Cobia Community Blog

A realistic view of formerly open source security

Michael Mimoso on Information Security Magazine has a good article reprinted on SearchSecurity.com that talks about how the view of "the community" is changing in open source security.

Michael laments about the days when tools like Snort and Nessus were free as in beer, including the rules and plug ins for them. But taking a realistic, mature view of business Michael acknowledges that these tools had to "grow up". Michael puts it in perhaps the clearest language I have seen yet on the subject:

Well, Nessus had to grow up; Snort too. They've been commercialized by those that built them, and that was inevitable. After all, this is a capitalistic society, and eventually the socialism that is the free software movement just doesn't pay the bills.

Free Software = Socialism?  Not sure I would go that far. But words like patent, copyright and license have invaded the communities and commercial providers of formerly open source and free tools try to walk a fine line between satisfying the user community and keeping a healthy bottom line. Taking the logic to the recent ClamAV acquisition, Michael says it is only a matter of time before the other shoe drops on that one (as I have said from day one). However, one thing I would like to point out is, I don't beleive that deal has closed yet. I have heard rumors that there may be some roadblocks which need to be overcome.  I guess we will see.

Michael and I are again on the same page in talking about the impact this will have on UTM and other vendors who bundle these products into their own.  The guys at Astaro and Barracuda may play it off as no big deal, but they have to be already thinking about their options. I don't think it is going to be as easy as they make out and will certainly cost them more.

Finally, right in line with our strategy on Cobia licensing  Michael talks about vendors abandoning pure "open source" licenses in favor of a Cobia communtiy type of license.  I think over time more and more of the open source tools you use will move to this hybrid model of licensing

Who loves virtualization? Your CFO

Virtualization is taking the IT industry by storm and only Moore's law has probably had more financial impact. I was talking with StillSecure CFO, Larry Middle, last week about how well the message about virtualization is reaching CFOs. Larry's very aware of products like VMware because of the dollars it has saved our business. But from what I learned, virtualization isn't yet the hot topic with all CFOs. I would think it would be on the front cover of every magazine directed at IT spending.

If want to do yourself and your career a favor, anytime you are implementing virtualization make sure you cost out the dollar spend for a full hardware setup for comparison. Don't assume your financial organization will look into it themselves. Make sure the financial case is front and center so the business knows how much money you are saving.

The same applies when using Cobia. Show your financial team the dollar spend benefits of Cobia software with off the shelf Intel/AMD hardware over expensive (and less flexible) proprietary appliances. They'll love your analysis even more if you are running Cobia using VMware or open source Xen. You'll get lots of brownie points and they'll know you are spending the company's money wisely.

It's time for your 15 minutes of fame!

You've heard the saying, that old Andy Warhol phrase everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. More commonly we hear about peoples' fifteen minutes of fame.

So, you might be asking; "When do I get my fifteen minutes of fame?" Well, this is your lucky day. You could be the winner of our new Cobia contest Real World Cobia!

Our crack marketing team (and your's truly) were locked away for months in our StillSecure think tank coming up with this next great promotion. We tried every kind of idea: Where in the world is Cobia?, I want my Cobia TV module, Cobia for the masses, Yellow Cobia Submarine, iCobia, Lucy in the Sky with Cobia, and my personal favorite You Can Tune A Cobia but you Can't Tuna Fish. But as always, the best ideas won out and Real World Cobia was selected.

How do you win? Well, send us your Cobia story. How you use Cobia at home, work or school. Where you use Cobia, such as in a lab, at customers sites, in the classroom, or in your own business network. Tell us about your experience. What happened when you downloaded? Did Cobia install as easily as we said it would? What's your favorite thing about Cobia? What else would you like Cobia to do? Have you checked out the source code or even begun developing enhancements, or better yet, your own module.? Tell us whatever you like, and what new capabilities you'd like to see in Cobia. Most importantly, tell us how Cobia is changing your network, your personal work, and your world!

You can send us your Real World Cobia entry in a variety of forms; a simple email or text write up, a web site or blog entry, your podcast, a music video, an article, video blog, essay or white paper. Make it a project for one of your assignments in college and kill two birds with one stone. Tell your boss it's the new network architecture you've been secretly working on in the lab that saves the company a TON of money. Hey, get some fame and be a company hero all at the same time! As long as we get your story before the deadline, and we can share your Cobia experience with others, that's what we are looking for.

What can you win? Most importantly, all the fame and notoriety that comes with winning a prestigious StillSecure contest like Real World Cobia. Plus we'll be telling everyone that you are a winner and you rock because you use Cobia! We are also giving away some great prizes; the choice of a digital camera, Apple TV, or a digital MP3 watch. The prizes are cool stuff.

Read the web site for more contest information, rules and deadlines.

Thanks for joining in on all the fun. All us here are looking forward to reading and watching your Real World Cobia entries. I personally have a lot riding on this promotion, because next time I'm really pulling hard for the You Can Tune A Cobia but you Can't Tuna Fish contest idea. Wish me luck! And best of luck to all of you who enter.

Product testing - your help is needed

Hello everyone. We will be doing some testing of the user interface designs for Cobia and our upcoming Strata Guard IPS module at Black Hat (August 1-2) and LinixWorld (August 6-9). You will be giving us very valuable feedback that will help us with the product design and usability. Plus we have some very nice "parting gifts" for each participant who helps us.

If you are planning to attend Black Hat in Las Vegas or LinuxWorld in San Francisco, or live in those areas, and would like to help us, please send your email address and phone number to [email protected].

Are you a Cobia user who blogs?

I'm in the process of updating our blogroll of Cobia users who also have their own blogs.

Are you a Cobia user who also has your own blog or podcast?

Send me an email with your blog or podcast address and I'll be glad to add you. And let me know how Cobia is working out for you - I would love to hear your story. Plus it would be great to have you post your Cobia story on your own blog. (If you already have, send me a permalink to your post if you would please.)

Thanks - Mitchell

Celebrating Independence Day 2007

Just a brief message to all of you across the U.S.A. and all over the world to say happy Independence Day.

In the U.S. we typically celebrate the July 4th holiday with BBQs, picnics, backyard get togethers, camping, boating, swimming, a friendly softball or golf game, time with family members and of course enjoying the local fireworks display. It's a time to take a break and celebrate the freedoms we enjoy and the unique country we live in. I'm sure much like national holidays countries around the world enjoy, we celebrate with similar customs as well as traditions unique to each of us.

So let me take this opportunity to say thank you to our StillSecure customers, employees, business associates, and friends all over the world. And a special thanks to all of you who have downloaded Cobia, installed it in your networks, labs and at home, contributors to the forums, community members who are developing Cobia modules, members of our partner programs and to all of you who have simply dropped us an email sometime with thoughts, thanks and ideas. We appreciate each of you very much.

- Mitchell

Changes in the Cobia community

As with most anything in life, change is inevitable and that’s true in the Cobia community too. This week Martin McKeay let me know that he has decided to take his career back onto the non-vendor side of the fence, and he would like to step down as the Cobia evangelist. That was hard for me to hear because I enjoy working with Martin and I hold him in very high regard. Making a tough decision such as this re-enforces the respect I have for Martin too. I know that Martin should of course pursue the interests that make the most sense for him, and I also know I’ll miss working with him on the Cobia team. We appreciate Martin’s help building the Cobia community, evangelizing Cobia at trade show events, and reaching out to various Cobia users and user groups. Thank you Martin - we’ll all continue enjoy keeping in touch with you through the blogosphere and your podcasting.

The StillSecure team and I will continue where Martin left off, working with Cobia users, supporting user groups and helping networking, sys admin and security engineers all over the world enjoy and use Cobia. We have some exciting new events coming up in the next few weeks and of course there’s lots of user and development activity happening in the world of Cobia.

I will continue as the primary contact for Cobia at StillSecure so please send me email at [email protected] for the latest in Cobia developments, activities, questions, and feedback. Each day I hear from more and more Cobia users sharing with me how Cobia helps them with their networks. It is an exciting time to  be a part of such an important, game changing product like Cobia.

Keep those cards, letters, emails and forum posts coming!

Thanks - Mitchell

Attend Black Hat or LinuxWorld with the Cobia Crew!

Have you ever wanted to attend Black Hat or LinuxWorld? Well, now's your chance! We're looking for members of the Cobia Community to spend time with us in the StillSecure booth at both events, talking about their own user experiences and help us show the faces of real Cobia users. We're providing the plane tickets and the hotel room for the event and need some Cobia users to provide the enthusiasm and energy!

You're the people who're making Cobia successful and we want to return some the favor by offering you a chance to attend Black Hat and LinuxWorld on StillSecure. We'll be participating at Black Hat on August 1 & 2 at Caesar's in Las Vegas, NV. The following week we'll be at LinuxWorld in San Francisco from August 6th through the 9th. Both events promise to be huge, and if my past experience is any indication, the parties at night are going to be at least as much fun as the daytime events.

If you live in the continental United states and would like to attend either of these events, please contact me as soon as possible at [email protected]. Please contact me by Friday, July 6th if you'd like to attend. This is not a contest and we'll be working on a first come, first served basis, so the sooner you speak up the better!

Looking for some good people

Are you the kind of person who enjoys new technology, starting new projects and sharing your knowledge and learning from others about networking, security or VoIP?

We'd like to help YOU form a Cobia user group in your area!

Thousands of users are downloading and using Cobia across the country and across the world. Exciting technology like Cobia provide an opportunity for you to play a huge role establishing user groups across the world. Cobia users are passionate, savvy and want to help change the world with a new paradigm for networks and security.

StillSecure will help organizing a user group in your area, a page on the Cobia user group online site, email listserves to recruit members and announce meetings, provide topic suggestions, schedule speakers such as your's truly and other members of the Cobia product team, and help out with swag and food.

I'm excited by the users groups.  I love to meet people and spreading the word about Cobia.  I want this to be your opportunity to learn more about Cobia, talk to the people who've created it and help by contributing your ideas back to the Cobia community.  Cobia user groups are a great way for us to serve you and make Cobia better by talking to the folks who are using Cobia in the real world.

Send an email to [email protected] if you are interested in helping form or participating in a Cobia user group. Your chance to get involved is now!

Do you have your Cobia t-shirt yet?

If you don't, you'll want to get one soon.  We're almost ready to kick of the Cobia t-shirt contest.  If you're not going to have a chance to see us at an event any time in the near future, send an email to cobia_at_stillsecure.com and I'll make sure you get one.  We want to give you every chance to win.

We're looking for pictures of you in your Cobia t-shirt in front of a famous or not-so-famous landmark.  Just make sure it's somewhere interesting.   We'll be posting the pictures to the  site and picking one winner each month to win ... I guess you'll just have to check back to find out what you'll win.

Have some fun with this.  Creativity will be rewarded.  We have some cool shwag to give to people each month and all you need to do is take a picture.