Discovery | HGTV | Food Network | ID | Magnolia Network. Rogers Sports & Media Unveils Winter Schedule, Launching January 1

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 5, 2024 by itnerd

Starting January 1, Canadians can continue watching their favourite shows with new seasons and series exclusively on Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, and more. Rogers is the new home to these iconic lifestyle brands and beloved content including titles such as Homestead Rescue (Discovery), Celebrity IOU with Drew and Jonathan Scott (HGTV), Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with Guy Fieri (Food Network), Signs of a Psychopath (ID), and Maine Cabin Masters (Magnolia Network).

Building on the exciting slate of hit content from Bravo, Citytv, FX, and FXX, Citytv+ adds thousands of hours of new and returning shows from Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Cooking Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, MotorTrend, and more.

Discovery will feature new seasons of off-the-grid living with Homestead Rescue, exploring the unknown in Expedition X, high-stakes underdogs in Hustlers Gamblers Crooks, bootleg legends in Moonshiners, the ultimate booze-making competition Moonshiners: Master Distiller, and all-new series Expedition Files and The Last Woodsman, beginning this January. That’s not all! Discovery will air repeat seasons of Caught, Gold Rush, Big Little Brawlers, and Outback Opal Hunters, plus special events such as Shark Week and Puppy Bowl.

Beginning this January, HGTV will have new seasons of star-studded transformations on Celebrity IOU with Drew and Jonathan Scott, property pursuits with House Hunters, Home Town with Erin and Ben Napier, heritage home renovation series Fixer to Fabulous, and over-the-top house hunting with My Lottery Dream Home, plus Married to Real Estate, Zillow Gone Wild, and Help! I Wrecked My House. Additionally, the channel will have repeat seasons from HGTV’s slate of home improvement programming including Why The Heck Did I Buy This House?, Rico to the Rescue, and Battle on the Mountain. 

The Food Network, connecting viewers to the power and joy of food, will feature all-new seasons of competition series Chopped, Kids Baking Championship, Wildcard Kitchen, and Spring Baking Championship, sizzling showdowns with Beat Bobby Flay, plus Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Guy’s Grocery Games to round out the schedule.

ID offers a slate chock-full of harrowing crimes, in-depth investigations, and powerful true stories with all-new seasons of Signs of a Psychopath, Very Scary People, Murder Under the Friday Night Lights, Death by Fame, Body Cam: On The Scene, and Evil Lives Here, plus past seasons of Real Time Crime.

Premiering on the Magnolia Network this January are new seasons of Maine Cabin Masters, Building Outside The Lines, and In With The Old, plus past seasons of Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovations and Barnwood Builders to complete the schedule. 

Leave a comment »

Cyber Nations Foundation Announce A Strategic Partnership With BlackNorth

Posted in Commentary with tags , on December 5, 2024 by itnerd

Cyber Nations Foundation, a leader in cybersecurity training and talent placement, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with BlackNorth Initiative. This collaboration combines cybersecurity solutions with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, providing BlackNorth Initiative’s network of partners with innovative solutions and access to racialized cyber analysts.  

As cyber threats increase in complexity, this partnership is designed to equip BlackNorth Initiative and its partners – from small startups to large enterprises—with the talent and tools needed to protect their digital environments. Cyber Nations Foundation will provide small and mid-sized businesses with customized packages, offering foundational security protections and scalable solutions designed to safeguard critical data, privacy, minimize operational downtime.

Beyond strengthening cybersecurity, the partnership advances community-building goals by integrating diverse professionals into the cybersecurity workforce, helping companies achieve inclusive and socially responsible business practices.  

For more information visit cyber-nations.com/blacknorth

Leave a comment »

SurePath AI Launches Discovery Mode Empowering Partners to Take Secure Control of GenAI Adoption

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 5, 2024 by itnerd

SurePath AI, a leader in governing generative AI for the enterprise, today announced the launch of SurePath AI Discovery at AWS re:Invent, a new offering that provides rapid visibility into a company’s employee use of public AI services. By classifying AI use by intent and identifying sensitive data violations, companies can better understand the volume, use case, and risk of AI use across their organization.

This no-cost, collaborative service has already launched with key strategic partners to power their customer offerings. By seamlessly integrating with leading platforms like Netskope, Zscaler, and Palo Alto Networks, SurePath AI Discovery operates across cloud, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments, delivering rapid, actionable intelligence through an intuitive, transparent approach.

SurePath AI Discovery provides a customized report uncovering organizational GenAI usage and risks, including:

  • GenAI apps that are already adopted throughout the organization
  • Pinpoint the most significant risks associated with deployed GenAI tools
  • Evaluate the ROI of the organization’s GenAI investments
  • Tailor recommendations to optimize GenAI utilization

The service is implemented by enterprise IT teams using Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) tools to redirect public GenAI traffic to SurePath AI for analysis. This approach ensures transparency and secure oversight of GenAI usage without disrupting end users.

SurePath AI Discovery is a partner-first offering that equips system integrators (SIs), managed service providers (MSPs), and managed security service providers (MSSPs) with a robust solution to enhance customer engagement. Partners are already embedding Discovery into GenAI workshops, GenAI security assessments, and AI Center of Excellence (CoE) initiatives to deliver unmatched value to their clients.

SurePath AI Discovery was developed to address enterprises’ rapidly evolving challenges in adopting GenAI. By working closely with the company’s strategic partners, SurePath AI created a service that identifies risks and helps businesses realize the full potential of their AI investments while maintaining control over sensitive data.

To learn more about SurePath AI’s partner program, please visit https://www.surepath.ai/company/partners.

Leave a comment »

Digital sales across Cyber Week for Canadian retailers reached $5.1B CAD in 2024

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

Following up on this post and this post, here are the final Cyber Week findings for 2024 from Salesforce.

Cyber Week Results | Key Findings for Canada + US + Global: 

Cyber Week: 

  • Digital sales across Cyber Week for Canadian retailers reached $5.1 billion CAD in 2024
  • Digital sales reached $76 billion in the United States (up 7% YoY) and $314.9 billion globally (up 6% YoY).

Black Friday:

  • The Black Friday online sales estimate for Canada is $309M CAD 
  • Globally online sales reached $74.4 billion (up 5% YoY) and $17.5 billion (up 7% YoY) in the United States. 

Cyber Monday: 

  • Global online sales reached $12.8 billion in the United States (up 3% YoY) and $49.7 billion globally (up 2% YoY).
  • The Canadian average discount rate during Cyber Week was 22% (down 7% YoY).
  • In contrast, the global average discount rate was 26% and the U.S. discount rate was 28%, both down 1% YoY.
  • The Average Order Value in Canada increased ever so slightly to $102 CAD up from $101 CAD last year.

Additional Global Findings

  • AI and agents play a big part in Cyber Week: Retailers doubled down on the use of AI, including agents, to power shopping experiences this season.
  • $60 billion of global online sales were influenced by AI and agents for product recommendations, targeted offers, and conversational customer service support.
  • Retailers used generative AI and agents 18% more during Cyber Week than the previous week, likely to drive efficiency and personalization for customers.
  • Mobile conversion picks up the pace: As consumers of all ages grow increasingly comfortable with mobile shopping and the mobile buying experience gets easier, the gap between mobile traffic and mobile orders is narrowing. This trend underscores a growing consumer willingness to make significant and high-value purchases directly from their smartphones.
  • More than 80% of both U.S. and global ecommerce traffic originated from a mobile device during Cyber Week
  • Exactly as predicted, mobile orders drove 70% of U.S. and global sales, up from 67% in 2023.
  • In total, mobile accounted for $220 billion in sales globally and $53.3 billion in the United States.
  • Mobile wallet usage also increased 16% globally during the week.
  • Social commerce plays critical role for retailers
  • Retailers implementing social commerce strategies saw 19% of their Cyber Week sales generated through platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram.
  • Mixed bag of discounts drove mixed bag of results: Despite the threat of growing consumer appeal and low prices offered by Chinese marketplaces like Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, Western retailers did not offer significant discounts to compete.
  • Verticals with the highest global average discount rates included:
  • Makeup (40%)
  • General apparel (34%)
  • Skincare (33%)
  • Verticals with the highest U.S. average discount rates included:

Salesforce’s global press release can be found here if you want to go into the weeds on this.

Leave a comment »

Samsung Canada’s 10th Annual “Solve for Tomorrow” Contest Announced

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

Samsung Canada has announced the launch of this year’s Solve for Tomorrow contest and is now accepting applications from Canadian classrooms, from grades 6-12. With just four weeks left to register, this nationwide competition, now in its 10th year, encourages young minds to harness the power of STEM to address real-world issues. 

With the spotlight on critical themes such as environmental sustainability, equity for equity-seeking groups, and health in communities, this year’s contest challenges students to create solutions that could spark meaningful change. 

Key Highlights: 

  • Who: Canadian students in grades 6-12, with teachers submitting applications on their behalf 
  • What: Annual competition designed to foster STEM-based innovation to solve real-world problems 
  • When: Applications are open until December 20, 2025 – just four weeks left to apply! 
  • Prize: $125,000 in Samsung technology and vouchers for finalists and winners 

Find out more details here.

Leave a comment »

Dispersive Graduates from MissionLink’s 2024 Cohort And Joins Esteemed Alumni Network

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

Dispersive Holdings, Inc. , a leader in Stealth Networking which redefines preemptive cybersecurity with zero trust networking, quantum defense, and trusted access across enclaves and zones, is proud to announce that Rajiv Pimplaskar, CEO has graduated from MissionLink, an exclusive nationwide network that serves as a force-multiplier and gateway to accelerating innovation and advancing solutions to National Security threats.

Founded in 2010, MissionLink’s mission is to connect passionate problem solvers with next-gen, mission-critical capabilities in NatSec tech to the right resources, customers, investors, advisors and partners to solve the rapidly evolving national security concerns across commercial and federal sectors. For more than 10 years, MissionLink has been on the cutting edge of National Security and is recognized as the organization that has most captured the timeliness and immediacy of the latest security developments, discoveries and breakthroughs.

Dispersive was selected by world class technologists and thought leaders that serve on MissionLink’s Board of Advisors, which are at the core of MissionLink’s trusted innovation ecosystem and includes industry and National Security veterans who are committed to its success.

Newly appointed Advisory Board members are: Major General Charlie Cleveland, former NGA & SOCOM; Lt General Mike Groen, former Marine Corps /JAIC; Tim Reardon, NextFed; William “Mac” McHenry, DIU; Kevin Higgins, former CIA; Andy Boyd, former CIA. These six join the ranks of longstanding Advisory Board members who include: Maj. Gen. Aaron Prupas, former Air Force / MAVEN; Lt. Gen. Scott Howell, former JSOC; Bob Ashley, former DIA; Dawn Meyerriecks, former CIA; Chris Gladwin, Ocient; Mike Kushin, Parsons; Dr. Michael Capps, Diveplane; and Scott Herman, Maxar; Sue Gordon, former ODNI, NGA and CIA; Bill Crowell, former NSA; Charlene Leubecker, former CIA; Bob Gourley, former DIA; Bryan Ware, former DHS; Ellen McCarthy, former Department of State; Fran Landolf, former NSA; Will Grannis, CTO of Google Cloud; Jen Sovada,; Peggy Styer and Jack Kerrigan of Razor’s Edge Ventures; Tim Newberry, co-founder of BlackHorse Solutions; Wes Blackwell, Partner at Booz Allen Ventures; Jim Hunt, co-founder of Lavrock Ventures; Tim Estes, AngelAI; Jamie Dos Santos, former Cybraics Defense Corp; Gus Hunt, former CIA; Brian Hibbeln, former DoD; Alan Wade, former CIA; Dov Levy and Elma Levy, co-founders of Dovel Technologies.

Mission Partners for the 2024 cohort include: InQTel, Amazon Web Services, Carahsoft, Booz Allen Ventures and NobleReach.

MissionLink’s Organizing Board consists of: MissionLink’s cofounders Jeremy King of Benchmark Executive Search and Andy Lustig of Cooley LLP; Constantine Saab, former CIA senior executive, and Matt Devost of OODA Inc.

Leave a comment »

EnGenius Releases A New Broadband Outdoor Wireless Solution 

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

EnGenius Technologies Inc., a leader in innovative connectivity solutions, has launched the new Broadband Outdoor EOC600 series, featuring an efficient network management solution called SkyPoint. The EOC series remains a core solution for Smart City and Industrial applications, whether it’s the EOC655 or EOC600. The EOC655 series is primarily designed for backhaul applications, while the EOC600 series focuses on last-mile connectivity. The focus for Smart Cities is primarily on last-mile connectivity, covering a few city blocks or streets. Ultimately, the EOC600 and EOC610 can provide coverage of up to mile, offering an affordable solution for businesses of all sizes. 

The EOC600 series provides integrated PtP and PtMP connectivity with single 5 GHz radios, making it ideal for dense RF environments and delivering secure, reliable broadband for last-mile applications. Additionally, the EOC600 series includes a mobile app, simplifying deployment and usage for wireless technicians and installers. It is designed to meet the evolving demands of dynamic industries, offering enhanced efficiency and superior functionality.

Affordable High-Speed Outdoor Bridge 

The EOC600 and EOC610, priced at $249 MSRP, are 2×2 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 outdoor devices that boast 5GHz radios with an integrated 16dBi for EOC600 and 19dBi for EOC610 internal antenna capable of reaching up to 1200 Mbps. Its IP55 rating ensures reliable performance even in harsh outdoor conditions.

Simplified Broadband Outdoor Wireless Deployment  

The EOC series features the innovative SkyConnect app and SkyPoint NMS, delivering unparalleled network health monitoring and asset management to help integrate and manage PtMP environment. This powerful software suite equips operators with essential tools for pre-installation planning, on-site deployment, continuous monitoring, and efficient network management, ensuring smooth and effective operations.

Enhanced Performance and Stability  

This series is designed to address performance and stability issues in high radio frequency environments. Equipped with a powerful single 5 GHz radio boasting an impressive 1 Gbps link capacity, it effectively combats network interference and synchronization failures. Integrating intelligent RF and QoS management ensures optimal performance and traffic prioritization.  

Optimized Management for Efficient Multi-Tenant Services  

The EOC series features the innovative SkyConnect app and SkyPoint NMS, delivering unparalleled network health monitoring and asset management. This powerful software suite equips operators with essential tools for pre-installation planning, on-site deployment, continuous monitoring, and efficient network management, ensuring smooth and effective operations. Manage the EOC600 series and the EOC655 devices all in from one place. 

Key Features and Benefits:  

  • Streamline Network Setup: Experience effortless network configuration with intuitive mobile app that offers real-time antenna alignment and diagnostic tools, making installation a breeze.
  • Gigabit Wireless Connectivity: Leverage powerful 5GHz radios delivering an impressive 1 Gbps link capacity, capable of connecting up to 8 remote devices in PtMP setups—ideal for expansive network environments.
  • Effortless Mobile App Radio Tuning: The user-friendly app simplifies PtP or PtMP setup, enhances antenna alignment, and streamlines troubleshooting, providing operators with seamless control and convenience.
  • Centralized Network Control: Seamlessly manage wireless networks using SkyPoint NMS and make instant adjustments with the SkyConnect app, empowering operators to stay agile and responsive.
  • Built for Enduring the Elements: Designed with an IP55-rated casing and surge protection to withstand harsh outdoor conditions, ensuring reliability in any weather.
  • Fortified Data Security: Safeguard critical information with rigorous AES-256 encryption, providing peace of mind in an increasingly connected world.

EnGenius is set to launch several models in the EOC600 series, including the EOC600 and EOC610. These EOC products are expected to be released in December 2024 and will be available through EnGenius’s network of authorized resellers and distributors. For more information about the EOC 600 series, visit https://www.engeniustech.com/broadband-outdoor-category.html

Leave a comment »

Guest Post: Cybersecurity in Europe and the U.S. compared

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

Despite the growing threat of cyberattacks, many companies fail to strengthen their security measures. According to data presented by Cybernews Business Digital Index, 65% of analyzed North American companies scored D or worse for their cybersecurity efforts. Meanwhile, 48% of such companies are in Europe. 

Below is detailed information that shows businesses in Europe and North America digital security posture.

Just 7% of North American organizations scored A 

Business Digital Index statistics show that 21% of European companies scored F, and 27% were graded D. But the situation in North America is even worse—34% of analyzed companies worldwide scored F, and 31% were graded D. 

However, there is also a positive trend in Europe, as 13% of businesses got an A score, and 20% earned a B grade for cybersecurity efforts. What is concerning is that only 7% of North American organizations are equipped with A-rated protection, and 8% are graded B. 

In Europe by industry, technology companies showed slightly better data security than financial institutions. Among tech firms, 40% achieved top ratings (A or B), while 45% received poor grades (D or F). The financial sector performed worse, with 35% earning A or B ratings and 46% receiving D or F scores. 

When viewing North America from an industry perspective, finance companies are better at data security than healthcare organizations. Only 3% of healthcare entities got an A score, while 9% of finance businesses got this rating. However, these numbers are nothing to celebrate as the majority (34%) of financial companies were rated D, and 45% got an F in the healthcare industry.

34% of European and 32% of North American companies had recent data breaches

The Business Digital Index shows that the most common security issue is related to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) configuration, with over 50,000 issues found in Europe and over 150,000 in North American businesses.

In addition, North American organizations lost over 430K corporate credentials, almost eight times more than in European countries, where organizations lost over 56,000 corporate credentials.

The Index data shows that companies in Europe combine for over 2000 critical and high-risk vulnerabilities. For comparison, companies in the US and Canada combine for nearly 8000 critical and high-risk vulnerabilities. 

In addition, 34% of European and 32% of North American companies have high-risk vulnerabilities and have been affected by recent data breaches. Besides, 30% of employees in Europe and 29% in North America reuse already breached passwords, making it even easier for cybercriminals to access a company’s network.

Methodology and sources

The data provided in this article was collected from the Cybernews Business Digital Index. Its results are based on an analysis of 1,182 financial and healthcare companies worldwide. 

Cybernews Business Digital Index grades businesses based on their online security measures, using available data from external sources. The index serves a dual purpose: it enables users to verify if the companies they rely on have solid digital security measures. At the same time, businesses can assess their own security practices and receive actionable insights on how to enhance their digital security posture and respond to threats faster.

Leave a comment »

Review: OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Display Adapter

Posted in Products with tags on December 4, 2024 by itnerd

After I got my new monitor, my wife decided to claim my old monitor to add it to her desk setup. Her logic was that it both monitors were exactly the same and she could use a dual display setup as she was working from her MacBook Pro screen and an external monitor. To get some help with this, I reached out to OWC and they sent me this:

Meet the OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Display Adapter. This will allow you to connect two HDMI displays to your Mac (or PC, Chromebook, Ubuntu box) as per this picture:

It supports resolutions of up to 4K 60Hz and it has a power pass through so that you can charge a laptop while having this plugged in as per this picture:

Extremely minor gripe. I would have loved to have seen an extra USB port so that I could plug in a device or a hub to truly get a one cable solution. But for those who run MacBook Air’s or other M1, M2 or M3 models (meaning not Pro or Max chips) that lack multiple display support, I seriously doubt that they would complain.

Here’s what I did to make this work:

  1. Plug it into my wife’s MacBook Pro.
  2. Plug in the monitors.
  3. Plug in USB-C power.
  4. Install the DisplayLink drivers as this is a DisplayLink product. Thus it will not work if the drivers are not installed.
  5. Done. Declare victory and have a beer.

The product has worked flawlessly since then. I also don’t notice it getting hot or anything beyond it being mildly warm. However my wife has reported two “issues” to me since it was installed. I put the word “issues” in quotes because they’re side effects of sorts of the fact that this uses DisplayLink tech. The first was that she could no longer watch Netflix on her computer via Firefox. The reason why was that Netflix likely sees this adapter as some sort of way to circumvent whatever digital rights management Netflix uses as per this. The workaround of disabling graphics acceleration or hardware acceleration depending on what platform you’re on that was mentioned in the thread from the DisplayLink forum that I linked to does work to address this.

The second “issue” was this:

My wife was surprised by this and was questioning if the DisplayLink Software was recording what she was doing as she often works on highly sensitive files on her Mac. The answer is no it isn’t recording everything she’s doing. Here’s why directly from DisplayLink themselves:

macOS Catalina 10.15 requires the user to permit “Screen Recording” in order for DisplayLink devices to work properly. The message is generated by the OS and the screen is not actually being recorded by DisplayLink. Approving it enables the DisplayLink driver to access the pixels it needs to render a mirrored or extended screens, and send the pixels over USB from your computer to the DisplayLink display. It does not send any data or pixels back to DisplayLink.

The above is also true for later versions of macOS. And is likely due to the security built into macOS that warns you about anything and everything that it perceives as a threat (and rightly so). But here’s the TL:DR. Your screen isn’t being recorded. Period. Thus you can ignore this warning and return to your normal daily activities. And if you are wondering why I am taking DisplayLink’s word for it, the reason is simple. If their software were actually recording the screen, someone would have been able to prove that by now and DisplayLink would be in deep trouble. On top of that, DisplayLink’s tech is used by everyone from OWC, Dell, HP and Lenovo. Those companies wouldn’t want to be within 100 feet of DisplayLink if they were doing something shady. Thus I am confident that there’s truly nothing to see here.

Priced at $94.99 USD, this is a great solution for those with any M1, M2 or M3 Mac (meaning not Pro or Max chips) that doesn’t support multiple displays. I got it to work without any issue, and it’s stayed working. This this is another easy recommendation of an OWC product as it’s a must buy if you fit the use case of the product.

1 Comment »

Cisco Warns of Exploitation of Legacy ASA WebVPN Vulnerability

Posted in Commentary with tags on December 3, 2024 by itnerd

From the “this isn’t good” department comes news from Cisco who have issued a warning about a vulnerability in the WebVPN login page of their Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software. This flaw could enable an unauthenticated remote attacker to launch a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack against a WebVPN user on the Cisco ASA.

The issue stems from inadequate input validation for a specific parameter. An attacker could exploit this weakness by persuading a user to click on a malicious link.

Here’s why this isn’t good. Cisco states “There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.”

It’s actually worse than that, Cisco also states that it has become aware of “additional attempted exploitation” of the vulnerability in the wild.

Lawrence Pingree, Vice President, Dispersive

  “It’s prudent that organizations continuously uplift their Network and VPN infrastructure. Outdated and especially unsupported systems can become a very big problem from a security perspective, adding insult to injury since the technology’s intent is to add security.”

There’s a lot of ASA boxes out there. Which means that this is a today problem for many organizations. Given what could happen,  Cisco ASA are highly recommended to keep their installations up-to-date to avoid being pwned.

Leave a comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »