With 99 percent of organizations using big data, 94 percent Internet of Things devices, and 91 percent using or working on mobile payments, there are more attack surfaces than ever and new risks that need to be addressed.

A new study from systems and cyber security company Thales e-Security finds the extent and impact of increased threats clearly shown in levels of data breaches and vulnerability.

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Does your business or department still work with paper documents? In the information age, this practice has become profoundly anachronistic and usually a sign of business practices being left in the dust by the wheel of progress. Some companies do it because they’re afraid that making a change will disrupt the flow of business, others don’t want to retrain everyone and a few tell themselves that physical documents are more secure than an online document management system. If your reason is that last one, you could be falling for one of the most common security mistakes in the business world.

Among network and security professionals, the idea that avoiding well-traveled security methods and tools leads to a more secure system is a well-known logical fallacy called "Security through Obscurity." While paper documents and locked filing cabinets used to be the mainstream way, now holding out against digitization not only makes you an anachronism, it could be putting your private information at unnecessary risk.

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The latest annual State of Malware Report from Malwarebytes shows that ransomware had a bumper year in 2017, though it began to trend downwards towards the end of the year.

Ransomware launched against consumers was up more than 93 percent and ransomware against businesses up 90 percent. As the year end approached though many avenues known for ransomware drops were seen diversifying their payloads with banking Trojans and cryptocurrency miners instead.

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Chuwi has managed to attract quite a bit of attention with its laptops and tablets. The LapBook 14.1 that I reviewed early last year was great, thanks to a nice mix of features and performance. But now there's a new kid on the block, which looks even more impressive.

It's called the LapBook Air 14.1 and it supersedes the LapBook 14.1 in the company's lineup. Compared to the old model, it adds a metal build, more RAM and more storage, but a higher price tag too. On paper, it looks like a killer combination, but what's it actually like to use? I've tested it to find out.

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The arrival of GDPR is set to impact on many aspects of commercial operation, not least email. But what about old emails that are stored or archived?

We spoke to Marc French, chief trust officer at cloud email specialist Mimecast to find out more about GDPR and an aspect that organizations may have overlooked.

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When many consumers buy a Galaxy phone, they aren't choosing Android, they are selecting Samsung. I know what you are thinking -- isn't that essentially the same thing? Actually, no. You see, for many, the operating system is largely inconsequential. When buying a new Android phone, they don't want HTC, LG, or even Google's own Pixel. Instead, these folks must have a Galaxy -- nothing else will do.

Samsung's brand loyalty is quite remarkable, and it is possibly only surpassed by Apple. I mean, heck, even after Samsung sold phones that literally exploded and caught fire, consumers have continued to purchase the company's products. It's not hard to see why -- its phones, tablets, televisions, washing machines, and more are an absolute delight. Its Galaxy phones in particular are well-designed and take class-leading photos. Today, Samsung is sure to make many excited, as it has started to send out press invitations to witness the unveiling of the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

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In its recent State of the Channel Ransomware Report, data protection firm Datto found that SMBs ponied up some $301 million to digital hostage takers over the course of the past year. According to the survey that claims to have spoken to some 1,700 MSPs, representing over 100,000 clients, 21 percent stated that their clients suffered six or more attacks last year.

Simply put, roughly one in five organizations were victims of ransomware. However more disturbing was that 99 percent of MSPs told researchers that they expect to see the rise in ransomware attacks continue to grow over the next two years.

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Windows Insiders have got used to Fast ring releases arriving at a slower pace lately, but it looks as if Microsoft might be stepping on the gas once more, as Build 17083 arrives a mere fortnight after 17074.

The latest build comes with lots of new features and improvements, including the additional privacy options announced earlier.

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When Microsoft first launched Windows 10 back in 2015, one of the big complaints people had about the new operating system was that it spied on users. Really spied on them.

Following the inevitable backlash, the software giant has reigned in this snooping with each new feature update, and the next big release -- codenamed Redstone 4 -- will take things further when it arrives in a few months' time.

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The importance of interpersonal skills has increased in recent years according to a new report, but companies aren't training their technology teams in these abilities.

The study from business and technology consultancy West Monroe Partners looks at soft skills, including communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and leadership in relation to technology and IT hiring decisions

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Apple has damaged its reputation by secretly throttling the performance of aging iPhones. The smartphone maker says that it took this course to prevent a drop in battery life, though many folks believe that the reason was to get customers to switch to a newer model. Still, CEO Tim Cook promised that iPhone users would soon be able to opt out.

And, today, the iPhone maker officially reveals that this feature will be introduced in iOS 11.3. This version of the mobile operating system is currently in preview and it will be rolled out "this spring."

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New research released today by the UK government shows that fewer than half of all businesses and charities are aware of new data protection laws with just four months to go before they come into force.

Knowledge varies by industry, businesses in the finance and insurance sectors have the highest awareness of the changes to be brought in through the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is to be implemented in UK law via the Data Protection Bill in May 2018.

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With increasing interest in cryptocurrency it's inevitable that cyber criminals will see the potential to make money from investors and users.

Threat management company RiskIQ has found that hackers are targeting the Apple, Google Play, SameAPK, APKPlz and other app store users with malicious cryptocurrency apps aiming to steal money and personal data.

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When systems are in the cloud, 45 percent of organizations perceive their own employees to be the biggest security risk, according to a new report.

According to user behavior specialist Netwrix, even though the majority of attacks they experienced over the year were external, organizations blame their own IT staff (39 percent) and business users (33 percent) as much as or more than their cloud providers (33 percent).

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There are so many options out there for finding and booking a discounted hotel. Indeed, there are websites which will attempt to collate various booking options to pull together the best deals in a single location.

Although it’s great to obtain a discount from your hotel (and let’s face it here, if you call the hotel direct, you’ll often be able to negotiate your own deal), we want a website which pulls together feedback from people who have stayed in the hotel, take this feedback seriously, providing a good deal on the back of this.
Tablet Hotels has recently become our go-to booking site of choice having had had a very pleasant experience booking a hotel in Williamsburg, New York. At the last minute, we had to push back our flight due to bad weather in Texas, but Tablet took these circumstances into account and negotiated with the hotel to rearrange our last minute plans to accommodate. No cancellation or changes fees, at all. When we arrived at the hotel, we found Tablet had added its Plus feature automatically to our booking so were offered a room upgrade, free gifts and a (very) late checkout option.

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