The Olympic Cyber Defense Games: How the Tokyo Olympic Games will fare keeping cyber attacks at bay while the world watches
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world watched as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Fast forward a year later and the change in sentiment -- from excitement to weariness -- is palpable in Japan and the rest of the globe. In fact, over 70 percent of the country wanted the IOC to cancel the games outright. And a resurgence of COVID cases throughout the country effectively cripples Japan’s ability to create revenue streams through international tourism and event attendance, resulting in an inevitable hit to its economy. But the IOC insists on pushing forward as the Olympic Games is a symbol of unity and resilience.
Like the IOC, however, cybercriminals will charge ahead too in their own race to potentially disrupt the Olympic games. Ultimately, it isn’t a matter of "if" they’ll succeed in doing so, but "when" and how much damage will it cause. It takes a collective of lawmakers, government officials, security and IT teams assigned to maintaining the games’ online infrastructure to ensure that proper measures are in place to deter any cyber attacks and disruptions long enough for proceedings to cross the finish line. What sorts of threats does the Tokyo Olympics face; where will those threats stem from; and can previous history lessons effectively inform present day defense tactics?
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Best Windows apps this week
Four-hundred-forty-nine 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 revealed this week that future Windows Server releases will all be Long-Term Service Channel releases. All releases will be supported for 10 years, with 5-years of mainstream updates and 5-years of extended support updates.
Let's hear it for system administrators!
Today, just in case you hadn't noticed, is System Administration Appreciation Day. Over the last year the work of sysadmins has been in the spotlight as businesses have struggled to ensure remote access.
A new report from Netwrix finds that 66 percent of system administrators have had to deal with an increased workload.
Microsoft releases KB5004296 update for Windows 10 to fix game performance problems and more
It's time for Windows 10 users to gamble with another update. With the release of the KB5004296 update, Microsoft addresses a longstanding problem with game performance under Windows 10.
KB5004296 does not include any security fixes but the promise of boosting game performance is a major highlight. Microsoft says that the update "addresses an issue that prevents power plans and Game Mode from working as expected", pointing out that this has been causing "lower frame rates and reduced performance while gaming".
How to switch from the Insider Dev channel to the Beta channel to get stable builds of Windows 11
There has been great interest in the release of Windows 11, and in their eagerness to try out the operating system, lots of people are taking advantage of the Windows Insider program to test out preview builds. Many people have got involved with the Insider program for the first time, and with only comparatively unstable Dev builds available initially, lots of keen testers jumped on the Dev channel, even if this is something they would not normally be comfortable doing.
After releasing a handful of Windows 11 preview builds to the Dev channel, Microsoft has now started to push out more stable beta builds of the software. If you have been trying the Dev builds out of curiosity and now feel ready to stick with more stable builds, here's how to switch to the Beta channel.
Microsoft Windows 11 reaches Beta milestone
Last week, we told you that Microsoft had released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.100. Was that exciting news? Meh, not really. I mean, look, Microsoft releases a lot of pre-release versions of Windows to its Insiders (aka unpaid testers) so it isn't exactly thrilling anymore. With that said, some people are very enthusiastic about the upcoming Windows 11, so I suppose any news about the operating system is significant right now.
Of course, Windows 11 reaching a major milestone is undoubtedly worth celebrating, and today, that is exactly what has happened. You see, the next version of Windows has officially achieved Beta status! No, it is isn't an entirely new build. Actually, the aforementioned Preview Build 22000.100 has simply been released to the Beta channel.
Effective data strategy gives enterprises a competitive advantage
Businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of data, but most acknowledge that they could do better in using it to drive business transformation.
A new report from DataStax, based on a survey of over 500 technology executives and practitioners, reveals that while 96 percent of respondents say they have some level of a data strategy, only 38 percent of enterprises give themselves top grades when it comes to using data to create value for customers.
New software improves ransomware resilience and recovery
Ransomware attacks are growing in severity and volume, bringing increasing costs and financial, legal, and other challenges.
Businesses need to be sure they can recover from an attack and data management specialist Zerto aims to provide the means with its latest offering Zerto 9.
Phishing attack spoofs WeTransfer notifications
Despite the rise of cloud-based collaboration services it's still common for people to exchange information and documents by email. Of course you still need a way of handling larger attachments.
The latest social engineering attack uncovered by Armorblox spoofs a file-sharing notice from the popular WeTransfer platform that's used by individuals and businesses alike.
43 percent of cloud identities are abandoned and unused
A new analysis of platforms including AWS, Google and Salesforce, involving 200,000 identities and hundreds of millions of cloud assets reveals that 43 percent of all cloud identities sit abandoned and unused.
The report from Varonis points out that this also means they are exposed and vulnerable, making an organization a target for account takeovers.
Dell cancels some Alienware shipments to six states because the gaming rigs are too powerful
Gamers looking to get their hands on certain Alienware gaming systems may find that they are out of luck depending on where they live in the US.
Residents of six states -- California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- are having their purchasing options limited by power regulations. Legislation that came into force at the beginning of the month means that certain versions of the Alienware Aurora R10 and R12 are simply too powerful to be sold in these six states and Dell is unable to ship them there.
Startpage launches its privacy-centric Google Translate alternative, Private Language Translator
As a search engine for people looking to avoid Google -- or for anyone with privacy concerns in general -- Startpage has earned itself a strong following and a solid reputation. Building on the popularity of its private search tool, the company is continuing the expansion of its privacy-focused services.
Having already launched Private Shopping, Private Currency Converter and Private Stocks this year, Startpage has now added Private Language Translator to its rostrum.
Ubuntu-based Linux Lite 5.6 RC1 is here to replace Microsoft Windows 11 on your PC
Windows 10 is not a terrible operating systems. In fact, other than the extreme telemetry (spying), it is pretty good. With that said, the upcoming Windows 11 is very polarizing, featuring radical changes to the user interface. Not to mention, the system requirements will leave many still-capable computers unable to upgrade. These unfortunate computer owners will have to decide whether to continue using Windows 10 or buy a new Windows 11-compatible PC.
Thankfully, there is an arguably better option -- just switch to Linux! Yes, modern Linux-based operating systems are very well-supported and most will run great on aging hardware (unlike Windows 11). Linux Lite, which uses the Xfce desktop environment, is one of the best Linux distributions for Windows-switchers, as it is lightweight, modern, and familiar.
How security teams can manage data protection post Brexit
EU and UK data-driven businesses no doubt breathed a sigh of relief with the EU recently approving the continued flow of data between the EU and UK.
But the news is just one hurdle as Cyber Security Officers (CSOs) and information security teams both in mainland Europe and the UK consider challenges that lie ahead and prepare to flex as necessary in a new era in data management. Now more than ever, it is the security leaders that work collaboratively with legal and data counterparts who will conquer.
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