Archive for May, 2023

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Nikon Releases the NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 Prime Lens

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Nikon Canada Inc. has announced the release of the NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7, a fast aperture yet extremely affordable compact prime lens for Nikon Z mount APS-C size/DX-format mirrorless cameras. The NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 is the first prime APS-C size NIKKOR Z lens, and gives a wide range of creators the benefits of a versatile angle of view and fast f/1.7 aperture for blurred backgrounds and amazing low light performance. 

The quality of the out-of-focus area, also known as the bokeh, is unique to fast maximum apertures and allows users to dramatically emphasize their subjects in still-life and portrait photography. The new 24mm f/1.7 also enables the capture of beautiful, high-resolution photos and video in dimly lit conditions, by allowing more light to enter the lens. In addition, images recorded under such circumstances exhibit very little blur, even while shooting handheld due to the fast shutter speed afforded with wider apertures. The 24mm focal length is ideal for a wide variety of scenes, including tabletop photos, portraits, and landscapes. What’s more, the 7-inch (0.18m) minimum focus distance allows users to get close to subjects such as flowers and tabletop objects, for images that emphasize the subject with big background bokeh. The compact and lightweight design enables easy carrying, making it an ideal lens for everyday use.

Primary features of the NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 Lens

  • A fast maximum aperture of f/1.7 makes it an ideal lens for rendering content that includes large bokeh for both still-image and video recording. During hand-held shooting in dimly lit and dark surroundings, the fast aperture enables fast shutter speeds to reduce the effects of camera shake, as well as the ability to use lower ISO sensitivities for less noise.
  • A convenient angle of view at 24-mm focal length and 7-inch minimum focus distance support recording of a wide variety of scenes.
  • Adoption of a stepping motor (STM) enables quiet autofocusing, minimizing focus sounds in video.
  • Designed with consideration for the suppression of focus breathing, the lens enables smooth focusing with less change in the angle of view, even when the focus point changes during video recording.
  • A compact and lightweight design makes it easy to carry inside a bag while mounted on a camera. When combined with the Nikon Z 30, the camera and lens combined weighs approximately 540g.

Price and Availability
The new NIKKOR Z DX 24mm f/1.7 lens will be available in mid-June 2023 for a manufacturer suggested retail price of $379.95.* For more information about the latest Nikon products, including the vast collection of NIKKOR Z lenses and the entire collection of Z series cameras, please visit www.nikon.ca. 

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HYAS Infosec Wins 2023 Fortress Cybersecurity Award

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

The Business Intelligence Group today announced that HYAS Infosec has won the 2023 Fortress Cybersecurity Awards in the Threat Intelligence category. The industry awards program sought to identify and reward the world’s leading companies and products that are working to keep our data and electronic assets safe among a growing threat from hackers.

HYAS Insight is an advanced threat intelligence and investigation solution that gives organizations the ability to identify, track, and attribute fraud and attacks faster and more efficiently. Powered by an unrivaled understanding of attack infrastructure and a proprietary graph database — which aggregates information from commercial and private sources and uncovers the relationships between them — HYAS Insight is able to surface previously inaccessible data as well as the rich context needed to use it.

By analyzing data aggregated from leading private and commercial sources around the world, HYAS identifies infrastructure likely to be used in attacks — sometimes months before it is even activated. Powered by this unmatched understanding of attacker infrastructure and methodology, threat intelligence solution HYAS Insight allows users to investigate, identify, and attribute attacks, helping organizations protect themselves from future threats and gain greater visibility into the nature and types of threats and risks they are facing. Additionally, HYAS Insight easily integrates into the set of tools and solutions that clients utilize today, including leading visualization solutions, TIPs, SIEM, SOAR, and even proprietary solutions via JSON APIs.

For information about the HYAS Infosec, please visit https://www.hyas.com/. For information about the annual Fortress Cybersecurity Awards, please visit, https://www.bintelligence.com/awards/fortress-cybersecurity-award.

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Barracuda Has A Serious Email Security Gateway Appliance (ESG) Vulnerability…. Time To Patch Away

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Barracuda’s Email Security Gateway Appliance has a vulnerability that is so serious, that even the CISA is wanting Federal Agencies to patch it right away. That’s because there are reports that this vulnerability has been exploited. Which is of course a bad thing.

Here’s what Joe Saunders, CEO, RunSafe Security had to say on this:

“As attackers gain persistent access and start to move laterally, they likely will need a memory-based exploit to complete the attack. The time is now for industry to stop chasing patches and start deploying exploit prevention even when a patch is not available.”

The bottom line is that those with Barracuda ESG’s need to patch them ASAP to keep the bad guys out. Seeing as this is a clear and present danger, not doing that is asking for trouble.

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Uber Releases Their Economic Impact Report 

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Uber Canada has released its Economic Impact Report for 2022, highlighting the impact and value Uber and Uber Eats has created for Canadians in a year of inflation and rising costs.

The report reveals that Uber created $8.8 billion in economic value for the Canadian economy in 2022, and that Uber and Uber Eats produced $35 billion in consumer surplus. That is equivalent to 1.4% of Canada’s GDP. 

Some key insights from the report include: 

More people are choosing to drive or deliver with Uber than ever before due to inflation.

Like all Canadians, drivers and delivery people are feeling the pinch. 27% said they felt a little or much worse off than a year ago and 20% felt pessimistic about their personal finances over the next 6 months. 

  • In the last quarter of 2022, Uber saw the highest number of signups ever on the platform in Canada. 
  • 21% of drivers first started using Uber in the last year and 43% of delivery people first started delivering with Uber Eats in the last year.
  • More than half (62%) of all those we spoke to said that the rising cost of living was the main reason behind their decision to work with Uber or Uber Eats.

In challenging economic times, apps like Uber are a vital lifeline, creating flexible income opportunities to help people stay afloat: 

  • 76% of drivers and delivery people reported that their work with Uber or Uber Eats has become more important in the last year as a result of the rising cost of living.
  • 58% said additional income provided by apps allowed them to save more money.
  • 52% told us that app-based work has served as a ‘bridge’ between losing one job and gaining another.
  • 73% said app-based work helped them to make money in an emergency situation.
  • 92% of drivers and delivery people who use Uber told us that schedule flexibility was important to them when choosing work.

The report also shares new data on the growth of food and grocery delivery, the impact of ridesharing the night time economy, Uber’s progress towards its sustainability commitments and how the platform continues to transform the digital economy. 

You can read the full report here. 

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Moneris Partners With Wix

Posted in Commentary with tags , on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Moneris Solutions Corporation has partnered with Wix.com Ltd. to power the Moneris Online solution for Canadian businesses to set up their shop online.

Businesses using Moneris Online will have access to Wix’s robust product offerings including bookings, online ordering, commerce and business solutions as well as enterprise-grade performance, security and a reliable infrastructure. With Moneris, they can seamlessly process transactions however customers choose to pay – whether via credit, digital wallet or eGift cards. In addition, built-in fraud prevention tools like Kount Essential, 3-D Secure 2.0, multi-cloud hosting, and SSL certificates help give businesses peace of mind knowing their website and payments are secure while also maintaining a frictionless experience for their customers.

Business sites are always on, and to receive the help they need when they need it, Moneris offers 24/7 customer support. In addition, to help them get started, only Moneris Online comes with up to fourteen hours of free support provided by Moneris’ Website Creation team, who will work with businesses to understand their ecommerce needs and how to meet them. At launch, Moneris Online is available in three plans, starting at $36 per month, with simplified processing fees starting at 2.75% + $0.30. 

For more information as well as details on monthly and annual plan offerings, please visit moneris.com/monerisonline.

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Twitter’s Current Value Is 33% Of What Elon Musk Paid For It… WTF?

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Elon Musk has proven one thing since buying Twitter for $44 billion. He’s really bad at business. This is illustrated by this Bloomberg report:

Twitter is now worth just one-third of what Elon Musk paid for the social-media platform, according to Fidelity, which recently marked down the value of its equity stake in the company.

Musk has acknowledged he overpaid for Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion, including $33.5 billion in equity. More recently, he said Twitter is worth less than half what he paid for it. It’s unclear how Fidelity arrived at its new, lower valuation or whether it receives any non-public information from the company.

Fidelity first reduced the value of its Twitter stake in November, to 44% of the purchase price. That was followed by further markdowns in December and February.

If you buy something, and it is worth less than what you paid for it, you made a bad deal. You don’t need an MBA to figure that out. And it’s pretty clear that Elon has no clue how to turn that around. Because if he did, he would have done it already. Thus highlighting that he’s a bad businessman and now everybody knows it.

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Rezilion Releases New Smart Fix Capability

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 31, 2023 by itnerd

Rezilion, an automated software supply chain security platform, today announced the release of its new Smart Fix feature in the Rezilion platform, which offers critical guidance so users can understand the most strategic, not just the most recent, upgrade to fix vulnerable components.

Patching is a complicated and noisy process, which can lead to longer times for fixes, and increases risk for an organization. In the patching process, updating vulnerable components to the latest version can cause disruptive breaks in the environment, hindering both innovation and security. This is all happening against a backdrop of tension between Dev and Sec in which remediation must happen, but is often slow, complicated, and difficult to streamline. 

Smart Fix is the answer to these common woes. The feature offers guidance on the best update version available to patch all CVEs with the lowest likelihood of breaking applications or infrastructure, shrinking operational risk and minimizing downtime. The guidance also allows users to clear out clutter and complexity and create policies and automations to prioritize the smartest (not just the most recent) fix available. This leads to faster remediation workflows to minimize exposure time. Developers can focus on fixing components that are actually possible to fix with clear instructions on what they need to fix it right the first time, avoiding time-consuming rounds of research and rollbacks.

Unlike other scanners and vulnerability management solutions, through Rezilion’s platform, Smart Fix tells you not only what and where to fix, but HOW to eliminate both CVEs and operational risks at the same time – and get the work done automatically. The feature is one of a series of recent platform enhancements aimed at improving and accelerating software supply chain security. 

To learn more about Rezilion’s software supply chain security solutions and see a demo of Smart Fix, visit www.rezilion.com/why-rezilion/ and read their blog post here.

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G7 Officials To Discuss AI Regulation Today

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 30, 2023 by itnerd

Members of the G7 Group of nations are together today to discuss AI regulation:

G7 government officials will hold the first working-level AI meeting on May 30 and consider issues such as intellectual property protection, disinformation and how the technology should be governed, Japan’s communications minister, Takeaki Matsumoto, said.

The meeting comes as tech regulators worldwide gauge the impact of popular AI services like ChatGPT by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

The EU is coming closer to enact the world’s first major legislation on AI, inspiring other governments to consider what rules should be applied to AI tools.

Japan, as this year’s chair of G7, “will lead the G7 discussion on responsive use of the generative AI technology”, Matsumoto said, adding the forum hoped to come up with suggestions for heads of state by year-end.

Kevin Bocek, VP Ecosystem and Community at Venafi starts out with this comment:
 
“We are still in the early stages of understanding the impact of AI on both businesses and the public, and it’s a constantly moving target, with new use cases and products being announced on a daily basis. So, it is very encouraging to see world leaders putting AI at the heart of discussions and starting to think about the best way to move forwards. As part of this process, it is vital that they recognize that smart organizations will not slow down the innovation that we’re seeing with Generative AI, and that the results will be overwhelmingly positive. However, there are known and unknown risks that need to be skillfully mitigate. 

As such, the priority for regulations must be to contain risks while encouraging exploration, curiosity and trial and error. But any steps to achieve this can’t be approached with a “set and forget” mentality. Regulators need to establish policies and guidelines that are reviewed and refreshed frequently as we explore the power of AI in more depth. This means the governments will need to constantly collaborate and communicate with experts in the field to avoid neglect and exploitation.”

Ani Chaudhuri, CEO, Dasera follows up with this:

“The forthcoming G7 meeting on AI regulation highlights a critical juncture in our technological evolution. It’s encouraging to see top-level discussions taking place around intellectual property protection, disinformation, and governance in AI – topics that are integral to the development and responsible use of AI tools.

The creation of the “Hiroshima AI process” demonstrates a welcome commitment from global leaders to address the challenges of AI technology. It is a positive step towards fostering a future where AI aligns with our shared democratic values and upholds a high standard of trustworthiness.

However, while discussions on international standards are crucial, equally important is the ability to adapt these standards as the AI landscape continues to evolve rapidly. For AI to be truly beneficial, we must focus not only on legislation but also on transparency, user control, and education about these technologies.

Moreover, AI ethics should not be an afterthought. Building ethical considerations into AI systems from the outset is vital to ensure the technology respects privacy, maintains security, and protects human rights. This, in my opinion, should be at the forefront of G7 discussions. I look forward to the outcomes of these important conversations and the future of AI regulation.”

I will be interested to see what comes out of these meetings and if companies in the AI space abide by any regulation that appears. That’s the key as rules are meaningless if they are not adhered to.

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IoT Devices Turned Bad Bots by New Mirai Variant

Posted in Commentary on May 30, 2023 by itnerd

Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 has found new malicious activity targeting IoT devices using a variant of Mirai dubbed IZ1H9 which is a piece of malware that turns IoT devices running Linux into remotely controlled bots that can be used in network attacks. Here’s the kicker. The devices have to be exposed to the Internet to be at risk.

Stephen Gates, Principal Security SME, Horizon3.ai had this to say:

“It’s hard to believe that sensible organizations are leaving ports 80 (HTTP), 22 (SSH), and 23 (TELNET) open on devices that are public facing. In fact, I would never leave one of those ports open on any device – even if they were completely not accessible from the internet. When organizations leave them accessible, they are directly contributing to the botnet problem.

“The practice of leaving these ports open right off the assembly line is especially prominent in IoT device manufacturers, and in my modest opinion, is utter negligence. And once again, I call for some sort of international governing body to hold these IoT manufacturers responsible for their devices becoming botnet infected, then used to attack others. It appears that some sort of penalty is the only way to get manufacturers to shore up security on the devices they make and sell to others.”

I have to admit that I see this sort of thing all the time, and I have to educate them as to why this is bad. It’s bad enough that threat actors are trying to find new and creative ways to make your life miserable. You should not leave the front door open for them.

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Uber will launch next week in Victoria and Kelowna

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 30, 2023 by itnerd

While light on details, news has filtered out to me that Uber will be launching its ride sharing services in Victoria and Kelowna sometime “next week”. I have seen some emails that were sent to me by Uber that show that drivers could earn an extra $1,000 if they complete 20 trips within the first 14 days of the rideshare service’s launch in either city. That’s clearly an incentive to get drivers in either city on the platform.

This brings the total number of cities in BC covered by Uber to three. I will have more details on this expansion when I get them.

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