Peering into the future of enterprise security
How many desktops do you have out there that are still not on Microsoft Windows 10? Given the security vulnerabilities associated with earlier versions of Windows, the simple answer for most executives is too many. With new attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya appearing far too frequently, your IT teams are probably hard at work on a migration plan to move your older desktop systems to the more secure Windows 10 OS. In my company’s recent survey of nearly 500 IT professionals, nearly 80 percent of the respondents indicated that the enhanced security features of Windows 10 were the primary reason they were eager to migrate.
Still, migration takes time, and though it is comforting to know that more and more systems may be migrated over to Windows 10 each day, the lingering awareness of how many systems have yet to be migrated is reason for concern. It’s hard to be fully comfortable when you know how much of your organization is missing out on the security improvements of the new OS.
OurMine leaks 3TB of Vevo data after hacking video streaming service
Infamous hacker group OurMine has struck video streaming service Vevo. The group breached Vevo late on Thursday, gaining access to, and leaking, more than 3 terabytes of internal videos and documents.
OurMine -- more recently involved in HBO hacks and Game of Thrones leaks -- managed to get hold of office documents, videos and promotional materials. While many of the files and documents are fairly innocuous, at least some of them would be considered "sensitive" in nature.
New York State’s new financial services cybersecurity policy relies on encryption
As of August 28, certain financial services companies based in New York now have to comply with the state’s new cybersecurity requirements, known by the (very long) acronym 23 NYCRR 500. On the line for affected banks and insurers are both penalties for non-compliance and potential business loss if they continue to expose their businesses to cyber threats.
The regulations took effect March 1, but included a three-month grace period for companies to get organized before needing to meet the first wave of mandates. Companies will have ongoing deadlines over the next two years as further layers of compliance continue to take effect. Notably, affected financial services companies will need to have an encryption strategy in place by September 2018.
Autonomous cars: A delicate balancing act of tech innovation, safety and security
Two big things happened on Wednesday, September 13. First, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the SELF Drive Act. Second, executives from BlackBerry, Cisco Jasper and AIMOTIVE took the stage at Mobile World Congress Americas to discuss autonomous cars and vehicles as a service.
In the Mobile World Congress Americas session, Barbara Peng, VP of Research for BI Intelligence, started off by asking each of the panelists for their predictions when autonomous cars would be on the road. Not one of the panelists gave an estimate, much to Barbara Peng’s frustration. But this just shows that even the people working to make driverless cars a reality knows there is too much work left to be done before they can estimate when they’ll be on the road.
Building the US cyber workforce: How Greater Washington is closing the gap
The cyber-attacks against US nuclear facilities are just the latest reminders of the crucial and persistent challenge of securing our nation’s important assets. Clearly, cyber threats are growing in number, complexity, and sophistication, underscoring the need for public and private sector entities to raise the bar on cybersecurity throughout their enterprises.
These rising threats are causing organizations and their current IT workforces to sound the alarm: not enough talent is available to properly address the myriad of cyber threats facing our nation. In fact, it is predicted that by 2022, there will be a shortfall of 1.8 million cybersecurity professionals in the US.
Google Chrome will finally let you fight back against those annoying autoplay videos
Auto-playing videos on websites. Is there anything worse? Sigh. They have caused me a lot of grief over the years. For instance, I am sitting alone quietly browsing the web at night, when all of a sudden, a loud autoplay video starts, awakening the other people in my home. Quite frankly, once I learn that a website uses this type of media, I try to avoid the site going forward -- if possible.
Today, Google announces that it will be empowering Chrome users to fight back against these annoying videos. Starting with version 63 of the web browser, users will be given the option to permanently mute audio on specific websites. Taking it a step further, version 64 will automatically block all autoplay videos with sound by default, unless the user specifically whitelists that site.
It will be easy for businesses to comply with GDPR, UK's digital minister says
UK's new Data Protection Bill, aimed to "encourage innovation while protecting privacy," was published this week. Digital minister Matthew Hancock took the opportunity to call all businesses to become compliant with GDPR before the deadline of May 25, 2018.
In an opinion piece published on City AM, Hancock said the new laws are built on the existing ones and it shouldn’t be too hard for businesses to get used to them.
Hurricanes lead to drop in malware infections
An interesting side effect of the recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma is that malware infections in the Florida and Texas areas have seen a dramatic fall.
Data released by Enigma Software Group, makers of the SpyHunter anti-malware software, shows that infections in the Houston area showed a 52.5 percent drop from the average on August 29th.
Bitcoin drops below $3,000, Ethereum falls under $200
The correction in the cryptocurrency market continues. All of the major coins are in the red once again today, pushing the market cap under the $100 billion mark. Since the beginning of September, more than $75 billion has been wiped out, partly due to China, which was-recently rumored to be seeking a Bitcoin ban.
The most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, just dipped under $3,000 on September 15 for the first time since early-August. Yesterday, it was trading for around $3,500. That is a drop of 40 percent since its $5,000 peak. Its market cap has taken a beating as well, falling under $50 billion.
Face ID on iPhone X has a quick-disable anti-theft feature, says Apple
With the launch of the iPhone X, Apple unleashed Face ID biometrics on the world. During a demonstration of the feature there was a SNAFU when Face ID failed to work as intended (due, Apple says, to staff playing around with the device beforehand), and there are many questions hanging over the idea of using one's face to unlock a phone -- Senator Al Franken has many questions, for example.
Among the questions posed by Franken and others are queries such as "what's to stop someone using a photo or mask to unlock my phone?", and "if a mugger steals my phone, could they not unlock it just be holding it in front of my face?" Good points, though Apple Senior VP Craig Federighi says there are built-in measures to prevent such instances of unauthorized unlocking.
Facebook tests Snooze function that lets you temporarily mute your friends
While you may be friends with someone on Facebook, it doesn't mean that they're not going to annoy you. Stoking the fires of annoyance is, after all, one of the (albeit probably unintentional) functions of social media.
If a friend upsets you, you might consider unfriending them. It's a somewhat extreme reaction, but it's something that happens regularly. Should you feel that this is indeed something of an over-reaction, Facebook's testing of a Snooze function may appeal to you, as it lets you put your irritating friends on a timeout.
Facebook updates ad targeting policies after anti-Semitic 'Jew haters' campaigns
Facebook has been forced to amend its ad targeting policies after an investigation by ProPublica found that the social network was permitting advertisers to target individuals with anti-Semitic beliefs.
The New York-based news organization found that advertisers were able to use a number of categories such as "Jew hater," "How to burn Jews," "History of 'why jews ruin the world,'" and "Hitler did nothing wrong." All of these categories were created by users -- rather than Facebook or advertisers -- as they self-reported their education and employment history with offensive terms and labels.
Street View comes to Google Earth VR
Virtual reality is hardly new, but the technology is finally getting to a point where it is fairly affordable and easy to use. It still has a long way to go before it can truly be considered mainstream, as for now, it is largely just for enthusiasts and gamers. There will need to be some truly great non-gaming uses to propel VR to the next level.
Google Earth VR is the type of application that could get people excited about virtual reality, and today, it gains an amazing new feature -- Street View. Yes, with the help of either an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, you can experience Street View in a more immersive way.
VMware wants the support of open-source developers
VMware has called for greater links between itself and developers in a major show of support for open source software.
Speaking at the company’s VMworld Europe 2017 event in Barcelona, CTO Ray O’Farrell highlighted the "powerful" world of open source software.
Google Chrome will stop trusting older Symantec certificates
Chrome will stop trusting any security certificates issued by Symantec, Google has confirmed.
In a blog post, Chrome Security's Devon O’Brien, Ryan Sleevi and Andrew Whalley say that certificates from the security firm will be "distrusted," starting with version Chrome 66. This affects all certificates issued before June 1, 2016.
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