Articles about COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a dramatic evolution in the ways that smaller businesses interact with their customers.

In fact, 92 percent of all small business personnel surveyed in a new study from Moxtra say their organizations have adopted new technologies during the pandemic.

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Over the past year the average identity document (ID) fraud rate has increased by 41 percent over the previous year and first-time fraudsters appear to be more prevalent.

A new report from identity verification and authentication provider Onfido shows activity peaked in July and August. But with large parts of Europe encountering a 'second wave' and re-entering lockdown, coupled with the spike in online activity for the holiday shopping season, Onfido predicts fraud rates will start to climb again as the year closes.

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New research from Malwarebytes reveals that 46.7 percent of IT decision-makers in schools say that no additional requirements have been introduced for students, faculty, or staff who connected to the school's network remotely during the pandemic.

In addition 50.7 percent of IT decision-makers surveyed say that no one was required to enroll in cybersecurity training before the new school year began

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COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the world and infections are showing no signs of slowing. Just yesterday, the USA reported 218,576 new cases and 2,918 new deaths. Thankfully there are a number of promising vaccines, with Pfizer/BioNTech’s the first to be made widely available. The UK is due to start rolling it out next week.

For those desperate for the vaccine an agonizing wait lies ahead -- if they want to go down the official route at least. However, drug dealers on the dark web are already selling 'Pfizer COVID Vaccines'.

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The recently announced COVID-19 vaccines require a 'cold chain' -- a temperature-controlled supply chain that maintains the desired temperature range throughout distribution.

New research from IBM Security X-Force reveals that this cold chain is being targeted in a precision phishing campaign.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an increase in the number of digital projects, but only 37 percent of organizations say they have the skills and technology to keep pace.

A new report from MuleSoft also shows that 82 percent of line of business (LoB) employees say they need quick and easy access to data, IT systems, and applications to do their jobs effectively and remain productive.

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Earlier this month, we took a look at how COVID-19 is impacting the technology job market, with a focus on precarious tech positions. In this piece, we want to explore a related question: if you are a tech worker who has recently been laid off or lost your job, which steps can you take right now to stay competitive in a tight job market?

Here are three tips for tech workers seeking jobs who want to set themselves apart from the pack.

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Since March, use of devices with newer generation chips has increased by 13.7 percent according to a new study from digital experience management company Aternity.

The use of machines with newer (8th, 9th, and 10th generation CPUs) corresponds with a 10.8 percent decline in use of 6th or earlier generation devices, and a small 2.9 percent drop in usage of 7th generation CPU-based machines.

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Most of us have been turning to technology for help during the pandemic, and that's true of baby boomers according to new research from digital consultancy Mobiquity, though they may not be as keen as other groups.

According to the findings, 88 percent of baby boomers agree that technology has helped them during the COVID-19 pandemic -- only three percent lower than for younger generations. However, when asked if they feel safe and secure using new technologies, only 78 percent of baby boomers agree compared to 86 percent of non-boomers.

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Hybrid cloud is seen as the ideal infrastructure model according to 86 percent of respondents to a new survey by Nutanix.

It also reveals that the pandemic has shifted the way IT leaders think about their future plans. The majority of respondents (nearly 76 percent) report the pandemic has made them think more strategically about IT, and nearly half (46 percent) say their investments in hybrid cloud have increased as a direct result of the pandemic, including public and private clouds.

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The shift in working patterns prompted by COVID-19 has caused unnecessary short-term investment in technology, which will leave companies at risk with data being stored on a wide range of devices.

This is according to 78 percent of respondents to a new survey from data erasure specialist Blancco Technology Group, which also reveals 47 percent of large global enterprises have created roles responsible for implementing and ensuring compliance with e-waste policies specifically to deal with issues generated from the pandemic.

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The world of work has changed, and remote work is no longer an option or perk. Teams worldwide have been forced to go fully- or mostly-remote, many with a weekend’s notice. As the months of working from home drag on, we’ve had to readjust our processes and systems -- one of which is employee onboarding.

The importance of a strong onboarding program can’t be overstated -- especially since only 12 percent of employees are happy with their organization’s onboarding programs, and 50 percent of new hires leave their organizations within their first 18 months. While remote work is associated with decreased retention, we can’t deny the outsized impact of an employee’s first few months on the rest of their tenure.

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In the face of restrictive lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, IT budgets have held up remarkably well according to a new study, as technology becomes a critical ingredient in launching new products and services.

The report from OpsRamp is based on responses from 230 IT operations and DevOps executives in the US and UK with at least 500 employees and $5 million in annual IT budgets.

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You would expect the recent coronavirus crisis to have helped digital entertainment, but with reading it is still led by the traditional hardback and softback formats. However, the pandemic is helping to dethrone physical books, as people are more cautious about going out. While paper books still lead the market, their dominance is shrinking. 

Information in a new infographic sheds a lot of light on the current state of our perusal of tomes. For instance, India is the most well-read country in the world, while the US lags in 22nd place. 

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The overnight switch to remote working triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented amount of change to the usual ways of working. The impact will continue to be felt for the foreseeable future -- and as a result, IT departments’ approach to delivering services to their organizations will need to keep pace with the evolving requirements of this newly remote staff.

To that end, IT needs to embed itself deeper in the organization to understand the unique requirements of every single stakeholder -- be it the C-suite or the manager answering the customer call -- so that those professionals can do their jobs effectively, enabling the business to realize its strategic goals. In practical terms, what does this mean? How can IT departments put these tactics into practice in their enterprises?

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