Phishing attacks surge during the pandemic
In yet another example of cybercriminals exploiting world events, the frequency of phishing threats has risen considerably since the start of the pandemic, with companies experiencing an average of 1,185 attacks every month.
New research from GreatHorn reveals that more than half (53 percent) of over 300 IT professionals surveyed by Cybersecurity Insiders say they had witnessed an increase in phishing activity since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The many privacy concerns surrounding contact tracing efforts for COVID-19
Contact tracing is being touted as the best way to keep the novel coronavirus under control and avoid yet another country-wide shutdown, at least until a vaccine can be developed. The process has many benefits and was seen as integral to the success in staunching the spread of COVID-19 in a few different cities in Asia. However, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome in the process of implementing successful contact tracing efforts in the United States.
For starters, manual contact tracing requires a large workforce as well as time and money. Apps, on the other hand, can be implemented quickly and for a relatively low cost.This option seems simple and unproblematic enough at first glance but, upon further inspection, poses a threat to the privacy of any and all users. Despite their promise of aiding in the eradication of COVID-19, If left unregulated, contact tracing apps put your personal information at risk and open up potential abuses of that information for decades to come.
Why is the UK government prone to IT disasters?
Back in March, at the height of the nationally imposed lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock promised a solution in the form of a coronavirus tracing app that would see us all out of lockdown safely. Although the much-touted NHSX app was said to be at the heart of the strategy to contain the spread of Covid-19, months later, it was ditched due to security concerns, forcing the Government to change tack to work with tech giants Apple and Google on a new app, shifting its strategy to work with human tracers instead.
With measures easing and life now the most 'normal' it has been for quite some time, the newest iteration of the app is still yet to be released. It is clear that even in the midst of an international health crisis, the public sector has defaulted to looking only to big vendors to provide technical solutions -- and to its own detriment.
Enterprise IT still focused on the long term despite pandemic challenges
While COVID-19 has altered the cloud strategies of enterprise IT executives, the vast majority are still moving forward with their big-picture digital transformation initiatives, and most think they'll see an increase in their cloud budgets to support these projects over the next year.
A new report from professional services and managed cloud company 2nd Watch surveyed more than 100 cloud-focused IT directors or above and finds that 82 percent of respondents say they've experienced cloud-related challenges with 77 percent saying these challenges have caused them to alter their cloud strategies.
Shadow IT in the 'Age of Coronavirus'
"May you live in interesting times!" This is one of the expressions that has received a lot of airtime in recent months. Clearly as a society we weren’t prepared for a pandemic and all the collateral impact that has resulted. But spare a thought for the IT and security teams that have recently dealt with perhaps the "most interesting" times. Everything they knew and trusted about their environment changed overnight. Think: remote workers, new insider threats and challenges associated with shadow IT.
To be fair, shadow IT was already a problem before the pandemic; our research shows the typical organization is aware of less than 50 percent of the digital assets that exist in their environment. However, in their race to ensure access to data and systems needed while sheltering in place, many end-users (inadvertently perhaps?) added significantly to the shadow IT problem. All of this is occurring as attacks have escalated with adversaries trying to take advantage of the chaos. So, what’s a security team to do about it?
IT execs prepare for continued disruption
A new survey of IT executives reveals that while 77 percent say they capably managed the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 outbreak, they're now bracing for continued disruption and rapidly shifting budgets to further weather the pandemic.
The study commissioned by remote access platform TeamViewer underlines the critical nature of IT, as 84 percent attribute their company's survival on providing a stable work environment during and after the pandemic.
How a software company has innovated its way out of lockdown [Q&A]
Lockdowns have presented a challenge for all businesses and it's clear that some have handled the situation better than others.
We sat down with Neil Everatt, CEO of Selenity to discuss how the business has been coping during lockdown and what changes to productivity and innovation he’s seen.
COVID-19 has minimal impact on software quality assurance teams
The pandemic hasn't caused too much disruption for quality assurance teams according to a survey from software testing company Kobiton.
There have been issues though ranging from team collaboration and communication to alignment with other DevOps teams. 40 percent of respondents report minor disruptions to their QA processes, and 33 percent say they’ve experienced minor delays in their product release cycles.
ISPs are hit hardest by COVID-19 disruption
We've already seen how lockdowns have been affecting internet speeds around the world, but what other impact has the pandemic been having on the web?
A new Internet Performance Report from ThousandEyes looks at the availability and performance of internet-related networks, including those of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), public cloud, Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Domain Name System (DNS) providers.
How lockdown has affected global broadband speeds
Average broadband speeds during COVID-19 lockdown measures that limited people's activities dropped by an average of 6.31 percent globally, according to a new report.
Internet advice site Cable.co.uk analyzed data from the Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and over 364 million broadband speed tests courtesy of M-Lab to compare average internet speeds in 114 countries both during and outside of their most stringent COVID-19 lockdown periods.
Let's hear it for sys admins -- IT satisfaction soars during remote working
Everybody and everything seems to have its own day in the modern age, and today it's the turn of sys admins to enjoy their moment in the spotlight as it's System Administrator Appreciation Day. Let's hear it for sys admins!
Okay, now we've got that out of the way, remote monitoring software specialist NinjaRMM has released the results of a survey which shows that admins have indeed earned some extra kudos during the current crisis (COVID-19 just in case you’re reading an archived version of this in 2030).
COVID-19 apps: Social responsibility vs. privacy
The growth of coronavirus cases in a number of countries has led to talk about a second wave of the pandemic. According to WHO, disturbing news is coming from China, the US, Israel, South Korea, Iran and other countries. At the same time, privacy problems are arising with new force in COVID mobile apps.
It is a common opinion that Android app users don’t know how exactly their personal data and the information transmitted by the apps are actually used. Alarm signals of privacy breaking are coming from different places around the world. If you add to that the shortcomings and even errors on the part of developers -- the threat of unauthorized access to personal information increases even more.
IT gets bigger budgets and more respect as a result of COVID-19
A survey of 153 IT decision makers across the UK and US finds that 43 percent of IT leaders feel more respected by their business counterparts since the start of the pandemic.
The research by digital transformation company Ensono also reveals that one in three have been given more scope to define IT spend and a third of organizations are looking to increase IT budgets.
Most businesses believe they will emerge stronger from the pandemic
New research commissioned by Cisco looks at what lessons have been learned as many businesses begin rolling out return to work strategies following the COVID-19 outbreak.
The study interviewed 1,500 managers across 13 countries and one of the key findings is that 74 percent of respondents say their business will in some ways emerge stronger from the crisis.
Will automation rule over human interaction thanks to the coronavirus?
Thanks to advancements in technology, the need for human interaction -- when you shop for groceries, book a taxi, order a takeaway or watch the latest blockbuster -- has gone from necessity to nice-to-have, with self-service checkouts, apps to order cabs and kebabs, and streaming services all examples of automation that have everyday use.
Despite its influence on consumer behaviors, one of the perceived downfalls of automation is the limit it has on the reliance for humans to carry out certain tasks and jobs. A debate that has, and will, rage on for quite some time. But, with the current coronavirus pandemic, will automation become more of a necessity as we come to terms with social distancing and what life might be like in the future? Here we look at the role automation could play in the fight against COVID-19 and beyond.
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