Poor identity management makes it easier for cybercriminals to launch attacks
New research from identity security specialist One Identity shows that 95 percent of companies report challenges managing identities.
In addition 84 percent say that the number of identities they're managing has more than doubled, which means they have too many identities and credentials to keep track of, leaving holes within their network, evidenced by only 12 percent of security professionals being fully confident they can prevent a credential-based attack.
macOS Monterey update is bricking some Macs
Microsoft may have stolen a lot of the attention with the launch of Windows 11, but Apple has also released the latest update to its own operating system -- macOS 12.
The rollout of macOS Monterey started last week, and as the update spreads, users are experiencing serious issues when performing the upgrade. More and more reports are emerging of Mac owners ending up with computers that are very unstable, or won't even power up.
Energy industry hit by surge in mobile phishing threats
Energy organizations provide infrastructure that's essential for the safety and well being of society, but recent events like the Colonial Pipeline breach demonstrate that the industry is particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks.
A new report on energy industry threats finds that 20 percent of energy employees have been exposed to a mobile phishing attack in the first half of 2021, a 161 percent increase from the second half of 2020.
Microsoft is bringing Clippy out of retirement to make an appearance in Teams
Computer users from a certain era may remember with fondness, Clippy. The animated paperclip was an assistant in Microsoft Office, on hand to answer questions, and popping to life every now and then with hints and tips.
While some celebrated its death when the character was dropped, there were also many that mourned its passing. For anyone who falls into the second category, there is good news: Clippy is back!
Kingston launches FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for PC gamers and enthusiasts
Do you need a PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid state drive? No, nobody really needs the insane speed these drives offer. However, the drool-worthy performance is certainly nice to have. Look, if you can afford such an SSD and your computer supports it at full speed, you might as well get one. I mean, why not?
Today, Kingston announces its latest such PCIe 4.0 SSD under its FURY gaming brand. Called "Renegade," it features blazing fast speeds and capacities up to 4TB. Of course, even non-gamers will want to check out the extremely high-end performance FURY Renegade offers.
Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 4 ditches Mozilla Firefox ESR web browser
Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu -- that is pretty common knowledge. But did you know there is a different version of the operating system that is instead based on Debian? It's true! Called "Linux Mint Debian Edition," or "LMDE" for short, it is far less popular than the "regular" Mint. Then why does it exist? Believe it or not, it exists (partly) to serve as a contingency plan in case Ubuntu ever stops being developed.
Today is November 1, and the Linux Mint developers have shared some monthly development news that is largely boring. One small tidbit of information is interesting, however; Linux Mint Debian Edition 4 (code-named "Debbie") will ditch the Mozilla Firefox ESR web browser. LMDE 4 will instead move users to the normal "rapid release" variant.
What businesses can do to disrupt IT silos
Now that so much of our workplace communication and collaboration has gone digital, businesses are taking steps to ensure that their teams are operating as efficiently as possible and that they’re able to serve customers’ needs. While many of the tech tools that companies have adopted or scaled up in the past couple of years have become essential lifelines to power productivity, there are potential risks that can arise if tools aren’t managed properly or if the business doesn’t have the right resources in place.
One specific challenge that poses a threat to productivity, customer experience and an organization’s bottom line is IT silos -- roadblocks that crop up when different teams use separate tools or apps that don’t integrate with others. IT silos can crop up when different groups adopt systems, apps or tools that are duplicative or unable to integrate with other digital resources. The silos are problematic for teams that need to share information and can negatively impact the team’s efficiency and effectiveness. Employees can become frustrated and burned out by the additional challenge of trying to communicate and work together with others. In addition, IT silos prevent teams from accessing the most accurate data. IT silos can take several forms, but there are action steps companies can take to address them.
Protecting the global supply chain: A shared responsibility
Supply chain attacks have dominated news headlines in 2021. From SolarWinds to JBS Foods, cybercriminals are actively targeting national and international supply chains, causing widespread disruption and financial impact. Attackers understand that organizations have less control over and visibility into the security controls of a supply chain -- controls that are typically limited to legal contracts rather than true and comprehensive security policies and procedures. Common cyber supply chain risks and threats include third-party access to IT systems and weak cybersecurity practices of smaller suppliers.
Now more than ever before, protecting every part of the supply chain must be a top priority for both public and private sector organizations globally. To do this effectively, it is important to remember that securing any supply chain cannot be successfully achieved through the work of only an IT department or team. While they do play a significant role, cyber supply chain risks touch upon many different areas. Therefore, a more comprehensive, shared responsibility approach is required.
KB5006674 and KB5006670 updates are causing printer problems in Windows 11 Windows 10
The seemingly never-ending stream of printer problems caused by Windows updates shows no sign of abating.
Following the Patch Tuesday releases a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft has added warnings of known issues to the support pages for the KB5006674 and KB5006670 updates. Printer-related errors including 0x000006e4 (RPC_S_CANNOT_SUPPORT), 0x0000007c (ERROR_INVALID_LEVEL), and 0x00000709 (ERROR_INVALID_PRINTER_NAME) are among those the company says users may experience.
The challenges for developers in the medical device sector [Q&A]
Across all industries developers are under pressure to deal with rapidly shifting requirements and faster turn around times.
But in highly regulated sectors like healthcare there are extra demands to ensure safety and compliance. We spoke to Roger Mazzella, senior product manager, medical at productivity platform The Qt Company to find out how developers can address these challenges while still meeting delivery times.
Bringing observability and AI into your legacy modernization plan
Through evolving legacy modernization, a clear need for automation arose to bring actionable insights to IT and DevOps teams.
Unified monitoring, log management and event management vendors are finding ways to embrace Observability in their tech stacks. And while the overall functionality doesn’t change, these adjustments have led to confusion between IT and DevOps teams. IT Operations and Service Management (ITOSM) professionals are skeptical that Observability is a marketing ploy rather than a tool that actually implements technological change. DevOps professionals, on the other hand, are hesitant of the idea of repurposing legacy tools. So what should vendors do when transitioning standard monitoring technology to use Observability in a meaningful way?
Evolution of managed services
The world as we know it has changed significantly in the past couple of years, and so have managed services. While IT infrastructure and security continue to be more important than ever with large numbers of companies across the globe implementing remote and hybrid working policies, this situation has created the need for additional services that go beyond the standard managed services package. As the future of work continues to evolve, so too will the offering of experienced managed service providers (MSPs).
Prior to the global pandemic, MSPs were primarily focused on IT security and infrastructure. Companies would often outsource all or part of their IT in order to keep costs low and ensure that they had the crucial expertise and systems at hand without having to hire in-house specialists. Ensuring that their IT systems are secure and working at optimal capacity makes it possible to focus on other tasks that will help move the needle and big-picture goals. This is why MSPs are still very popular with businesses of all sizes. Despite large in-house IT teams, an estimated 90% of Fortune 1000 companies use MSPs for part of their IT management.
How rampant robotic process automation (RPA) adoption is introducing new threat vectors
Robotic process automation (RPA) is nothing new. In fact, it’s an automation toolkit that was first introduced back in the 1990’s. But in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and the all new remote work norm, RPA interest and adoption hit a new high. Why? Because with RPA, digital workers are able to take over repetitive, manual tasks traditionally performed by their human counterparts -- freeing up time, energy and critical human resources.
Gartner’s Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president, put it best: "The key driver for RPA projects is their ability to improve process quality, speed and productivity, each of which is increasingly important as organizations try to meet the demands of cost reduction during COVID-19. Enterprises can quickly make headway on their digital optimization initiatives by investing in RPA software, and the trend isn’t going away anytime soon."
Vulnerability management is complex, so how can we work smarter to reduce risk?
The saying "too many cooks spoils the broth" could well be true in the case of how we currently approach vulnerability management (VM). The process around vulnerabilities has become increasingly complex, with high levels of pressure to ensure that it is done right.
Vulnerabilities have long been one of the most prominent attack vectors, yet so many are left unpatched by organizations of every size and across every vertical -- the root of catastrophic issues. The Ponemon Institute conducted a recent study that found almost half of respondents (48 percent) reported that their organizations had one or more data breaches in the past two years. In addition, the discovery of high-risk vulns in 2020 alone, has drastically increased by 65 percent -- ultimately alluding to the fact that breaches could potentially become increasingly impactful. The longer a vulnerability remains present, the higher the chance that it will be exploited by bad actors.
Protecting your business' legacy systems from ransomware attacks
Despite the significant shift and adoption of new technologies over the past few years, many businesses still rely on legacy infrastructure. Legacy servers are often still in operation because they are far too critical, complex, and expensive to replace. Famous examples include Oracle databases running on Solaris servers, applications using Linux RHEL4, or other industry-specific legacy technology.
Although critical to the business, these legacy systems can increase a company's risk -- gaining access to just one unpatched legacy device can be relatively simple for cybercriminals. Once inside, said criminals will move laterally to gain a deeper foothold inside the network and deploy more significant attacks.
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