RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology and life science news:

• IBM’s head of SoftLayer quits as Big Blue shifts to cloud
• Ghost Linux bug haunting Red Hat, Ubuntu systems
• EU clears plans by GSK, Novartis to trade assets
• Facebook introduces ‘New Super Bowl Experience’
• Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster welcomes four new members

The details:

• IBM’s head of SoftLayer quits as Big Blue shifts to cloud
Lance Crosby, the founder of SoftLayer Technologies Inc., has left the company less than two years after it was acquired to become the linchpin of IBM’s cloud strategy. Big Blue bought SoftLayer, which provides a network of data centers to help deliver technology via the Web, in 2013 for $2 billion. Crosby’s departure was finalized last week, according to reports. The departure also comes at a tumultuous time for IBM. Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty has tried to shift the 103-year-old company to the era of cloud computing, a transition that’s taken a toll on both sales and profit. Meanwhile, investors have grown more impatient, sending the stock falling and earnings down for the first time in more than a decade.

• Ghost Linux bug haunting Red Hat, Ubuntu systems
An exploitable bug, codenamed Ghost, which affects numerous Linux systems, has been discovered by researchers at Qualys. Amol Sarwate, director of Qualys’ Vulnerability Labs, said in a threat advisory this week that the Ghost bug (CVE-2015-0235) could be used to hijack control of a victim’s system. Other members of the security community seem less concerned about it. Rapid7 chief research officer H.D. Moore agreed. “This is not the end of the internet as we know it, nor is it another Heartbleed. In a general sense, it’s not likely to be an easy bug to exploit,” he said. Ghost follows the recent discovery of several dangerous cyber threats. Trend Micro engineers recently reported uncovering evolved versions of the kjw0rm and Sir DoOoM malware.

• EU clears plans by GSK, Novartis to trade assets
The European Commission on Wednesday approved a plan by Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline to trade more than $20 billion worth of assets. The companies agreed last April to the transaction that includes GSK buying Novartis’ vaccines business, Novartis purchasing GSK’s cancer drugs, and the two groups tying up in consumer health care. The commission said it had concerns that the transaction would have reduced competition and innovation, but that the commitments from each company addressed these concerns. GSK said it planned to complete the transactions with Novartis during the first six months of this year.

• Facebook introduces ‘New Super Bowl Experience’
From kickoff to the game’s final seconds, Super Bowl XLIX is likely to be one of the most talked-about moments on Facebook this year – bringing people, athletes and journalists together in one ongoing conversation. This year, the social media giant is introducing a new “Super Bowl Experience” to give fans one place to connect in real time. You can see the new experience at facebook.com/superbowl.

• Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster welcomes four new members
A federal agency and three new companies have joined the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which operates its largest research and development facility in Research Triangle Park. Hoffman Building Technologies, a division of Hoffman & Hoffman Inc., a Greensboro-based provider of integration, energy management, building automation, mechanical, ventilation, and filtration systems that operates an office in Raleigh. Mobix Inc., an affiliate of Spartanburg, S.C.-based Gibbs International Inc., providing smart meter communication solutions for electric, gas and water providers. And, KoolBridge Solar, Inc., a Wrightsville Beach startup developing smart products for solar systems, rounds out the list of new members.