64 percent of organizations believe they have suffered a breach due to privileged access

insider threat

A global survey of over 1,000 IT security decision makers by privileged access management specialist BeyondTrust reveals that 64 percent believe they've had either a direct or indirect breach due to employee access in the last year, and 62 percent believe they've had a breach due to vendor access.

Employee behavior continues to be a challenge for a majority of organizations. Writing down passwords, for example, is cited as a problem by 60 percent of organizations, while colleagues telling each other passwords was also an issue for 58 percent of organizations in 2019.

Continue reading

Medical and financial details of 12 million Americans exposed in Quest Diagnostics data breach

Listen to heart

Medical testing firm and clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics has revealed that a data breach has led to the records of nearly 12 million of its customers being exposed. The data includes financial data, Social Security numbers and medical information.

Quest Diagnostics was itself not the target of hackers, but the American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) was. The company is used by Optum360 for billing collections services, and Optum360 is used by Quest Diagnostics.

Continue reading

Microsoft is closing all of its speciality stores in the US

Microsoft sign

Microsoft is refocusing its retail presence, taking the decision to close all of its remaining "speciality stores".

The last 17 in-mall kiosks have been closed with immediate effect, and Microsoft will now put its efforts into its growing chain of bricks-and-mortar retail stores around the world.

Continue reading

Get 'Networking All-in-One for Dummies' ($17 value) FREE for a limited time

Networking Dummies

Becoming a master of networking has never been easier. Get the one networking book that’s designed to replace an entire shelf full of the dull and tedious networking books you’d otherwise have to buy.

Whether you're in charge of a small network or a large network, Networking All-in-One is full of the information you’ll need to set up a network and keep it functioning. Fully updated to capture the latest Windows 10 releases through Spring 2018, this is the comprehensive guide to setting up, managing, and securing a successful network.

Continue reading

Data breaches exposed 2.8 billion consumer records in 2018

data breach

New data from digital identity platform ForgeRock reveals that data breaches cost US organizations over $654 billion as well as exposing more than 2.8 billion consumer records.

Personally identifiable information (PII) was the most targeted data for breaches in 2018, accounting for 97 percent of all breaches, with unauthorized access encompassing 34 percent of all attacks.

Continue reading

Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 Bluetooth speaker is ready to rock your summer

1-wonderboom2-front-radical-red.png.imgw.1000.1000

Technically, summer won’t begin until June 21, but with Memorial Day now behind us, many in the USA consider the season to already be here. For instance, here on Long Island, I have already made one trip to the beach and had a backyard barbecue. As far as I’m concerned, it’s summer.

When summer fun is being had, music is often a big part of the experience. Thankfully, long gone are the days of lugging around large "boom boxes" and replaceable batteries to enjoy your tunes outdoors. These days, a rechargeable Bluetooth speaker and a smartphone is all you need. Ultimate Ears has consistently been releasing excellent such speakers, and today it unveils the latest. Called "WONDERBOOM 2," it is, as you can guess, the second generation WONDERBOOM.

Continue reading

Phishing attacks grow in sophistication to evade defenses

Phishing

Despite businesses investing in next-gen technologies, phishing threats continue to become more sophisticated and effective according to a new report.

The study from intelligent phishing defense company Cofense shows how threat actors, armed with an ever-growing arsenal of tactics and techniques, continue to tweak their campaigns and enhance their capacity to deliver malware, ultimately getting more messages past perimeter controls to user inboxes.

Continue reading

'Sign in with Apple' neatly balances privacy and convenience

Sign in with Apple

At WWDC yesterday, Apple made numerous announcements and one of the more interesting was the company's new alternative to social sign-in buttons. Endless apps and website let you sign in with your Facebook, Twitter or Google account for the sake of convenience, but it comes at the cost of privacy -- which is precisely why Apple came up with "Sign in with Apple".

The basic idea is the same as existing social sign-in options -- it's a quick and easy way to sign into various services without the need to create a dedicated account. The difference is that "Sign in with Apple" protects your privacy and avoids the tracking of the current crop of alternatives.

Continue reading

macOS 10.15 Catalina is the most exciting version of Apple's operating system in years

catalina-macos-03

So, like, here's the deal folks. macOS is a really great operating system, but it has gotten a bit stale in recent years. That isn't necessarily a bad thing -- the lack of excitement is largely due to the maturity of macOS. But also, it was because Apple wasn't paying as much attention to the desktop OS. And hey, I get it, iOS is the company's bread and butter. With that said, Mac users are a ferociously passionate bunch, so Apple made a big mistake by neglecting them -- especially as iPhone sales are slowing.

Thankfully, Apple has finally gotten the message from its loyal customers, and it has begun focusing on Mac again. The keyboard on its laptops are still a problem, but the iMac and even the Mac mini are now modern and well-received. Earlier today at WWDC, Apple even unveiled the upcoming redesigned Mac Pro, and it is a friggin' stunner! It is exactly what professional Mac users have wanted for years.

Continue reading

iPadOS is Apple's new operating system for iPad

iPadOS

At its WWDC in San Jose, California, Apple today took the wraps off iOS 13, the future iteration of its mobile operating system for iPhone. It also revealed that going forward, the iPad will run a special variation, called iPadOS.

This is much the same as iOS -- it gains all the new features found in iOS 13 -- but in addition it comes with a new Home Screen, better multitasking, and more ways to use Apple Pencil.

Continue reading

Apple introduces the all-new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR

Apple_mac_pro_new_display_final_cut_screen_060319_big.jpg.large_2x

The focus of Apple’s WWDC is predominately software, but the tech giant likes to occasionally introduce new hardware there too.

At the event being held today, Apple lifted the lid on iOS 13 and watchOS 6, but also introduced the redesigned Mac Pro workstation and Apple Pro Display XDR.

Continue reading

Apple unveils the stunning iOS 13 with a system-wide Dark Mode, Sign In with Apple, and all-new Photos app

iOS 13

At its WWDC in San Jose, California, Apple today took the wraps off iOS 13, revealing many of the new features we were expecting see, as well as plenty of new additions we weren't.

We’ve previously seen concept videos of iOS 13, and two months ago my colleague Mark Wyciślik-Wilson revealed Apple's new mobile OS would be introducing a system-wide dark mode, and better multitasking. But what else is new?

Continue reading

Microsoft's Bing celebrates a decade of mediocrity

birthday_sad_fire

Google is the best search engine; it is indisputable. Of course, the downside to Google is that it is a privacy nightmare, tracking you and logging your search history. While there are alternatives, such as DuckDuckGo and StartPage.com that focus on protecting your privacy, Google still provides the better search experience.

And then there is Bing -- the search engine people love to hate. Yes, it is fashionable to bash Microsoft's search engine, but the truth is, it's not that bad. In fact, it is fairly good. And that is the problem -- it is just mediocre, never really catching on with consumers. Google is just better. Despite Bing's lack of success, Microsoft has surprisingly stuck with it. As a result, today, Bing celebrates a 10th birthday -- a full decade of mediocrity. Huzzah!

Continue reading

5 mistakes you might be making with your company's IT infrastructure

Mistake

Technology has changed the way that companies in most industries do business. From internal communications to external marketing and PR, market research to customer engagement, and decision-making through to execution, virtually every facet of modern business leans on technology or data in a significant way. Because of this reality, the average company’s IT infrastructure is the beating heart of the organization. Without workable IT, the average business won’t just be slowed down; it will be unable to function.

Most businesses have workable IT. However, many companies could be doing more with technology if they learned how to avoid these five common pitfalls of IT infrastructure design, operation, and maintenance.

Continue reading

How to measure your company's digital adoption trajectory

devices

We live in a digital era, where digital adoption is critical for every business. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, your customers expect to be able to do everything online, and preferably from their phones. Digital adoption cuts right across the B2B and B2C divide.

It’s not just your customers, either; your employees demand it too. Your employees are increasingly born in the digital age. They look for smooth, smart, intuitive digital tools to assist and support them in every corner of their working life. Despite the importance of digital adoption, not every enterprise succeeds in introducing it. There are a number of obstacles to successful digital adoption, including employees and users who are resistant to change, interfaces that are complex to master, and a sense of overwhelm at the number of digital tools before us.

Continue reading

Load More Articles