Archive for February 28, 2018

Canadian Federal Investment Comes On The Heels Of Global Cybersecurity Talent Gap Report

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 28, 2018 by itnerd

With a $508 million infusion of cash and a national strategy, the Canadian federal government has ensured that the broad economic opportunities presented by cybersecurity will live for a news cycle or two. In the wake of Budget 2018, I want to provide some important context for the narrative from a global report released last week – that cybersecurity is already the biggest and most urgent talent gap facing business leaders.

The report from Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute shows that cybersecurity represents the biggest gap between demand for skills and internal supply. The demand is quickly becoming a critical issue for businesses, leaving them dangerously exposed to cybercrime and unable to maximize competitive advantage from digitization.

Cybersecurity Talent: The Big Gap in Cyber Protection, recommends a number of tactical priorities for business leaders to help them recruit and retain the best cyber talent:

  • ‘Think outside the box’ when approaching candidates – e.g. people on the autism spectrum are highly skilled at pattern recognition
  • Maximize existing internal skill sets and convert them to fill cyber roles
  • Ensure cybersecurity is integrated across the organization
  • Offer flexible working benefits to retain the best talent

Leave a comment »

New exFAT/NTFS for USB Supports SAF, Delivers Advanced Android File Management Options

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 28, 2018 by itnerd

Paragon Software has released the third edition of Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB On-the-Go by Paragon Software. This application enables an instant, non-root method for transferring files between any Android devices — smartphones, tablets, or Android TVs — and HFS+, exFAT, NTFS, or FAT32-formatted USB flash drives. The new edition supports Android Storage Access Framework (SAF) and comes with new UI options for easier data management. Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software now utilizes the native, built-in Android file manager, providing users more flexibility in accessing USB OTG storages directly – without the need to install additional applications. What’s more, the SAF integration in Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software allows users to access data from USB flash drives directly from SAF-supported third-party applications, such as messaging, cloud storage services, Gmail clients, and others.

The user interface has been updated with new control options that make browsing and opening photos, movies, and documents on-the-go easier than ever. By selecting “Manage Files,” users can easily transfer files from USB devices or between onboard memory and USB, as well as perform file operations including copy, move, rename, delete, and share

New features:

  • Paragon File System Link as Android SAF Document Provider;
  • Integration with built-in Android file manager;
  • Direct access to external storage media without installing third-party utilities such as Total Commander;
  • Advanced third-party applications support:
    •   attach files to e-mail via Gmail;
    •   upload files to cloud storage via Google drive, Yandex.Disk, Dropbox;
    •   send files to contacts directly in WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype.

How Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software works:

  1. Install Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software on your Android device(s).
  2. Connect USB flash drive via USB OTG and mount the necessary file system.
  3. Tap “Browse” and select the desired option:
  4. “Open files” to view files;
  5. “Manage files” to copy, move, delete, or rename files.
  6. To choose your USB volume, tap the hamburger menu and select Paragon File System Link.

For users who prefer to work with Total Commander, Plugin for Total Commander functionality remains the same. Watch this video to see how it works

Microsoft exFAT/NTFS for USB by Paragon Software is available at Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paragon.tcplugins_ntfs_ro&referrer=utm_source%3Dpress-release. File systems can be purchased separately or as a pack for just $9,99.

Leave a comment »

Ex Bell Door To Door Sales Rep Claims That He Was Trained To Lie To Customers

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 28, 2018 by itnerd

Well, this keeps getting worse for Bell. Hot off the heels of this report where customers of Bell say they were misled about the costs of their services by door to door sales reps, a former door to door sales rep has come forward to the CBC to say that he was trained to lie to customers:

Krys Weiss contacted Go Public after reading about sales pressure on staff at Bell call centres.

“We misled people at the front door, too,” says Weiss, who sold Bell’s “Fibe” TV, internet and home phone services two years ago in Toronto-area neighbourhoods. Bell subcontracts all its door-to-door marketing to third-party companies.

Weiss describes how he and other other sales reps would be dropped off in a neighbourhood and expected to hit about 60 houses a shift. Working mostly on commission, he says he was desperate to get people to sign up for a “triple play” — TV, internet and home phone.

“You want to do whatever you can to finalize that sale,” he says.

Weiss says he was coached not to mention fine print in contracts, to fudge on prices and internet speeds.  

“I wasn’t telling the whole truth,” he says. “I was only telling the small things and leaving out the big things that could be potential harm for them.”

Now, these sales reps are outsourced, which gives Bell plausible deniability when stuff like this comes up. But you may not know that they are outsourced when they come to your door because of the fact that they’re wearing Bell shirts, and jackets and handing out business cards with the Bell logo on them. I know this because I’ve seen them numerous times in and around our condo trying to sign people up for their services.

In any case, it’s pretty clear that Bell has a serious problem on its hands, and one that requires a fix via the government intervening and saying that their behavior is not acceptable. Either that, or customer simply should dump Bell and tell others not to sign up for their services. Because Bell needs to understand that their bad behavior needs to immediately stop.

 

4 Comments »

Guest Post: NordVPN Discusses OpenMedia’s Protests Against FairPlay’s Planned Website Censorship

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 28, 2018 by itnerd

Today, on Feb 28th, Canadian digital rights advocacy group OpenMedia is planning a protest to fight against website censorship.

OpenMedia has launched Unfairplay.ca as an answer to FairPlay, a Canadian coalition of 25 media corporations that are aiming to push for the rights to block any website accused of piracy – without court oversight.

“Any kind of censorship may lead to abuse of power, blocking of legitimate sites and denial of the basic freedom of speech,” said Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN. “Piracy is an issue, but it should be solved by providing more convenient access to content rather than by blocking or taking down websites.”

When a user turns on a VPN, their Internet traffic gets routed through an alternative tunnel. They can also connect to a server in a different country – so they can access any website that is blocked in Canada but available elsewhere.

VPNs also encrypt all traffic between a user’s computer and a VPN server, providing privacy and security when browsing the Internet.

OpenMedia has a goal to deliver at least 50,000 public comments to the CRTC in protest of FairPlay Canada. The submission deadline is now extended until March 29th, 2018.

 

Leave a comment »