What we can learn from organizations who flourished during COVID?

When the knock-on effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent UK lockdowns are discussed, much of the focus is on the negative impact on the economy, our physical health, and our mental health. But, while the damaging effects are unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed, it’s not all doom and gloom.

While many businesses have suffered as a result of the pandemic, others have flourished. Exercise equipment, homeware, DIY, and gardening retailers, amongst others, were some of the businesses that flourished during the first national lockdown. When it comes to business-to-business, technology providers, ecommerce sites, video conferencing software solutions, and healthcare providers led the way. So did the companies who tapped into their services.

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Public key infrastructure and digital certificates essential to zero trust

Public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificates are essential to achieving zero trust architecture according to 96 percent of North American enterprises.

However, only 39 percent use PKI as part of their zero trust security strategy today according to a survey from Pulse Research and PKI as-a-Service (PKIaaS) company Keyfactor.

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Businesses more likely to buy from companies offering ongoing security

business security

Technology providers that are transparent and proactive in helping organizations manage their cybersecurity risk are more likely to win business according to a new study from Intel.

The results show 73 percent of respondents say their organization is more likely to purchase technologies and services from technology providers that are proactive about finding, mitigating and communicating security vulnerabilities, while 48 percent say their technology providers don’t offer this capability.

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Hypernotes from Zenkit promises to revolutionize the way you share knowledge with others

Say hello to Hypernotes from Zenkit, the third standalone productivity tool from Germany’s Zenkit. The tool follows on the heels of Wunderlist-replacement Zenkit To-Do and Zenchat and is designed to work in conjunction with both tools as well as a standalone app.

The new app's sales pitch is the promise of creating, sharing, and understanding knowledge in a new way. Think of it as a tool for managing knowledge in various forms, from simple notes to complete documentation like a wiki. As with other Zenkit tools, it offers both free and paid-for tiers, and can be accessed through any modern web browser as well as via a cross-platform collection of desktop and mobile apps for offline use.

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Why security and observability are key to software development [Q&A]

Developers are under increasing pressure to create real-time products that make the most of a wide range of digital resources.

This means that DevOps teams have to cope with information drawn from all sorts of different sources. But how can they ensure they are getting an accurate picture?

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Linux kernel found to have a trio of 15-year-old vulnerabilities that could allow root access

Linux

Linux-based operating systems are generally recognized as being far more secure than the likes of Windows and macOS -- but that's not to say they're without their flaws. Illustrating precisely this is the discovery of no fewer than three vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel that could be exploited to gain root access to a system.

That researchers from cybersecurity firm GRIMM managed to find so many vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel is one thing, the fact that they have lain there undetected for 15 years is quite another.

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Netflix has had enough of people sharing passwords

Netflix on laptop and mobile

Netflix has a lot of subscribers, but it has even more users. It is very common for one member of a family or one friend in a group to pay for the streaming service and to share the login details with other people.

Understandably, Netflix is a little tired of people freeloading rather than paying for a subscription. Now the company is testing a feature that could make sharing Netflix passwords a thing of the past.

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Microsoft reveals workaround for Windows 10 printing problems and blue screen issues

Windows 10 logo on a beach

This Patch Tuesday, Microsoft released cumulative updates for Windows 10 and there were numerous complaints about problems with printing after installing them.

Users with various brands of printer found that printing failed as they experienced APC_INDEX_MISMATCH errors and blue screens. A few days ago, Microsoft confirmed that it was aware of the issue and was investigating; now the company has come up with a workaround.

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Minisforum launches AMD Ryzen-powered DESKMINI UM270 Windows 10 mini PC

If you love mini desktop computers like I do, you absolutely must check out Minisforum. This company produces unique NUC-like computers with beautiful designs and respectable performance. They can typically run both Windows 10 and Linux wonderfully. We recently tested out the Intel-powered Minisforum EliteMini H31G and came away very impressed.

As an AMD fan, however, I am extremely excited about the company's latest offering. Called "DESKMINI UM270," this miniature desktop computer is powered by a quad-core Ryzen 7 PRO processor and features Vega 10 graphics. While it comes with 16GB RAM standard, it will support up to 64GB. For storage, there are two capacities of NVMe SSDs -- 256GB and 512GB.

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Why price doesn't equal cost in the cloud

Cloud dollars

Saving money in IT has always been an important consideration, but due to COVID-19 many corporate strategies and budgets have been pushed off course. For example, relative to pre-COVID levels, the likelihood of undertaking cost reduction initiatives has increased globally by 74 percent, 66 percent of companies are now expected to pursue cost reduction strategies over the next 12 months and it is predicted we will see a 38 percent increase in these cost reduction strategies in the next 12 months, compared to pre-COVID times.

Due to the need for greater flexibility caused by COVID-19 and the need to secure these cost reductions, many organizations are now looking to the cloud. Cloud spending rose by 37 percent to £20 billion during the first quarter of 2020 and, according to Gartner, we saw a 19 percent growth in cloud spending in 2020 even when IT spending overall was down by 8 percent. It goes without saying that there are many benefits to moving to the cloud, one of them being cost reductions, with others including agility, flexibility, scale, working from home capabilities and the transfer of budget allocations from CapEx to OpEx.

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If I knew then what I know now -- Zero Day Vulnerabilities and why we should confine the unknown

Zero Day

When Donald Rumsfeld gave a briefing about the Iraq WMD program in 2002 (Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction were a major justification for the second invasion) he said "There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know."

At the time, many mocked this word-salad as the Secretary of State for Defense delivering an over-complicated and evasive way of admitting that they had no evidence of WMDs in Iraq -- not yet at least. Even so, there is some undeniable logic in accepting that there can be unknown unknowns, and not just in the field of counter intelligence but in cyber security too.

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Microsoft's decision to hide KB identifiers from some Windows update support documents is unhelpful madness

Microsoft headquarters

For years, Microsoft has used KB identifiers (or knowledge base identifiers that take the form KBXXXXXXX) to refer to updates for Windows. As well as being a handy means of identifying a particular update, it also provides an easy way to cross reference the same updates across various pieces of documentation.

But last month Microsoft announced that it is changing the system. The company is not getting rid of KB identifiers, but it is changing the way they are used in release notes and support documentation. In many instances, the KB identifier will be hidden in the source code of web pages -- something even Microsoft concedes is "not ideal".

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Why has Google become 'gambling loyal'?

Just a few years ago, Google opened up Google Play to real-money gambling apps in a limited number of countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, and Brazil. Before then, any app of that kind was totally prohibited for hosting in the official Android app store.

Starting from March 1, the new phase of real-money gambling app legalization in Google Play commences. Google now allows gambling and betting apps to be published in its Google Play Store. Generally, the policy change will have a positive impact on the gambling markets in an additional 15 countries, including English-speaking USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as local markets in Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Romania, and Spain.

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Why SASE is vital for the cybersecurity industry [Q&A]

Network security

One of the frameworks that has received greater attention since the acceleration of digital transformation is Secure Access Services Edge (SASE).

But what does its adoption mean for the security industry and how can enterprises best take advantage of SASE? We spoke to Mary Blackowiak, senior product marketing manager at AT&T Cybersecurity, to discover more.

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Microsoft confirms printing problems and blue screens after latest Windows 10 updates

Windows 10 laptop

Microsoft has continued its trend of releasing problematic updates for Windows 10. Just a few days ago, the KB4601319 update was found to break File History backups in Windows 10, and this month's Patch Tuesday cumulative updates have also been causing issues.

As we have reported, there have been numerous complaints from people who have installed the KB5000802 and KB5000808 updates for Windows 10. Now Microsoft has confirmed that there are indeed problems with printing after installing these updates, specifically BSoDs and a APC_INDEX_MISMATCH error.

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