Darktrace Reports Rapid Growth in Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 23, 2021 by itnerd

Darktrace, a leading autonomous cyber security AI company, today reported that its Canadian customer base has grown substantially over the last year, as organizations across the country seek to protect themselves from increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks. Significant customer wins in Canada include global retailer Herschel Supply Co., leading Quebec-based brokerage firm Lussier Dale Parizeau (LDP), the City of Sudbury, non-profit United Way of Calgary and Area, and Canucks Sports & Entertainment. 

Powered by self-learning Cyber AI, the Darktrace Immune System works by learning the normal ‘pattern of life’ of an organization and can interrupt in-progress attacks across increasingly complex digital infrastructures, including the cloud, email and home office environments. Organizations across the region have not only embraced AI to understand where threatening activity is happening, but also now trust the technology to stop attacks from evolving within a matter of seconds, before security teams are even at their desks.  

Darktrace is a leading autonomous cyber security AI company and the creator of Autonomous Response technology. It provides comprehensive, enterprise-wide cyber defense to over 4,700 organizations in over 100 countries, protecting the cloudemail, IoT, traditional networks, endpoints and industrial systems

A self-learning technology, Darktrace AI autonomously detects, investigates and responds to advanced cyber-threats, including insider threat, remote working risks, ransomware, data loss and supply chain vulnerabilities. The company has 1,500 employees globally, with headquarters in Cambridge, UK. Every second, Darktrace AI detects a cyber-threat, preventing it from causing damage. 

Cloudli Acquires Montreal-Based OMNIVIGIL

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 23, 2021 by itnerd

Cloudli Communications, a leading provider of voice, data and messaging solutions, today announced that it has acquired Omnivigil Solutions, a Quebec-based provider of innovative cloud PBX, mass notification and call center solutions. The acquisition enables Cloudli to expand its Canadian SMB customer base while integrating new flexible, feature-rich and customer-centric services.

With its integration of Omnivigil Solutions, Cloudli will offer enhanced business communications including expanded solution capabilities such as contact center, CRM and third-party integrations, responsive and high-quality support, and cost-effective pricing. Cloudli represents an attractive alternative to the incumbent business phone providers, helping Canadian SMBs stay ahead of the rapidly transforming communications landscape. 

Omnivigil has more than 1,800 customers and over 70 partners, with points of service extended throughout all provinces of Canada. Omnivigil maintains offices across Québec.

Read Gavin Macomber’s (President and CEO of Cloudli) blog on the acquisition of Omnivigil Solutions.

Cloudli Communications, Corp. delivers feature-rich communications solutions to businesses of all types and sizes, with a track record that spans decades. Today, our solutions include work-from-anywhere unified communications apps for SMBs, VoIP connectivity solutions optimized for businesses of any size and digital fax solutions that leverage new technologies without disrupting trusted and established workflows. Serving over 7,000 customers in the United States and Canada, Cloudli helps businesses across North America better communicate with their customers – how, where and when they want – without compromising security, reliability and efficiency.

For more than 10 years, Omnivigil has been developing advanced communications services and designing solutions to meet the needs of SMBs, municipalities, and government agencies. Omnivigil’s expertise and technology provides companies with optimized and innovative solutions to meet the growing needs in the field of telecommunications. Omnivigil has more than 1,800 customers and over 70 partners, with points of service extended throughout all provinces of Canada. Omnivigil’s offices are located across Québec.

Intuit Canada Launches New AI-focused Accelerator For Startups In North America

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 22, 2021 by itnerd

Intuit Inc. and Highline Beta today announced the launch of the Intuit Prosperity Accelerator: AI. The new five-month program aims to leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to advance the financial prosperity of consumers and businesses in North America.

The application of AI is revolutionizing how consumers and small businesses are benefiting from the company’s products and services by delivering innovative, personalized offerings and experiences at scale. Intuit has been investing in AI on its platform for more than 15 years. The accelerator program is designed to leverage Intuit expertise to help startup participants unlock new strategies with AI to benefit their end users.

The program builds on the strength of the inaugural 2020 Intuit Prosperity Accelerator, which supported startups positioned to address the financial challenges Canadian consumers and small businesses face in the wake of COVID-19. The first cohort included eight startups and culminated with a Demo Day event in partnership with TechTO.

The Intuit Prosperity Accelerator: AI is designed for high-potential seed stage startups based in North America, who have AI-driven solutions with products in the market that aim to solve financial challenges. Applications from pre-seed or later stage companies will also be considered based on the fit with the program’s themes and interest areas. International startups are invited to apply and must demonstrate their value to the North American market. Successful applicants will have access to tailored content and dedicated coaching to help grow their businesses by using Intuit’s design thinking methodology, Design for Delight (D4D), and an opportunity for follow-on investment from Highline Beta. It will also provide exclusive access to AI experts, business mentors and a vibrant alumni startup community.

The Intuit Prosperity Accelerator: AI is now accepting applications until August 31st, 2021. Six to eight startups will be selected, with the program kicking off in October 2021.

For more information on eligibility requirements and to apply, visit: https://www.intuit.com/ca/prosperity-accelerator/

Atlas VPN Launches New Privacy Feature To Block Third-Party Trackers & Ads

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 22, 2021 by itnerd

Atlas VPN has launched a new feature called Tracker Blocker to give its users even more control over their online privacy. The latest feature aims to stop data brokers from using third-party trackers to gather insights about users’ online activities. Many websites utilize third-party tracker scripts to collect data about visitors’ browsing habits. These insights can then be sold to other companies and used to bombard the visitors with ads and marketing offers.

 

By blocking third-party trackers and preventing ads and pop-ups from loading, Tracker Blocker also improves page load time and preserves device battery life and mobile data. It also protects Atlas VPN users from clicking on potentially malicious ads or websites that could install spyware, viruses, trojans, or other types of malware on their devices.  Currently, Tracker Blocker is available to Premium Atlas VPN iOS and Android users. This new feature release comes after Atlas VPN introduced Data Breach Monitor, a security feature designed to check if a users’ personal information has been leaked online.  

Retrospect Announces Integration With Microsoft Azure Blob Storage

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 22, 2021 by itnerd

Retrospect today announced the general availability of Microsoft Azure Blob Storage support for Retrospect Backup and Retrospect Virtual. The software updates allow businesses to leverage Azure as a backup destination as well as a cloud storage location to protect on-premise data.

Included in the release is support for ransomware protection using Retrospect’s Immutable Backup, preventing malware from compromising critical business backups. With deep Azure integration, Retrospect Backup continues to provide the industry’s most flexible backup solution with simple, safe, and secure backups. Microsoft Azure has grown dramatically recently, and with its addition to the wide range of cloud storage providers that Retrospect supports, customers can select the best cloud based on their unique business. Retrospect Backup is able to use Azure as a storage destination as well as a data source, enabling companies to protect assets stored on Blob Storage using Retrospect’s workflow options. 

Retrospect 18.1 for Windows and Mac is now generally available (GA) and free to customers who have Retrospect 18. Retrospect is available in six languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. 

TELUS Commits $1 Million To Champion Canadian Small Business

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 22, 2021 by itnerd

In its second year supporting small businesses through its national #StandWithOwners initiative, TELUS is doubling its commitment by investing $1 million to promote these vitally important organizations in 2021. Small business owners have demonstrated incredible strength and ingenuity as they pivoted and innovated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and TELUS is proudly supporting them with funding, localized advertising, and mentorship as they move forward.

Canadians and small businesses alike can participate in #StandWithOwners:

  • TELUS Small Business Application: Owners can apply to receive $10,000 and personalized local advertising campaigns to help fuel awareness and drive revenue for their business. Winners will be chosen weekly and showcased on telus.com/standwithowners.
  • Rallying the community: Canadians are invited to take action and make a commitment to stand with their favourite small business this year. Whether it’s buying your fruit and vegetables from a farmers market, ordering from your favourite local restaurant, or shopping at a family-owned flower shop, Canadians can show their support on social media by tagging their chosen business and using the hashtag #StandWithOwners. Bonus: participating Canadians will be entered to win a $500 gift card towards the small business they’ve nominated.
  • Expert advice: TELUS is engaging industry experts and will launch a series of online resources that will help guide small business owners to develop effective digital marketing campaigns to drive awareness and sales. 
  • Health & wellness virtual panel: Following a year of pandemic-induced regulations, 48% of owners say they have experienced mental health challenges. To help owners prioritize their mental and physical wellbeing, TELUS is hosting a virtual panel with experts to discuss ways that owners can better look after themselves and their employees.

TELUS has a longstanding history of supporting Canadian small businesses and entrepreneurship through programs such as Pollinator Fund, TELUS Ventures, TELUS Pitch, and Stand With Owners. To learn more about this year’s campaign and how to get involved, visit telus.com/standwithowners

And The Winner Of TikTok Gamers Greatest Talent Is… Philip Bowen From Virginia!

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 21, 2021 by itnerd

TikTok is excited to share that the winner of TikTok Gamers Greatest Talent is Philip Bowen! Philip Bowen is a multi-talented singer-songwriter/fiddler specializing in guitar and fiddle from West Virginia, currently based in Detroit.

In April, TikTok partnered with Enthusiast Gaming and e.l.f. Cosmetics to launch Gamers Greatest Talent, a first-of-its-kind search for the TikTok gaming community’s hidden talents. The seven-episode live series followed 36 contestants across North America as they show off their talents and compete in front of fans and an incredible rotating panel of celebrity judges from the gaming and TikTok world – including mxmtoon, nickeh30, anomaly, and Tori Pareno. The performance exceeded expectations and Live viewers have grown tremendously, showing that content on TikTok is innovative and has the ability to transcend into other verticals and platforms.

Gamers Greatest Talent Highlights:

  • The hashtag #gaming has over 120B views
  • 1,000+ entries to Gamers Greatest Talent
  • 10M+ viewers for the entire season
  • 15+ countries tuned in to the episodes every night
  • The finale was the 2nd most popular “Just Chatting” channel on Twitch
  • TikTok creator/musician and judge of GGT, BBNO$ will be featuring Philip on a new upcoming track!

Philip Bowen Socials:

Beware! A New Email Scam Involving CIBC And Norton LifeLock Is Making The Rounds

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 21, 2021 by itnerd

You need to keep your eye out for a new scam involving CIBC which is one of Canada’s biggest banks. It will show up in your email and look like this:

But if you look at the email address, this is a scam:

In the interest of science, I decided to click the link to see what happens:

It appears to try to redirect you via what looks like a Norton LifeLock site to what looks like a CIBC website. But it isn’t. If you look at the top left hand corner you see that it doesn’t come from Norton LifeLock. And I am pretty sure that I am not going to end up at a CIBC website (click to enlarge).

Sure enough, I am not at a CIBC website. Look at the URL that I have circled. That’s not CIBC as it ends in “ug”.

So what is the scam? It’s trying to get your online banking credentials so that cybercriminals can steal the money in your bank accounts. And it is using Norton LifeLock to gain your confidence. Someone went through a lot of trouble to set this up. Which means that you need to be really on your toes to avoid scams like this. And it’s a safe bet that similar scams involving other Canadian banks exist. So keep your eyes out for them and delete any emails that you get that look like the ones above.

UPDATE: CIBC reached out to me to say this.

Microsoft Pretty Much Confirms That Windows 11 Is Real Via A DMCA Complaint Against Google

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 21, 2021 by itnerd

If you were wondering if the leaked screenshots and ISOs of Windows 11 that appeared last week were real, they are. Here’s why I can say that. Microsoft issued an official Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint against Google over an article by Beebom.com, based out of India. The DMCA complaint is viewable online and says this:

Beebom.com’s article is distributing Windows 11 ISO (copyrighted to Microsoft). Please remove their article from the search. It is a leaked copy of the unreleased Windows 11.

Well. If that’s not confirmation. I don’t know what is. So if you somehow got your hands on this ISO to try out, you have the real deal. Well, at least you have a incomplete preview of Microsoft’s next OS which you shouldn’t run on any computer that you actually need.

Humber River Hospital Pwned By Cyberattack…. ER Docs Want The ER Closed Until IT Systems Are Restored

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 18, 2021 by itnerd

Hospitals are really important right now given the times we currently live in. Which makes news of a cyberattack on Toronto’s Humber River Hospital incredibly frightening. And a group of ER doctor’s want the ER closed until things are back to normal:

A group of emergency physicians at Humber River Hospital has written a letter to the hospital’s administrators calling for the emergency department to be temporarily closed until IT systems are fully restored, citing concerns over patient safety.

The hospital’s information technology system has been shut down since Monday following an early-morning ransomware attack that triggered a Code Grey, or loss of essential services.

The IT shutdown has led to delays in medical and diagnostic test results needed to assess patients, according to the physicians who authored the letter obtained by the Star.

“This is leading to compromised and dangerous conditions for our patients,” the letter reads. 

The authors want “normal activities in the emergency department to cease until our IT systems are restored to normal function,” noting patients could travel to nearby GTA hospitals that “can operate at the proper level of care.”

However the hospital says things are safe:

In an interview with the Star, Dr. Leon Rivlin, chief and medical director of the emergency department, said the hospital has “continued to deliver care to all of our patients in a very safe way” during the ongoing Code Grey. 

The emergency department is now safely relying on paper records while assessing patients, he said. It’s also working closely with the diagnostic and laboratory departments “to ensure that we are maintaining all of the efficiencies and the safety mechanisms that have been developed in order to make sure patients get the care that they need,” Rivlin said.

The problem is that this could easily become one of those situations where everything is fine until it isn’t. And then it will go very bad for the hospital and more importantly, the patients. Hopefully we don’t see that scenario play out and things get back to normal quickly.

Also, I hope there’s an explanation of what happened here, and more importantly, what the hospital will do to stop something like this from happening in the future.