Businesses missing out by not engaging customers with SMS

smartphone user

Consumers want to communicate with businesses using SMS according to a new study, but companies are failing to grasp the opportunity this offers.

The research from mobile engagement specialist OpenMarket unveils a missed opportunity for financial service providers, retailers and hospitality companies that don't make use of SMS-powered chatbots to more effectively engage with customers.

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UK health trusts hit by ransomware attacks

Screen and stethoscope

The UK's National Health Service is being targeted by ransomware according to a new study which shows that 30 percent of NHS Trusts have suffered an attack, potentially placing patient data and lives at risk.

The findings come from a Freedom of Information Act study conducted by endpoint security company SentinelOne. It submitted FOI requests to 129 NHS Trusts, of which 94 responded.

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Even ransomware stops for Christmas

gift hacker criminal present

An 81 percent drop recorded in Locky ransomware infections in December is thought to be down to the cyber criminals behind the malware taking a Christmas break.

Threat prevention company Check Point recorded the big drop in Locky infections as part of an eight percent overall decrease in the number of recognized malware attacks on organizations in December.

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RockJaw Resonate -- clever design combined with quality audio [Review]

RockJaw Resonate 1

We've looked at earphones from RockJaw in the past and they've always offered a good compromise between reasonable price and a quality listening experience.

The company's latest Resonate model is more expensive than its other offerings but it does combine clever design touches with a tuneable listening experience.

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Marketers divided on the importance of analytics

Marketing compass

Technology means that marketers are able to collect more information on customers and their purchasing habits than ever before.

But a new study shows that there's a divide on how important using that information is going to be. The survey by marketing software company Marketo reveals that while 57 percent of all respondents in the US believe predictive analytics will be the primary technology they use to engage with their customers, only 11 percent of international marketers think the same.

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Android overtakes iOS in mobile ad revenue

Mobile ads

Analysis of data from billions of mobile ad impressions served during the third quarter of 2016 shows that for the first time Android has passed iOS in terms of revenue generated.

The report from real-time advertising platform Smaato shows that based on eCPM (effective cost per thousand impressions) in the third quarter of 2016, Android accounts for 55 percent of global mobile ad revenue generated by publishers compared to 41 percent for iOS, the share of which is eroding.

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Social apps dominate mobile activity

facebook_on_mobile_phone

Yahoo's mobile analytics arm Flurry has released its State of Mobile report for 2016, looking at mobile app activity and trends from the last year.

Over the last year, Flurry tracked more than 940,000 applications, across 2.1 billion devices, in 3.2 trillion sessions. Compared to 2015 overall app usage grew by 11 percent and time-spent in apps grew by 69 percent.

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New platform detects and blocks attacks using behavior patterns

security alert

Traditional security solutions rely on detecting an attack based on existing information, which allows zero-day threats to slip through the net.

Israel-based Nyotron is launching a new generation of its PARANOID security platform designed to block attacks before they occur, regardless of threat type or method used to access the network.

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Unsanctioned cloud use remains a problem for enterprises

Cloud server

A new report from cloud security company Netskope reveals that while enterprise cloud adoption continues to rise, unsanctioned use of services remains a problem.

The results show that half of all users of officially sanctioned cloud storage services like Box and Dropbox also have a personal instance of the same service. This can make detection of unauthorized copying of data more difficult.

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Complaints about two-factor authentication are on the rise

annoyed-computer-user

Of companies that use two-factor authentication, 74 percent admit that they receive complaints about it from their users -- and nearly 10 percent of them just ‘hate it.’

This rather surprising information comes from a studty by access control company SecureAuth, carried out in conjunction with Amplitude Research, which surveyed 300 IT decision makers and cybersecurity professionals on industry perspectives and concerns over 2FA.

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Public cloud has the greatest security implications say execs

Cloud login

A new survey reveals that 65 percent of senior IT and security executives think that the biggest security risks for business come from public clouds.

The study from IT solutions company BMC in conjunction with Forbes Insights also shows that 69 percent of respondents say digital transformation is forcing fundamental changes to existing cybersecurity strategies.

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Modeling and analytics and their role in business [Q&A]

Data analytics

Businesses are collecting more data about their operations and their customers than ever before. But data in itself is only part of the story. For it to be useful it's necessary to spot patterns and gain insights.

At this point most businesses turn to analytics, but this can only tell you what's happened in the past. To predict future trends means using algorithms to build models of what may be complex systems.

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Ransom is the #1 motivation behind cyber attacks

ransomware cash

A new report from cyber security and application delivery company Radware reveals that almost half of businesses (49 percent) say they’ve been the subject of a cyber-ransom campaign in 2016.

Ransom was the top motivation behind cyber-attacks they had experienced according to 41 percent, followed by insider threats (27 percent), political hacktivism (26 percent), and competition (26 percent).

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Insiders or outsiders, which is the greater threat?

insider

Historically, the idea of a hacker has always conjured up images of the outsider trying to gain access to government or corporate systems.

But in recent years it's become clear that insiders can present just as big a threat, whether from malicious intent or just careless use of systems.

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Security and the Internet of Things [Q&A]

Internet of things

Last year saw the Mirai botnet harness routers and other IoT devices to launch DDoS attacks against internet services.

Is this type of attack something we’re going to see more of in 2017, and what can companies and individuals do to protect themselves? We spoke to Sam Rehman, chief technology officer at attack prevention specialist Arxan Technologies to find out more about security and the Internet of Things.

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