Denim Group Expands Software Development, Mobile Application Security Assessments and Developer Training to Mobile Platforms

San Antonio, Texas (PRWEB) November 14, 2011

Denim Group, the leading secure software development company, today announced it has expanded its services to the mobile arena, now offering secure software development, mobile application security assessments and developer training to help make mobile devices a more trusted platform for business and e-Commerce. Mobile applications offer a unique challenge to security in that a single application involves dealing with native code, web services as well as complex application programming interfaces (APIs). In addition, mobile devices provide capabilities unavailable on the desktop or laptop. As a result, there are risks specific to mobile applications that are significantly different from web application environments, and must be dealt with appropriately.

"The importance of the mobile market is clear as not only have mobile device shipments soared beyond PCs, over eight billion mobile application downloads occurred in 2010 alone, and are predicted to increase exponentially, however, there are significant security concerns because mobile applications can be manipulated to reveal sensitive data if they are not built correctly," said John Dickson, Denim Group principal. "Denim Group is offering software development, security assessments and developer training services focused on overcoming the unique challenges of the mobile platform to address those concerns and help advance development of secure mobile applications across the industry."

Smartphones and tablet platforms have capabilities beyond that of the typical desktop because of the integration of technologies such as cameras, GPS locators, and audio recorders as well as network resource access, allowing organizations to build innovative applications that deliver unique service solutions to both customers and employees. However, these capabilities create additional security risks because as sensitive data and operations move from servers to mobile devices, there is a greater opportunity for data breaches and the exposure of other security vulnerabilities.

The issues enterprises must address when deploying custom mobile applications include protecting sensitive corporate data on devices that are prone to loss or theft. Even encrypted data on devices may be at risk because of application key handling and data storage issues. In addition, the open networks mobile devices use to communicate are often unencrypted, making that data subject to capture as well. Relying on the security of the mobile device to protect the server-side assets is a mistake many application developers make. However, network services deployed to support mobile applications without server-side protections such as authentication and authorization present attractive targets for exploitation by malicious attackers. Finally, mobile applications can be reverse engineered to reveal private client information or corporate credentials on those devices, forcing the application to unintentionally expose sensitive corporate information.

Denim Groups new services are intended to help organizations building and deploying mobile applications for their customers and employees to proactively address these associated risks. Practices such as integrating threat modeling into the software development lifecycle can help to identify potential issues during the design stage of application development and minimize costly post-deployment remediation. Security testing for mobile applications and their server-side infrastructure is also an important check to ensure security efforts during the applications design and development were successful.

In an additional announcement today (see Denim Group Launches Industrys First Secure Mobile Software Development e-Learning Courses through ThreadStrong), Denim Group also announced the industrys first e-Learning courses designed to teach developers how to secure mobile applications. Taught through its ThreadStrong Learning Management System (LMS) - compatible program, Denim Groups training can be particularly valuable for mobile application developers who may not be versed in secure design and development practices and may also be creating applications for unfamiliar platforms with unknown security characteristics. The Overview of Mobile Application Security class familiarizes new students with the challenges specific to the mobile platform. Supplementing the introduction are two initial classes focused on Authentication and Authorization for the Android OS and the iPhone OS platforms. Denim Group will be adding additional in-depth secure mobile training classes in the next few months.

In addition to e-Learning for mobile, ThreadStrong offers a variety of secure application

programming courses that cover topics such as Secure Coding for Java and .NET applications, Threat Modeling, Software Security Remediation Basics as well as a publicly free class explaining Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF). Denim Group also offers public classes and instructor-led training, as well as in-house mentorship services.

Denim Groups services are based on its experience assessing and building mobile applications for a variety of industries and its methodology uses emerging industry standards such as those defined by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). These capture the major classes of vulnerabilities and weaknesses that might exist in systems incorporating mobile applications. In fact, Dan Cornell, leading technologist for Denim Group, is spearheading the platform-specific guidance section for OWASP which will produce detailed information on how to handle the security issues for specific mobile platforms. Additionally, Denim Group examines security risks and usability weaknesses that are common in a mobile computing environment, including, but not limited to the systems application permissions model, encryption APIs and hardware-supported encryption capabilities as well as the security of network communications and data transmissions to name a few.

Denim Group has identified the likely threat agents and vulnerable components associated with specific application classes to produce a holistic structured view that enumerates possible areas of weakness. Every application is built or assessed with a dataflow diagram, a list of identified threats, detailed countermeasures for these threats, and any areas where additional security measures should be considered kept in mind. Automated source code scanning and manual source code review are used to ensure the security state of the mobile application as well as its associated services. Additionally, Denim Group performs manual security testing of the web services supporting an application. This testing simulates the activities of an attacker who would bypass the mobile application client to attack web services directly as well as attackers who could gain access to user devices in order to try and recover sensitive data stored on the device.

Denim Groups services are designed to ensure the additional layers of security and access control needed are built into the mobile applications developed for leading mobile device smartphone and tablets including the Android, Blackberry, the Apple iOS and Windows Phone 7 operating systems. While increasing confidence in mobile business, banking, e-Commerce and data access is critical, enabling a seamless mobile application user experience is just as important to ensure corporate resources are protected from unauthorized access without any usability impact to the end user. Denim Groups suite of services enable organizations to address security concerns for mobile applications in a proactive manner to reap the benefits of creating new and innovative applications without exposing the companys assets to undue risk.

About Denim Group

Denim Group is the leading secure software development firm. The company builds custom large-scale software development projects across multiple platforms, language

Digitalsmiths Expands Executive Team with New VP of Marketing and SVP of Sales and Business Development

Research Triangle Park, NC (PRWEB) April 21, 2009

Digitalsmiths, the innovative video indexing, analysis and publishing technology provider, today announced it has added two executives to its senior management team. Robert Bryson, a former senior executive from Move Networks has joined the company as senior vice president of sales and business development, and Melissa Sargeant has been named vice president of marketing. The new additions follow a recent investment from Cisco Media Solutions Group and a $ 12 million Series B round of funding announced last November.

The new hires were brought in to help accelerate and manage growth after a recent surge in demand for Digitalsmiths' renowned indexing and video management solutions. In recognition of the company's continued expansion, Digitalsmiths was recently appointed to the 2009 OnHollywood 100 list, an accolade extended to emerging technology companies in the media and entertainment industries. List inclusion is based on demonstration of growth, market opportunity, quality of innovation and customer traction.

"Amidst a dynamic industry of shifting consumer behaviors and new forms of advertising, Digitalsmiths has a market-proven technological platform that engages consumers while meeting the needs of professional content owners," said Ben Weinberger, chief executive officer of Digitalsmiths. "Bob and Melissa bring nearly forty years of capable and masterful industry experience and Digitalsmiths is poised to continue its rapid acceleration into 2009 and beyond under their guidance."

Digitalsmiths indexes video with an unprecedented sense of context, nuance and intelligence that opens up entirely new revenue streams for existing content. The company's suite of visual interpretation tools processes each frame of video with proprietary algorithms including facial recognition, scene classification, and object recognition and assigns that information to a unique time-coded index. The company's frame-by-frame analysis creates extensive metadata, facilitating more efficient search and more effective contextual ad placement.

Bryson has more than 20 years experience in technology and media sales and marketing. As senior vice president of sales and business development, Bryson will be responsible for corporate development, strategic partnerships and developing customer relationships. Before joining Digitalsmiths, Bryson was senior vice president of sales and business development at Move Networks, where he led all sales and business development as well as the commercial deals and strategic relationships with Disney Media Networks, Disney ABC Television Group, ESPN Media Networks, Fox Interactive Media, My Space, Fox Broadcasting, TheCW Network, Warner Brothers, and Televisa. Previously, he served as SVP of sales and marketing for Knowledge Universe and I-Link, and as SVP of business development for Media Station. He also held positions with Novell and IBM Rolm Systems.

With more than 17 years experience, Sargeant joins Digitalsmiths as VP of marketing, where she will lead the marketing and media efforts for the company. She previously served as a director of product marketing for CA, Inc. (formerly Computer Associates), one of the world's largest software management companies. Prior to CA, Inc., Sargeant was vice president of marketing at Bluefire Security Technologies and has held senior marketing positions at Mercator Software, Guardent and BNX Systems.

"Digitalsmiths has proven itself as a pioneering innovator and digital video solutions leader in the media and entertainment market," Bryson said. "The company's world-class enterprise platform is uniquely designed to assist premium content owners and distributors in monetizing their film and television libraries online and across traditional distribution models. Over the past eight years, Digitalsmiths has built the right technologies to power its digital video integrated services platform, enabling industry-leading media companies to bridge and integrate their business operations across open broadband networks and traditional film and television hybrid networks. I'm thrilled to jump in with the leadership team and help take the company to the next level while accelerating the digital media audience reach of our customers."

About Digitalsmiths:

Digitalsmiths is an innovative video indexing and digital content publishing technology provider serving major Hollywood studios, web video destinations, media companies and advertisers. The company's proprietary computer-vision based video indexing, search and interpretation algorithms empower content owners and publishers to efficiently monetize their digital video content, and advertisers to automatically target ads to thematically relevant video content. Digitalsmiths is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. The privately held company is funded by Cisco, .406 Ventures, The Aurora Funds and Chrysalis Ventures. For more information, please visit: http://www.digitalsmiths.com.

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More Series B Round Press Releases

Real Software Improves App Development for Rebrand Software

Austin, TX (PRWEB) July 22, 2011

Real Software, creator of cross-platform software development tools, today announced that private label app provider Rebrand Software is developing applications using Real Studio. Rebrand Software founder Mike Gibson is using the development tool to streamline the creation of multiple consumer apps across Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, shaving 30 percent off the development time.

Background

Mike Gibson, founder, owner, and lead programmer at Rebrand Software, was experiencing an uptick in demand for private label software, which allows other companies to purchase apps, brand them, and sell them as if they were their own. Rebrand creates a range of consumer products for Windows, Mac and Linux.

As more companies continue to expand their digital marketing programs to increase traffic with branded applications, Mike knew he needed to speed up his current processes. The Windows tool they were using Microsoft Visual Basic required tedious re-writing of code to produce Mac and Linux versions of each application. He was looking for a tool that allowed him to write code once and deploy it on Windows, Mac and Linux, along with an active coder community and more ease of coding.

The Solution

Mike studied the marketplace and determined that Real Studio had all the features he needed. Using the software, Mike and his team have been able to improve the quality of their applications with their freed-up time and can now focus more efforts on the creativity and uniqueness of their applications, resulting in 25 percent more revenue. Additionally, Mike recognized that Real Studio's debug mode is far superior to Visual Basic and it reinforces good programming techniques, making accidental issues due to sloppy code extremely rare.

Real Software has also made it possible to easily submit applications built in Real Studio to the Mac App Store. Rebrand developed Spectrum TV in 10 months and soon after launching it on the Mac App Store, the application achieved rankings as the Top 10 Most Popular and Top 10 Most Profitable in the entertainment category. Another application, Crazy Coloring Book, has also achieved significant downloads.

For its private-label business, Rebrand Software is now able to automate the process of branding products for customers. Using applications they have built with Real Studio, they can download all of their customers information and graphics, insert them into a copy of their software, compile it to Windows, Mac and Linux and build installers for all three platforms. Its estimated that Real Software has helped Rebrand Software save 30 minutes per application for this particular requirement alone.

In addition to hundreds of branded applications, Rebrand has also created the following popular apps on the Mac App Store with many more in the works.

IADT-Detroit Announces New Web Design and Development Degree Program

Detroit, MI (PRWEB) May 31, 2011

The new associates Web Design and Development degree program at IADT-Detroit can help students learn the fundamentals of programming, content management systems and website design. The program combines general education courses with key concentration classes to offer well-rounded instruction in graphics, text, audio, video and interactivity for the Web.

Students who study Web Design and Development at IADT-Detroit have the unique opportunity to expand their creativity while developing a strong working knowledge of electronic technology. This associate-level program features hands-on learning opportunities in a supportive educational environment. It also allows students to explore the world of multimedia in detail as they learn creative interactive experiences for products, people, places and organizations.

The Associate of Science in Web Design and Development degree program at IADT-Detroit features instruction in usability, interface design, scripting, open source systems, digital imaging and more. Its goal is to help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to create functional, attractive and effective websites. Through the use of industry-current techniques and tools, students have the opportunity to expand their technical knowledge and explore the possibilities of website advertising and design.

Students enrolled in this associate-level program also have the opportunity to build a portfolio of work that they can use to pursue entry-level career opportunities in the web design and development industry.

The associates Web Design and Development degree program at IADT-Detroit combines engaging classroom instruction with hands-on technical training to give students a well-rounded, industry-relevant educational experience.

About the International Academy of Design and Technology in Detroit

With more than 30 years as an established institution, the International Academy of Design and Technology offers students a hands-on education with experienced faculty dedicated to providing students with the necessary skills, knowledge, support and guidance to pursue fulfilling career opportunities in the design and technology fields. The Detroit campus (IADT-Detroit), which opened in 2003, offers degree programs in fashion design, fashion design and merchandising, interior design, graphic design, game production and digital media production. Students also have the opportunity to take a portion of their coursework online through IADT-Online. The school is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS is a national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. IADT-Detroit cannot guarantee employment or salary and is part of the Career Education Corporation network of schools. For more information, please visit http://www.iadt.edu/Detroit or call 888-838-2111.

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