Managed.IT - issue 51

IT too complicated More than seven out of 10 consumers feel technology has become too complicated over the past five years, causing them to neglect basic IT security. In a survey of 1,000 consumers by Lifeline IT, three quarters admitted to not regularly backing up their laptop or computer. Two thirds (54%) do not trust cloud storage and only four out of 10 feel confident their entire digital life is securely backed- up. www.lifelineit.net Faster and more secure Canon is replacing its 400i/500i series of imageRUNNER ADVANCE devices with six new A4 mono models offering users in SMEs and the public sector more speed, productivity and security. The iR ADV 525i/525i Z/615i/615iZ/715i/715 iZ are up to 30% faster than Canon’s previous entry-level line-up and have a new all-in- one cartridge for easy toner changes and reduced servicing requirements. They come with a colour touchscreen and a customisable user interface for personaliasing settings and functions; a built-in Unified Firmware Platform (UFP) ensuring they always receive the latest features and updates; and uniFLOW Online Express for cost tracking and control. Security features include HDD encryption as standard and user authentication at devices. www.canon.co.uk Could do better Lexmark is calling on schools and universities to improve their print security after a survey revealed that only 57% of education technology professionals in the UK have confidence in their print security. One quarter don’t know whether their organisation currently uses a print security solution. (source: The iGov and Lexmark 2018 Print & IT Applications in Education report) www.lexmark.co.uk BULLETIN 8 MANAGED.IT 01732 759725 Failure to install updates biggest security threat Over a quarter (27%) of enterprise IT departments have to wait at least a month before they can install vital security updates, placing them at greater risk of targeted cyberattacks from hackers looking to exploit the vulnerabilities of outdated systems. Failure to deploy and install updates was the number one security threat identified in the State of Software Delivery report by enterprise content delivery company Kollective. It was cited by 37% of IT managers questioned, followed by password vulnerabilities (33%), BYOA/ BYOD (22%) and unsecured USB sticks (9%). Kollective CEO Dan Vetras blames the failure to install updates on slow testing procedures and an inability to distribute updates automatically at scale. He said: “While it’s obviously important for IT teams to spend time testing new software and updates before rolling them out, our research has found that many of the delays in software distribution aren’t because of testing, but rather a lack of infrastructure. Poorly constructed networks mean that even those companies that have made a significant investment in security software are vulnerable to attack. With a growing number of applications being left out of date, today’s businesses are creating backdoors for hackers, botnets and malware to attack.” https://kollective.com/ Trend Micro report reveals growing threats Cybercriminals are moving away from ransomware to more covert methods of stealing money and valuable computing resources, including crypto-jacking – stealing computing power to mine digital currency. Trend Micro’s Midyear Security Roundup 2018 report shows that in the first half of 2018, cryptocurrency mining detections were 96% higher than in the whole of 2017, and 956% higher than in the first half of last year. Bharat Mistry, Principal Security Strategist at Trend Micro, said: “The recent change in the threat landscape mirrors what we’ve seen for years – cybercriminals will constantly shift their tools, tactics and procedures to improve infection rates. Standard spray and pray ransomware attacks and data breaches had become the norm, so attackers changed their tactics to be more covert, using entry vectors not previously seen or used extensively.” Another noticeable trend in the first half of the year was greater use of unusual malware types, such as fileless, macro and small file malware, with Trend Micro recording a 250% increase in detections of TinyPOS malware compared to 2H 2017. www.trendmicro.com Start-up services for drone entrepreneurs The first dedicated incubator and start-up services for the drone industry have been launched by SUAS Global, the world’s largest online drone network. The new services will give entrepreneurs, professionals and drone enthusiasts access to information, experts, finance facilities, business opportunities and special interest groups. Highlights include tender intelligence and support system guides to help new companies win business and a recruitment platform for finding employees with the right skills. SUAS Global was recently acquired by Drone Major Group Limited, the world’s first commercial organisation dedicated to connecting, supporting and trading with all stakeholders in the drone industry. www.suas-global.com App risk The average cost of application breaches in UK businesses has risen to £5.89m per incident, according to the 2018 Application Protection Report from F5 Labs and Ponemon Institute. 60 seconds Every minute, businesses spend up to $171,233 to protect themselves from cyber threats. Yet, in the same 60 seconds, 1,861 people fall victim to cybercrime, losing $1,138,888. (source: RiskIQ, Evil Internet Minute , based on proprietary and third party research) https://www.riskiq.com/infographic/evil-internet-minute-2018/