Network Break 333: Cisco Acquires Optical Controller Software; DarkSide Gang Gets The Spotlight

Take a Network Break! Cisco demonstrates the breadth of its business units with one acquistion targeting optical/IP network integration and another for virtual events. Network monitoring company NetBeez enhances its path analysis capabilities with a souped-up version of Traceroute. We share updates on the DarkSide ransomware-as-a-service business, grit our teeth in frustration as US broadband companies avoid punishment for astroturfing FCC comments around net neutrality, and ask for your patience as the Covid outbreak sweeping India affects tech support around the world. VMware picks a new CEO, Arista releases its latest financial results, and StarLink strikes a deal to put ground stations in Google Cloud data centers. Get links to all these stories below. Sponsor: CablesAndKits CablesAndKits are Experts in Awesome. We’re an award-winning IT equipment dealer with a focus on networking products from SFP Modules and Servers to Fiber and Rack hardware. Get your IT needs and Cisco related products at CablesAndKits.com. Mention PacketPushers for a free Cat8 cable and some free loot! Tech Bytes: PathSolutions Stay tuned for a sponsored Tech Bytes conversation with PathSolutions on how to automate network troubleshooting with PathSolutions TotalView software. We talk about how TotalView gives you full visibility into your network and surfaces up actionable insights for monitoring, troubleshooting, and analysis. Show Links: Sedona Systems + Cisco Crosswork = Complete Modernized Automation for Routed Optical Networking – Cisco Investor Relations – Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Socio Labs to Power the Future of Hybrid Events – Cisco Betting On Virtual Events In A Post-Covid World – Packet Pushers Paris-Traceroute Dublin-Traceroute Shining a Light on DARKSIDE Ransomware Operations – FireEye Colonial Pipeline Paid Hackers Nearly $5 Million in Ransom – Bloomberg A Closer Look at the DarkSide Ransomware Gang – Krebs on Security Pipeline Update: Biden Executive Order, DarkSide Detailed and Gas Bags – Threatpost Big Telecom Used Fake and Dead People to Fight Net Neutrality, NY AG Says – Vice Attorney General James Issues Report Detailing Millions of Fake Comments, Revealing Secret Campaign to Influence FCC’s 2017 Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules – NY Attorney General