We help businesses reach the required standard to gain Cyber Essentials certification.
Offering organisations the knowledge and insights to reach compliance and governance through thought leadership.
Everything we do is about reducing the risk your business faces, and we have a range of services to help mitigate risk and protect your business.
Finding the right piece of hardware, software or component for your technology stack can be incredibly time-consuming, are you getting what you need at the best possible price?
Comprehensively and continuously secure your business to government-lead standards within the Cyber Essentials scheme.
The 'human firewall' is the first defence against threats. Increase your team's awareness with training & simulations.
Protect your data and comply to regulatory obligations across GDPR, PCI DSS and other industry specific legislation.
Actively seek out vulnerabilities by monitoring credential leaks on the dark web. Keeping your defences the step ahead.
Trusted Guardian of Your Digital World.
Are you struggling to reduce risks and remain compliant with rules and regulations? Cerberus helps to remove up to 95% of cyber threats with compliance monitoring, threat detection, defence and response.
For businesses, delivering and maintaining the highest levels of Cyber Security has never been so critical. It is crucial that we not only protect our customers and users personal and financial data from hackers but also ensure our computers and systems are safe and protected from the myriad of cyber threats that can compromise systems and disrupt work.
SME’s, as well as Enterprise, are now a target for Cybercrime and the need to apply a recognised framework to reduce these risks has become more important than ever. This is why the UK Government and industry leaders created the ‘Cyber Essentials’ Certification.
Apply and maintain best practices to the setup and use of your IT infrastructure; from cloud services, to computers and your network equipment.
Consistently maintain security updates and system patches to ensure your network has the most up to date defences.
Configure and monitor points of entry/exit from your network to permit only those persons and services authorised to exchange data.
Control and grade permission-based access structure across all of your team members and the various technology tools they use day to day.
Defend your endpoint devices from threats posed by numerous forms of malware, which are designed to mask themselves as legitimate software.
The highest level of certification offered under the Cyber Essentials scheme, an official UK wide, government-backed certification that helps companies guard against the most common cyber threats and reduce your risk by at least 80%.
At Netcom, we have a range of service to protect your business and a key element is ongoing staff training and cyber behaviour development. This training offers.
Testing your staff to phishing emails and putting them in a phishing simulation.
For your staff to see how they progress in avoiding phishing emails.
Videos and distinctive tools to modify the behaviours of those invovled.
Helping you identify those that keep falling foul to threats and scams.
Invest a little in educating and training your staff to identify and respond to threats properly and you have created a human firewall in your organisation.
Any business that captures data that can be used to identify an EU citizen, whether business or personal data, will need to comply, or face heavy penalties.
With the Information Commissioners Office now able to issues fines of up to £20 million, or 4% of global turnover. (The previous maximum fine for compliance failure was £500k) the risks for non-compliance are far greater.
Discover how GDPR will impact your business and insight into some of the key actions you will need to take as a business.
Key Considerations include:
The definition of personal data now goes deep even to IP address
Businesses not in the EU will still need to comply with rules
GDPR is a law – Not a guideline
Customers have the right to be forgotten and have data erased – and you only have 30 days to do it
Rules around the transfer of data outside of the EU are being tightened
You need to demonstrate/justify why they're keeping data and where and how this was obtained
The ICO has greater powers and can issue larger fines to businesses who fail to meet compliance requirements
The threat landscape has changed with cybercrime now exceeding organised crime in terms of revenue. Your data has value, whether you are locked out with a Ransomware attack or having data stolen the results will be the same. Lost Revenue, reputation and a potential fine from the Information Commissioners Office.
Aside from the Malicious hackers and hacktivists looking to steal or lock your data, how much is your intellectual property worth? Would your sales strategies and customer list be useful to a competitor? It only takes one compromised password to allow access to your systems.
Windows 11 is the latest iteration of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, and it comes packed with changes and new features that promise to deliver increase efficiency and a slicker user experience. Launched in 2021, Windows 11 is the latest in a long line of Microsoft...
By the end of the coming year, the cost of cyber attacks on the global economy is predicted to top $10.5 trillion. This staggering amount reflects the growing need for cyber security to be treated as a strategic priority on an individual, organizational and governmental level. As...
Despite being over 8 years old, Windows 10 remains the most popular computer operating system in the world today and is still found on over 2 thirds of all devices. Released in 2015, Windows 10 took the best bits of Windows 8 and added new,...
In the fast-paced world of business, the reliance on Information Technology (IT) has become indispensable. From managing day-to-day operations to fostering innovation, IT plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth functioning of companies. Behind the scenes, a dedicated team of IT professionals provides the...
Artificial intelligence and quantum research were at the centre of science and technology announcements in the UK chancellor’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The government will boost spending on computing power to develop AI by £500mn over two years to bring total planned investment to more...
t times it felt less like Succession than Fawlty Towers, not so much Shakespearean tragedy as Laurel and Hardy farce. OpenAI is the hottest tech company today thanks to the success of its most famous product, the chatbot ChatGPT. It was inevitable that the mayhem surrounding the sacking, and subsequent rehiring,...
Artificial Intelligence is undoubtedly the buzzword of our time. Its popularity, particularly with the emergence of generative AI applications like ChatGPT, has brought it to the forefront of technological debates. Everyone is talking about the impact of AI generative apps like ChatGPT and whether it...
Worldwide, spending by businesses on cloud computing infrastructure is forecast to top $1 trillion for the first time in 2024. This will be driven by factors such as a growing need to adopt new platforms and as-a-service offerings, including artificial intelligence (AI) services. This is because, in...
Cybersecurity firms are increasingly looking at integrated platforms to provide holistic online security for both for their B2B and end users as disconnected point tools struggle to support enterprise security requirements The main reason that cybersecurity companies give for focusing on development of integrated platforms...
Despite plenty of misgivings, artificial intelligence—and in particular, generative AI that produces text and images from prompts—continues to be pushed into the hardware and software we use every day. Microsoft has been active in the space, adding AI chatbot capabilities to its Bing search engine earlier this year,...
We live in a time where rapid technological advancements are changing our world considerably. Much of life and business is conducted digitally, and the same is true of criminality. Alongside better technology, cybercriminals have also become more sophisticated and prevalent, presenting a threat to small,...
The dark web isn’t just the backdrop of a gripping spy novel; it’s a very real and pervasive digital threat for businesses worldwide. If you’re a business owner or an IT professional, you’ll understand the unsettling thought of your company’s data being put up for...
The realm of the Internet is vast, and not all of it is as open or as easily accessible as the social media profiles or business websites that we visit daily. Beyond the surface lies a murky and hidden area called the dark web. And...
Solutions Review’s Contributed Content Series is a collection of contributed articles written by thought leaders in enterprise software categories. Lee Waskevich of ePlus Technology notes that adapting AI requires striking a balance between innovation and business continuity. There’s no question that artificial intelligence (AI) is radically transforming business and...
The glasses, which go on sale next month, mark an attempt by Meta to maintain interest in the ‘metaverse’ Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has unveiled a £299 pair of sunglasses with an inbuilt artificial intelligence assistant that can answer questions and translate foreign languages on the...
Meta has announced a series of new chatbots to be used in its Messenger service. The chatbots will have “personality” and specialise in certain subjects, like holidays or cooking advice. It is the latest salvo in a chatbot arms race between tech companies desperate to...
How ‘small but actionable’ insights can improve behaviours and decision making. In recent months, the NCSC has been accelerating its approach to data-driven cyber (DDC). Our goal is to encourage the adoption of an evidence-based approach to cyber security decisions, not only in how we advise...
Microsoft’s Bing Chat has largely been locked to the Edge browser, but no more. The company’s AI-powered chatbot is now officially available via Google’s Chrome browser. Users can access Bing Chat on Chrome after downloading the browser’s latest stable release, Microsoft says. The access extends to Chrome users...
Google is showing off a system that can hide a watermark in AI-generated images without changing how the pictures look. The company’s “SynthID” system can embed digital watermarks in AI images that are “imperceptible to the human eye, but detectable for identification,” Google’s DeepMind lab says. Google...
Microsoft is unbundling Teams from Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions for business customers in the European Union (EU). The announcement was made today by Nanna-Louise Linde, Vice President, Microsoft European Government Affairs. Back in July, the European Commission opened a formal investigation (PDF) “to assess whether Microsoft may have breached...
As teachers tap tools to detect whether students are using ChatGPT to cheat, OpenAI says don’t bother: The tools aren’t reliable. The company issued the advice in a new FAQ instructing educators about the use of ChatGPT in schools, including the potential pitfalls in trying to detect AI-written text. A number...
Google is adding to its AI repertoire with a new plug-in that will serve corporate teams for the not-so-low price of $30 per month. It’s called Google Duet, and it allows you to translate your documents into various different Google apps with a click. The...
A revolutionary idea called Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is looming big in the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence (AI). This “strong AI” offers the exciting possibility of robots mimicking human cognitive ability across a variety of jobs. AGI has the potential to transform businesses...
Research firm Gartner expects worldwide IT spending to reach over US$5.1 trillion in 2024 as businesses buy automation and efficiency technologies to drive growth at scale with fewer employees. “Digital business transformations are beginning to morph,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “IT projects...
In recent years, the traditional office environment has undergone a significant transformation. Gone are the days of cramped cubicles and strict hierarchical structures. Today, it is all about co-working spaces. These workspaces have changed the way we work with clients and interact with colleagues, giving...
The government has warned that a serious cyber-attack on UK critical infrastructure has a 5–25% chance of happening over the coming two years. The findings come from the new National Risk Register 2023 report, which is based on the government’s internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, and considers...
A cyber security policy provides guidance to an organization’s employees on how to act to protect the company’s sensitive information. Companies commonly have several security policies that cover various topics, including IT security, email security, and the use of personal devices for work under a...
In our previous article we discussed the importance and benefits of Business Process Automation (BPA) and gave some examples of where it can be applied. In this piece, we discuss how to start applying BPA in your business. It may seem that applying this technology...
Time is of the essence for businesses seeking to sharpen their competitive edge. What if you could automate parts of your business to free up your team to drive more profitable value and growth? Business Process Automation (BPA) presents a great opportunity to do just...
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishes various resources, including cyber security best practices. Among these are a six-step process for performing a cyber security risk assessment. The six steps in the NIST process are as follows: #1. Identify and Document Network Asset Vulnerabilities The...
Making cybersecurity in the ecommerce sector enforceable Cyber attacks and and online data breaches are unfortunately regular topics of discussion across a wide range of industries. In fact, ecommerce losses to online payment fraud alone were estimated at $41bn globally in 2022, up from the previous year....
For many of us, Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office) has been an integral part of our lives for a considerable amount of time. In fact, some of us can’t even recall a time before its existence. Since the 1990s, its extensive range of applications...
Drive your business to success with the Cloud Now that you’re up and running with cloud computing, you can now move to maximise the benefits of your new cloud technology. Microsoft 365 is a leading cloud working platform that offers a range of tools that...
Generative AI has been getting a lot of attention lately. ChatGPT, Dall-E, Vall-E, and other natural language processing (NLP) AI models have taken the ease of use and accuracy of artificial intelligence to a new level and unleashed it on the general public. While there...
If there is a single common factor for most security breaches, it’s because people are involved. Humans are the reason for insecure passwords, lost secrets, and compromised data if only because humans have trouble remembering the details of security. While there are technical causes for...
Microsoft 365 has fundamentally transformed the way businesses operate by providing a wide range of powerful tools and applications. Due to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, users can now finish more work faster with Microsoft 365. In this post, we’ll look at how...
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a disruptive force, altering the way businesses work. Microsoft 365 is one example of this. It uses AI to improve productivity, efficiency, and business performance in a variety of realms. Since AI is becoming more mainstream,...
Cloud computing, multi-cloud, and hybrid-cloud are all terms we’ve become used to hearing. Now we can add “super cloud” and “sky computing” to the list of terminology that describes the computing infrastructure of the coming decade. Although it’s hard to believe, given how ubiquitous it...
Successful remote meetings have more variables and factors to take into account than traditional in-person meetings. The organiser will need to coordinate speakers, an agenda, and the platform they’ll use to organise the call in addition to evaluating and accounting for technological requirements. In this...
Remote meetings are more in demand than ever before, and this pattern will persist. Due to COVID19, employees had to change the way they worked, switching from face-to-face meetings to teamwork behind a screen. This was a scary process at first. Remote meetings can be...
The effects of Cyber Attacks can be truly devastating for a business. Cybersecurity officers and consultants work tirelessly to implement security strategies to fight hackers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a new powerful tool that helps organizations and individuals stay ahead of cybersecurity threats. How AI...
Microsoft last week announced that, just as it did with .NET years ago, it will be putting generative AI into everything, including security. Back in the .NET days, I joked that Microsoft was so over the top with .Net that the bathrooms were renamed Men.net...
The old communication methods that we all use and are extremely accustomed to were examined in the first piece, and it was stated why those methods just don’t function as well any more in the contemporary, prosperous world that we are fortunate enough to be...
Only a few years ago, the traditional office was permanently eliminated from the modern workplace. There is no coincidence that as technology has advanced quickly, so has our reliance on it. This reliance has made way for a whole new method of operation. We all...
The future of AI and cloud technology integration As multiple industries shift more into the world of cloud computing, talks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in order to enhance cloud performance has continued at a dramatic pace. Combining both AI and cloud technology together, is beneficial to...
Flexible, scalable, accessible, secure and tailor-made services. Cloud computing allows companies to access their data no matter where or when it is needed, and has encouraged the development of other services related to management and access to other digital tools to foster innovation at lower...
We examined what a cyber threat is and how it can impact your organisation in our last post. We also examined a few different types of cyberthreats, their potential effects, and some recent and upcoming cyberthreats that will proliferate in 2023. There are, however, some...
Today, more and more aspects of daily life are becoming digitised. Cyber attacks are a very real issue right now more than ever, especially as more and more aspects of company go digital. And it is getting more and more crucial that you are aware...
Apple has revealed what it believes are the best security keys to add an extra layer of protection to your digital world. The recent release of iOS 16.3 saw Apple add security key compatibility to its iPhone and iPad devices – as well as to its laptops and desktops...
In today’s fast-paced business world, it’s essential to have an IT support team that can meet the demands of modern technology. As technology advances, so do the requirements for IT support. In this blog, we will explore the key areas that your IT support should...
In today’s fast-paced business environment, technology is playing an increasingly important role in the success of companies. With the constant evolution of technology, it is essential for businesses to ensure that their IT support meets the modern requirements of their organization. But what does it...
The technology is primed to become faster, more versatile, and thankfully cheaper. Technologies enabled by quantum science will help researchers better understand the natural world and harness quantum phenomena to benefit society. They will transform health care, transportation, and communications, and enhance resilience to cyber...
With cloud costs and complexity higher than expected, many enterprises are making a U-turn and putting applications and data back in traditional systems. Here’s a topic we don’t discuss as much as we should: public cloud repatriation. Many regard repatriating data and applications back to enterprise...
With around half a billion users, Microsoft’s Outlook is the second most popular email service worldwide. Known for its clean, user-friendly interface and host of features that make email management a breeze, the email client is a much-lauded and popular choice with both individual and...
Most businesses are drawn to Microsoft 365 to take advantage of its core applications. These include Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, Word, PowerPoint and Excel, and they represent an integral part of the Microsoft 365 experience. What many users fail to discover however, is the...
Depending on who you ask, some say that quantum computers could either break the Internet, rendering pretty much every data security protocol obsolete, or allow us to compute our way out of the climate crisis. These hyper-powerful devices, an emerging technology that exploits the properties...
Edge computing helps reduce latency of data processing. See which edge computing platform is right for your business. As modern technology continues to advance in ways that satisfy the human desire for instant gratification, consumers are placing more emphasis on speed as a key...
In the last article we looked at complying with Cyber Essentials and some of the main things to make sure were in order to best help your business comply. We also looked at the differences between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. In this article...
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the UK government launched the Cyber Essentials Scheme in 2014 in an effort to support organisations in enhancing the quality of their secure controls and to safeguard against the constantly evolving cyberthreat that we are all facing. The...
Small quality-of-life feature could change the way you use Microsoft 365 Microsoft has announced a new, more convenient way to pull images from Android devices, such as smartphones, into documents and spreadsheets made with the web versions of Word and Powerpoint found in Microsoft 365. In...
WordPress 6.1 adds improvements to website accessibility and more Open source CMS WordPress.org has released WordPress 6.1 “Misha” in a bid to expand the block editing experience introduced earlier this year in WordPress 5.9 and WordPress 6.0. Named after the Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist Mikhail “Misha” Alperin, WordPress 6.1 includes additional...
If your business uses Microsoft 365, it’s very likely that Microsoft Teams sits at the hub of the experience. Intuitive, well-conceived and feature-laden, Teams has risen from relative obscurity in the last 5 years to become the world’s foremost workplace collaboration tool, with an estimated...
Whether you’re new to Microsoft 365, or you’re a long-time customer it’s likely you were enticed by its class leading productivity tools. These are the products that have come to define the Microsoft 365 product offering, and include the likes of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams,...
Several of Microsoft’s work and productivity tools are coming to the metaverse Microsoft is bringing some of its most popular remote working software to the metaverse, announcing during the recent Meta Connect 2022 event that it is entering a new productivity-focused VR and AR partnership. In a blog...
A telemarketer who was fired after refusing to keep his webcam on while working had his rights breached, a Dutch court has ruled. The employee of US-based IT company Chetu was awarded approximately 75,000 euro (£65,700) by the court. In August, the man, in the...
In our previous blog, we wrote about the traditional methods of communication used in workplaces around the world and how they are simply no longer effective in the digital age. The most important factor in running a successful and thriving business is communication. We will...
Two years ago, our workplaces were almost unrecognisable from those today. The COVID-19 pandemic has had both sudden – and frankly catastrophic – effects as a result of our increasing reliance on technology. As a result of both situations, we developed new methods of working...
It’s important to understand the benefits that AI and machine learning can bring to businesses when dealing with their implementation challenges. It is possible to miss out on significant opportunities for growth and improvement by focusing solely on the challenges. The implementation of AI and...
Technology is evolving at a pace 100,000 times faster than human evolution. In a relatively short period of time, this results in huge leaps in innovation. Over the past decade, AI and machine learning have slowly revolutionised the business world and our daily lives. The...
Have you ever considered whether your backup storage would require a backup? This is an important question to consider when drafting a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan. Data and files are often backed up digitally and stored on physical servers or local storage...
Modern workplaces are unpredictable. In the age of technology and online presence, cyber criminality has become more prevalent. Unfortunately, too many of us behave the way we want when navigating our online spaces (like websites and emails), which is what gives criminals access to those...
It announced the plan last year, making Internet Explorer 11 its final version. Internet Explorer debuted on Windows desktop computers in 1995 and by 2004, had cornered 95% of the market. But now, Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox are dominant. Users wanting to...
Microsoft has several new features lined up for release this year for Teams users. To be able to play casual games, new cameo experiences, and much more are coming to Microsoft’s hybrid collaboration tool. Another noteworthy change will come to Teams in the next few months: a broader...
In the previous article we explored just how important cyber security is, and decided that the modern age of tech demands that it takes pride of place at the top of your business concerns. We learnt some of the various methods used by cyber criminals...
Cyber security needs to take top spot in your list of business concerns in the modern age – and if it doesn’t something needs to change. Today’s tech is unlimited in its possibilities, and this has made it essential that you and your team have...
Microsoft Teams may just help you get out of that dull work meeting Sitting through another unnecessary Microsoft Teams call may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new addition to the service. Microsoft has revealed it is working on a feature...
In the previous article we explored the significance of the price rises Microsoft have recently introduced to their plans. We did come to the conclusion that they are justified – but only if you are using all of the tools in the Microsoft ecosystem as...
Microsoft 365 have made some changes to their commercial price plans for 365. Of course, this was quite shocking for us all, especially considering that this is the first substantial price change since the birth of Microsoft Office way back in November of 1990. Understandably,...
Microsoft Teams solves one of its most annoying problems Better login and logout experiences coming to Microsoft Teams Juggling multiple login accounts for secure platforms such as e-signature tools should soon be less of a headache for Microsoft Teams users. The video conferencing platform has...
In the previous article we explored Legacy applications, discovered what they are, and how your essential apps – unfortunately, become Legacy. The challenges they pose in the modern world of work are many, so let’s explore some now. The operational challenges A lack of...
We all have tools we are familiar with that gradually become our ‘favourites’. The problem is that those tools won’t be sufficient forever, eventually becoming legacy apps, and needing replacing with the newer better versions of the same tools, or – if that’s not possible...
New Microsoft Teams feature will help you deliver the best possible presentation Microsoft is preparing an update for collaboration platform Teams that should help users maximize the impact of their presentations. As explained in a new entry in the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, Microsoft Teams...
Microsoft delays Office 365 price rise once again First substantial price increase since Office 365’s launch has been postponed Microsoft has once again delayed its planned price increase of both its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 office software suites. The price increase was first announced...
The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) is the sole accreditation body in the UK. Luckily, not all organisations have to achieve UKAS accreditation, because it isn’t easy. But, having achieved it, your certification will project a positive image of your organisation, whilst proving that you...
ISO 9001 – for those that haven’t heard of it – is an internationally renowned standard for quality management systems. It is no easy task to become certified to ISO 9001 standards, as companies seeking certification must follow the requirements rigorously. Achieving the standard is...
Microsoft Teams Unveiled 4 New Tools; Enhances User Experience The majority of individuals utilize Microsoft Teams to participate in meetings. It is particularly well suited to work from home and hybrid work environments. Now that the Corona outbreak has come to an end in many...
Everything new in Teams in February We’ve just entered the first day of March which means it’s time to go back and look at everything that’s changed in Microsoft Teams last month. Even though February is the shortest month of the year, Teams picked up...
Microsoft Teams is no longer such a battery hog Making calls on Microsoft Teams is no longer a massive drain on your PC or laptop, the company has claimed. The video conferencing software now requires up to 50% less power to run during “energy-intensive” scenarios...
We have already explored the price rises planned by Microsoft, and concluded that they are only justified when using the tools they offer to their maximum ability. We will now explore those tools – and the ones you may be using now. We will compare...
You must force every morsel of value out of the tools at your disposal, and tech should be at the very top of that list. A new reason to be sure you achieve value is that Microsoft are increasing their pricing for their 365 subscriptions....
How to get the latest Microsoft Teams updates Microsoft Teams has been on quite the journey over the last two years. Even in Microsoft’s wildest dreams, it could never have foreseen the huge increase in user figures that its platform has experienced. The video conferencing...
One of the coolest Microsoft Teams features is now available to everyone The wait is finally over as Microsoft has announced that its walkie talkie feature in Microsoft Teams is now generally available. The feature, which was first announced two years ago and has been...
In the previous blog we explored Microsoft Teams and discovered that there are no alternatives that are capable of offering even close to the functionality and ease of use that Teams does. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of working from one...
Aabyss Limited is delighted to announce it has acquired another managed services provider, Yorkshire-based Netcom Technologies Ltd (“Netcom”). Headquartered in Merseyside, Aabyss is one of the most established IT consultancy and technology solution providers to SME organisations in the region. The strategic acquisition of Netcom extends...
Microsoft Teams – the platform that offers levels of communication, collaboration, and productivity previously unattainable in business, and this is all achievable from anywhere on the globe. The platform has experienced a period of exponential growth in recent years, and this growth has only been...
Microsoft Teams update minimizes the opportunity for miscommunication Getting your ideas across in Microsoft Teams will soon be even easier as Microsoft is working on a new update for its video conferencing software that will allow users to see messages in chat and participants in...
In our previous article we established that the technological advancements we have enjoyed in the world over the last few decades have been larger than anything we had seen previously. These advancements have revolutionised the way we work and changed the way we go about...
Technology has advanced our lives to a level at which no one in human history could have anticipated, with things that were once the stuff of science fiction becoming popular appliances in our day to day lives. Technological advancements in recent times have centred around...
Microsoft introduces ‘Teams Essentials’ for small businesses Microsoft has announced a standalone offering to its collaboration platform Teams for small businesses at only $4 per user per month. Microsoft has announced a standalone offering to its collaboration platform Teams for small businesses at only $4...
Although most of the recent news coming out of Redmond lately has focused on Windows 11, Microsoft has also released Office 2021. The Office products are available with a Microsoft 365 subscription, but Microsoft is also making standalone versions available. Office Home and Student 2021...
In our previous article we explored some of the most important advancements in technology and how they have revolutionised our lives in the modern world. This led us to take a closer look at some of the latest most revolutionary technological advancements ever – AI,...
The modern world revolves around technology, so much so that you simply can’t escape it, when everything – from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep – has been influenced by technology in one way or another. Technology has allowed...
Microsoft Teams update will help you appear far more productive than you really are Microsoft is working on a number of updates for collaboration platform Teams, one of which could provide employees with the perfect way to appear more productive than they really are. As...
All our smartphones are filled with unused data A new study has found that despite half of Brits saying their smartphone is essential for organising their everyday life, their device is more likely to be filled with “clutter” than their wardrobe, car, or kitchen. Research...
Why upgrade for free when you can pay extra? Dell is charging customers extra for choosing Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 operating system on some of its most popular laptops, according to research carried out by TechRadar Pro. The findings shed light on a curious and controversial “Windows 11...
We explored in our previous article that technology is the driving force of businesses all around the world. Recent technological advancements have increased our reliance on technology considerably more than was ever anticipated, and nowadays you can’t do anything in daily life in the civilised...
Technology has rapidly become the driver for growth in business all over the world. Its presence in our lives – both in a business sense and otherwise – is continually expanding and is showing no signs of slowing down. Technological advancements over the last decade...
Microsoft Teams update will eliminate a major distraction Microsoft is preparing a pair of upgrades for collaboration platform Teams that will help users customize their video feeds to better suit their needs. As per two new entries in the company’s product roadmap, Teams will soon...
In the previous article we explained how the already difficult duties of your IT team have gradually been becoming more complex – with the advancements in technology and our increased reliance and familiarity with IT rising daily, our IT teams are really feeling the pressure....
The world we live in is dominated by a digital presence that is constantly evolving and showing no signs of slowing down – this digital presence has applied some serious pressure to IT teams in organisations all over the globe. Stress is obviously a factor...
Microsoft Teams update will fix the single most common video conferencing problem Hey, I think you’re on mute Microsoft is working on a simple update for collaboration platform Teams that should eliminate the single most common video conferencing problem. A new entry in the Microsoft...
New pricing for Microsoft 365 Today we are announcing changes to our commercial pricing for Microsoft 365—the first substantive pricing update since we launched Office 365 a decade ago. This updated pricing reflects the increased value we have delivered to our customers over the past...
In the first article we explored some of the modern communicative methods that we all use often and are very familiar with, and we explained how those methods don’t quite stand up to scrutiny any more in the modern world – they no longer assist...
The traditional workplace is gone! Modern business has changed exponentially over the last decade or so, this is due to rapid technological advancements that have coincided with our ever-increasing reliance on tech. This reliance has brought a whole new way of working into the light...
Microsoft Teams is finally about to give your presentation this vital upgrade As students and teachers prepare to head back to school, Microsoft is working on a new feature that will make it easier to share content when delivering presentations in Teams. Earlier this...
Windows 365 release date, pricing, features and everything else you need to know Microsoft has finally unveiled Windows 365, its new PC-as-a-service offering that allows users to stream a Windows desktop to any of their devices and from any location. Billed as “a new...
Microsoft Teams hits 250 million monthly active user milestone Microsoft Teams is continuing to grow like gangbusters and is now up to 250 million monthly active users, up from the 145 million daily active user number Microsoft execs shared in April. Microsoft officials say the...
BT and Microsoft announce strategic partnership BT and Microsoft today announced a new strategic partnership to accelerate innovation across enterprise voice, cyber security and industry-focused services in sectors from digital manufacturing to health, setting businesses in the UK and around the world back to growth....
Microsoft Teams is set for a rather fluid makeover Fluid components are coming to Microsoft Teams “soon”, according to a report that says dynamic widgets that can be edited in real-time by multiple team members are expected to start rolling out in mid-August. Government users...
Winning with Microsoft Teams in Retail Looking into Microsoft Teams as the central hub for your retail environment? You’re in the right place. Today, Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular tools for collaboration, communication and productivity in the current landscape. Not just suited...
The modern digital age that we live in has changed the way we work in many ways – none more so than the transition many have made to a remote work setting that has only been made possible by the Cloud. The Cloud has allowed...
Microsoft Teams will soon let you use your phone like an old-school walkie-talkie Microsoft is working on a new feature for its Teams video app. Arriving in public preview in September, Microsoft Teams is to get walkie-talkie with your phone, letting you easily communicate with...
New features coming to Microsoft Edge include tab groups and picture-in-picture Microsoft Edge, the company’s signature browser, has been receiving updates throughout the year — and there is more to come. The current feature road map for Edge reveals that some interesting changes to the...
Microsoft Building AI Upscaler to Compete with DLSS, FidelityFX Microsoft has begun to hire software engineers to develop machine learning-based upscaling algorithms implemented using its DirectX/DirectML application programming interface (API), which is designed for Xbox and Windows systems. The technology will compete both against AMD’s...
Microsoft Issues Serious Windows 10 Upgrade Warning Windows 10’s one billion users need to be on high alert because Microsoft has issued a serious update warning and everyone needs to take action. The warning is in response to ‘PrintNightmare’, a critical zero day flaw in...
Microsoft highlights upcoming Insight sessions for channel opportunities Microsoft has highlighted some of its upcoming sessions for its Inspire partner conference later this month, which is set to reveal opportunities within the tech giant’s channel network in the near future. The event, which runs virtually...
Microsoft details big performance improvements coming first to Teams for Consumers in the move away from Electron Last week, Microsoft announced that it’s making some major under the hood performance improvements to the existing architecture of Teams to improve its performance on all platforms. The...
Bye bye Skype: Microsoft integrating Teams into Windows 11 instead MICROSOFT is continuing its push to get people to turn their backs on Skype and move over to Microsoft Teams with its next major operating system upgrade, Windows 11. When you subscribe we will use...
New approaches for a new era: the mission-critical tools for post-Covid business success Environmental concerns, economic turbulence, the pandemic, and global trade issues – business leaders are juggling an ongoing range of challenges that are feeding uncertainty. As a result, they must ensure that their...
The world we work in is changing, and the technological age we live in – with all of the opportunities it offers for advanced levels of communication, collaboration, and productivity – can be a very difficult place to navigate. Recent circumstances have led many business...
Telephony is changing. BT are in the process of retiring their ISDN services and plan to be finished by 2025 – therefore, it is essential that you explore the alternatives on the market asap if you don’t want to be left behind. Understandably, it can...
Microsoft Teams is changing how you reply to messages MICROSOFT TEAMS has enjoyed immense success as an essential tool for remote working over the last year or so. With its latest update, Microsoft is making it harder to miss important messages from friends and colleagues...
Here’s the Top 4 things you need to know about calling in Microsoft Teams One of the areas you’re probably spending most your time in Microsoft Teams is with calling. You’re likely on video chats with your colleagues, turning chats into calls, handling voice calls...
Microsoft Teams update will make your next presentation less of a snoozefest Microsoft Teams will soon let you present like a news anchor Microsoft Teams Microsoft is preparing to launch two highly anticipated options for collaboration platform Teams that will give presenters the ability to...
Microsoft Teams is adding new features. Here’s what to know about the update. Even as companies anticipate a return to the office, Microsoft is betting on remote work and the role it will play in the future. Microsoft is preparing to launch two new features...
In the previous blog we explored some of the most famous features of Microsoft 365 from their conception to the pantheon on which they now reside. We also highlighted that, due to the world’s reliance on technology increasing so abruptly, many of Microsoft 365’s features...
The world has evolved to rely more and more heavily on technology over recent years. This is partially due to advancements in technology and – more recently – the COVID-19 pandemic that forced organisations to adopt a remote working team at a moment’s notice in...
Microsoft Teams new update Microsoft Teams is finally rolling out a new update that brings support for adding external users in group chats. The feature was added to the Microsoft 365 roadmap earlier this month and Microsoft MVP Linus Cansby spotted that it’s already live...
Microsoft Teams is getting an old school feature from the 1980s Speed dial is coming to Microsoft Teams. Microsoft is working on an update for its collaboration platform Teams that pays homage to an old-school phone feature first popularized in the 1980s. As per a...
Microsoft officially retiring Internet Explorer next year, moving on to Edge Not even Microsoft wants to make Internet Explorer its default browser Microsoft is set to finally drop its 25-year-old Internet Explorer web browser next year so it can focus all of its attention on...
Microsoft just achieved something few ever thought possible Tech companies have often found this hard. It may well be that you have enormous technical skills. It may be that you have a ruthlessly motivated leader, ready to crush anything that twitches before him. It may...
Google Outlines Remote Working For Staff Going Forward Google backtracks on remote working restrictions, and offers staff more flexible options for working at the office or home Google has fine tuned its attendance policy for staff going forward, and whether they will work from home...
Can your business exist if you are not in the Cloud? For Global Executives, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the cloud migration process. In a press conference with Morgan Stanley, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, stated that many Executives have realized, “I won’t exist if...
Remote working: why some people are less productive at home than others – new research Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A...
One year on: transformational IT lessons from remote working Proactive and personalized IT is key for optimal Digital Employee Experience in the hybrid workplace. Even though lockdown in the UK is easing and shops are reopening, there remains a question mark around the timing for...
Tech Tent: The audio revolution? An audio start-up without revenue gets valued at $4bn (£2.8bn), Facebook is launching what it calls social audio experiences, while Twitter has a new feature called Spaces allowing users to start an instant chat room. What’s going on? This week’s...
In this – the third blog in the series – we will take a close look at the questions asked in the Cyber Essentials Certification regarding Access Controls, and also explain what you need to do to be sure that you are reacting to /...
As we covered in the last blog in the series, the Cyber Essentials Certification can protect your organisation against 80% of common cyber attacks. We have already covered some of the ways to manage your Firewalls to guarantee you pass. In this – the second...
Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus are a set of basic – but fundamental – security requirements which, if implemented correctly, can protect your organisation against 80% of common cyber attacks. Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme aimed at small to medium businesses. We covered...
5 Resilience Benefits for a Newly Remote Working Environment Remember the long-ago working reality when seeking the support of your co-workers was a matter of visiting their cubicle for an impromptu knowledge-sharing session? Remember the unplanned conversations in the break room that not only provided...
Facebook: Our staff can carry on working from home after Covid Facebook says its employees can continue working from home, even as other tech giants appear to be going off the idea. The social media company told the BBC it thinks remote work is “the...
Nova Innovation has created the first-ever electric vehicle (EV) charge point where drivers can ‘fill up’ directly with energy from the sea. The EV charge point is located at Cullivoe harbour on the island of Yell in Shetland, where Nova’s tidal turbines have been powering...
Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams added some new features to improve user experience, with some additions directed at meeting organizers and teachers. A new attendance report feature is being added that allows the meeting organizer to download an attendance report after a meeting has ended. The...
Microsoft Teams will soon allow admins to control how much bandwidth it gobbles up Microsoft is working on a new feature for its online collaboration platform Teams that will help ensure the service performs consistently, irrespective of the user’s location. As per an entry to...
NHS Trusts still not ready for WannaCry-like cyber-attacks In 2019, based on information obtained via a series of Freedom of Information requests sent to 159 NHS trusts, security firm Redscan found that the NHS was grappling with an alarming rise in the exodus of IT...
With cyber attacks on the rise, during this blog series we have explored the potentially catastrophic consequences of your Microsoft 365 account being breached, how to secure it to avoid this happening, and some of the security options, the risks they tackle, and how to...
As we explored in the previous blog in the series, small businesses are not immune to cyber threats, if anything they need to use the resources available to them to their full potential – with them often not having the budget of some of the...
Small business owners/managers have a lot to stay on top of, the pressures of which have only been accentuated by the unprecedented year we have all experienced due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, the security of your data should always be at the forefront of your concerns....
The impact of 5G and COVID-19 on the security landscape Cybersecurity in a 5G, post-COVID future The threat from cybercriminals is omnipresent and unceasing. Their approach to cybercrime is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Their tools, techniques, and technologies are evolving at rapid speeds. And they need...
Why do many organisations have a hard time keeping up with the evolving threat landscape and effectively managing their cyber-risks? Financial services companies have been a popular target for cybercriminals for a long time. Not without good reason, since beyond working with money, financial companies...
More than 1.5bn students around the world have been forced out of classrooms and seen their education disrupted by the Covid-led closure of schools and colleges. Yet while educational institutions shut their doors to comply with lockdown rules and ensure social distancing, many lessons have...
Ransomware surged by 150% in 2020 with the average extortion amount doubling, according to a new report from Group-IB. The Singapore-based security firm analyzed over 500 attacks last year to compile its Ransomware Uncovered 2020-2021 report, which maps for the first time the most common tactics, techniques and...
Serious Linux Vulnerability Last month a newly discovered critical vulnerability in ‘sudo’, a fundamental program present in all Linux and Unix operating systems caught my eye. The sudo vulnerability aka CVE-2001-3156, seemed to go under the radar after it was announced and patches were released...
Worldwide, spending on cloud computing services is expected to climb to $1073 billion. It’s reshaped our vernacular too. A cloud is no longer just an amorphous, gaseous blob in the sky. It’s an ever-present technology in our lives. Snap a photo and it’ll likely be...
In the previous blogs in the series, we have explored some of the different types of cyber-attack, how to combat them and the ramifications of not combatting them effectively. In this, the third and final blog of the series, we will take a look at...
As previously mentioned, cyber threats are everywhere and the likelihood of them causing severe – potentially business defining – problems are greater than ever. We have also discussed three of the most prominent cyber-attack methods used by cybercriminals, which are as follows. Ransomware Phishing Malware...
Cyber threats are everywhere and are now more likely to cause potentially business-debilitating ramifications than ever before. Cybersecurity is largely about never letting your guard down, being aware and alert at all times. Many do not know how serious of a threat cyberattacks are. The...
Although 3,800 security jobs were created, recruitment, expansion and financial growth slowed sharply against the previous year The number of UK cybersecurity businesses surged by 21% between 2019 and 2020 to number 1,483, with the industry as a whole bucking wider economic trends to create...
Workers report feeling happier when working from home, though there seems to be a disconnect between staff sentiments and employer demands, according to research from Microsoft. Businesses need to look beyond remote working and think about introducing a wider array of flexible working options to...
At the end of January, a People in Law conference heard from Iain Harrison, a senior manager at EY about the difficulties and potential rewards of establishing a new hybrid working model once the pandemic has receded. Adam McCulloch listened in. Businesses must not confuse...
Workers in the UK are happier working from home but also feel more pressure to be always available to bosses, according to new research published today. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a dramatic shift to remote working over the past year, with a large number...
Peter says that the cyber-attacks on his company are relentless. “We see tens of different hacking attacks every single week. It is never ending.” A senior computer network manager for a global financial services company, Peter (who did not want to give his surname, or...
The cloud infrastructure market in 2020 reflected society itself, with the richest companies getting richer and the ones at the bottom of the market getting poorer. It grew to $129 billion for the year, according to data from Synergy Research Group. That’s up from around...
Corporate leaders are increasingly elevating the importance of cybersecurity to their companies. But recent high-profile attacks show how much more needs to be done in the year ahead. Here are the five biggest cybersecurity challenges that must be overcome. The far-reaching cybersecurity breaches of 2020,...
Two-thirds of remote workers risk potentially breaching GDPR guidelines by printing out work-related documents at home, according to a new study from Go Shred. The confidential shredding and records management company discovered that 66% of home workers have printed work-related documents since they began working...
Cyber Essentials – The Objective To prevent harmful code from causing damage or accessing sensitive data. The aim is to do this by restricting the execution of known malware and untrusted software. What is Malware? “Malware (a portmanteau for malicious software) is any software...
Cyber Essentials – The Objective To ensure that devices and software are not vulnerable to known security issues for which fixes are available. Keeping your devices and software up-to-date is of the utmost importance. If your devices aren’t equipped with the latest protection you are...
Cyber essentials – The Aim of Access Control The objective of Cyber Essentials is – with the assistance of access control – to ensure user accounts only provide access to applications, networks and computers that the user needs to perform their role – the keyword...
Continuing with our compliance theme, Matthew Locker, a Cyber Security Consultant at Apstorm has shared his ideas on how law firms can remain compliant in the modern world. The legal sector is rich in sensitive data and financial transactions, unfortunately, this makes it an attractive...
Presenteeism has long been associated with working life in the city, viewed by many employers and employees as essential for getting known and getting ahead. However, in response to the Covid 19 pandemic, businesses have had to cope with an abrupt move to mass remote...
The world witnessed a historic shift in the 2020 job market due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While some companies used to offer remote work as a perk, it has now become the norm for most businesses. By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be...
A majority of UK businesses are failing to adequately train their remote working employees to spot security threats, according to new research from iomart. The cloud services company based its Cyber Security Insights Report on the views of 1167 UK workers at C-level, director, manager and employee...
The security challenges posed by remote working aren’t solved through technology alone It is now almost a cliché to suggest 2020 has been a year like no other. From full national lockdowns to widespread limitations on social interaction, it’s hard to imagine how anyone, anywhere...
The second of the 5 controls is Secure configuration, which involves making device and software settings as secure as possible. This process requires a very proactive approach to your IT management. The default security settings ARE NOT the most secure It is often the...
Firewalls are one of the 5 key components required to achieve the Cyber Essentials certification. Let us take a look at how firewalls work, the different types and the various ways to configure them to ensure you satisfy the requirements of Cyber Essentials. Before we...
Cyber Essentials is a government backed scheme designed to help businesses protect themselves from some of the most common online threats. Since its introduction in 2014, 30,000 businesses have been awarded the highly regarded certification. In order to pass and achieve certification you must prove...
Security officials race to probe one of the most sophisticated cyber attacks of recent years. The US government has put out an emergency warning about what appears to be one of the most sophisticated cyberespionage campaigns in recent years. Hackers working for a nation-state managed...
Report finds many attacks focus on companies least impacted by COVID-19 outbreak Web application attacks have increased by over 800%, according to the State of the Web Security for H1 2020 report. Published by CDN and cloud security provider CDNetworks, the report found that during...
According to last year’s Gartner forecast, public cloud services are anticipated to grow to $USD 266.4 billion by the end of this year, up from $USD 227.8 billion just a year ago. Clearly, cloud computing is making its way to cloud nine, (See what I...
The National Cyber Security Centre has said it handled a record 723 cyber incidents between September 2019 and August this year, 200 of which were related to the coronavirus, and also removed 22,000 malicious URLs that were set up to target individuals and organisations. In...
The pandemic has changed so much about our lives, including how we work. COVID-19 forced companies to switch to remote working quickly, but as more and more people work from home for more extended periods, many believe it will become the new normal for the...
Security researchers have uncovered a major Facebook scam exploiting hundreds of thousands of users after the scammers left an Elasticsearch server unsecured. Among the 5.5GB haul discovered by vpnMentor on September 21, was 150,000-200,000 Facebook usernames and passwords, and personal info including emails, names and phone...
A British ticketing company has been financially penalized over a 2018 data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers across Europe. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Ticketmaster UK Limited £1.25m for failing to keep its customers’ personal data secure. Ticketmaster issued a data breach notice in...
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is ‘stepping up support’ for the National Health Service to help protect UK hospitals and other healthcare organisations against cyberattacks. The NCSC’s Annual Review 2020 reveals that the cyber arm of GCHQ has handled more 200 cyber incidents related to...
A hotel software provider has exposed the personal data of millions of guests around the world after misconfiguring an AWS bucket, according to a new report from Website Planet. The tech site’s security team discovered an exposed cloud database belonging to Spanish developer Prestige Software,...
The events of 2020 have turned most predictions for 2021 on their head. Top trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) will still define the ways in which tech reshapes our lives in the next year. However, the most significant...
2020 has come with a unique set of challenges to everyone’s lives across all backgrounds. Businesses have had to adapt to a different way of working. They have had to produce a place of work that is productive whilst allowing for the 2-meter distancing measures...
The world of IT can be a minefield to manoeuvre if inexperienced. Many business owners are spending time trawling the internet looking for tools to improve their remote working environment, to no fruition. Unfortunately many don’t have any idea what they are looking for; most...
The world is a challenging place to live at the moment. Whether that be on a personal level, financial level, or a business level. Covid has forced us all to change the way we live our daily lives, our days’ work is no exception. Many...
The number of publicly reported data breaches fell in the third quarter of 2020, but billions of more records were exposed globally to bring the total this year to 36 billion, according to Risk Based Security. The security vendor’s 2020 Q3 Data Breach QuickView Report was compiled...
Around 65,000 cyber-attacks are attempted on UK SMEs daily, with about 4,500 of them carried out successfully, according to Hiscox. This means that every 19 seconds, one SME in the UK is suffering from a cyber breach/attack – and a survey by cyber insurance firm...
Rising cybercrime and remote working have become a serious concern for cybersecurity professionals. Covid-19 has drastically changed the working environment in all corporate environments all over the globe. Working from home has become the new normal, creating a cybersecurity threat in the process. To know...
There’s a significant movement in cybersecurity right now that is seeing organizations approach the problem of cyber defence through the eyes of an attacker. This is very different from the check-box approach often associated with standard security or compliance frameworks – and it requires specialist...
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been chatting with people at four multi-national companies I work with who’ve seen productivity and revenue increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been surprisingly consistent about why they’ve benefited from this New Normal. I’ve also been following...
The fine against British Airways for GDPR failings has been reduced to £20m from the original £183m intent to fine issued last July. An ICO investigation found the airline was processing a significant amount of personal data without adequate security measures in place, leading to...
An important development of Microsoft 365 in 2020 has been the launch of the new Microsoft lists app. Until now the ‘Lists’ feature has only been accessible through SharePoint, but now finally the ‘Lists’ feature has been made available through its own standalone platform. There...
Lacking meeting productivity? This is a problem! A recent study suggests 70% of company executives fear meetings are affecting their productivity. This is reinforced by a recent survey that stated that over 50% of remote workers would rather spend less time in video calls. Additionally,...
In Microsoft 365 there are often many ways to achieve the same goal. One example of this is when scheduling team meetings. This feature allows users to organise meetings through the Teams app or through Outlook. Below we shall explore both methods. Scheduling meetings...
More than one in five (21%) UK workers feel more vulnerable to cybercrime since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by PwC. Stress or fatigue was the most common factor (35%) cited by those workers, followed by lack of skills and...
UK school payment service Wisepay has revealed that the card details of parents who made transactions on its site between October 2 and 5 have been compromised. This was after Wisepay’s website was hacked, resulting in an attacker harvesting payment details via a spoof page....
Ransomware was the most observed threat in 2020, according to a global corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York City. Kroll‘s proprietary data on cyber incident response cases shows that ransomware attacks accounted for over one-third of all cases as of September...
The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer was today handed a monumental fine for violating the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A German subsidiary of Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) was fined €35,258,707.95 by regulatory body the Hamburg Data Protection Authority (HmbBfDI) for excessive use...
More than half of businesses have cited scaling endpoint security as their main pain point in 2020. According to new research of 1005 key business stakeholders including C-Suite, IT and cybersecurity leaders by Asavie, 53% cited endpoint as their number one issue, followed by protecting against vulnerabilities (44%),...
Around one in three (31%) people in the UK are not actively concerned about cybersecurity, according to a study by ESET. In a survey of 2000 UK citizens, which looked at their cybersecurity habits, more than half (57%) do not believe they’ve been hacked and 46%...
A European fashion retailer has become the latest big-name brand to expose personal data on millions of its customers after misconfiguring a cloud database. Researchers at vpnMentor discovered the unencrypted Elasticsearch server on June 28 and parent company BrandBQ finally secured it around a month...
Most UK firms are set to increase digital adoption after admitting that the cloud saved their business from collapse during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis, but security remains a persistent challenge, according to new research. Identity management vendor Centrify surveyed 200 business decision-makers...
The way cybersecurity awareness training is conducted in organizations has a huge bearing on employees’ subsequent security outlook and behaviors, according to a new report from Osterman Research. The researchers discovered that users who found security training “very interesting” were over 13-times more likely to make “fundamental...
Over a third of government and enterprise users have been given privileged access despite not needing it, potentially exposing their organization to greater cyber-risk, according to Forcepoint. The security vendor polled nearly 1900 privileged users in the UK and US to better understand the current...
The COVID-19 pandemic – and the lockdowns that followed last spring – wrought changes across IT operations and strategy as businesses and employees adjusted to a new environment. But what changes were made, and which ones are likely to last? Spiceworks Ziff Davis, a B2B...
IT leaders have suffered significantly higher numbers of data breaches as a result of outbound email in the last 12 months. According to research by Egress, 93% of 538 IT leaders surveyed reported a breach in the past year due to an email error, with 70% of those...
A large proportion of employees are using their own devices to access data belonging to their company, according to a new study by Trend Micro. Researchers found that 39% of workers use personal smartphones, tablets, and laptops to access corporate data, often via services and applications...
Over half (56%) of UK businesses plan to increase their digital skills training budgets for staff next year, suggesting changes to working practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will be sustained. This is according to a survey of 200 senior business decision makers...
Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman today announced £500,000 in fresh government funding to help medical suppliers, primary care providers, and other businesses in the healthcare sector boost their cyber security. The fresh government funding comes in response to the National Cyber Security Centre’s assessment that...
Global gaming hardware manufacturing company Razer leaked the personal information of around 100,000 customers by storing their data in an Elasticsearch cluster that was misconfigured to enable public access, security researcher Bob Diachenko has revealed. The personal information of around 100,000 Razer customers was stored...
Security researchers have discovered hundreds of vulnerabilities across major hotel and airline and travel booking websites, some of which have already suffered major breaches. UK-based consumer rights group Which? and tech consultancy 6point6 studied 98 travel sector companies, probing websites, subdomains, employee portals and other...
New research from Kaspersky has discovered that of the 32% of Brits provided with a corporate desktop computer, only 77% have adequate anti-virus or cybersecurity software installed, leaving 23% of company desktops significantly insecure and exposed to cyber-threats. This is also the case for company...
A leading UK university has warned staff and students that it will take weeks to recover from a recent ransomware incident, with a well-known threat group already posting stolen documents. Newcastle University in the north-east of England is part of the elite Russell Group. It...
Millions of WordPress sites are being probed in automated attacks looking to exploit a recently discovered plugin vulnerability, according to security researchers. Wordfence, which itself produces a plugin for the platform, revealed news of the zero-day bug at the start of September. It affects File Manager which,...
Before we start…what is a VPN? For the purposes of online security, a VPN provides a network with private, encrypted access to the internet using the internet connection of a remote server. All data that passes between devices on your network and this server is...
Ransomware refers to a type of malware designed to force victims into paying a fee in order to restore encrypted files or regain access to a disabled system. Ransomware is most commonly associated with file encryption. The hackers will infect a device, encrypt files and...
Phishing scams…what are they? Phishing scams come in a variety of forms but typically they involve the use of a false identity to extract sensitive information from a victim. Phishing scammers use various methods to perform such scams, but the fraudulent practice is most strongly...
Luminate Education Group suffered a cyber attack last week that affected a number of Leeds-based colleges such as Leeds City College, Harrogate College, Keighley College, and University Centre Leeds. Earlier today, Luminate Education Group said the cyberattacks took place on 11th August and resulted in...
A vulnerability in the TeamViewer app could allow malicious actors to steal passwords. The high-severity flaw was discovered in the desktop version of the app for Windows before 15.8.3. By exploiting the weakness, authenticated threat actors operating remotely could execute code on victims’ systems or crack their TeamViewer...
Popular stock photo site Freepik has disclosed a major data breach affecting over eight million customers. The incident also affected users of the sister site Flaticon, which claims to run the world’s largest database of free icons. In a breach notice over the weekend, the...
Nearly half (47%) of UK IT leaders have not updated their security strategies to account for their move to cloud environments, putting their organizations at higher risk of cyber-attack, according to a new study by Trend Micro commissioned for CLOUDSEC Online. This is despite the fact that traditional...
Almost two-fifths (39%) of British business decision makers have sacked employees because they breached corporate security policy during the pandemic, according to new data from Centrify. The IAM specialist polled 200 UK respondents to find out more about how COVID-19 and mass remote working has impacted...
The company behind one of India’s most popular travel booking sites exposed 43GB of customer and corporate data before it was deleted by the infamous “Meow” attacker, according to researchers. A team at SafetyDetectives led by Anurag Sen discovered an Elasticsearch server without password protection...
Nearly a quarter (23%) of UK office workers rely on unauthorized devices to work from home, a new study by CybSafe has found. The research revealed that poor personal cybersecurity practices are commonplace amongst workers operating outside of corporate environments, which is worrying as home working is expected...
A social media data broker has exposed the public-facing profiles of 235 million users via a misconfigured online database, according to researchers. Comparitech teamed up with Bob Diachenko to uncover three identical copies of the data on August 1, left online with no password or...
Over the last 5 months, the constantly evolving nature of the Covid-19 pandemic has made it harder for businesses to focus solely on their service delivery. With the pressure to adapt to the ‘new ways of working’ it’s likely many business owners will have been...
2020 has been a turbulent year, requiring businesses to adapt and implement massive changes often at breakneck speed. When the initial lockdown restrictions were imposed in March many businesses were likely caught off guard and were forced to adopt less than ideal practices to ensure...
We’ve been in business for over 15 years, and during that time we’ve seen a lot, but we’ve never experienced a period of greater upheaval and uncertainty as to the situation we’re all finding ourselves in now. The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the business world...
Whilst we wait with bated breath for guidelines and the end of formal restrictions on movement and work, we are starting to see our neighbours in other countries starting to lift restrictions. We don’t yet know the extent of these and how successful they may...
What is the secret recipe to success in any organisation ’Great teamwork’ that’s what! Our organisations depend on multiple staff with differing experiences and expertise, to make sure everything runs the way we want it too. Only when things work well can we chart a...
Remote and flexible working has been high on the agenda for many years, in Social App, Buffers annual report “The State of Remote Working” they found that of the 2500 workers surveyed, a staggering 99% had the desire to work remotely. In the World’s Best...
It can be hard to concentrate when working from home as you can be surrounded by distractions such as kids, the dog, the news or that wandering cat who likes to sit near you or worse still on your laptop. With the COVID pandemic, more of us are having to adjust to working...
A Message For Our Clients Dear Client, We have been facing unprecedented challenges during the last couple of weeks, and our teams have been working hard to ensure we can continue to deliver and help with what you need at this challenging time. In...
If you have not already do so, we would strongly recommend having a plan in place to combat any closures or forced quarantine measure that may be introduced. As part of this strategy, you need to make plans for the following; Effective Communication through mobile, landline or softphones. Computers, Laptops...
What happens If a member of your staff gets quarantined from a deadly disease or what if all of them do? How would your business continue to survive? The threat of the Corona virus or another outbreak is always looming and with the latest outbreak...
Overview On many occasions Microsoft have tried to get us to use their own search engine “Bing” rather than other engines such as google. This has had limited success (like Bing results), but Microsoft are now upping the ante and starting to apply devious ways to push us to Bing. The team at Microsoft are now looking to force users to using Bing by simply setting the search engine to default in...
Last year was an interesting year for technology. We saw the introduction of foldable smart phones (that admittedly flopped), a rise in demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of Amazons Alexa and continued growth as people continued to adopt Smart Tech for their homes. In addition, we also saw how Virtual Reality (VR) can have the ability to help dementia patients, letting them...
The New Decade As we wave goodbye to another decade, we look forward (with hope) and try to guess what the future might bring. But where did people think we would be 10 years’ ago? or even further into the past. How would technology and...
We hope all our Customers and Visitors have a wonderful holiday this Christmas. If you are working and do need us are opening hours are as follows. Tuesday 24th ‘Christmas Eve’ 10am – 4pm Wednesday 25th ‘Christmas Day’ – Closed Thursday 26th ‘Boxing Day’...
Don’t expect any Golden Rings, French Hens or Leaping Lords, and instead of your true love sending you gifts, it will be us giving you a Christmas gift of advice to help keep you secure and your Xmas merry indeed. This year our festive gift...
HP have released a firmware update after it was revealed that certain Serial-Attached SCSI solid state drives had a significant glitch resulting in them failing at exactly 32,768 hours of operational time. Whilst we don’t have clients using these, they are not uncommon and are...
On Wednesday 20th November we will be attending the South Yorkshire Business Expo. Aside from exhibiting, we have been invited to deliver a seminar on Cyber Security. Our Head of Sales and Marketing, Simon Dobson, will be talking about Cyber Security and offering some business...
Aside from October being the month of autumnal change, clocks going back and small witches knocking on doors to get a fuel filled sugar rush! It was also something else. National Cyber Security Month. Whilst its not quite as exciting as dressing as a zombie...
The Cyber Security Industry – What are they trying to achieve? Everyone in the cyber security industry (including us) are focused on the same goal. That goal is simple, to keep businesses secure from the huge variety of threats that exist in the cyber wilderness....
Following the collapse of Thomas Cook, criminals are already exploiting people who have experienced a significant impact to their holidays. These criminals will attempt to scam anyone into revealing personal and financial information under the guise of assisting with refunds. This can include: • Pretending...
Bank holidays, a time for fun and enjoyment, but best of all, not having to get up at half six in the morning, jumping on the half seven bus and still only just making it to work on time. These days are a teat to...
This is a short and true-life story; the names have been changed to protect the blundering fools. Donald is a forty something bloke, working in middle management, he still likes to think that he has something cool about him, but the reality is he’s secretly...
ALERT: Internet Criminals are sending phishing attacks where they try to trick you into listening to a fake “Audio Note”. They show you screen shots and attempt to scam you into clicking on links or even log into a fake Microsoft login page. Phishing scammers...
What kind of world do we live in when we have to submit to the will of the bad guys? Sometimes it may be necessary to do so, or the consequences could lead to the infrastructure and services of entire cities, being down for days...
As an IT Service Provider, we spend a lot of time talking to businesses about the risk posed by cyber threats. We don’t do this to scare monger, every IT Service Provider is at war! The 21st century has forced us to enlist in the...
Our Technical team are the heart of the company and the emergency service that keep our customers working. So, what is it like to be an engineer at Netcom? And what does an average day look like? To find out, we asked one of our...
Technology is constantly evolving, creating amazing new innovations that have the ability to change our lifestyles in ways that were previously impossible. With the consumerisation of technology there is no surprise that smart tech has trickled down to our homes. From being able to turn the...
Technology has undoubtedly helped to evolve manufacturing, making it more efficient and even more profitable. Automation, Robots, IOT and even 3D printing have contributed to the continued success of the manufacturing sector. VR and AR could also have a huge impact on the industries future....
Did you know that over 33% of all businesses know that they are not GDPR compliant? That’s the companies that know what the new data protection law’s are!!! Some still have no idea what the General Data Protection laws (GDPR) are?, if they are compliant?...
A finding recently unveiled how someone managed to hack and acquire 773 million email addresses as well as 21 million unique passwords (the biggest data breach ever). It is astonishing that one person could get hold of this amount of data. It seems a scary thought...
Technology is changing every aspect of our lives. From the way we communicate to one another to how we order food and even how we pay for our wildest desires. One of the biggest changes that has come with the evolution of technology is its...
For some companies,2019 heralded an escape from what had been a bad year, and not necessarily because of poor results or mismanaged finances. Ticketfly, Facebook and even Google fell victim to cyber-attack in 2018, leaking vast amounts of data including addresses, telephone numbers, bank and...
2019 has kicked off with a bang and we would like to introduce you to the latest member of the Netcom team. Lucas Brown has joined our Sales and Marketing team, and will be helping us to execute and deliver on our ambitious plans...
Whilst most Children really do deserve coal in their stocking (mine especially) a huge number of adorable little urchins, will be tucking into their selection box whilst excitedly unwrapping small rectangular boxes containing wonderfully expensive electronic devices made by Apple. Christmas 2017 saw a staggering...
Yesterday saw some of the Netcom Team go head to head with our customer Samuel Hodge group in an epic Go karting battle in Sheffield. Once the suits were on, engines started and vizors down the battle commenced. Karts screeched round corners, bumped one another...
Why Do We Need Cyber Essentials? We live in a world where cyber-attacks are now a lucrative business model and used by criminals and states. This is partly due to speed of growth and our increasing reliance on connected technologies, both personally and professionally. The...
If you think that these Cyber threats people talk about just won’t happen to you, then it’s time to think again as Scottish brewery Arran recently found out. Arran brewery has since warned firms to be vigilant after it was locked out of its own...
You’ve put in the hours, missed school plays and sacrificed time to make a better life for you and you loved ones and have achieved that executive position with your feet firmly under the board room table. You’re comfortably that everything is on order, shareholders are...
We are seeing the emergence of wide spread Phishing Email attack and need to make everyone aware. Many companies and individuals, have today received emails from a malicious team, advising that devices have been hacked and will shortly be encrypted and erased unless a fine...
Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2017 The Cyber Security Breaches Survey measures how well UK businesses are approaching cyber security, and the level, nature, cost and impact of cyber attacks on businesses. For more a more detailed look at the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2017, Please click...
There are still many SME businesses that shy away from investing in IT support, and prefer to opt for a self-managed option. The reasons for this vary, but often it’s a lack of understanding or perception around paying out a monthly fee to protect things that may...
You may be aware of the recent news reports, that vulnerabilities have been discovered with Intel and other computing processors that need to be addressed. These vulnerabilities are broken into two different issues; Although recently discovered “Spectre” affects all processors and exploits a fundamental design flaw in...
Uber, Sage, Tesco Bank, Experian, this isn’t a who’s who of global brand names and successful companies, but just a few of the companies hacked in 2017. Data breaches are becoming commonplace and when these happen, the effects on customer confidence and the brand can...
Most of the time we love our technology, and even though we can’t live without it, we’re all are guilty of threatening the poor devices for getting it wrong or moaning when they take slightly longer than we want. No wonder they’re out to get their own back! iPod Lightning Strikes Vancouver 2007, young jogger was left with burns...
Symantec recently reported that 96% of UK businesses are not prepared for the new General Data Protection Regulations – GDPR Whilst we cannot confirm the statistic, In our experience, many organisations have not acted upon the changes, and some are not even aware of any...
It seems today that everything requires sign up, a loyalty card for coffee to paying your car tax online, we constantly need to create user names and passwords. Aside from the age of information overload, we now need databanks in our heads to store and...
Latest update: It is now being reported that the virus may not be spread by email and the data suggests that Petya was deployed onto possibly millions of computers by hacking popular Ukrainian Accounting software “MeDoc” then using the automatic update feature to download the...
We have moved into a digital age where the cloud subscription model has become king and we are seeing the consumerisation of IT services changing the way both home users and business procure IT. However, a common question we are often asked is “Should I...
We live in the most exciting and fast-paced period of technological innovation ever and whilst this sees us controlling our homes from mobiles and heading down the road in Self-driving Cars such as the TESLA I can’t help thinking back to the old movies such...
There is no hiding from it, the UK and potentially world had a huge wake-up call to the future of crime and potentially warfare with the Wannacrypt ransomware wreaking havoc across the NHS and commercial enterprise. What do we know about this latest threat? Research...
Over the weekend seven fire appliances attended a large industrial fire that took place at Yarra Industrial estate in Ecclesfield. We are pleased nobody was hurt but a number of businesses have been destroyed and we hope these are back up and running with minimal...
Not many films have such a profound as the Starwars franchise (okay, so we can forget episodes one to three as a bad dream) but going back to 1977 the dark brooding Vader and baby-faced skywalker has certainly stood the test of time. With May,...
When you ask anyone from outside of Yorkshire about the place, the images conjured will be that of a Flat Cap, Whippet or Compo from “Last of the Summer Wine” whilst partially accurate we have a much richer heritage. A Hotspot For Growth And Innovation...
As a provider of initiative support and systems Netcom is always on the lookout for new systems to help our customers. One of the main difficulties for any business is managing their customers, CRM systems make this a lot easier. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is one...
If you could get brand new £25k car at half price, you would probably jump at the opportunity and that’s exactly what is happening in South Yorkshire this Year – albeit with Business Funding for Digital Projects. 2015 saw the launch of the Super-Fast South...
4 small steps which will incease your laptop or tablets battery ‘on time’ For many out there working out of the office is vital for their Job role but they still need access to a computer. The obvious choice of this is of course a...
Reasons to move to Office 365 As Take That once sang “Everything Changes” just look at music. We shifted from Vinyl to Tape, Tape to Minidisc, Minidisc to CD, CD to MP3 and so forth. The world of software is no different, and most software and gaming vendors...
Netcom Technologies Sheffield or Vase.Limbs.Stared? This probably makes it seem like I’m going crazy but not according to What3Words. What3Words or W3W for short are a London company that has developed a solution to trying to describe where you are without the need of a...
Whether at work or at home, the cost of printing has always surprised me. Just head to any store or online stationary supplier and check out the cost of replacement Ink, it’s not cheap. I remember a few years back, you could buy well featured...
Choosing your Managed Services or IT Support partner, a few tips to help you on your way. Netcom have been supporting and guiding businesses in Sheffield for over 14 years, working with them, to ensure the technology meets the business needs and any challenges can...
What does your desk say about you? If you are sitting at your desk now, take a look around and ask yourself: “What is this desk saying about me?” For example, what messages does a photo of your mum send to your co-workers, or...
How to Calculate the Size of a Server Room Air Conditioner As IT professionals, we frequently find ourselves needing to cross over the IT boundaries past the usual server support and network support and explore other disciplines, one such time is when refitting and setting up server rooms....
Keeping you Safe at Christmas and Beyond Every year the scale and complexity of Cyber Attacks on our customer’s businesses increase, with new innovative and complex ways to turn technology and malicious intent into a lucrative business model. Whilst no security is 100% secure, building...
Have you ever emailed your finance team or accountant to ask them to pay a bill for you? If so did they question this? If not then why not? We’re all busy, we all try to save time but potentially losing tens of...
Microsoft will increase the prices it charges British businesses by up to 22% to account for the slump in the value of the pound following the EU referendum result, the software company has announced. Microsoft announced in its UK tech blog that from January 2017 the software...
Yahoo have admitted that, back in 2014, 500m Yahoo accounts were hacked. Because of this BT and Sky have advised customers that have not changed account passwords post December 2014 to change them as soon as possible, this is because both @Sky.com emails and some...
As an apprentice I have many roles at Netcom, some of which can be quite challenging. My main role at Netcom to respond to customer inquiries and help resolve any issues they may have with their IT. Most of the time when people call there...
The latest evolution of Microsoft operating system has arrived, and unlike the launch of Windows 8 which was reported to have cost an estimated $1.8 billion in Marketing spend alone, the new king has silently risen to the throne without pomp and ceremony. That said...
The internet is an essential part of our lives both at work and at home. Its okay at work because its taken care of and Netcom are here to help but what about when you are at home when your workplace IT people are not...
Technology can be complicated! Every day almost every one of us, juggle multiple devices. It is not uncommon to be using a Mobile, Tablet or Laptop and that’s without the addition of a computer at work. Add to this the very nature of our technology,...
Our newest apprentice IT support engineer, Macauley Cupitt tells us about his first few weeks. Starting an apprenticeship with new people and new jobs might sound daunting, but when I first started at Netcom Technologies, I was more than impressed with just how nice and welcoming people...
Last month Netcom supported Nina, one of our clients daughters, to travel to Africa to work in a school in Du Noon for 2 weeks. Nina dropped me and email last week so i thought id share. It was a pleasure Nina! Hi Mark, I...
