Archive for December 10, 2020

ESET Launches Renovated Cloud-Based Endpoint Security Management Solution

Posted in Commentary on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has today announced the launch of its new endpoint security management platform, ESET PROTECT, in selected countries. The new solution brings easy and automated management of ESET’s wide portfolio of security solutions with two deployment options: on-premises and cloud. ESET PROTECT Cloud is the new cornerstone for security management in ESET’s cloud-based business offering, capable of catering to organizations of all sizes.

The introduction of ESET PROTECT Cloud reflects the well-recognized shift in the security landscape from on-premises security software solutions to cloud-based services. ESET recognizes that many businesses are moving toward a “cloud first” approach, so a security software offering that aligns with this strategy is essential.

ESET PROTECT Cloud provides a cloud-based console for managing ESET security solutions deployed in a network with real-time visibility into both on-premises and off-premises endpoints. The console allows IT administrators to deploy ESET security solutions, execute tasks, enforce security policies, monitor system status, and quickly respond to problems or detections on managed endpoints across all platforms, including desktops, servers, virtual machines, and even mobile devices. In addition to integration for security information and event management (SIEM) tools, comprehensive reporting, and a fully customizable notification system, ESET PROTECT Cloud allows IT administrators to take immediate action against incidents.

The console allows users to manage existing ESET products, including ESET Endpoint Security, ESET Dynamic Threat Defense, and ESET Full Disk Encryption. Customers of ESET Cloud Administrator will be automatically and seamlessly upgraded to ESET PROTECT Cloud.

To ensure businesses of all sizes are equipped with the right solutions, ESET is offering a selection of subscriptions tailored to the specific business needs of home offices, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), managed services providers (MSPs), and enterprises. For the full set of ESET’s subscriptions, please check the table below.

All business subscriptions include either an on-premises endpoint management solution (ESET PROTECT; formerly ESET Security Management Center) or a cloud-based one (ESET PROTECT Cloud), along with ESET Endpoint Security by default. For customers looking only for email security, ESET will also offer an ESET PROTECT Mail Plus subscription.

The ESET PROTECT Advanced subscription was designed with the needs of SMBs and also MSPs in mind. Providing endpoint protection against ransomware and zero-day threats, and data protection via full disk encryption, the subscription meets the challenge of managing and protecting corporate networks in the face of evolving threats.

The ESET PROTECT Enterprise subscription is geared toward large organizations, where deep visibility and rigorous security requirements are essential. The subscription offers the highest value for mature enterprise customers with one of the most powerful endpoint detection and response solutions on the market – ESET Enterprise Inspector, currently manageable only from ESET PROTECT. By providing rule-based detection of suspicious events happening on endpoints, as well as threat hunting and remediation capabilities, this subscription ensures that emerging threats, risky employee behavior, and unwanted applications are not putting organizations at risk.

Bill To Strip Section 230 Protections From Internet Companies Introduced…. Is Trump Getting What He Wants?

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

I’ve talked about the fact that President Trump has been whining and complaining about nuking Section 230 which would strip the protections from nearly every internet venue with user interaction. That would include Facebook and Twitter among others. The Break Up Big Tech Act of 2020, introduced yesterday by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), seeks to strip companies of those protections if they take supposed actions like “acting as publishers and censoring certain users.”

The legislation if passed would remove Section 230 protections from online companies that perform the following activities.

  • Selling and displaying targeted ads without a user’s consent
  • Collecting data for “commercial purposes other than the direct sale of the interactive computer service.”
  • Acting as a marketplace by “facilitate the placement of items into the stream of commerce.”
  • Employing digital products intended to “engage and addict users” to the service.
  • Acting as a publisher by using algorithms to moderate or censor content without opt-in from users

So this would effectively give Trump and conservatives who have been claiming that the Internet censors their voices what they want. Assuming that this passes. We’ll see if that actually happens or if this bill dies quietly after January 20th 2021.

AppDynamics Helps HR Software Company, Jobvite, Save Hours Per Incident

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

AppDynamics, a part of Cisco, and the world’s #1 Application Performance Monitoring (APM) solution and full-stack, business centric observability platform, is partnering with Jobvite to save the company several hours per incident by simplifying its debugging processes and accelerating the mean time to repair (MTTR) for software bugs or errors.

Jobvite, an applicant tracking system (ATS) and recruiting software serving customers in many different industries, selected AppDynamics APM to migrate mission critical applications such as Recruiting and Canvas to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. Because of the competitive HR market and how essential it is to ensure a flawless digital customer experience, Jobvite needed a way to scale its digital platforms to meet an increase in usage of millions of job seekers and recruiters using Jobvite every year and thousands of customers who rely on the applications daily. To do this, Jobvite partnered with AppDynamics to enable a seamless migration to AWS without any disruption to their end users. After successfully transitioning to their cloud-native microservice architecture, Jobvite turned to AppDynamics to manage and monitor its multiple AWS-based applications, including the company’s popular customer facing applications. More recently, Jobvite added observability to gain access to Deep Code Insights powered by Rookout.

By partnering with AppDynamics, Jobvite can pinpoint functionality issues in production, eliminating the time previously wasted sifting through log files, saving hours per incident. AppDynamics has allowed Jobvite to detect any issues early in development and resolve them before they impact customers. By providing deep performance insights at every stage of the software development lifecycle—from code insights through to production—Jobvite has accelerated innovation by bringing high-quality products to market faster. AppDynamics has allowed Jobvite to shift left and get the most important products to market faster, while still delivering the high-quality standards that the market expects.

Since partnering with AppDynamics, Jobvite has been able to make vast improvements, including:

  • Migrating all workloads to AWS within six months and with zero disruption to the end user.
  • Simplifying production debugging and rapid root-cause analysis to optimize application performance.
  • Democratizing secure access to the product runtime behavior in any environment, empowering teams to take ownership from development to delivery and accelerating MTTR for software bugs or errors.
  • Improving management of unplanned work, allowing IT teams to maintain a strategic focus and allocate resources to support business objectives.

To learn more about how to move quickly and securely to AWS with AppDynamics full-stack performance monitoring, visit here.

To visit the AppDynamics virtual booth at AWS re:Invent, through December 18, 2020, registered attendees can click here.

The Last Ever Flash Update Has Shipped

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

Adobe has released the final scheduled update to its Flash Player plugin, weeks before Flash’s official retirement. Here’s the details from The Verge:

As noted on Adobe’s site, yesterday marked the last update for Flash outside mainland China, which has a separate version of the software. Adobe will stop supporting Flash on December 31st, 2020, and it will block Flash content from running on January 12th, 2021. Adobe offered a brief farewell in its release notes. “We want to take a moment to thank all of our customers and developers who have used and created amazing Flash Player content over the last two decades,” the note says. “We are proud that Flash had a crucial role in evolving web content across animation, interactivity, audio, and video. We are excited to help lead the next era of digital experiences.”

Given how Flash has become such a security nightmare, I am not sorry to see Flash go. Most of the functionality of Flash is now in HTML5. Which means that it is a standard and it is more likely to be secure. That’s good for all. Now let’s hope that any web pages that use Flash disappear as quickly as possible.

Apple & Google To Ban Apps Using Location Tracking Tech From X-Mode If Devs Don’t Remove The Tracking Tech

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

Have you heard of a company called X-Mode? Chances are you haven’t. But it is likely that your apps on your phone use their tech. Here’s how it works. X-Mode obtains location data from apps on the App Store and Google Play Store and sells that information to contractors associated with the U.S. military and national security industry.

Charming.

Both Apple and Google are now taking steps to ban apps with X-Mode tracking tech in them says The Wall Street Journal:

The Journal reported last month that X-Mode was collecting data from phones running its software about nearby “Internet of Things” devices such as fitness trackers and automobiles. That data was being made available to a company called SignalFrame that had received a small grant from the military and had been trying to win other national security-related contracts.

In addition, Vice News reported last month that X-Mode drew some of its location information from apps with a predominantly Muslim user base, such as a dating app called Muslim Mingle and a prayer app called Muslim Pro, though the company also has software embedded in many other kinds of apps.

In response to questions from the Journal, X-Mode said it was re-evaluating its government work and that its contracts prevent anyone from linking a device to personal information such as a name, address or email address.

That didn’t make Apple and Google happy. Google developers have seven days, while Apple is reportedly giving their developers two weeks. If they fail to meet those targets, the apps get banned. Some developers want Apple and Google to reconsider this. But I don’t see either company changing their minds. Nor should they. There is clearly something sketchy going on here and it is good to see both Apple and Google taking action to protect their users.

Digital Defense Pledges $5,000 To PenFed Foundation

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 10, 2020 by itnerd

Digital Defense, Inc., a leader in vulnerability management and threat assessment solutions, today announced it will match all donations up to $5,000 to the PenFed Foundation, Dec. 10 – Dec. 15, as part of a social media campaign in support of the military community. The donations will be used by the PenFed Foundation to provide members of the military community with emergency financial assistance, help veterans achieve the dream of home ownership and support investments in veteran entrepreneurs.

The PenFed Foundation, a national 501(c)3 founded by PenFed Credit Union, was created in 2001 and, since then, has provided more than $38.5 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members, families and caregivers.

In March 2020, PenFed Foundation became the first national Veterans Service Organization (VSO) to launch a COVID-19 relief program providing emergency financial assistance for veterans and service members. To date, over 1,100 military families have been helped with COVID-19 emergency financial relief since March 17.

About PenFed Foundation

Founded in 2001, the PenFed Foundation is a national nonprofit organization committed to empowering military service members, veterans and their communities with the skills and resources to realize financial stability and opportunity. It provides service members, veterans, their families and support networks with the skills and resources they need to improve their lives through programs on financial education, homeownership, veteran entrepreneurship and short-term assistance. Affiliated with PenFed Credit Union, the Foundation has the resources to effectively reach military communities across the nation, build strong partnerships, and engage a dedicated corps of volunteers in its mission. The credit union funds the Foundation’s personnel and most operational costs, demonstrating its strong commitment to the programs the Foundation provides. Equal Housing Opportunity. To learn more, visit www.penfedfoundation.org.