New Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch7, & Galaxy Buds3 Series Are Now Available In Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch7, and Galaxy Buds3 Series are now available for purchase at Samsung Experience Stores, online at samsung.com/ca, and at select national retail and carrier partners across Canada. If you missed my first look at these products, here’s a link my first look.

Here’s the pricing for all the new devices:

  • Galaxy Z Fold6 – 256GB starting at $2,564.99
  • Galaxy Z Fold6 – 512GB starting at $2,724.99
  • Galaxy Z Flip6 – 256GB starting at $1,462.99
  • Galaxy Z Flip6 – 512GB starting at $1,622.99
  • Galaxy Watch Ultra 47mm starting at $879.99
  • Galaxy Watch7 44mm BT starting at $449.99
  • Galaxy Watch7 40mm BT starting at $409.99
  • Galaxy Watch7 44mm LTE starting at $519.99
  • Galaxy Watch7 40mm LTE starting at $479.99
  • Galaxy Buds3 Pro starting at $329.99
  • Galaxy Buds3 starting at $209.99

Trade-In offers

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Fold6 or Galaxy Z Flip6 device between July 24, 2024, and August 13, 2024, can receive a combined trade-in promotional credit and trade-in credit of up to $1000 when they trade-in an eligible Galaxy Z Series smartphone in any condition. The trade-in program is being supported at samsung.com/ca and at Samsung Experience Stores.

Bundle offers

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Fold6 or Galaxy Z Flip6 device between July 24, 2024, and September 4, 2024, can get 50% off on Eligible Galaxy Watch Ultra or Watch7 smartwatch.

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Z Fold6 or Galaxy Z Flip6 device between July 24, 2024, and September 4, 2024, can get 50% off on Eligible Galaxy Buds3.

Canadians who purchase an eligible Galaxy Buds3 device between July 24, 2024, and September 4, 2024, can get a bonus eligible Galaxy Buds Case (valued up to $44.99).

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Cordoniq Wins 2024 Future of Work Product of the Year Award

Posted in Commentary on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

Cordoniq has been honored with a Future of Work Product of the Year Award, following a 2024 winning streak and bringing its awards tally to seven this year alone. Of the nominated companies, only nine were selected for this prestigious distinction.

The 2nd Annual Future of Work Product of the Year Award recognizes and honors companies that showcase the most innovative and disruptive products and solutions that have positively supported a new era of productive work environments across the globe. These winners recognize that the workplace has evolved – driven by the rise of remote work, new upskilling and reskilling needs, adoption of AI and automation, a renewed focus on both employee and customer experiences, and other factors – and have developed solutions to meet new standards productivity and success.

Cordoniq provides innovative video collaboration that is disrupting the marketplace, thanks to its secure-by-design approach, next-gen UX and innovative features, like Android TV Capabilities, Green Video Collaboration Technology, Privacy & Security, Share Web & Browser Content, Video Meeting Rooms and more. Cordoniq’s platform-as-a-service (PaaS) model is entirely API driven so it can interact directly with virtually anything in a company’s tech stack, and is trusted by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon, Special Operations Forces (USSOCOM), and the National Guard.

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CrowdStrike Says That The Global Outage Was Caused By A Bug That Wasn’t Caught By Their QA…. WTF?!?!?

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

Crowdstrike has posted a root cause analysis in regards to them taking down a whole lot of PCs last Friday. Some of which are still down because of how huge their screw up was. In any case, this global IT nightmare was caused by an “undetected error” in the content configuration update for its Falcon platform affecting Windows machines. And that their fix for this is that the company will do more internal testing as well as putting in place “a new check” to stop “this type of problematic content” from being deployed again.

In short, something slipped through their QA process or perhaps lack of one as either is plausible, that caused millions of PCs to blue screen. That’s a total fail.

There’s something else that should be pointed out. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has lived this nightmare before:

On April 21, 2010, the antivirus company McAfee released an update to its software used by its corporate customers. The update deleted a key Windows file, causing millions of computers around the world to crash and repeatedly reboot. Much like the CrowdStrike mistake, the McAfee problem required a manual fix.

Kurtz was McAfee’s chief technology officer at the time. Months later, Intel acquired McAfee. And several months after that Kurtz left the company. He founded CrowdStrike in 2012 and has been its CEO ever since.

Clearly he’s learned nothing from that experience. And I am sure that someone will be asking him about that real soon as he’s been requested to answer questions about this epic fail in Washington.

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Enhance Your Olympic Viewing Experience at Home With Samsung

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

With the Olympics just around the corner on July 26th, you can elevate your Olympic watch parties into unforgettable experiences using the cutting-edge AI technology from Samsung. 

Neo QLED TV: Step into the heart of the Olympics with the new Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV. Designed for an immersive experience, it brings every detail of the games to life. Enjoy breathtaking clarity as you cheer on your favourite athletes in as they gear up for competition with quality that will have you feeling like you’re right alongside Simone Biles herself on the mat. 

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Bespoke AI Appliances:  Just as the Olympics unites people, so does sharing food. Whether you’re new to the excitement or a longtime fan that never misses the games, pair your favourite cuisines from the places you love with the event you can’t wait to see unfold, for the ultimate watch experience. 

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Check out www.samsung.ca today for more details

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Abstract Security Names Chris Camacho COO 

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

Abstract Security today announced that Chris Camacho has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer (COO). As one of Abstract’s co-founders, Camacho has been instrumental in launching and advising the company since its inception. Through his role as COO, Camacho will lead the company’s customer-first approach and spearhead its strategic global market expansion. 

A well-respected industry leader, Chris Camacho is an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor with more than 25 years of cyber security leadership experience from roles at The World Bank, Bank of America, Flashpoint, and others. Camacho has spearheaded initiatives across Operational Strategy, Incident Response, Threat Management, and Security Operations to ensure cyber risk postures align with business goals. Camacho earned a BS degree in Decision Sciences & Management of Information Systems from George Mason University.

Abstract has seen growing demand since emerging from stealth and announcing its Seed funding in March 2024. In April, Abstract announced the opening of its first Middle East office. In May, the company announced the addition of Christopher Key to its Board of Directors and was selected as a “Pioneering Cybersecurity Startup” winner, as part of the 2024 Global Infosec Awards.

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BlackFog Strengthens Leadership Team with Strategic Appointments

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

BlackFog, today announced it has made new appointments to strengthen its leadership team as it witnesses significant growth. John Sarantakes has joined as Chief Revenue Officer, and Mark Griffith has been appointed as Vice President of Strategic Sales.

As one of its founding team members, CMO Brenda Robb has also been promoted to President of BlackFog. As executive director of the company, Brenda led the expansion of the company into Northern Ireland, where BlackFog has now established R&D headquarters. As President, Brenda’s strong leadership skills and counsel will be leveraged with BlackFog’s expansion throughout North America.

With over 28 years in technology sales, John Sarantakes will play a pivotal role as CRO in driving global sales through direct sales and the development of a strong channel. He will also target sales growth across State, Federal, Local Government and Education sectors.

Previously at InMotion Software, John served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. He has also held positions as Executive Vice President at Headspring Systems, Senior Vice President of Sales and General Manager of EMEA at Absolute Software and National Sales Director at Dell.

Mark Griffith was also appointed as Vice President of Strategic Sales at BlackFog. Griffith, who has more than 30 years of experience in strategic leadership and innovation, will lead BlackFog efforts to develop partnerships with MSPs and MSSPs, to secure customers in State, Local and Government agencies, and continue to work alongside customers on a tactical and operational standpoint.

These appointments lay the foundation for BlackFog’s next stage of rapid growth. As ransomware threats escalate, the demand for data protection and anti data exfiltration is at an all-time high. Organizations are seeking new effective solutions to help them protect their systems and data from ransomware attacks.

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CrowdStrike Summoned To Capitol Hill To Explain His Company’s Screw Up

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 24, 2024 by itnerd

When the CrowdStrike snafu happened on Friday, I said this:

I’ll be watching this situation and posting updates when it warrants an update. But this situation is bad and likely won’t improve for a while. And when this is resolved, CrowdStrike will have a whole lot of explaining to do.

And later that day, I said this:

I wish every help desk globally well in dealing with this as this is going to be days if not a week or two of remediation. I also hope that CrowdStrike gets hauled in front of the relevant authorities globally to explain why this happened, and why corporate users should trust them again.

Well, it looks like I will get my wish based on this:

Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) sent a letter to CrowdStrike Chief Executive Officer George Kurtz, requesting his public testimony before the Committee regarding the global information technology (IT) outage that occurred last Friday. The outage was attributed to a “defect” in a CrowdStrike software update. The cascading effects impacted key functions of the global economy including aviation, healthcare, banking, media, and emergency services. 

It will be interesting to see if he actually show’s up, and what he says if he does. This company pretty much executed the most successful cyberattack in the history of the planet….. By accident. So I am not surprised that Congress wants to ask some questions about this. And what he’s going to ensure that this won’t happen again.

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New GeoFencing, Compliance Solution from Appdome

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 23, 2024 by itnerd

Appdome today announced it has enhanced its award-winning Geo-Fraud Detection service to include two new defenses: Geo-Location Fencing and Geo DeSync Attack Detection. Combined with other Geo-Compliance features available on the Appdome platform, mobile app developers and enterprises can eliminate location-based fraud, ensure geo-compliance and deliver location relevant user experiences in mobile apps free from location spoofing, fake location, VPNs, Fake GPS Apps and other threats.

Geo-fencing is essential in finance apps and other regulated industries that need to meet Know Your Customer (KYC) and other compliance mandates, such as the US Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) requirements. Geo-fencing enables mobile app developers to restrict or limit app access on a country or regional level, ensuring that operations are compliant with local laws and regulations.

A Geo Desync Attack is a cyber-attack that intentionally creates mismatches in location data on a mobile device. By manipulating GPS coordinates, altering the time zone settings, and falsifying accelerometer readings, attackers can deceive location-based services and security systems. This type of attack can lead to inaccurate tracking, unauthorized access, and potential breaches of security protocols, undermining the integrity of location-dependent applications and services.

Unlike legacy geo compliance offerings that rely on proprietary, costly, and vendor-built geo service networks, the Appdome Geo Compliance solution zeros in on protecting the mobile device’s built-in location services and ensures these services have not been abused or tampered with. Appdome’s approach eliminates the need for third-party networks, SDKs, complex server-based implementations and does not require third-party monthly usage fees, allowing the enforcement to work even if the device is not network-connected.

The full Appdome Mobile Geo-Compliance solution puts an end to geo-fraud by detecting fake location, fake GPS apps, fraudulent location, detect VPN, no SIM (fake device), teleportation, Geo DeSync and other attacks. Customers simply select the Geo-Compliance features needed in any Android & iOS apps and initiate the build command from CI/CD or using the Appdome Platform’s “Build My App” button. Appdome’s patented technology uses machine learning to code the defenses into each application, so mobile developers don’t have to.

The Appdome Geo-Compliance solution is available in multiple enforcement modes including advanced telemetry and customized responses or workflows when geo compliance threats are detected, and monitoring geo-fraud attacks via the Appdome ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR, either before or after the deployment of geo-location defenses via the Appdome platform.

See the full Appdome Mobile Geo-Compliance solution live at Black Hat USA August 3-8, 2024 in booth #1350.

For more information on Appdome Geo-Compliance capabilities and to book a personalized demo, visit https://www.appdome.com/mobile-fraud-detection/geo-compliance/.

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Greece’s Land Registry Has Been Attacked On A Scale That I Have Never Seen Before

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 23, 2024 by itnerd

From the “I can’t believe the scale of this” department, comes this story where Greece’s Land Registry has been hit by 400 cyberattacks that have resulted in what they call a “limited scale” data breach.

Mind. Blown.

I’m going to come back as to why my mind is blown. But first, here’s the relevant details:

The Land Registry agency in Greece has announced that it suffered a limited-scope data breach following a wave of 400 cyberattacks targeting its IT infrastructure over the last week.

The agency said hackers managed to compromise employee terminals and steal 1.2 GB of data, corresponding to roughly 0.0006% of the total data held by the government organization.

The stolen data reportedly does not contain any citizens’ personal information but primarily consists of typical administrative documents, the exposure of which is not expected to impact the registry’s operations.

The announcement also mentions that the hackers attempted to create a malicious user to infiltrate the agency’s central database, but they failed.

One of the database’s backups, which are updated daily, was accessed by the unauthorized actors. However, the subsequent attempt to exfiltrate the data to an external server was blocked.

The Land Registry’s internal investigation, aided by the Cybersecurity Directorate of the General Staff of National Defense, has not found any evidence of ransomware having been deployed on the breached systems.

Emergency actions to reduce the risk of ransomware have been taken, like terminating all VPN access to block malicious users.

Rogier Fischer, CEO, Hadrian had this comment:

“Based on the information provided, the data breach at the Land Registry agency in Greece doesn’t seem to fall under the GDPR’s mandatory disclosure bracket. The stolen data amounted to 1.2 GB or 0.0006% of the agency’s total data, and it primarily consisted of administrative documents without any citizens’ personal information,”

“Since the breach did not affect personal data or disrupt the agency’s operations, it likely doesn’t pose a significant risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms.”

“Despite the large number of cyberattacks, the agency successfully blocked attempts to exfiltrate data and thwarted further malicious activities. Such proactive approach helps maintain trust and demonstrates commitment to data protection, even if formal disclosure isn’t required,”

While I applaud this organization for shutting this down, it still blows my mind that the threat actors tried as hard as they did to try and set up shop and steal data. This illustrates why you need robust, multi layered defences to not only keep the bad guys out, but to respond if they get in.

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Fubo Expands Soccer Coverage with 2024 DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 23, 2024 by itnerd

FuboTV Inc. announced today it has acquired live streaming rights to the 2024 DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour in Canada. This collaboration will offer fans unparalleled access to six iconic matches featuring some of the world’s best football clubs in the coming weeks.

The tour will feature five elite European soccer clubs – Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester City FC, and Chelsea FC – competing across six legendary stadiums in the United States including Yankee Stadium in New York City and Soldier Field in Chicago.

DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour Schedule:

●        Saturday, July 27: Yankee Stadium, New York City, 6 p.m. EDT

●        Tuesday, July 30: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, 7 p.m. EDT

●        Wednesday, July 31: Soldier Field, Chicago, 8:30 p.m. EDT

●        Saturday, August 3: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, 7 p.m. EDT

●        Tuesday, August 6: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, 7:30 p.m. EDT

●        Tuesday, August 6: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, 7 p.m. EDT

The agreement further solidifies Fubo’s position as Canada’s premier soccer streaming platform. Fubo also offers subscribers exclusive soccer content in Canada, including English Premier League available in 4K, and expansive sports coverage through partners like CBC, MLB.TV, NBA TV Canada and OneSoccer. Fubo’s growing entertainment and news offering includes dozens of live TV channels and over 12,000 TV shows and movies on demand.

Subscribers can stream Fubo programming in Canada anywhere and at any time, from their mobile device, connected TV or web browser. The Fubo app is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android, GoogleTV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Hisense, iOS, LG TV, Roku and Xbox One.

For more information, visit www.fubo.tv.

The DIRECTV Soccer Champions Tour was represented by Sportfive in deal negotiations with Fubo.

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