. Read More..