Bringing observability and AI into your legacy modernization plan

Through evolving legacy modernization, a clear need for automation arose to bring actionable insights to IT and DevOps teams. Unified monitoring, log management and event management vendors are finding ways to embrace Observability in their tech stacks. And while the overall functionality doesn’t change, these adjustments have led to confusion between IT and DevOps teams. IT Operations and Service Management (ITOSM) professionals are skeptical that Observability is a marketing ploy rather than a tool that actually implements technological change. DevOps professionals, on the other hand, are hesitant of the idea of repurposing legacy tools. So what should vendors do when… [Continue Reading]

Evolution of managed services

The world as we know it has changed significantly in the past couple of years, and so have managed services. While IT infrastructure and security continue to be more important than ever with large numbers of companies across the globe implementing remote and hybrid working policies, this situation has created the need for additional services that go beyond the standard managed services package. As the future of work continues to evolve, so too will the offering of experienced managed service providers (MSPs). Prior to the global pandemic, MSPs were primarily focused on IT security and infrastructure. Companies would often outsource… [Continue Reading]

How rampant robotic process automation (RPA) adoption is introducing new threat vectors

Robotic process automation (RPA) is nothing new. In fact, it’s an automation toolkit that was first introduced back in the 1990’s. But in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and the all new remote work norm, RPA interest and adoption hit a new high. Why? Because with RPA, digital workers are able to take over repetitive, manual tasks traditionally performed by their human counterparts -- freeing up time, energy and critical human resources. Gartner’s Fabrizio Biscotti, research vice president, put it best: "The key driver for RPA projects is their ability to improve process quality, speed and productivity,… [Continue Reading]

Vulnerability management is complex, so how can we work smarter to reduce risk?

The saying "too many cooks spoils the broth" could well be true in the case of how we currently approach vulnerability management (VM). The process around vulnerabilities has become increasingly complex, with high levels of pressure to ensure that it is done right. Vulnerabilities have long been one of the most prominent attack vectors, yet so many are left unpatched by organizations of every size and across every vertical -- the root of catastrophic issues. The Ponemon Institute conducted a recent study that found almost half of respondents (48 percent) reported that their organizations had one or more data breaches… [Continue Reading]

Protecting your business' legacy systems from ransomware attacks

Despite the significant shift and adoption of new technologies over the past few years, many businesses still rely on legacy infrastructure. Legacy servers are often still in operation because they are far too critical, complex, and expensive to replace. Famous examples include Oracle databases running on Solaris servers, applications using Linux RHEL4, or other industry-specific legacy technology.  Although critical to the business, these legacy systems can increase a company's risk -- gaining access to just one unpatched legacy device can be relatively simple for cybercriminals. Once inside, said criminals will move laterally to gain a deeper foothold inside the network… [Continue Reading]

Google Fi gets end-to-end encryption for phone calls, but there's a big catch

Google Fi is the search giant's affordable MVNO cellular service, where it piggybacks off of the T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular networks. Despite being a Google service, it is actually compatible with Apple iPhone devices too. In other words, it is not an Android-only affair. While Google Fi is not wildly popular, many of its users speak favorably of the service -- it is apparently quite good. And now, Google Fi is getting even better. You see, the search giant has introduced end-to-end encryption for phone calls -- a huge benefit for privacy. Unfortunately, there are some caveats here. For the… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft Edge stable now available on Linux

Linux users have been able to use Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser for a while now, but in Dev Build and beta versions. Today though the software giant has updated its Edge repository to add a new stable version of the browser, so if you’re running a Linux OS and want to try out Edge alongside your existing browser you can. Microsoft hasn’t officially announced this new build yet, so the exact changes remain unclear for now, but it’s still good to see the browser finally hit this big milestone after a year of development. While most Linux users will likely… [Continue Reading]

Get 'Tribe of Hackers Security Leaders' ($15 value) FREE for a limited time

The Tribe of Hackers series continues, sharing what CISSPs, CISOs, and other security leaders need to know to build solid cybersecurity teams and keep organizations secure. Dozens of experts and influential security specialists reveal their best strategies for building, leading, and managing information security within organizations. Tribe of Hackers Security Leaders: Tribal Knowledge from the Best in Cybersecurity Leadership follows the same bestselling format as the original Tribe of Hackers, but with a detailed focus on how information security leaders impact organizational security. Information security is becoming more important and more valuable all the time. Security breaches can be costly, even shutting… [Continue Reading]

More than half of employees have higher workloads when working remotely

A new survey of over 4,000 global IT workers, carried out by Kaspersky shows that 54 percent of employees have reported an increased workload since switching to remote working. While 37 percent of respondents didn't notice a change in volume, a lucky nine percent note a decrease in work due to new working conditions. But despite an increase in workload, 64 percent of those surveyed say they don't feel any more exhausted at the end of a remote work day. In fact, 36 percent report having more energy working from home, and 28 percent haven't noticed a difference between the… [Continue Reading]

How to keep your hybrid workforce engaged

The way businesses operate has changed significantly since the first national lockdown in March 2020. But arguably one of the biggest changes has been the way businesses use technology. Data from McKinsey shows that businesses accelerated their digitization by three to four years in the first four months of the pandemic. This adoption of new technology has not come without its teething problems, however, and this is especially true for businesses with large office contingents. These workers promptly switched to remote working in March 2020 and had to adapt to these technologies while working from home. Google data shows that… [Continue Reading]

Best Windows apps this week

Four-hundred-sixty-two 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 started the rollout of the new Microsoft Store on Windows 10. It is being made available to Release Preview insider builds at first, but it will be pushed to stable versions of Windows 10 soon as well. As always, if I've missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or… [Continue Reading]

Who wants to be a cyborg? Quite a lot of people it seems

Would you be willing to have technology implanted in your body? A survey by marketing and communication tool Tidio reveals the extend to which people are open to 'biohacking'. More than 75 percent of respondents say they are willing to implant a microchip for health monitoring, and 57 percent are eager to go further and transfer their consciousness to a machine or a different body and live forever as cyborgs. There's less agreement on whether cybernetic enhancements should be freely available. 42 percent think they should only be available to restore body functions lost to accidents or diseases. The most… [Continue Reading]

Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.49 with new mouse utility and UI updates

A new release cycle has started for the PowerToys collection of utilities. Kicking off with PowerToys v0.49, Microsoft promises that this and the upcoming batch of releases include "exciting new updates". And things get off to a great start with the arrival of not only the Video Conference Mute tool in the stable build, but also a brand-new utility -- Find My Mouse. There are also numerous fixes and improvements as a well as a UI update for PowerRename. See also: Microsoft is rolling out the new Windows 11 store app to some Windows 10 users WSATools makes it ridiculously… [Continue Reading]

Why it's vital to address cybersecurity in the wider context of the business [Q&A]

It's easy to pigeonhole cybersecurity as something for the IT or security team to look after. But a major cyberattack can have a devastating impact on the business as a whole. It's important, therefore, that security be looked at in the context of the entire enterprise. This also means considering approaches like 'assumed breach' where you accept that sooner or later attackers will succeed in getting into your network. We spoke to Raghu Nandakumara at Illumio. to find out more about this shift in mindset and how it can be applied. BN: What have recent high-profile attacks told us about… [Continue Reading]

Meta leak shows Facebook smartwatch could be an Apple Watch killer

Meta, TCFKAF (the company formerly known as Facebook) appears to be working on a range of smartwatches that bear more than a passing resemblance to the Apple Watch. At least two wearables are thought to be in development, one of which is codenamed Milan. But what is causing the greatest interest is an image of a smartwatch featuring a notch that is home to a camera. See also: WSATools makes it ridiculously easy to sideload Android apps in Windows 11 Microsoft is rolling out the new Windows 11 store app to some Windows 10 users Microsoft is using KB5005463 update… [Continue Reading]

Facebook's new name is just the start -- Zuckerberg says a billion people will be in the metaverse within ten years

We knew that Facebook was going to announce a name change today, but what we didn’t know for certain was what that name would be. The smart money was on something to do with the metaverse, which many firms -- Facebook especially -- believe could be the future of the internet. Much as Google rebranded its parent company Alphabet back in 2015, so Facebook’s parent company is now called Meta, and gains a new blue infinity symbol for a logo. This change only affects the parent company -- the names of the apps everyone knows and uses -- Facebook, Instagram… [Continue Reading]

How safe is your email?

Despite the rising popularity of other communication and collaboration methods like Zoom and Teams, email remains at the core of business correspondence. However, it also remains a popular vehicle for delivering cyberattacks and other unwelcome material. Secure email company Avanan has produced an infographic looking at email safety. You probably won't be surprised to learn that 85 percent of emails are spam, accounting for 14.5 billion messages every day. There are also three billion phishing emails every day, more than 50 percent of which contain malware. All of this comes at a cost for businesses, with security operations center teams… [Continue Reading]