Many UK SMBs don't have a succession plan
More than half (52 percent) of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK’s IT sector have no idea what they’d do if key staffers decide to quit. This is according to a new report by the Aldermore Future Attitudes, which claims these businesses are lacking a succession plan.
The report puts things in a dangerous perspective -- 22 percent of SME IT businesses see senior executives leaving as their biggest business threat.
Flexible working is great -- as long as you do it right
Is flexible working all it’s cracked up to be? It’s a question that’s popped up a lot recently, following IBM’s recent "clampdown" on remote working. It’s a valid question. In a world of apps, robots, drones and countless other technological advancements, it’s important to challenge what’s valuable and what isn’t.
For this reason, we recently did some research into workers across the globe on the topic of flexible working. There were some interesting findings across the 25,000+ global workers surveyed, but in answer to the question; yes, flexible working is all it’s cracked up to be. If it’s done right.
UK companies losing money due to inadequate communication and collaboration tools
Inefficient communications and poor collaboration costs UK companies £8,000 per employee, every year, according to a new report by enterprise communications company Mitel. That means that a business with 500 employees or more could be losing more than £4 million every year.
Looking into productivity within the workplace, Mitel’s new report also says that employees lose nearly a day every week due to inadequate communications capabilities.
Many business apps with open source code have unpatched vulnerabilities and license conflicts
Apps that come with open-source code are putting organizations at risk, according to a new report by Black Duck. As you might imagine, many companies are using apps with open-source code.
Black Duck’s Center for Open Source Research & Innovation analyzed 1,071 apps audited during 2016 and found that 96 percent of them had open source. Of those, more than 60 percent had open source security vulnerabilities.
Hackers are going for your healthcare data
Every eighth person in England has had their healthcare data breached. This is the conclusion of a new report just released by Accenture. Based on a poll of 1,000 people it says that more than half of those who experienced a data breach (56 percent), were in fact, victims of medical identity theft.
The report also says that these data breaches are fairly expensive, too. On average, more than three quarters (77 percent) have had to pay roughly £172 in out-of-pocket costs, per incident.
Consumers don't trust tech companies with their data
There is a high degree of mistrust when it comes to the technology sector managing people’s personal data. This is according to a new report from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), that got released late last week.
According to the report, just six percent of the public trusts businesses in the technology sector to handle their personal data responsibly.
Don't fall for tax scams this season
At this time of year, the number of tax scams reaches a high, with fraudsters looking for any chance to cash in on consumers, the self-employed or small businesses who might be excited about potential refunds. Many people now do their taxes online, and cybercriminals are seeing this as a huge opportunity for phishing schemes. Take the recent HMRC email scam which sends fake emails asking the recipient to create a "government gateway account" to access information about their tax refunds, and subsequently requests personal banking details.
What’s more, recent ONS figures show that online fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, with almost one in 10 people falling victim. But whilst online fraud is growing, there are various types of scams which can take place, and it’s important for consumers and businesses alike to be aware of the threats.
The biggest threat to enterprise security? People
People are the biggest threat when it comes to enterprise cyber-security, not technology or processes. This is according to a new report by The Institute of Information Security Professionals (IISP), which says there are a couple of ways people are putting organizations at cyber risk.
The first, and most obvious one, is not being careful enough when opening links in emails, downloading attachments and visiting threat-carrying sites. The second one, less obvious, is the lack of technical skill. And finally, the third one, is the risk from senior business stakeholders making "poor critical decisions around strategy and budgets."
Riverbed buys Xirrus
Riverbed recently announced it's buying Xirrus for an undisclosed sum of money. The former is a company that builds SD-WAN products and generally looks to improve and optimize WANs. Xirrus, on the other hand, builds next-gen Wi-Fi networks.
With the new acquisition, Riverbed will be able to offer its customers "the power of unified connectivity and policy-based orchestration that spans the entire distributed network -- WAN, LAN/WLAN, data center and the cloud."
Most Brits can't explain what ransomware is
Despite the fact that the media is constantly buzzing with stories of successful ransomware attacks, the general public in the UK is largely unaware of the threat.
Backup experts Acronis polled Brits, and in their report it says that 60 percent of respondents would not be able to explain what ransomware actually is. Sixteen percent "just heard of it," while seven percent say they could "definitely" explain what ransomware is. Fifteen percent "probably could"
Live linear streaming will be more popular than TV in the next five years
Live-linear streaming over-the-top video (OTT) will surpass traditional broadcast TV within five years, a new report by Level 3 Communications, Streaming Media and Unisphere Research says.
It’s based on a poll that says 70 percent of respondents agree with the claim. The report, entitled OTT Video Services Study, polled almost 500 media industry professionals.
Mastercard introduces card with built-in fingerprint scanner
Mastercard has unveiled a new card that comes with a fingerprint scanner, allowing consumers to make purchases without the card ever leaving their hands. It builds on fingerprint scanning technology currently available in smartphones, and can be used at EMV terminals worldwide, the company says.
The technology was tested in South Africa, in two separate trials. One was with Pick n Pay, while the other one was Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays Africa.
Will Internet of Things ever be safe?
The Internet of Things (IoT) has undergone an amazing transformation, from a pipe dream to a marketing buzzword, and now an impending reality. Recent estimates expect the number of Internet-connected devices to reach 26 billion by 2020, with some studies suggesting an even higher output.
With an exponential increase in devices communicating with us, other devices, and with the internet at large, how can anyone keep private information safe?
Oracle products now available through Docker store
Oracle’s databases, middleware and developer tools are now available in the Docker Store marketplace, thanks to a new partnership between the two companies, announced yesterday.
Available via the Docker Certification Program, the tools allow developers to quickly build cloud-native applications using Docker Enterprise Edition as their container platform. The Certification Program is a framework, allowing partners to integrate and certify their technology to the Docker EE platform.
5 GHz Wi-Fi is better, so why aren't we letting go of 2.4 GHz?
There is a bit of black magic -- or fuzziness -- to Wi-Fi technology. For example, few people know how fast their Wi-Fi connection is at any given moment. Wi-Fi operates at literally hundreds of different speeds (data rates), and these variations depend on dozens of factors. The speed can change with every single data packet that gets transmitted.
Over the last 19 years, Wi-Fi has made incredible strides to stabilize and perform at the high level we enjoy today. The variability of Wi-Fi, however, can still make things confusing.
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