Archive for July 28, 2022

TELUS Investing $10 Million In Leduc This Year   

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 28, 2022 by itnerd

TELUS has announced a $10 million investment across the City of Leduc in 2022 as part of its $17 billion investment in operations, network infrastructure, and spectrum across the province now through 2026, creating 8,500 new jobs for Albertans and connecting more families and businesses to TELUS’ world-leading 5G and TELUS PureFibre networks. 

Earlier this year, TELUS announced it is using the power of its Smart Hub technology and  award-winning 5G network to bring rural Canadians in B.C. and Alberta home Internet speeds up to 100 Mbps. Residents in Leduc were among the first in the country to access these ultrafast home Internet speeds, which is up to four times faster than speeds currently available through a 4G network. With these faster 5G Internet speeds, customers in Leduc can simultaneously stream their favourite shows, game, surf the web, make video calls, and work or learn remotely.

TELUS’ commitment to Alberta extends well beyond investments in operations and infrastructure. Since 2000, TELUS, its team members and retirees have provided over $198 million in cash, in-kind contributions, time and programs and volunteered 3.2 million hours to charities and community organizations located in Alberta.

Across Alberta, TELUS’ significant investment of $17 billion now through 2026 also includes:

  • Creating new jobs to support Alberta’s growing economy Hiring 8,500 Albertans with a focus on construction, engineering, and emerging technologies at TELUS and through its vast partner ecosystem now through 2026.
  • Connecting nearly 1 million homes in Alberta TELUS will connect hundreds of thousands more homes and businesses across Alberta including in Airdrie, Calgary, Edmonton, Leduc, Lloydminster, Spruce Grove, and St. Albert. PureFibre is Alberta’s only 100 per cent pure fibre-to-the-home network and currently reaches nearly 1 million homes and businesses across the province. The symmetrical upload and download Internet speeds and nearly infinite bandwidth enabled only by PureFibre means everyone can work, stream, game, or make video calls at the same time. 
  • Delivering 5G to Remote Communities With the rollout of 3.5 GHz spectrum additions later this year, Albertans will have access to TELUS’ 5G network delivering an ultrafast and reliable wireless connection. Albertans living in some rural and remote communities are also some of the first in the country to access home Internet speeds of 100 Mbps through TELUS’ 5G fixed wireless network, using the capabilities of 5G to provide a powerful alternative to a wired Internet connection.
    • TELUS’ global-leading wireless network was rated the fastest mobile network for the eighth consecutive time by UK-based Opensignal, while also earning the title of North America’s Fastest Mobile Network and being named Canada’s Fastest Mobile Network by Seattle-based Ookla® for the ninth consecutive time.
  • 5G Core and Multi-Access Edge Computing TELUS will introduce its 5G standalone network this year and bring multi-access edge computing (MEC) capabilities that will further advance IoT and industry solutions that will enable important innovations for businesses and sectors, including health, agriculture, energy, transportation, and manufacturing.
    • Our network and crucial investments will support the digitization of the economy, and our transition to a sustainable future, including through optimisation of energy consumption at home, reduction of food waste or intelligent transport systems that result in fewer emissions.
  • Contributing to a greener Alberta and planet  As a global leader in sustainability, TELUS’ network infrastructure and investments are helping us transition to a sustainable future through the digitization of the economy, including optimizing energy consumption at home and reducing food waste through its TELUS Agriculture solutions. 
    • The 2021 Sustainability Report outlines TELUS’ environmental, social, and governance strategy and priorities which includes the ambitious goal to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025. Moreover, TELUS’ world-leading wireless and wireline networks enable significant carbon avoidance by providing the networks required for TELUS team members and millions of Albertans to work remotely and avoid commuting; access education, healthcare, and social connections virtually; and enable other businesses to take their workforce virtual leading to less energy consumption in office buildings and fewer commuters on the road. 
    • To date, TELUS has planted more than 800,000 trees and by the time its millionth tree is planted later this year, it will have planted the equivalent of 20,000 acres of forest, which is nearly the size of Red Deer. 
  • Supporting Alberta’s Agriculture Industry TELUS Agriculture is investing in integrated data management software, helping to scale animal health technology to deliver valuable insights and enable a more sustainable, responsive food supply chain. With a comprehensive portfolio of grower and advisor solutions, TELUS Agriculture is helping to improve both productivity and profitability for farmers in Alberta, notably with field-specific nutrient management programs aimed at increasing fertilizer efficiency and maximizing yield potential.

Since 2000 through 2021, TELUS has invested $220 billion nationally in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum, including more than $60 billion in Alberta over the past century. The investments announced in this media release are consistent with TELUS’ capital expenditure guidance for 2021, released in the fourth quarter of 2020 earnings release dated February 11, 2021.

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Guest Post: Phone Heating Up This Summer? It Could Be Caused By More Than Hot Weather

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 28, 2022 by itnerd

By Hank Schless, Senior Manager of Security Solutions at Lookout

Has your phone been acting strangely? Maybe you’ve noticed mysterious apps, or your battery is draining  quicker than usual. While these activities don’t always mean your phone is at risk,  they could be important signs that your device is compromised leaving your personal data at risk.

Lookout, the leader in delivering integrated Security, Privacy, and Identity Theft Protection solutions, has gathered the most common signs that your phone compromised : 

  • Overheating Phone
    It’s possible that threat actors may be transferring a lot of your data to their remote server from your device, making your cell phone overloaded with work.
  • Random Apps Downloaded
    Hackers can be responsible for installing apps that spy and monitor your activity – check and remove every app that seems suspicious or unfamiliar.
  • Lagging Performance 
    Malware creeped onto your phone by hackers could very well slow down your processor – ensuring dropped calls, undelivered texts, crashing and freezing. 
  • Consistent Intrusive Pop-Ups
    An unusual amount of pop-up ads, home screen updates or bookmarks to unknown websites could be a sign of an adware infection. Steer clear! 
  • Weak Battery Performance
    Unwanted apps installed on your phone can hijack your phone’s resources and drain your battery quickly.

To be proactive about your security and protection, download the https://protection.lookout.com/ app for all of your devices.

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New Attack Uses APT Group Techniques, Mirrors Legit Landing Pages For Convincing Credential Harvesting

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 28, 2022 by itnerd

Avanan has published its newest research, discovering threat actors using ever-changing obfuscation methods, previously seen in attacks led by the APT group SPAM-EGY to mirror images of an organization’s landing page and fool users into handing over their credentials. 

This attack presents users with a typical looking password expiration reminder email. By clicking on the provided URL, victims are directed to a fake page that mirrors the actual company website displaying identical images of the organization’s login page that users are accustomed to seeing. 

 Jeremy Fuchs, Cybersecurity Research Analyst at Avanan Had this to say:

The information the attackers are after is primarily credentials–usernames and passwords. They are after them because they are incredibly valuable. Passwords are keys to the kingdom. They can open up financial documents, personnel files, employee records; they can lead to bank accounts and medical records. By stealing credentials, the attackers have a whole bevy of information at their finger-tips

We’ve seen this off and on for about two years and it’s quite simple. One of the groups that does this, SPAM-EGY, claims “10,000% access to the inbox.” In that regard, they’re doing quite well.

Like with most phishing attacks, there are some telltale signs. It’s important to remind employees to take two seconds and do two quick things–look at the sender address and the URL of the page. The sender address is often amiss; that’s clue one that something is off. The URL will also likely be off; that’s clue two. Infusing that into everything employees do is critical.

Phishers take what works and amplify it. If something works, they’ll keep at it. Given that many of these attacks are available as downloadable “kits”, the barrier to entry is far lower. That means we’ll see a continued proliferation of these types of attacks, only spread by various groups, both APT and non-APT alike.

You can read the full report here.

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