Archive for February, 2025

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CIRA’s Net Good Grants champion community-led initiatives to strengthen Canada’s internet

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2025 by itnerd

The time has never been better to help build a resilient internet in Canada, something that CIRA has been championing for years and has taken on a whole new level of urgency. A strong internet empowers Canada’s economy and provides opportunity for people across the country to build digital skills, start new businesses and advocate for their communities. This year, CIRA is launching the 12th edition of its Net Good Grants program offering over $1,000,000 in grant funding to boost community-led responses to Canada’s digital divide and strengthen our economy.

CIRA’s Net Good Grants provide financial support to organizations looking to research and develop solutions that get communities online safely, affordably and resiliently. CIRA empowers community-led initiatives to take the lead on addressing access and affordability challenges head on, with a focus on ensuring rural, Northern and Indigenous communities are heard and served. Communities and projects like these have benefitted from CIRA funding:

  • Fort Smith Metis Council in Northwest Territories now have connectivity that offers emergency communications, safety, data mapping and enhanced recreational activities in the campsite area well outside the Fort Smith townsite, used year-round by youth camps, elders and tourists
  • Malahat Nation in British Columbia is now running their own sovereign fibre internet service to community buildings and households that plugs into the single main line coming from the external ISP
  • The first-ever Canadian Youth Internet Governance Forum, a platform for young Canadians, convened to discuss and advocate around internet policy, access to connectivity and youth leadership

CIRA Net Good Grants 

For its 12th edition, CIRA’s Net Good Grants will award each project up to $100,000 with a total investment of over $1,000,000. This investment is a key part of Net Good by CIRA’s commitment to build a more sustainable online future for Canadians everywhere. The funding will power essential projects in three core areas: 

  • Infrastructure: connectivity research, network planning and solutions to improve internet access, speed and affordability. 
  • Policy engagement: events, research and policy ecosystem work that broadens public awareness in domestic internet policy and governance. 
  • Online safety: research, educational frameworks, tools, consultations and training programs that increase Canadians’ safety against cybersecurity threats. 

Applications will be accepted from every province and territory with a focus on projects that benefit rural, Northern or Indigenous communities or K-12 and post-secondary students. CIRA especially encourages applications for eligible projects in the Prairies, Quebec, the North and the Maritimes to help ensure funding reaches traditionally underserved communities. 

 Who is eligible to apply? 

  • Organizations recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency as registered charities; 
  • Not-for-profit organizations; 
  • Indigenous communities; and 
  • Academics and researchers affiliated with a Canadian university or college. 

Last year, CIRA awarded a total of $1.25 million in grant funding to 15 community-led internet initiatives that improve the lives of Canadians online. For the 2025 edition, a distinguished cross-Canada panel will review, select funding applications and notify all applicants of the grant decisions by July. Organizations are encouraged to submit their application before the deadline on April 9, at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT. A webinar in English on March 4 at 1 p.m. ET and in French on March 5 at 1 p.m. ET will be hosted for all interested applicants.

Additional information 

About CIRA  

CIRA is the national not-for-profit best known for managing the .CA domain on behalf of all Canadians. As a leader in Canada’s internet ecosystem, CIRA offers a wide range of products, programs and services designed to make the internet a secure and accessible space for all. CIRA advocates for Canada on both national and international stages to support its goal of building a trusted internet for Canadians by helping shape the future of the internet. 

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Disrupt.com to invest $100M to fuel next generation of AI startup

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2025 by itnerd

 While venture capital funding contracted globally in 2024, three founders who turned their bootstrapped startup into a $350M exit are taking a contrarian approach. Today, UAE-based venture builder Disrupt.com announces a $100M commitment to build and back AI-first technology ventures globally.

Founded by Aaqib Gadit, Uzair Gadit, and Umair Gadit – three university friends who grew up in the same household – Disrupt.com represents the founders’ reinvestment of capital following their successful 2022 exit of cloud hosting platform Cloudways to US-listed Digital Ocean Holdings. The $350M acquisition marked the largest exit in Pakistan’s technology sector to date, with the founders now channeling their entrepreneurial expertise and capital back into the ecosystem through a unique venture building approach from their UAE headquarters.

Having already deployed over $40M across their portfolio – including in four growth-stage companies built from idea stage, seven investments in early-stage companies, and an exit valued at $350 million – this new $100M commitment represents a significant expansion of their venture building activities. With a dedicated team of 650+ professionals, Disrupt.com provides not just capital but also the technical and operational expertise startups need to scale.

Unlike traditional venture capital firms, Disrupt.com employs a three-pronged approach to creating value: building their own startups from scratch, co-building ventures alongside external founders, and making strategic investments in early-stage startups and VC funds. Through their unique ‘CoBuild’ model, they function as fractional co-founders, providing dedicated engineering, go-to-market, and operations teams to drive early adoption in a capital-efficient way.

The firm’s $100M commitment targets five strategic sectors: artificial intelligence as a cross-cutting theme, plus cybersecurity, Web3.0, automotive technology, and retail innovation. Disrupt.com primarily targets pre-seed to Series A stage startups that demonstrate strong organic growth potential and clear paths to profitability, rather than pursuing growth at all costs.

The announcement comes as regional funding has declined sharply, with MENA venture capital investment down 29% to just under $2B in 2024, according to Magnitt. Saudi startups saw a 44% funding drop to $750M, while UAE funding decreased 8% to $613M, creating a challenging environment for early-stage ventures.

Disrupt.com’s current portfolio showcases their model’s effectiveness, including ZigChain, a Web3.0 platform that has scaled to 500,000+ users and hundreds of millions in managed assets; PureSquare, a cybersecurity venture; and UAE-homegrown fitness apparel brand Squatwolf. The firm has already deployed capital as a strategic investor in several AI-focused startups including organizational transformation platform Agentnoon and climate action scaling tool Ahya.

Looking ahead, Disrupt.com will direct its $100M commitment toward ventures with strong product-market fit, well-researched idea-market alignment, and robust unit economics pointing toward profitability.

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New Research: Duolingo Mascot Death Scams Report – Newly Registered Fraudulent Crypto Domains

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 27, 2025 by itnerd

BforeAI will publish its latest report around Duolingo announcing the death of their owl mascot “Duo” at the hands of a Tesla Cybertruck driver, which created an opportunity for cybercriminals to leverage the incident and its subsequent virality to level various related online scams. 

The threat research team at BforeAI analyzed a variety of newly registered domains that emerged in the week following the announcement to reveal insights into their prevalence, structure, and the types of scams they facilitate.

You can read the report here.

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“TgToxic” PW stealer uses SMS Text To Hack phones

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

A Feb. 24 analysis by Intel471 threat intelligence researchers details upgrades to the TgToxic Android info-stealing trojan, enhancing its evasion tactics and attack scope. Though first observed by security experts in July 2002, Intel471’s report highlights a newly updated version detected in the wild.

TgToxic was designed from the ground up to steal user credentials and originally targeted Southeast Asian users. This new version has expanded its geographic reach, and as of October 2024, it includes both Europe and Latin America.

Ted Miracco, Approov CEO had this to say:

  “TgToxic stands out as a highly sophisticated Android banking trojan due to its advanced anti-analysis techniques, including obfuscation, payload encryption, and anti-emulation mechanisms that evade detection by security tools. Its use of dynamic command-and-control (C2) strategies, such as domain generation algorithms (DGA), and its automation capabilities enable it to hijack user interfaces, steal credentials, and perform unauthorized transactions with stealth and resilience against countermeasures.

  “Mitigating threats like TgToxic demand an advanced security approach. While MFA is essential, it’s no longer sufficient on its own. Implementing Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) for real-time threat detection and leveraging device attestation to verify integrity are critical steps to ensure robust security in today’s evolving threat landscape. Over-the-air (OTA) updates should also be mandatory security practices for mobile fintech applications as you must react quickly to new threats and cannot be dependent upon AppStores to release updates. “

I would suggest that those responsible for managing devices in their organization read the mitigation section of this report by Intel471 as they offer a lot of good advice in terms of how not to be a victim of this threat. And of course, everyone should practice good computing habits to stay safe.

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Apple Rolls Back Advanced Data Protection Due To UK Government Demands

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

Apple has a really cool feature for those who are paranoid about their security called advanced data protection. Here’s what Apple says it does:

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is an optional setting that offers Apple’s highest level of cloud data security. When a user turns on Advanced Data Protection, their trusted devices retain sole access to the encryption keys for the majority of their iCloud data, thereby protecting it with end-to-end encryption. For users who turn on Advanced Data Protection, the total number of data categories protected using end-to-end encryption rises from 14 to 23 and includes iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more.

The problem with that, if you want to call it a problem, is that nobody including Apple can look at your data. That was a problem for the UK government apparently who demanded a “backdoor” so that they could look at anything that they wanted. Apple’s response to that was to pull the feature from the UK. That’s a non-trivial move. And Vincentas Baubonis, Head of Security Research at Cybernews agrees:

“Apple’s decision to drop Advanced Data Protection in the UK is a massive step backward for user privacy. End-to-end encryption is what keeps personal data truly safe – without it, iCloud backups become a goldmine for hackers, governments, and anyone looking to exploit sensitive information.

The biggest concern here is that Apple made this decision under government pressure. If the UK can force one of the world’s most powerful tech companies to weaken security, other governments will take note and may push for similar concessions. This could lead to a domino effect where encryption is gradually abandoned, and that would put users everywhere at greater risk.

In cases like this, it’s not just law enforcement that benefits – cybercriminals do too. A single security vulnerability can open the floodgates to mass data breaches, identity theft, and financial fraud. Now, millions of UK users have fewer options to secure their personal data compared to users in other countries – at a time when cyber threats are escalating for both individuals and businesses.

Instead of increasing safety, stripping encryption protections makes people more vulnerable. If governments truly want to protect their citizens, they should be pushing for stronger encryption, not weaker.”

Now nobody knows what Apple’s reasoning for pulling this feature might be. And we may never know. But it would have been nice to have Apple stand up to the UK government on this because every citizen deserves privacy. Including from their governments.

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NordLayer unveils plans for revolutionary enterprise browser

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

NordLayer, a toggle-ready network security platform for business from the cybersecurity powerhouse that created NordVPN, is preparing to launch a new-generation enterprise browser. The upcoming NordLayer Enterprise Browser, built on years of experience developing tools to combat cyber threats, will feature a wide range of security capabilities to protect modern businesses as their daily tasks shift to the web.

Gartner predicts that by 2030, enterprise browsers will be the go-to platform for productivity and security. They’ll work across both managed and unmanaged devices, making hybrid work smoother than ever. 

The NordLayer Enterprise Browser will help organizations to navigate and combat the cybersecurity challenges emerging from current workplace trends, such as the shift to a web-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) application environment. According to research, 50% of employees claim they can complete all of their work using a web browser, and 80% rely on one for most tasks due to the growing transition to the web. 

The switch from desktop to web-based apps requires more safety measures in the browser itself. The enterprise browser will provide defense against critical web-based threats, including phishing attacks, malware infiltration, unauthorized data sharing, and dangerous file transfer vulnerabilities. NordLayer’s solution will offer centralized security control for CISOs and security teams. It will make setting up and enforcing advanced security policies in the browser easier, safeguarding sensitive business data. Additionally, the product will provide high-level observability and quicker incident response, while the built-in security features will ensure stronger threat prevention. 

The enterprise browser will also address the risks associated with the increasing adoption of the bring your own device (BYOD) policy. Two-thirds of surveyed organizations estimate that at least 50% of devices on their network are unmanaged. The NordLayer Enterprise Browser will simplify network security for organizations with unmanaged devices. It will eliminate the need to deploy and maintain other endpoint software on personal hardware and lower the expenses of containing unmanaged devices on an organization’s network. Consequently, the browser will refine device oversight by allowing companies to transition from fully managed to partially or unmanaged hardware, reducing device management costs in general.

The product will further support BYOD equipment, ensuring employees can securely access the organization’s resources through the browser alone without installing additional intrusive security apps on personal devices, providing a user-friendly experience.  

Key capabilities to expect from the NordLayer Enterprise Browser:

  • Enhanced security measures and more control. The solution will offer high-level observability and full-scale response features — all in one package.
  • A combination of ZTNA and SWG for a unified solution. The browser will merge years of NordLayer experience and capability to combine zero trust network access (ZTNA) and secure web gateway (SWG) features into one solution.
  • Data loss prevention (DLP). Controls for copy-paste functionality as well as camera and microphone use and prevention of unauthorized downloads and uploads will help protect sensitive company information. 
  • Centralized control. The enterprise browser will allow CISOs and security teams to establish and enforce advanced security policies for all users effortlessly.
  • Support for business growth. Designed to scale with businesses, it will ensure security without disrupting workflows or compromising employee productivity. 

To join the waitlist, please visit NordLayer’s website.

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BlueCat appoints Peter Brennan as Chief Revenue Officer

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

BlueCat Networks has announced Peter Brennan as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

Brennan, who joined the company in January, is responsible for driving revenue growth and providing leadership for field teams, including sales, technical, channel, and alliances. Previously, he was the CEO for Scality, Inc., a leader in software-defined storage and data management, and the worldwide CRO for Scality, Grp.

Earlier in his career, Brennan achieved record growth over two decades in executive roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and VMware.

In October, BlueCat announced it was acquiring LiveAction, Inc., a global provider of network observability and intelligence solutions. Adding LiveAction’s industry-leading network performance monitoring, packet capture, and forensics offerings has strengthened BlueCat’s mission-critical DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (together known as DDI) and network infrastructure management solutions. Audax Private Equity is a strategic growth investor in BlueCat Networks.

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Business Disruption, AI-Assisted Attacks, Insider Threats and Accelerated Intrusions on Multiple Fronts Define the New Cyberthreat Landscape says Palo Alto Networks

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 released its 2025 Global Incident Response Report, revealing that 86% of major cyber incidents in 2024 resulted in operational downtime, reputational damage or financial loss.

The report (based on 500 major cyber incidents that Unit 42 responded to across 38 countries and every major industry) highlights a new trend: financially motivated attackers have shifted their focus to deliberate operational disruption, prioritizing sabotage – destroying systems, locking customers out and causing prolonged downtime – to maximize impact and pressure organizations into paying extortion demands.

The 2025 Global Incident Response Report highlights several trends:

  • Cyberattacks Are Moving Faster than Ever
  • The Rise of Insider Threats 
  • Multipronged Attacks Are the New Norm
  • Phishing Makes a Comeback
  • Cloud Attacks Are Increasing
  • AI Is Accelerating the Attack Lifecycle 

The speed, sophistication and scale of attacks have reached unprecedented levels with AI-assisted threats and multipronged intrusions, underscoring that organizations faced an increasingly volatile threat landscape in 2024.

To see the results from this year’s report, please visit the accompanying blog as well as the full report.

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Bridgetown Research raises $19M from Lightspeed and Accel to deploy AI business research agents

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

Strategic business decisions have traditionally been expensive and slow for a fundamental reason: they don’t happen enough. This means companies lack both historical data to learn from and experts who have seen enough similar cases. Bridgetown Research is changing that. Today, the AI decision science startup announced $19 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed and Accel, with participation from a leading research university.

Bridgetown Research has developed AI agents that autonomously execute research. Most notable amongst these agents are voice bots trained to recruit and interview industry experts, gathering primary data that can be analyzed alongside alternative data sourced from their partners. 

Founded by Harsh Sahai, who previously led machine learning teams at Amazon before leading strategy engagements at McKinsey & Co., Bridgetown Research was born from a simple observation: the majority of business analyses are a permutation of a small number of automatable tasks. The founding team, comprising former professionals from McKinsey, Bain, Amazon, and leading tech startups, brings together extensive experience across strategy consulting and technology.

While many AI solutions focus on searching and summarizing information using LLMs, real world business decisions require much more than synthesising the open web. They need proprietary data such as primary data from experts and customer surveys, along with frameworks to understand markets, what Harsh Sahai calls “ontologies”. Moreover, outputs need to be repeatable and auditable for a business to use them to make decisions with tens of millions of dollars at stake. Bridgetown Research is the only player using agents to gather primary data and systematically find patterns in it to generate original insights. 

Bridgetown Research started with a focus on private equity deal screening diligence. Multiple top-tier PE & VC firms already use Bridgetown Research for deal screening and deeper commercial diligence. They’re able to screen their pipeline much faster with initial analysis taking 24 hours instead of weeks without Bridgetown enabling teams to focus on actual decision making instead of research and analysis. For other customers Bridgetown has enabled voice of customer conversations that cover hundreds of respondents in parallel, and within days. 

As global markets become increasingly complex, the demand for efficient and effective decision-making tools continues to rise. With this funding round, Bridgetown Research plans to invest further in training its AI agents to perform a broader set of analyses across a broader range of domains, and deepening industry partnerships to enhance access to domain-specific intelligence.

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The World Is Losing Its Mind Over The Bug Related To Trump On Apple Devices

Posted in Commentary with tags on February 26, 2025 by itnerd

Yesterday it came to light that there’s a bug on iOS devices where if you use the dictation function, and say the word “Trump” as in Donald Trump, it prints the word “Racist”. Now I did test this and I could reproduce this. But I could get other words to appear. But it really doesn’t matter at this point as the planet is hung up on the “Trump” and “Racist” connection. And all the usual nonsense that you would expect to happen is happening.

Scott Stephenson, Founder and CEO of Deepgram had this comment:

“AI is only as smart as the data it’s trained on. Voice recognition should be about understanding, not assuming. This is a reminder that companies need to constantly refine their models to avoid bizarre and potentially harmful mix-ups. The goal isn’t just accuracy, it’s trust.”

“Voice AI is exploding because, let’s face it, talking is faster than typing. But speed means nothing without precision. If AI can’t truly understand what we’re saying – accents, slang, emotions – then it’s just noise. The next wave of innovation is about making AI listen smarter, not just faster.”

On one hand, I am surprised that this wasn’t caught in QA. But on the other hand, I am not surprised because how far do you go to test a speech to text engine like this one? You can’t test every single word or name out there. Thus you can expect something like this to happen again. And chances are there’s nothing nefarious going on.

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