Microsoft takes just 7 hours to patch colossal Office 365 vulnerability that exposed companies' data
Companies are often criticized for the length of time it takes them to patch security problems found in software. But this week Microsoft exceled itself, taking just 7 hours to patch a serious security hole in Office 365 that made it possible to gain unrestricted access to businesses' cloud accounts.
A problem with the SAML authentication system meant that it was possible to gain access to just about any Office 365 account, including accessing connected services like Outlook, OneDrive and Skype for Business. More than this, the exploit allowed an attacker to infiltrate companies and organizations such as Verizon, Georgia State University and British Airways who use Office 365. The researchers who unearthed the issue have praised Microsoft for dealing with it so quickly.
Enterprise Microsoft Azure users get free one-year support
In order to hasten the transition from its traditional retail products to its cloud based products, Microsoft has just announced that it will be offering one year of free technical support to Azure users.
From May 1, 2016 through to June 30, 2017 users who purchase Azure Services under an Enterprise Agreement (EA) will receive a year of free support from the company.
Cloud native networking helps businesses exploit public clouds
As more businesses turn to the use of public cloud services, they're keen to find ways to gain more visibility into their deployments and make them more secure.
Cloud native networking pioneer Aviatrix Systems is addressing this with the launch of its Cloud Native Networking 2.0. The solution combines a software-defined network controller and software gateways to enable businesses using a combination of public, private and hybrid clouds to quickly and easily roll out virtual private clouds.
Dropbox previews Project Infinite to blur the boundaries between the cloud and local storage
At its Dropbox Open in London, Dropbox unveiled a preview of its new Project Infinite technology. At its heart, it's a simple idea. Regardless of whether files have been synced to a device or not, they will show up in Dropbox on the desktop.
The aim is to reduce the reliance on browser-based tools which can slow down workflow. It allows for collaborators to gain instant access to files their co-workers have shared with them and allows files stored in the cloud to be treated in the same way as those stored locally.
Rackspace improves compliance handling for mixed infrastructures
When businesses have specific compliance requirements -- because of the industry they're in for example -- managing them across cloud and hybrid infrastructures can be a tough challenge.
Managed services specialist Rackspace is addressing this by adding CloudPassage Halo as the underlying security and compliance platform behind its Rackspace Compliance Assistance service, targeting companies that prefer to outsource the management of their compliance initiatives.
Globalscape delivers faster enterprise file transfers
With increased cloud usage and more demand for remote working, the ability to move large files around efficiently has become more and more important.
Delays or latency in moving data can create serious challenges for a business and the size of files being moved is increasing, causing additional strain on bandwidth.
Weak Lumia sales prove Microsoft should put an end to Windows 10 Mobile
It is hard to take Windows 10 Mobile seriously when Microsoft announces sales of just 2.3 million Lumias in a whole quarter. If you ever thought that the platform can actually be competitive in today's market, now is the time to wake up. This year, smartphones sales are expected to reach 1.5 billion units. If Microsoft manages to move 10 million Lumias in 2016, Windows 10 Mobile's market share would likely be around the one percent mark.
Microsoft is not the only Windows Phone/Windows 10 Mobile vendor, but it is the largest by far. It sells about 90 percent of the smartphones running the tiled operating system, so its performance has a major impact on the platform's popularity.
Choosing asset management software
Asset management is often seen as something as a chore and something that's relegated to a few hours work with an Excel spreadsheet.
But that makes it hard to keep up to date and may not deliver all of the information needed to effectively keep track of equipment and software.
Dotcom: If you're still using Mega, back up your cloud-based files right now
It seems that Mega -- the enfant terrible of the cloud storage world -- could be on the brink of closure. Founder of Mega (formerly known as Mega Upload), Kim Dotcom took to Twitter to warn people to back up their files ASAP.
Not for the first time, Mega is out of the control of Dotcom, and is currently in the hands of what he refers to as "the fifth most wanted criminal in China". For many people the idea of their cloud storage being in criminal hands would be concerning enough, but Dotcom says that Bill Liu wants to float the company in Hong Kong.
More than a third of enterprises don't backup business data
The results of a new survey show that many organizations continue to demonstrate a complacent, lax attitude toward backups, leaving them vulnerable to evolving threats.
The study from cloud-based backup provider CloudBerry Lab finds that almost half of respondents (49 percent) have only one copy of their business data, which could cause major operational disruption in the event that data becomes inaccessible.
Migrating Oracle apps to the cloud
With companies of all sizes across the globe waking up to the benefits of moving some or all Oracle applications to the cloud, the cloud is rapidly becoming a star in many IT strategies of organizations. The benefits include the reduced need for up-front capital investment in order to accelerate return on investment, as well as gaining greater business insight and an excellent user experience.
The reality of today’s cloud technology is now matching -- or even exceeding -- the hype of a few years ago. However, some organizations are still cautious about moving business-critical applications to the cloud, based on perceived risks that are often overstated and based on outdated concerns.
Microsoft Azure's Container Service now generally available
Microsoft Azure's Container Service in now available to help companies deploy and manage containers using their choice of software.
Users of the service will be able to move their container workloads to the cloud easily and can still run their operations using open-source tools. The two most popular tools -- Mesosphere’s Data Centre Operating System (DC/OS) and Docker’s Swarm and Compose -- will be both be supported by Azure Container Service and users will be able to continue running their operations using the one they prefer.
Stop using shortened URLs to share private content
Generating a shortened URL to share content may seem like a good idea, but it may also expose you to unnecessary security risks, a new research paper shows. Titled Gone in Six Characters: Short URLs Considered Harmful for Cloud Services, it explains how short URLs can be used by malicious players to plant malware, copy personal files, and retrieve all sorts of personal information, like your home address, among other things.
URL shorteners, as their name suggest, are meant to bring long links, that can contain dozens of characters, usually down to just a few letters and numbers. That has some clear benefits: shortened URLs suit SMS messages and tweets better, look nicer in conversations, and allow services to track the number of clicks for a specific link, among other things. But the fact that they only contain a handful of characters makes them susceptible to brute-force search.
Privacy in the spotlight: Microsoft sues Department of Justice for not allowing transparency about data access requests
In light of Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations, regular transparency reports from technology companies about the requests they have received from governments about data requests have become very common. But despite the name, transparency reports are not very transparent -- there are great restrictions on what companies like Microsoft are able to report. The company believes this is unconstitutional.
The restrictions are so strict that it is not even possible to precisely report the number of requests for user data that have been received. Instead, this data must be conveyed in bands such as 0-499, 500-999, and so on. Now Microsoft has had enough. There are privacy concerns, of course, but most disturbing is that in half of cases of requests for customer data, Microsoft has been gagged from letting those affected know about the governmental interest. As a result, Microsoft has decided to sue the Department of Justice in a bid to be more transparent.
Box customers can now choose where to store their data
Online file sharing company Box today announced a new service, allowing businesses to store their cloud data across Europe and Asia.
The service, announced at the Box World Tour Europe, is called Box Zones, and it will allow Box customers to choose whether they want to store their data in Germany, Ireland, Singapore or Japan.
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