It helps that Elop has a varied resume in software, with stints at Juniper Networks and Adobe Systems along with Microsoft, where he worked for two years as the man in charge of developing the popular Office suite.

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From devices to data centers, from consumers to cloud providers, Juniper Networks delivers the software, silicon and systems that transform the experience and economics of networking.

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The company pushed software with Unix roots, and emphasized systems that bound computers together in sprawling networks, rather than treating them as stand-alone "personal" computers.

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What's needed now is the software to tie everything together: sensors, wireless radio networks and GPS navigation systems.

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The spy program is a sophisticated rootkit designed to steal data from SCADA networks, the type of software that control energy utilities, transportation, and other vital systems.

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