The Pentagon is planning to expand its cyber security force nearly five fold over the next several years in a bid to bolster its defensive and offensive computer capabilities.

Apple has quietly hired Kristin Paget, a former Microsoft security expert who worked as a hacker for the company to resolve Windows Vista vulnerabilities, to work on its Mac OS X security team.

While complaints can be heard far and wide that it's hard to find the right IT security experts to defend the nation's cyberspace, the real problem in hiring security professionals is the roadblocks put up by lawyers and human resources personnel and a complete lack of understanding of geek culture, says security consultant Winn Schwartau.

For a security industry leader, Tim Williams is a pretty modest guy. As the former head of ASIS International and now as global security director for the $42.5 billion construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, Williams has won his share of recognition, which he doesn't take lightly.

More budget? Perhaps a little. More attention from senior management? Yes, a bit. Better results? That's not so clear.

Some of the most memorable IT-related quotes were uttered in courtrooms this year, which involved a steady stream of legal challenges about intellectual property. In no particular order, these are some of the comments that stuck with us as 2012 winds to a close.

Studies show that employees are engaging in rogue use of the cloud, even when IT organizations say they have clear formal cloud policies and penalties for violation of the policies.