The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the federal bureau responsible for monitoring the computer systems connected to important national infrastructure as well as informing the general public on cyber security threats, recently released an announcement relating to a hacking scheme targeting Windows computers.
Quick Announcement: Microsoft has announced an official release date for Windows 11, its new operating system--October 5, 2021. Existing Windows users can download the new OS free of charge beginning on this date. For more information, check out our post on the new operating system.
On September 1st Rob Pegoraro, a tech columnist at USA Today, reported on a data leak involving a few million customers at T-Mobile, a popular mobile device service provider. He writes, "The T-Mobile hack may have made it easier for attackers to stage a SIM swap attack, in which they take over a phone line to intercept two-step verification (also called two-factor authentication), a process during which users respond to a text, email or push notification to verify ownership of a particularly valuable online account.
On August 24th, CNN reported a story about a data leak, which publicly released the personal information of millions of people, as well as data from major government organizations and large businesses. "The data leak, which affected American Airlines, Maryland's health department and New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, among others, led to the exposure of at least 38 million records, including employee information as well as data related to Covid-19 vaccinations, contact tracing and testing appointments, according to UpGuard, the cybersecurity firm that uncovered the issue.
Quick announcement: Facebook is currently running a trial of integrating voice and video chat into its main application, meaning that users could soon start conferencing over Facebook directly without using the Messenger app. If you'd like to read more of our coverage on how technology has recently affected workplace communication, click here.
This week, a software company called Video Window announced a new addition to its product line, called Video Window Remote. Similar to Zoom and Skype, many of Video Window's products focus on internet-based video communication. This new product ups the ante, so speak, by playing a continuous feed of a worker's office directly onto their home devices.
On July 2nd of this year, a Russia-based, professional hacking group called REvil hit the managed IT service provider Kaseya with a massive ransomware attack, affecting roughly sixty managed service providers and nearly 1500 businesses worldwide. REvil asked for $70 million in ransom to decrypt the files at first, then later dropped their demand to $50 million.
The BBC reported this week that several schools on the Isle of Wight in the British Isles were hit with a string of ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a form of cybersecurity breach in which a cyber criminal either threatens to release private information to the public or block access to their data altogether until they pay some kind of ransom.
Quick Announcements:
-Microsoft has released official system requirements for Windows 11, and is teasing an October release date for a free downloadable OS upgrade for existing users. Check out our write up on Windows 11 here.
-Shortly after President Joe Biden signed his recent executive order, the FTC voted unanimously to uphold right to repair-style regulations across the country.
Earlier this month President Joe Biden issued an executive order that by his own estimation would stimulate economic competition and roll back monopolistic practices on the part of large corporations. One part of the order includes measures relating to tech companies preventing consumers from either personally repairing broken proprietary hardware, such as a smart device or an electric car, or hiring a third-party repair company to do it for them.