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Supply chains cybersecurity risks: Closing the protection gap

Supply chain attacks have been on the threat radar of many organizations and their security teams for several years. However, since the infamous SolarWinds attack in 2020 -- which led to widespread and damaging compromises of data, networks and systems -- the supply chain attack vector has taken on a new level of focus. Indeed, supply chain attacks, which have become an effective way for hackers to gain access to IT networks at scale, and as such, are among the most worrying cybersecurity risks currently facing organizations today.

Supply chain risks come in many forms -- from complex to relatively simplistic. The UK government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which explores organizations’ policies, processes, and approaches to cybersecurity and is used to inform government cybersecurity policy, looked at this in its latest report. The 2022 survey reveals that just 13 percent of businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers, with that number dropping to 7 percent for their wider supply chain. Possibly even more concerning, many organizations commonly perceive 'big tech' companies to be "invulnerable to cyber attacks".

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Securing the new hybrid education network

Even before 2020, connectivity played an important role in university life. In recent years, however, connectivity shifted from a mere convenience to a lifeline for students and universities. As these institutions built and expanded online remote access for their students, many from scratch, their IT departments were forced to shift their focus from on-campus networking to supporting a distributed global network to meet the new normal of education.

Although in-person teaching has now seen a welcome return, the wealth of online learning resources available, both on internal and external networks, are an invaluable asset to both teachers and students. Meanwhile, online retail, banking, health services, gaming, media, and more are mainstays of student life.

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Get 'Digital Marketing For Dummies -- Second Edition' ($21 value) FREE for a limited time

Digital Marketing for Dummies has the tools you need to step into the digital world and bring your marketing process up to date. In this book, you’ll discover how digital tools can expand your brand’s reach and help you acquire new customers. Digital marketing is all about increasing audience engagement, and the proven strategy and tactics in this guide can get your audience up and moving!

You’ll learn how to identify the digital markets and media that work best for your business -- no wasting your time or money! Discover how much internet traffic is really worth to you and manage your online leads to convert web visitors into paying clients. From anonymous digital prospect to loyal customer -- this book will take you through the whole process!

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Rethinking cybersecurity

Business security

If you’ve been in the cybersecurity field for a while, you’ve probably noticed that there’s less emphasis on formal disaster recovery and business continuity plans than there used to be. CISOs still create plans, but it’s not the centerpiece of cybersecurity operations in the same sense.  As security technology evolved, people started focusing more on technology solutions that they hoped could prevent problems altogether.

There’s some magical thinking involved in that, and ironically, one of the biggest struggles CISOs face now is how their organizations think about cybersecurity problems, i.e., that there shouldn’t be problems. That’s not the world we live in. Having difficulties is not the issue. Rather, thinking there are magic solutions that can eliminate every weakness is the problem. We need to rethink cybersecurity to accommodate this reality and create a holistic response for when problems inevitably arise.

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Best Windows apps this week

Five-hundred-and-four in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft may release the first feature update for Windows 11, version 22H2, as early as next month, according to a new rumor.

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Why we need to make data integration obsolete [Q&A]

folder stack

Nowadays there are apps for almost everything. As users they clutter up our phones and tablets, but they present problems for businesses too, in particular the storing and analysis of the data they create.

Data is often tied to a specific app and each app needs its own copy, so enterprises can end up with lots of copies of the same information leading to issues with control, compliance and more.

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Apple issues critical updates for iPhones, iPads and Macs after the discovery of a serious security flaw

Apple logo and padlock

Apple has issued a warning about a security flaw that could be used to take full control of iPhones, iPads and Macs. The company says that the vulnerability "may have been actively exploited" and has issued a slew of updates to patch the problem.

Going some way to prove that it is not just Windows that suffers serious security issues, this vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2022-32893. The potential impact of the flaw is so wide because it stems from a bug in Safari’s WebKit rendering engine.

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Behind the Microsoft Office compatibility drive, LibreOffice 7.4 still manages to surprise with more new features

The fourth major point release of The Document Foundation’s open-source, cross-platform office suite has landed. As with the previous release in February, LibreOffice 7.4 is targeted towards improving the experience for those migrating from Microsoft Office.

The focus on improving compatibility with Microsoft Office -- both for those migrating away from the platform and others who need to share documents with MS Office users -- is an ongoing process, and the 7.4 press release focuses a lot of attention on LibreOffice’s "highest level of compatibility in the office suite market segment".

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Ransomware variants almost double in six months

ransomware laptop

In the past six months, FortiGuard Labs has seen a total of 10,666 ransomware variants, compared to just 5,400 in the previous half year.

In addition ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), with its popularity on the dark web, continues to fuel an industry of criminals forcing organizations to consider ransomware settlements.

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Microsoft is rolling out a Windows 11 update that adds widget notifications to the taskbar

When Microsoft introduced widgets to Windows 11, there was broad agreement that the company had not fully realized the potential of the feature. This is something that is somewhat addressed by a new update to the Windows Experience Pack.

The update means that widgets, including the weather widget, will now be able to get your attention by throwing up announcements and notifications. It's an update that could make widgets genuinely useful, but you may not see the new functionality immediately.

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Get 'The Ultimate Kali Linux Book -- Second Edition' ($41.99 value) FREE for a limited time

Kali Linux is the most popular and advanced penetration testing Linux distribution within the cybersecurity industry. Using Kali Linux, a cybersecurity professional will be able to discover and exploit various vulnerabilities and perform advanced penetration testing on both enterprise wired and wireless networks.

The Ultimate Kali Linux Book -- Second Edition is a comprehensive guide for those who are new to Kali Linux and penetration testing that will have you up to speed in no time. Using real-world scenarios, you’ll understand how to set up a lab and explore core penetration testing concepts.

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Pssstt... Wanna buy an identity? The price of data on the dark web

identity theft hacker

We all know that stolen information is traded on the dark web, and new research by Trustwave looks at what is available and how much it costs. It also uncovers the additional services that are being offered to make it easier to commit fraud.

Details of a stolen credit card can be bought for as little as $8. Much more valuable though is a card with 'fullz' -- extra information on the victim that makes the card more usable. These can cost up to $70.

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Netflix's upcoming, cheaper, ad-supported tier has some serious drawbacks

Netflix logo and remote control

If you have been put off getting a Netflix subscription because you think it's too expensive, the upcoming introduction of a reduced-cost, ad-supported tier may sound appealing. But there are numerous downsides, some of which are only just coming to light.

First of all, there is -- of course -- the fact that there are ads. But if you're happy to put up with this, you may be disappointed to learn that you won't be able to access all content either. But it gets worse. Sign up for the ad-supported tier and you could be missing out on some of the most useful functionality Netflix offers.

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Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25182 with lots of important fixes

Windows 11 laptop

Some weekly Windows 11 builds come with new features for Dev Channel Insiders to play around with, while others are more about offering fixes and just generally improving the overall user experience.

Today’s new flight, Build 25182, falls into the latter camp, and comes with lots of important fixes. These include:

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Microsoft is working on a new PowerToy that will let you copy text from an image

PowerToys

It is something pretty much all of us have needed to do at one time or another -- copy text from an image so it can be used in another document. Search online for how to extract text from an image, and you will be pointed in the direction of various OCR tools, but Microsoft is working on a solution of its own.

The ability to copy text from an image is coming to PowerToys. The developers are working on a new utility that will make the process very simple. Called PowerOCR, the unreleased PowerToys utility is undergoing testing right now.

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