Symantec pins WannaCry on North Korean Lazarus group
There have already been suggestions that the now infamous WannaCry ransomware was the work of the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. Security firm Symantec now says it is "highly likely" that Lazarus is to blame, having unearthed further evidence of the re-use of code from other attacks by the group.
But while the links to Lazarus are strong, North Korea denies that it was involved in any sort of state-sponsored attack, dismissing such claims as "a dirty and despicable smear campaign." It is thought that the group -- also responsible for attacking Sony Pictures and stealing $81 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank -- operated independently for personal gain.
New software adds secure authentication to any enterprise application
Increased numbers of phishing and other cyber attacks are putting companies under greater pressure to secure their applications.
Conventionally this requires re-coding or other work to achieve, but new software from behavioral firewall specialist Preempt lets organizations add secure authentication to any enterprise application.
Phishers cash in on WannaCry attack
The UK's ActionFraud cyber crime reporting center is warning customers of BT’s internet services of a phishing scam claiming to protect against WannaCry-style attacks.
The emails claim that BT has launched preventative measures to protect data on an international scale and try to get recipients to click on a link to a 'security upgrade'.
Apple and Nokia end all litigation as they sign patent license and business cooperation agreement
Apple is dropping its lawsuit against Nokia. The iPhone manufacturer and the Finnish company reached an agreement to not only bring the intellectual property dispute to an end, but also to start a multi-year patent license.
Described as a "meaningful agreement", details of the new arrangement are confidential, at least for the time being, but Apple does shed a little light on what's going to be happening moving forward. Apple will receive network infrastructure product and services from Nokia, and the company will also resume carrying the Withings health products Nokia bought.
Google Cloud IoT Core helps businesses manage data and devices
Google has announced the launch of a new service to help businesses handle large volumes of data created by their IoT devices.
IoT Core will look to take on the likes of AWS and Microsoft, although a company's spokesperson says that Google is not playing catch up.
LG X venture is an affordable and rugged Android smartphone that is exclusive to AT&T
LG makes absolutely wonderful Android smartphones, with the G6 and V20 being two of my recent favorites. Both of the those flagships offer quality experiences, although they can be a bit pricey.
Today, LG announces a new phone called the "X venture." It borrows aspects from both of the aforementioned smartphones, but at an insanely low price. Exclusive to AT&T in the USA, the Android 7.0 Nougat phone has a massive 4,100mAh battery and features upgradeable storage via micro SD. Best of all, it is extremely rugged.
Customers prefer bots over humans for support
People are now more receptive of bots in customer support services, a new report by LivePerson has concluded. Consumers would rather talk to a bot than to a human, and usually rate the interaction with the digital helpers as a great one.
Even though the general opinion of bots was that they were implemented by companies to cut costs, it is now being realized that it was also (or even more) about the speed of service.
Android vs. BlackBerry Round 2: The battle of car operating systems
BlackBerry has a pretty decent market share. When was the last time you heard that sentence? If you're talking about smartphone competition, it's been a while. In the world of in-vehicle operating systems, however, a new story is beginning to unfold.
As with its phone business, BlackBerry has a storied history with in-car telematics, with a footprint dating back more than 20 years. Its most relevant current presence, though, goes back to 2010. That's when BlackBerry (then known by the now-defunct parent company name Research in Motion) acquired the Unix-based embedded operating system QNX.
FreeDriveC is a simpler, safer drive cleanup app
As you’ll guess from the name, FreeDriveC is yet another Windows application for freeing up space on your system drive. We’ve seen more than enough of these already, and we’ll bet you have, too.
But wait -- FreeDriveC isn’t all about emptying your TEMP folders or wiping browser history. Instead it’s more like a simple Control Panel applet, providing easy access to relevant Windows tools.
What TechOps needs to better support the business
The arrival of the digital age is changing the way organizations work and how they interact with the outside world. Highly competitive and disruption-prone markets demand businesses to think fast and act fast -- and IT capabilities are widely recognized as the key to success. Yet, the role of Enterprise IT is often associated with cost and frustration, rather than that of enabler, or perhaps even driver of innovation. Can this image be repaired?
When people talk about Enterprise IT what they often refer to is the Operations side of the IT world. And, to be even more specific it is the Technical Operations (TechOps, sometimes also referred to as Operations Engineering) part of the team that is under significant pressure to meet the ever-increasing demands of their business while being itself disrupted by the advances of technology. Service Operations, the other part of the corporate IT team -- usually associated with the Service Desk, but at least in theory covering a lot more -- is battling its own maturity challenges in the service economy.
Tech-savvy workers increasingly common in non-IT roles
IT professionals are becoming an increasingly common presence outside of the traditional IT departments, new research has found.
According to CompTIA, it seems executives are calling for specialized skills, faster reflexes and more teamwork in their workers.
My nerdy pilgrimage to the Microsoft campus in Seattle
I was recently in Seattle for Microsoft's Build 2017 developer conference. It was a monumental trip for me, as I had never been to the west coast before. Being a New Yorker, the furthest west I'd ever been was Colorado. Getting there was an interesting experience in itself, as I had a layover in Minnesota -- yet another place I had never been.
On the final day of Build 2017, some journalists -- including yours truly -- were invited to a tour of the Microsoft campus. This was an invitation I couldn't pass up. As a self-proclaimed computer nerd, visiting such a historic place -- a nerdy pilgrimage, if you will -- was on my bucket list, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Microsoft shows new Type Covers ahead of Surface Pro event
Microsoft is expected to unveil the successor to the Surface Pro 4 tomorrow at a special event in Shanghai. There is not much that we know about the new hybrid device at this stage, other than it will look very similar to the current model, but the software giant hints that there will be four new Type Covers available for it.
Microsoft's corporate VP of Devices, Panos Panay, has posted a photo on Twitter which shows the keyboard in what appears to be red, gold, gray and blue colors. That would match the keyboard colors of the Surface Laptop, which was introduced early this month.
Privacy warning: Netgear routers copy Windows 10 and start 'collecting analytics data'
A firmware update to the Netgear R7000 router adds a new feature that will concern privacy advocates. The update allows Netgear to start "collecting analytics data" and the release notes warn that: "NOTE: It is strongly recommended that after the firmware is updated to this version, you log back in to the router's web GUI and configure the settings for this feature."
Netgear says that the data collection is to help it "isolate and debug technical issues" and does not -- according to the company -- include details such as the websites that are visited, but it will still be a cause of concern for many people. It's hard not to draw parallels with Windows 10 which has managed to upset many users with its telemetry settings.
Jarte 6.0 Plus adds Autohotkey scripting and automation
Carolina Read Software has unveiled Jarte 6.0, a major update for its Windows WordPad-based word processor.
The $19.95 Jarte Plus 6.0 build now supports running custom AutoHotkey scripts when you open a document, hit a hotkey or click a custom toolbar button. The system allows automatically entering text, replacing existing text, changing highlighting, colors and more, and you’re able to work with files, run programs, open websites, or do anything else AutoHotkey can normally do.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.