France orders Facebook to stop tracking non-users
Facebook is facing a great deal of heat in the European Union, where many countries are concerned with the ways in which the social network collects data and how it uses cookies to track Internet users.
The CNIL, France’s data protection authority, has issued a formal notice to Facebook, because it fails to comply with European data protection law. CNIL has given Facebook three months to make the necessary changes to comply with the EU’s laws. If the company is able to do this, it will not face sanctions from the data protection agency. Facebook is currently reviewing CNIL’s order which it is confident that it currently complies with.
Your business is likely storing useless data
Your company computer is probably clogged with unnecessary data, and your company’s cloud is probably filled with things no one really uses any more.
Those are the results of a Crown Records Management/Censuswide survey, released on Clean out Your Computer Day.
Apple's CloudKit gets server API
Apple has made CloudKit much more appealing to developers by adding a server-side API to its framework. This will allow them to add much more functionality to apps that are powered by the service and to utilize it even when users have not interacted with iOS, Mac, or web apps.
Previously, CloudKit interaction was limited to the APIs that Apple provided in apps. It was useful for developers but did not give them the opportunity to implement more advanced features. Today’s modern apps make use of servers to perform tasks and collect information when a user is not using the app. With CloudKit’s new web API, developers can add these more advanced features into their apps using Apple’s tools instead of having to rely on third party services to do so.
Google enables peer-to-peer support in Hangouts to improve call quality
Call quality and speed issues often make it difficult for users to fully embrace video and audio calling over the internet. To help solve this, Google has updated its video and audio communications service Hangouts by allowing peer to peer (P2P) connections for some users.
By incorporating this functionality into the back-end of its service the company expects call quality and the overall experience of its users to improve.
IT graduates are in high demand in UK
IT graduates are among the most sought after in the United Kingdom, a new report by CV-Library says.
CV-Library, an independent job site, says that the country grapples with the challenge of an impending skills shortage -- there were a total of 893 IT jobs for graduates in January 2016 alone. These jobs were the third most numerous, right behind education (1,139 jobs) and engineering (1,204 jobs).
Online banking: How secure is it?
The latest bank in the UK to fall victim to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack was HSBC. It claimed that no customer data was compromised. In July last year, RBS and NatWest were also hit by DDoS attacks, which flooded their websites with traffic, temporarily shutting them down. This resulted in bad publicity and complaints from many customers. Fortunately, customer accounts were not compromised so the bad publicity was all the damage the attack caused.
DDoS attacks, where bad guys flood a website with so much work that they fold under the pressure, aren’t even strictly a security issue on their own. Unless the DDoS is part of a recipe to steal stuff, it’s a nuisance that is more about someone flexing their muscles than doing damage. Luckily in the cases of RBS, NatWest, and HSBC, no data was stolen; however, they do raise the question of whether online banking is secure. So is there a security issue at hand?
Energy industry is not prepared for cyber attacks
The energy industry is mostly unprepared for cyber-threats, a new study by Tripwire suggests.
The global provider of advanced threat, security and compliance solutions announced these results in a study conducted for it by Dimensional Research. The study looked at cyber-security challenges faced by organizations in the energy sectors, and includes answers from more than 150 IT professionals.
Security solution RapID wants to kill the password
At a time where cyber security is infiltrating the consciousness of consumers and businesses alike, finding the right balance between security and convenience has never been more important.
To that end, digital identity and credentials firm Intercede has launched RapID, a new security solution that delivers password and token free access to cloud services from mobile applications.
Majority of IT pros share files via unsecure clouds
Many IT teams all over the world acknowledge the fact that a secure way to store and share files, both internally (within a company) and externally is extremely important. However, many IT teams also lack the proper tools to do so.
Those are the results of a latest survey by Ipswitch, after asking 555 IT professionals across the globe about their file sharing habits.
Microsoft Azure IoT hub is now available -- here's what you need to know
Microsoft has released the latest component of its cloud IoT suite, the Azure IoT hub, which was first announced back in September.
Azure IoT Hub is designed to make it easy to connect IoT devices to the cloud as well as allowing bidirectional communication, with device to cloud telemetry and cloud to device commands.
Heading to the Super Bowl? Stay away from these apps.
Last year’s Super Bowl brought in over 114.5 million viewers worldwide, and chances are even more are gearing up to watch the big game this weekend (we’ll let you decide if it’s for the football or the commercials). While much of the focus should be on the big screen broadcasting the plays, it’s inevitable that viewers will pull their phones out of their pockets throughout the game. With 52 percent of smartphone owners reporting that they check their devices several times an hour or more frequently, and the Super Bowl typically lasts about four hours, it’s almost a given that you’ll be looking at your mobile device at some point during the game.
Social networking apps will probably take up the most time on the phone screen, as last year’s Super Bowl saw more than 28.4 million global tweets, making #SB49 the most tweeted Super Bowl ever. Facebook also boasted some impressive stats, with more than 65 million people posting about the game, including 55 million from the U.S. alone. During the final play of the game (which sealed the deal for a win for the Patriots), over 1.3 million unique people per minute were active on Super Bowl-related content.
Industry's reaction to Europe's new EU-US Privacy Shield
After months of negotiations, this week saw the European Commission (EC) announce a replacement to Safe Harbor after it was declared invalid in October 2015.
The new framework, dubbed the EU-US Privacy Shield, has been put in place to protect the rights of Europeans when their data is transferred to the United States and ensure legal certainty for businesses.
Windows 10 hits 18 percent usage share in the enterprise
Windows 10 is doing great. Despite various problems, security and privacy issues people have had with its virtual assistant Cortana, the adoption rate of Microsoft’s latest operating system has been quite impressive.
According to the latest studies done by Spiceworks, 18 percent of businesses are currently using Windows 10. The predictions are saying that 40 percent of businesses are expected to upgrade by July this year, when Windows 10 celebrates its first birthday. The operating system seems to be on good course, as the penetration has increased seven percent since October last year.
Vaio's first smartphone runs Windows 10 Mobile
It has been over a year since Sony sold off its Vaio brand due to decreased laptop sales, but now it seems that the brand may be making a comeback in the form of a mobile device. The Vaio Phone Biz will be the company’s first smartphone and, surprisingly, it is running Windows 10 Mobile.
Vaio is trying to retain the design and build quality of Sony’s laptops by using high quality materials in its new handset. The Vaio Phone Biz features a very sleek aluminum build with a silver finish.
Why the Internet of Things is a security nightmare
The good guys over at Context Information Security have cracked Motorola’s outdoor security camera just to point out how the Internet of Things is still a completely unsecure industry that needs serious work.
The camera that got cracked was the Motorola Focus 73, and not only did the researchers manage to get inside, but they also managed to obtain the home network’s Wi-Fi password, take full control of the camera’s movement and even redirect the video feed.
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