Two-thirds of consumers suspect governments abuse their powers to access data
According to a new study 51 percent of people don’t believe their government can protect their personal data, and nearly two-thirds (65 percent) suspect their government already abuses its powers to access the data of citizens.
Identity protection company Venafi surveyed 3,000 consumers in the US, UK and Germany about initiatives that would grant governments more access to private, encrypted data.
WhatsApp has 1 billion daily users
WhatsApp is slowly but surely strengthening its position in the messaging space, now boasting one billion daily users. It joins a very select club that includes parent company Facebook.
WhatsApp has also seen a significant increase in the number of monthly users. It has 1.3 billion monthly users, 300 million more than early last year when it broke the one billion monthly users mark.
More than half of companies fail to measure the effectiveness of their cyber security
With businesses spending increasing amounts on cyber security, a new survey reveals that many of them are failing to measure the effectiveness of their investments.
The study from privileged account management specialist Thycotic found 58 percent of its 400 respondents scored a failing grade on a benchmark survey when evaluating their efforts to measure their cybersecurity investments and performance against best practices.
LinkedIn Website Demographics lets website owners track the type of visitors coming to their sites
The tracking capabilities of social media sites has long been a cause for concern, with Facebook being the most notable example. Now the Microsoft-owned professional social network LinkedIn has announced details of a new tracking feature that will be of interest to website owners.
LinkedIn Website Demographics does not (despite what some reports might suggest, #PrivacyKlaxon) allow for the tracking of individual users, but it does give website owners the chance to get a better idea of the demographics of their visitors. This is less about creating targeted content, and more about determining whether existing content is attracting the right audience -- although clearly one leads to the other.
Brexit negotiations could be hit by DDoS attacks
Hackers could use DDoS to disrupt the Brexit negotiations for the UK's leaving the European Union, or use attacks as a distraction technique while they seek to steal confidential documents or data, according to new research.
The study by Corero Network Security polled 100 security professionals at the Infosecurity Europe conference in London and found 57 percent believe Brexit negotiations will be disrupted by DDoS attacks.
Microsoft launches Windows Bounty Program to weed out Windows 10 bugs
Microsoft is one of many technology companies to run bounty programs giving people the opportunity to earn a bundle of cash for finding bugs and security issues with software. Now the software giant has launched the Windows Bounty Program, offering rewards of up to $250,000.
Of course, the starting point for rewards is much lower -- just $500, but still better than a kick in the teeth. This new bounty program has four key areas of focus in addition to the Windows Insider program: Microsoft Hyper-V, Mitigation bypass and Bounty for defense, Windows Defender Application Guard, and Microsoft Edge.
Ledger X is the first regulated cryptocurrency exchange in the US
In just a few months, digital currency investors and miners will be able hedge their investments under US regulatory oversight.
The cryptocurrency trading platform operator, Ledger X has been been granted registration by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to become the first federally regulated digital currency options exchange and clearing house in the US.
Google Play Music and YouTube Red to merge into a new streaming service
YouTube's head of music, Lyor Cohen, has confirmed that Google Play Music and YouTube Red are going to merge. Speaking in New York at the New Music Seminar conference, Cohen said that a new streaming service would be created.
Rumors of the merger have been circulating for some time, and the move will see Google consolidating its services into something rather more manageable -- both for the company and for users.
Microsoft further pledges Linux loyalty by joining Cloud Native Computing Foundation
Linux is the future, and even closed-source champion Microsoft has gotten onboard. The Windows-maker is not only contributing to many open source projects, but developing software for the Linux desktop, with programs such as Skype. You can even install Linux distributions from the Windows Store nowadays. Hell, the company has even created a version of Microsoft Office that runs on Linux by way of Android! Yes, Google's mobile operating system is Linux. Android is also what effectively killed the much maligned Windows Phone, so Microsoft clearly has no problem with joining forces with prior "enemies."
Today, Microsoft further pledges its loyalty to Linux and open source by becoming a platinum member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. If you aren't familiar, the CNCF is a part of the well-respected Linux Foundation (of which Microsoft is also a member). With the Windows-maker increasingly focusing its efforts on the cloud -- and profiting from it -- this seems like a match made in heaven. In fact, Dan Kohn, Executive Director of the foundation says, "We are honored to have Microsoft, widely recognized as one of the most important enterprise technology and cloud providers in the world, join CNCF as a platinum member."
Alphabet Q2 2017 by the numbers: $26 bn revenue, $3.5 bn profit
There are four key areas where digital businesses can make a significant profit, and Google's parent company Alphabet appears to be gaining in all four of them according to its latest earnings report.
In a recent call to reveal its results, Alphabet said revenue rose 21 percent to $26 billion, in the second quarter of 2017. Net income was $3.5 billion.
LG focuses on the customer experience with complimentary G6 second year warranty
When you buy a company's product, the experience doesn't end at the store. Well, at least it shouldn't. While some companies may wipe their hands after the sale, the truly high-quality brands will focus on the overall experience for the life of the product. Apple, for instance, does an excellent job here, making you feel like you've joined a club that cares about you. While buying Apple Care improves that experience, even without it, some consumers may end up with a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Another company focusing on the customer experience? LG. If you weren't already aware, owners of the G6 Android flagship -- an excellent smartphone -- are able to get a complimentary second year warranty at no charge. Yup, you can register for what the company calls the "LG G6 Second Year Promise." In fact, the company even guarantees an expedited turnaround time if your under-warranty G6 should need replacing. Quite frankly, this warranty -- coupled with decreasing price -- makes buying the device a no-brainer. To highlight this previously announced promise, the company has now created a new video explaining it.
Fruitfly malware starts infecting Macs
A new version of the Mac malware dubbed Fruitfly has been spotted in the wild, and it’s unclear if the latest macOS is vulnerable to it or not.
This is according to former NSA hacker and chief security researcher at Synack, Patrick Wardle. He told ZDNet that the malware, which was first revealed back in January, can take full control of an infected machine, including files, camera, screen, and peripherals.
Why modern cyber attacks require a multi-step plan
The world is once again reeling from a massive ransomware attack that either severely impacted companies’ operations or caused them to take a closer look at their ability to identify, contain and remediate these incidents. As attacks on enterprise networks grow more common and complex, incident response (IR) teams and security operations centers (SOCs) grow increasingly besieged: 44 percent of security operations managers see more than 5,000 alerts every day, according to the Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report. Due to the staggering volume, organizations only investigate 56 percent of these alerts, and remediate less than one-half of the actual threats they receive.
Clearly, cybersecurity managers and staffers are overwhelmed. That’s why they must work with their leadership to come up with a multi-step process to effectively monitor, identify and eliminate threats. With this in mind, we’ve developed what we call an "IR Hierarchy of Needs" to empower SOC and IR teams:
Many businesses believe they're GDPR-compliant: The reality says otherwise
A new study has claimed that, contrary to what they may think, many businesses are struggling to be ready for GDPR.
According to The Veritas 2017 GDPR Report, a third (31 percent) of respondents believe their enterprise is in line with the regulation’s key requirements. On the other hand, when they were asked about specific GDPR provisions, their answers have shown that they’re most likely not compliant.
How to use the new cross-device web-browsing feature in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
New Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Build 16251 is rolling out now and brings with it lots of changes and some great new features, such as the ability to shut down or restart your PC using Cortana voice controls.
The standout feature though is cross-device web-browsing that lets you browse the web on an Android phone and then switch to continue browsing the same site on your Windows 10 PC. Here’s how to use it.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.