Securing the remote workforce during COVID-19 and beyond [Q&A]

keyboard padlock

The COVID-19 global pandemic has created a cybercrime playground. From phishing scams to ransomware to social media attacks, COVID-19-focused malware campaigns are on the rise. In fact, according to research from Zscaler, there's been a 30,000 percent increase in coronavirus-related attacks.

We talked with Mike Kelley, CSO at Navisite, to discuss why the current crisis is causing such a dramatic spike in cybersecurity activity, as well as ways organizations can secure their remote workforce and protect their organization from cyberthreats both now and after the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end.

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How to force your computer to download the Windows 10 May 2020 Update

Windows 10 2004 About screen

Microsoft just managed to release the Windows 10 May 2020 Update in May, and many people are eager to get their hands on it -- but not everyone is being offered it straight away.

For most people, a simple check of Windows Update will give them access to the update, but this is a staged rollout so it might take a while to appear for you. It is possible, however, to force your computer to download the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Here's how to do it.

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Microsoft hopes old video games will get people to buy Xbox Series X instead of possibly superior Sony PlayStation 5

pep-pep-mee-maw-gamers-elderly

It is never fun to buy the same game over and over again as it gets repeatedly re-released for newer and newer consoles. So naturally, backwards compatibility is a good thing. Microsoft seems to be hoping the ability to play old games will make the terribly named Xbox Series X attractive to consumers.

In fact, the company isn't just promising backwards compatibility, but the ability to make some old games look and run better on the newer hardware. You will even be able to use Quick Resume -- the ability to start playing exactly where you left off -- with these previous-gen games. While this is all undoubtedly cool, it is not the way to advertise a next-generation console. If Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 ends up being superior for next-gen titles -- absolutely a  possibility -- the Xbox Series X's enhanced backwards compatibility won't really matter.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 19635

Windows-10 key

Microsoft began the rollout of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update yesterday, although it won’t be available to all for a while as there are still a number of known issues to be aware of.

Today the software giant releases a new test build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

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Massive amounts of corporate data now stored on employee USB devices

flash drive and laptop

There has been a 123 percent increase in the volume of data downloaded to USB devices by employees since working from home has become widespread due to coronavirus.

What's more, according to a report from SaaS data protection company Digital Guardian, 74 percent of that data is subject to organisation data governance policies.

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Updated platform offers zero-trust management of multi-clouds

Cloud

Multi-cloud environments tend to be harder to secure because teams and applications are much more distributed resulting in a larger attack surface.

A zero-trust approach deals with these threats but can introduce overheads that make it hard to manage. Morpheus Data is integrating VMware NSX-T and Unisys Stealth technology into its cloud automation framework to enable microsegmentation and dramatically simplify the implementation of zero-trust processes.

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You need to take action if you want to avoid being cut off from Zoom

Angled Zoom logo

Zoom has been one of the most used, yet most lambasted, contestants in the video conferencing arena during coronavirus-driven lockdown times, and much of the focus has been on privacy and security issues.

Having acknowledged that it had work to do, the company promised to take steps to improve its service and has issued numerous updates to its app in recent months. The release of Zoom 5.0 in April was a major step, and you only have days to upgrade or risk being cut off from the service completely.

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Turn off the security please, I'm the boss

employee snoop

The C-suite is the most likely group within an organization to ask for relaxed mobile security protocols (74 percent) -- despite also being highly targeted by cyberattacks according to a new study.

The report from zero-trust platform MobileIron finds that executives feel frustrated by mobile security protocols and often request to bypass them.

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Three-quarters of organizations fail to complete legacy system modernizations

success v failure

New research from Advanced shows that 74 percent of organizations have started a legacy system modernization project but failed to complete it.

The report also suggests a disconnect between business and technical teams could be to blame. CIOs and heads of IT are more interested in the technology landscape of their organisation as a whole, whereas enterprise architects are more internally focused.

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Safe working practices suffer when working remotely

using laptop with sharks

Almost half of employees are less likely to follow safe data practices when working from home according to a new report from email security firm Tessian.

While 91 percent of IT leaders trust their staff to follow best security practices when working remotely, over half of employees (52 percent) believe they can get away with riskier behavior when working from home.

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NPD found a surge in mobile data usage in March

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Mobile data usage has been on the rise for a while, as networks get better and faster and more people get mobile phones. Of course, with many people home right now phones are likely being used more than ever.

NPD, a market research firm that monitors these things, found a surge in usage in March, which coincides with the pandemic and people being forced to work from home.

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8GB Raspberry Pi 4 now available

8GB Raspberry Pi 4

When the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the Raspberry Pi 4 last year it described it as a "complete desktop computer", but the truth is it isn’t powerful enough to run many of the tasks you’d use a desktop computer for, even if you opted for the 4GB model.

Today however, the Raspberry Pi 4 gets an upgrade with a new 8GB version joining the ranks.

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Wow! Windows 10 May 2020 Update has a LOT of issues

Scared_Concern_Man

Microsoft had previously warned that the latest feature update for Windows 10 would be released with one known issue, but it turns out it has a lot more than that.

The Windows 10 May 2020 Update, also known as Windows 10 version 2004, started rolling out to users yesterday, being first made available to users running Windows 10 version 1903 or 1909.

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How to ensure communication security when working from home

Online meeting

With millions working from home for the first time thanks to coronavirus, many businesses have had to act quickly in order to facilitate remote communication which may never have been an option before the virus struck. Though these businesses may have already made the switch to internet-hosted calls and communications at work, providing access to all employees from home will not have been common. One of the most common concerns of using internet communication software is its security capacity, so how secure is it? And how can business leaders ensure the highest levels of safety for a remote workforce?

From news stories of vulnerable video conferencing software to threats from less secure home networks, navigating the security issues of a remote workforce may be a trial by fire for businesses attempting to maintain levels of normality during this time. Therefore, it will be important to understand both the benefits and drawbacks of internet communications to know what to look out for and how to inform staff of the best practice.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 May 2020 Update -- here's how to download it now

Microsoft building in California

As predicted earlier today, Microsoft has now released Windows 10 May 2020 Update. This latest update has been available to developers for a little while, but the proposed general release that had been scheduled for the middle of this month had been postponed.

But now Microsoft has decided the update is ready for public consumption. Here's what you need to know, and how you can get hold of it.

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