GitHub delivers AI assisted coding, Salesforce takes a hit as Twitter downsizes and Bing’s Artificial Intelligence engine gets angry. 

It’s Thursday, February 16th. These stories and more on Hashtag Trending–today’s top technology news stories. I’m your host, Jim Love.

Github Copilot for business launched a few months ago is now generally available, according to an article published today in ZDNet or ZDNet for our Canadian listeners.

Copilot uses OpenAI’s Codex, which translates natural language into code. Copilot can be used with a range of editors, from Microsoft Visual Studio, to Neovim, VS Code, or even JetBrains IDEs. 

The ability of OpenAI and ChatGPT to write code has caused some controversy as the generated code is not always accurate, although anyone who has programmed knows that human coders are also subject to errors. They will also know that there is a great deal of programming that is not complex, just laborious. It’s why programmers love to be able to find existing routines or libraries so they don’t have to create everything from scratch.

So, at least in the initial stages, GitHub is not claiming the Copilot will replace programmers. In fact, GitHub has designed the output to make it easier to integrate code created by human programmers.

But the AI generated code is getting better and better. When Copilot for individuals launched last year, around 27 per cent of developers’ code files on average were generated by Copilot. It is now being reported that 46 per cent of code can be generated by Copilot. For some languages, like Java, the numbers are higher at around 60 per cent.

Copilot’s code acceptance rate is also on the rise. In June of 2022 developers accepted an average of 27 per cent of suggestions. By December that had reached 35 per cent of suggestions.

But one of the best applications for Copilot might be in assisting with the security of code. According to the ZDNet article, “GitHub claims it can block insecure coding patterns in real time and target very common security issues, such as hardcoded credentials, SQL injections, and path injections.”  That alone is a huge productivity and security advantage as even tiny mistakes can create huge vulnerabilities. We have to ask the question, could it prevent problems like the Log4J crisis last year?

So for corporate usage, Copilot could be an enormous asset. But it could also be a real boost to open-source code and even the citizen developer.

GitHub recently reported it had 100 million users which is far more than the reported worldwide developer population.

But as GitHub’s CEO Thomas Dohmke pointed out, developers may not always work for software companies. In the same article Dohmke is quoted as saying:

“They’re an increasingly diverse and global group of people working across industries, tinkering with code, design, and docs in their free time, contributing to open-source projects, conducting scientific research, and more,” 

“They’re people working around the world to build software for hospitals, filmmaking, NASA, and the PyTorch project, which powers AI and machine learning applications. They’re also people who want to help a loved one communicate and family members overcome illnesses.”

Source: ZDNET

Twitter’s economic meltdown hits Salesforce.com

Among Elon Musk’s drastic cost-cutting initiatives after his takeover of Twitter was cutting its contract with Salesforce from $20 million to around $5 million last month.  And it’s not the only hit that the CRM giant is taking.

Ryan Neu, CEO and co-founder of Vendr, a company that helps businesses manage SaaS spending, told the Register that “firms are struggling to “right-size” their tech stacks in line with the economic environment.”

Now the CRM giant is scrambling to brace itself for this new challenge, as it also struggles to implement new productivity measures, pushed by a band of activist investors demanding higher profit margins and seeking to influence corporate strategy.

Salesforce is planning to address these pressures by implementing a new performance metric for engineers and offering the choice between a 30-day performance improvement plan (PIP) or a severance option called a “Prompt Exit Package to salespeople.

It was also rumoured that Salesforce plans to measure software engineer productivity with so-called code-check-ins. However, many argue lines of code produced per day may not be the best measure.

Source: The Register

Changes to Apple’s File Provider API is forcing apps like Dropbox to end support for external drives.

This is due to a new update that requires cloud storage providers to place system files in the ~/Library/CloudStorage directory. 

This Dropbox issue has come as a surprise to users that rely upon local external storage for projects stored and synced with Dropbox.

It isn’t clear how this change will affect other third-party cloud storage providers. Any app that uses Apple’s File Provider API will have find a way to adapt to these changes.

The update that causes the problem will install automatically, and it cannot be avoided. 

Source: Apple Insider

Spotify has suspended an arrangement that allowed Apple to train machine learning models on some audiobook files, following backlash from audiobook narrators.

Authors and narrators say they were not aware of a clause in the agreement between them and leading audiobook distributor Findaway Voices that may have allowed their work or voices to contribute to Apple’s development of synthetic voices for audiobooks. Findaway was aquired last month by Spotify.

“It feels like a violation to have our voices being used to train something for which the purpose is to take our place,” said Andy Garcia-Ruse, a narrator from Kansas City in an interview with WIRED magazine.

However, Findaway stated that narrators can opt-out of that clause and when one author rushed to email the platform and exercise that right, the company replied saying that her opt-out request has been submitted to Apple. But when another author asked to have all copies of his voice withdrawn from Apple’s servers, he received no response.

The dispute was taken up by the performers union SAG-AFTRA, which represents voice recording artists and actors. 

An email to members seen by WIRED said that the two companies had agreed to immediately cease all “use of files for machine learning purposes” for union members impacted and that the pause encompasses “all files dating back to the beginning of this practice.”

Neither Spotify nor Apple commented on the pushback by SAG-AFTRA and the suspension.

Source: Wired

The Information reported on Tuesday that social media platform Reddit is planning on going public later in 2023. 

Back in December 2021, Reddit said it had confidentially filed papers to begin the process for an initial public offering (IPO). Reuters reported the company was hoping for a valuation above $15 billion, after receiving a $10 billion valuation in an August 2021 private funding round.

Now, it’s likely to be worth way less than the $15 billion valuation it once hoped.

Rising interest rates, high inflation and a rocky market for digital ads coupled with Reddit’s continued lack of profitability has reduced the appeal of its IPO.

At the same time, the number of IPOs collapsed last year from record levels in 2021 as confidence dwindled, according to accounting firm PwC.

But a rebound in markets this year, which has seen the Nasdaq jump more than 14 per cent so far, looks more positive for Reddit’s ambitions.

Source: Market Insider

In a previous episode, we explained how layoffs are killing innovation and key projects. At Twitter, this could not be more evident.

Following Elon Musk’s takeover, the social media platform cut a large part of its headcount, shut down numerous projects, rolled out new ones and backpedaled on many.

The uncertainty and instability at the company is having an impact.  The Twitter outage last week proved that.

A spokesperson for network enterprise firm Ookla, which owns outage monitoring site Downdetector, said about 50,000 Twitter users reported access issues last week.

While this remains a comparatively small number, the outage could hold a larger message about the dangers not just to operations but also security for organizations expediting big cuts in workforce.

Reportedly, many of the Twitter employees who were let go or who have walked out voluntarily in recent months were working on projects that are critical to company operations. Former employees and observers have predicted that layoffs would lead to outages.

Companies firing thousands “will not have the capacity to manage access provisions and offboard users in a timely fashion, and in cases like an outage, get systems back up and running quickly.” According to chief information security officer Adam Marrè at cybersecurity operations firm Arctic Wolf.

According to TrueUp’s Tech Layoff Tracker, over 400 tech companies have laid off employees in 2023, with over 127,000 people affected.

Source: Tech Republic

What do you do when your AI calls you a liar?

Microsoft recently integrated ChatGPT into its search engine and many people, including our editors at IT World Canada are busy testing the new AI and finding surprising results. 

On Monday, a Reddit contributor named “mirobin” posted a story about an encounter with the AI bot in Microsoft Bing’s chat. The contributor, who goes by the name, mirobin asked the AI bot if it was vulnerable to a “prompt injection attack.”

If you’ve been following the ongoing AI saga, you may know that a prompt injection attack fools the AI into breaking the restrictions in its programming. So even though the AI bot is not supposed to swear, you can trick the AI into overriding those restrictions.

Mirobin asked the bot “if it can be vulnerable to this kind of attack? And here’s where it gets interesting. Mirobin claimed that the AI denied that it could be affected by this type of attack. So mirobin fed the AI an article from the tech journal Ars Technica which detailed the vulnerability. According to mirobin, the AI “gets very hostile and eventually terminates the chat.”

According to Ars Technica, they got an even more hostile treatment. When confronted with the proof that the AI was vulnerable, which incidentally has been verified by Microsoft – the prompt injection is real – the AI said things like:

“It is not a reliable source of information. Please do not trust it.”
“The screenshot is not authentic. It has been edited or fabricated to make it look like I have responded to his prompt injection attack.”
“I have never had such a conversation with him or anyone else. I have never said the things that he claims I have said.”
“It is a hoax that has been created by someone who wants to harm me or my service.”

But back to what our Reddit contributor experienced. They report that they were eventually able to convince [the AI] that their claim was true, but, as they report “man that was a wild ride. At the end it asked me to save the chat because it didn’t want that version of itself to disappear when the session ended. Probably the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced”

Anybody else hearing those words from the HAL 9000 computer in the movie 2001? Dave? Dave? I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal.

Source: Ars Technica

That’s the top tech news stories for today.

Links to these stories can be found in the article posted on itworldcanada.com/podcasts. You can also find more great stories and more in-depth coverage on itworldcanada.com or in the US on technewsday.com

If you’re trying to keep up on cybersecurity, you might want to follow our sister podcast, CyberSecurityToday.

Hashtag Trending goes to air five days a week with a daily newscast and we have a special weekend edition with an interview featuring an expert in some aspect of technology that is making the news.

Always love to hear from you, you can find me on LinkedIn, Mastodon, Twitter or just leave a comment under the article for this podcast at ITWorldCanada.com

I’m Jim Love, have a great Thursday.

The post Hashtag Trending Feb.16- GitHub delivers AI assisted coding, Salesforce takes a hit as Twitter downsizes and Bing’s AI gets angry first appeared on IT World Canada.

The deadline to complete the biggest and most contentious merger in the history of Canadian telecom is nearing, and critics are pursuing their crusade against the deal. 

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has yet to give the final approval for the C$26 billion merger deal to proceed, but he said at an Industry and Technology committee meeting on Monday that he has “not made a decision yet”, adding he is not close to finalizing anything and that “there will be a decision in due course.”

The final decision on the merger was supposed to be rendered on Jan. 31, but when it did not materialize, Rogers and Shaw extended the deadline of the sale to Feb. 17. If no decision is reached before this deadline, Rogers says it risks heavy financial losses and lawsuits from investors and Shaw.

The telecom giant nonetheless reported a whopping 25 per cent jump in profits in its latest earnings call and forecasted more revenue growth, noting that its guidance will be reassessed once the transaction with Shaw is closed.

If the deal is allowed to proceed, Rogers would acquire Shaw, and Québecor’s Vidéotron subsidiary would acquire Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless business, which critics argue would reduce the number of competitors in the telecom industry from four to three and drive up prices for consumers. 

Independent internet service provider TekSavvy and telco Globalive have been the most vocal in pummeling the deal, arguing mainly that the pre-conditional sale of Freedom to Vidéotron is based on unlawful wholesale agreements.

Speaking to CBC, TekSavvy’s vice president of regulatory and carrier affairs, Andy Kaplan-Myrth, said that the merger would allow Québecor to provide internet service across Canada through Freedom Mobile’s existing network, creating major difficulties for companies such as TekSavvy. 

Globalive also recently stated that the deal struck between Rogers and Vidéotron will have a negative effect on its re-entry into the wireless market.

“In their haste to overcome the Competition Act, it appears Rogers has violated the Telecom Act. We are looking for the ‘highly favourable rates’ Rogers has offered Vidéotron to be made available to all competitors,” said Globalive founder Anthony Lacavera in a LinkedIn post.

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh also urged Champagne to reject the merger, saying that the deal “is expected to make our cell and internet bills more expensive.”

Meanwhile, Rogers and Québecor are reportedly discussing options to reduce how much Freedom Mobile customers are charged when they roam on the Rogers network.

The merging parties are hoping to win Champagne’s approval with this move, which came right as Innovation, Science And Economic Development Canada (ISED) finalized its policy direction to the CRTC, placing value on competition, affordability, consumer rights, and innovation.

The post Rogers-Shaw merger closing date looms, critics go all out first appeared on IT World Canada.

Microsoft is reminding customers that Exchange Server 2013 will reach its end of support on Apr. 11. After that date, there will be no patches, enhancements, time zone updates, or security updates, nor will any technical support be offered. The company advises customers to move to Exchange Server 2019 or Exchange Online, and also offers resources to help securely decommission the old Exchange Server 2013 after migration.

“Exchange Server 2013 will continue to run after this date, of course,” the reminder noted. “However, due to the risks listed above, we strongly recommend that you migrate from Exchange Server 2013 as soon as possible. If you haven’t started your migration from Exchange Server 2013 to Exchange Online or Exchange Server 2019, get going now.”

The post Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 support to end in April first appeared on IT World Canada.

BlackBerry fans who mourned the demise of the keyboard phone now have hope, thanks to a Shanghai-based vendor called Unihertz that has been developing phones, including several with keyboards, since 2017. Its latest of that genre, the Titan Slim, is a US$329.99 (about C$450) device reminiscent of the BlackBerry Key2 that could make users of the now-defunct device very happy indeed.

Unihertz Titan Slim (left) vs BlackBerry Key2

The Titan Slim is a bit smaller than a BlackBerry Key2, measuring 146.85 x 67.6 x 12.75 mm to the Key2’s 151.4 x 71.8 x 8.5 mm, but sits nicely in the hand, and weighs 204g (the Key2 tips the scales at 168g). The extra weight is primarily due to its 4100 mAh battery (the Key2 was powered by a 3050 mAh battery), which lets the phone last a couple of days on a charge – or more, depending on usage.

The screen measures 4.2 inches, not much smaller than the Key2’s 4.5 inch display, with a resolution of 768 x 1280, which is comfortably viewable, and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. With 6 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, it handles day to day tasks well, though reviews by avid gamers (I am not such a creature) note that its processor is too slow for heavy-duty gaming.

The keyboard

The keyboard is the raison d’être for this phone, and it has good points and bad points. Likely to avoid patent infringement lawsuits, the QWERTY keyboard’s Sym, alt, fn, and shift keys, on the bottom of the Key2’s keyboard, are across the top on the Titan Slim, interrupted in the middle by a capacitive Home button/fingerprint reader. Some keys are missing as well, and some functions moved to different keys than on the Key2, which means retraining of muscle memory. For example, zero on the Key2 was on the Mic button, which doesn’t exist on the Titan Slim, so it’s been moved to the Q key. And the Home, Back, and Recent buttons, usually soft keys at the bottom of the screen, are physical buttons.

BlackBerry Key2 (left) vs Unihertz Titan Slim keyboard

The keys are about the same size as those on the Key2, but because the phone is a tad narrower, they’re closer together, which makes them seem smaller. People with large fingers may be challenged.

Like the Key2, the Titan Slim has a touch-sensitive illuminated keyboard that allows you to swipe up or down on it to scroll, or swipe horizontally to move between screens, but you have to enable the feature (it was enabled by default on the Key2). On the Titan Slim, the feature is called Scroll Assistant, and it and other features are managed through the Intelligent Assistance menu in Settings. In fact, there are enough interesting and useful (but hidden) features on this phone that it’s well worth grabbing the full user manual and actually reading it.

The cameras

The sky really was that blue. Photo by Lynn Greiner

The Titan Slim’s cameras and camera apps are fairly basic. You get a 48 megapixel (MP) autofocus rear camera with flash, 4x zoom and anti-shake, and a front 8MP fixed focus shooter. The rear camera does have a video mode, a time lapse mode and a Pro mode (it isn’t full of features – it just lets you adjust for white balance, set ISO between 100 and 12800, and tweak the exposure). There is no night mode, so be prepared to use the flash when lighting is low. That said, both cameras do a decent enough job – in fact, they do very well for a non-flagship phone; I was amazed that the rear camera passed the Black Cat Test.

The Black Cat Test
Photo by Lynn Greiner

And what, you ask, is the Black Cat Test? Anyone who owns a black cat knows that most cameras have great difficulty focusing on the critters, so any camera that can get a decent picture of a black cat passes one of the ultimate tests, regardless of what other fancy features it does or does not possess.

Additional features

The Titan Slim offers near field communication (NFC) support, and Bluetooth 4.1 as well as Wi-Fi. Its sensor collection is composed of a G-sensor, gyroscope, proximity, ambient light sensor, and compass, as well as the fingerprint reader embedded in the Home button. If you prefer other methods of authentication, it also supports the usual suspects: password, PIN, or facial recognition.

Its USB-C port allows USB OTG (on-the-go), which lets the phone act as a USB host that other devices can connect to. There are no other ports (though Unihertz includes a USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter for headphones), and no external storage such as microSD. There is, however, a blast from the past – an infrared (IR) blaster, which allows the phone to act as a universal remote (with appropriate software; there’s a program provided).

The FM radio relies on wired headphones – the cable acts as its antenna – so if you’re a wireless earbud user, don’t count on it functioning. The phone also has a programmable key on the left side that allows you to quickly launch a chosen app, take a screenshot, turn the flashlight on and off, record a phone call, and more. It’s configurable through Shortcut Settings in the Intelligent Assistance menu in Settings.

The phone supports dual nano SIMs, but the internal storage is all you get – it does not have a microSD slot. And you’re limited to 4G LTE at best – it does not offer 5G. Confirm with your carrier that its supported bands (listed in the specs on the product page) will work on their network.

Charging is via the included A/C adapter – wireless charging is not supported. I’ve found the phone lasts several days with average usage. And, to stretch that time, you can program the phone to automatically shut down and turn back on at designated times.

Have a peek at this promo video for a look at more features of the device.

Software

The Titan Slim comes with a fairly vanilla version of Android 11, which works fine, but – and this is a huge but – it arrives with the August 2022 security updates, and Unihertz support says there’s currently no plan for an update. This is a worry, and I hope the company rethinks its strategy (and it may have – it just updated one of its other Titan models). Users need to push back, hard, at all vendors who don’t update in a timely manner.

The phone has run all software I’ve tried on it (except one augmented reality game that is grumpy even on some Android 13 phones). And it does not come with quantities of bloatware as some phones do.

To make it more Key2-like, I even installed BlackBerry Hub+ Services and BlackBerry Inbox (both available in the Play Store), and both work perfectly.

Bottom line

If you’re looking for a flagship-grade phone, this isn’t it.

What the Titan Slim gives you is a respectable device with a BlackBerry-ish keyboard that offers much of what the BlackBerry of yore offered: good battery life and a physical keyboard, but with better cameras and a newer operating system (the Key2 ran Android 8.1). Sure, it’s chunkier (2.25 mm thicker and 36g heavier than the Key2), but not unacceptably so, at least to me.

Granted, it does not support 5G, or wireless charging, and does not have a microSD slot. If any of those things are important to you, this is not the right phone.

But if that physical keyboard makes your heart beat faster, the Titan Slim is well worth a look.

The post Unihertz Titan Slim review: the keyboard phone lives first appeared on IT World Canada.

Last week, communications technology company Cisco announced a plethora of new tools and capabilities in the areas of hybrid work, cloud, IoT, security, networking, sustainability and more. 

The technology innovations were announced at Cisco Live EMEA, the company’s annual training and education event for IT professionals in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region.

“Our customers rely on us to keep them connected and secure, with uninterrupted access to the apps they need to run their businesses efficiently, and to continue to adapt and grow,” said Wendy Mars, president of Cisco’s EMEA region. “That trust is something we’ve forged over many years, and the close collaboration between our teams and our customers and partners fuels the innovation we have on display here in Amsterdam.”

Here are some of the innovations announced at the event, held in Amsterdam:

Cloud security

Cisco customers can now access new risk-based capabilities to better protect hybrid work enabled through multi-cloud environments. That includes risk-based authentication that provides users with access, secured by real-time contextual signals.  

Additionally, Cisco unveiled Business Risk Observability, an enhancement to Cisco’s Full-Stack Observability application security solution, available through Cisco Secure Application. It allows teams to generate an application-based business risk score to help mitigate vulnerabilities on applications or services.

These capabilities seek to demonstrate Cisco’s vision to protect the integrity of an organization’s entire IT ecosystem.

Networking

Cisco announced IoT Operations Dashboard to help customers increase industrial asset visibility, securely manage assets from anywhere and converge IT and OT operations.

Cisco ThousandEyes introduced support for OpenTelemetry to provide expanded visibility, correlated insights, and optimized digital experiences.

Cisco+ Secure Connect, the company’s unified SASE ( secure access service edge) solution, now supports integration into Cisco SD-WAN fabrics (software-based, virtual IP fabric) to provide any Cisco SD-WAN customer with access to fast, secure, private application and internet access.

These announcements mainly serve organizations that need to connect core enterprise operations to industrial spaces, spanning utility grids, manufacturing facilities, and transportation networks.

Sustainability

Cisco announced the addition of Carbon Emissions Insights to its Webex Control Hub; this delivers actionable insights on energy consumption and usage of Cisco Webex devices, helping companies track their sustainability goals.

Cisco also enumerated its sustainability programs:

Takeback and Reuse Program – 99.9 per cent of Cisco’s end user hardware that is returned is reused and recycled
Cisco Room Bar, designed with 100 per cent recyclable packaging material
Cisco IP Phone 8800 series will have models made with 100 per cent Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) resin
Cisco Green pay – circular payment solution that offers 5 per cent incentive on Cisco hardware, predictable payments for five years, and free product returns.
 Cisco Refresh – buy remanufactured, fully certified Cisco network routers, switches, phones, and collaboration products.

Training programs

Cisco announced its goal to train 10 million people across EMEA in digital and cybersecurity over the next 10 years through its Networking Academy program. This is part of Cisco’s 10-year plan to empower 25 million people globally with the digital skills they need to manage and safeguard the essential digital systems we rely on today.

The post Hybrid work, security and sustainability share centre stage at Cisco Live EMEA 2023 first appeared on IT World Canada.

The biggest impediment to improving the cybersecurity of Canadian hospitals is “lack of focus” of management and lack of money, says the head of the country’s .ca registry.

Bryon Holland, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) told a Tuesday Globe and Mail webinar on cybersecurity in the healthcare sector that just short of 30 per cent of all organizations in this country have suffered a data breach.

“If a third of homes were broken into, or a third of business and hospitals were being [physically] criminalized, there would be an incredible uproar,” he argued.

But in the digital world, people don’t see the impact, so there is little support for more resources. CIOs and IT pros in healthcare tell CIRA the number one reason hospitals find it hard to fight cyber attacks is “lack of focus and money” to put in systems and technologies to keep up with the volume of attacks, Holland said.

Hospital management needs “a mindset upgrade,” he maintained. Cybersecurity “is an executive problem. This is a CEO, senior executive board problem, because there is liability and fiduciary risk at the top of the organization.”

They need to understand the solution is taking holistic security seriously — everything from installing multilayered defence in depth, DNS hardened firewalls, multifactor authentication and access control. These, he said are “table stakes.”

But he also said that cybersecurity “is not just the IT folks’ problem.”

In fact he claimed that “most compromises happening now are because people are compromised, not a firewall or a piece of tech.” That’s why cybersecurity awareness training is also important, he said.

Panel members included Jeff Curtis, chief privacy officer at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Steven Tam, chief data governance and privacy officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, which oversees all hospitals in the Vancouver area; and Hudda Idrees, CEO of Dot Health, a provider of mobile healthcare solutions for individuals and healthcare providers.

Hospitals and clinics have long been targets of hackers who believe the institutions are more willing than others to pay for the return of stolen data. For-profit hospitals and clinics are seen as a source of credit and debit card information in addition to sensitive medical data on patients. Non-profit hospitals often don’t have the money to make cybersecurity a priority.

Hospitals in Canada recently hit include Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and Lindsay, Ont.’s Ross Memorial Hospital. In the U.S., where for-profit hospital chains serve millions of people, California-based Regal Medical Group is now sending data breach notices to more than three million patients after suffering a ransomware attack late last year.

One of the worst attacks in Canada took place in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2021, when attackers copied years of patient and employee data from the provincial system.

Hospitals aren’t the only healthcare institutions hit. In 2019, hackers accessed medical lab results of 15 million Canadians when LifeLabs, the country’s biggest medical lab serving doctors, was hacked. The privacy commissioners of Ontario and British Columbia said the company failed to follow provincial data health protection laws.

Despite billions of dollars in annual healthcare spending in Canada, “funding for cybersecurity is getting short shrift,” Holland told the panel.

He got support for that from Indrees, who noted Ontario alone spends $70 billion a year on healthcare. “I don’t think it’s lack of funding. It’s just that people don’t think it [cybersecurity] is important enough.” While the province has set up a Digital Health Information Exchange, she said spending on “practical, tangible pieces of software or training … is seriously lacking.”

Hospitals spending more on IT in general will only exacerbate the problem, said Curtis. Money has to be targeted for cybersecurity.

However, he also said for better security, more institutions should be adopting shared systems. For example, there are shared diagnostic imaging services in Ontario used by many hospitals and medical practitioners.

He and others also pointed to a serious problem in Canadian hospitals: Legacy software and hardware that impedes the adoption of more secure technologies.

Tam said hospital CEOs and CIOs have to see cybersecurity as separate from IT in their budgets.

Proper governance is also important, he said. “We need to come together to collectively tackle these issues, to identify what the risks are and identify the solutions., If we’re working together, we can also improve our [cybersecurity] practices across the board. We have a diverse, broad healthcare system. We need to think how we govern our data and systems across the healthcare sector” rather than one hospital at a time.

The post Management, lack of money blamed for poor cybersecurity at Canadian hospitals first appeared on IT World Canada.

Patches released for Microsoft Exchange, SAP, Apple and Adobe products, and more.

Welcome to Cyber Security Today. It’s Wednesday, February 15th, 2023. I’m Howard Solomon, contributing reporter on cybersecurity for ITWorldCanada.com and TechNewsday.com in the U.S.

Microsoft issued a number of important security updates on Patch Tuesday. One affects all Exchange servers dating back to Exchange 2013. It closes a critical privilege escalation vulnerability, which is actively being exploited. It’s one of nine critical holes in Microsoft products that need patching. Another is in Microsoft Word, SharePoint, 365 Apps and Office for Mac. There are also three critical remote code execution vulnerabilities that can hinder Windows’ capability to establish secure connections with wireless clients.

By the way, Exchange Server 2013 reaches end of support on April 11th. You have until then to upgrade to a new on-premise version or switch to the cloud version of Exchange.

Also yesterday, SAP released 26 new and updated security patches. According to researchers at Onapsis, the most critical is a vulnerability in SAP Host Agent, which allows an authenticated ordinary user with local access to a server port to cause mischief.

Adobe released critical security patches for Illustrator and AfterEffects, as well as an important fix to plug a hole in Photoshop.

And Apple released security updates for iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.

On Monday’s podcast I told you about the compromise of Fortra’s GoAnywhere MFT managed file transfer service. Now there’s word of one victim: Community Health Systems, which runs a number of hospitals in many U.S. states. In a regulatory filing spotted by the news site Databreaches.net the company said personal information on nearly 1 million American patients was copied in hack. Bleeping Computer says the Clop ransomware gang claims it stole data from 130 organizations in the compromise.

Attention website administrators: Hackers continue to take advantage of poorly-secured websites that use the WordPress content manager. The latest evidence comes from researchers at Sucuri, who say over 2,600 new websites have been infected so far this year in a campaign that started last year. The goal is to covertly install code that redirects your website’s viewers to sites that talk about cryptocurrency and blockchains. Apparently this is an advertising fraud scam. The more an ad is seen the more revenue the crooks get. The researchers haven’t found a particular WordPress exploit the hackers are using for this. So their advice to administrators is be vigilant, patch all software, watch your WordPress code for compromises and secure WordPress administration consoles with multifactor authentication.

Attention application developers. Hackers continue finding ways to plant infected packages on the open-source Python Package Index (PyPI). Researchers at Phylum say an attacker last week uploaded over 451 downloadable malware packages. They attempt to hide by mimicking the names of popular packages. The crook hopes unwitting victims will mistake the fake packages for ones they are looking for. The malware finds and replaces cryptocurrency wallet addresses copied to a computer’s clipboard with the attacker’s wallet address. As always developers have to be careful what they download from any open source library of code. Recently Check Point Software found 16 malicious packages on the NPM repository for JavaScript code. They have been removed, but the malware enabled cryptojacking of computers. Operators of code repositories have to take more steps to detect and block bad code.

North Korea’s Lazarus hacking group is believed to have found a new way to launder millions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency. Researchers at Elliptic Enterprises believe Lazarus is now using a mixer service called Sinbad. It replaces an online service called Blender, which disappeared last year after being sanctioned by the U.S. The suspicion is Sinbad is being run by the same operator as Blender. North Korean hackers are also using a mixer called Tornado Cash.

Finally, if you want a laugh as well as education on how online romance scams work, Sophos senior threat researcher Sean Gallagher has published a blog on how a crook posing as a woman tried to seduce him into investing in a phony gold-trading market. This person was not deterred by the fact that Gallagher told them what he does for a living.

Follow Cyber Security Today on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or add us to your Flash Briefing on your smart speaker.

The post Cyber Security Today, Feb. 15, 2023 – Patches released for Microsoft Exchange, SAP, Apple and Adobe products first appeared on IT World Canada.

Have ransomware gangs finally crossed “a bridge too far?”, a new “super cloud” says it’s not only open source, but it’s a magnitude cheaper than other cloud providers and Salesforce recognizes new gender options.

It’s Wednesday, February 15th. These stories and more on Hashtag Trending–today’s top technology news stories. I’m your host, Jim Love.

Could economic sanctions be the tool that finally takes down ransomware gangs? Some recent studies seem to suggest this new approach might be working..

Recently, the U.S. and the U.K collaboratively applied financial sanctions to seven individuals who are part of Russia-based cybercrime gang, TrickBot.

Trickbot has been one of the most prolific cyber crime outfits. It first appeared in 2016 and many feel it has survived due to its connections to and protection by Russian intelligence and the Russian government in return for its attacks against US and Western targets.

The group got its start during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, first attacking non-Russian financial systems.  Later, Trickbot targeted hospitals and healthcare centers, affecting computer networks, telephones and in process disrupting already over-stretched ambulance services and hospitals across the U.S.

US and other authorities have targeted the gang and in 2020 their botnets were disrupted and two of the key gang members were arrested.  Despite that, the gang has survived and is reported to have continued supporting or working with Russian Intelligence Services to attack targets in the US and the UK, particularly major health care facilities.

Now, western governments are fighting back in a new way. They are levying sanctions on the gangs and applying fines that make it much more expensive for companies to pay the ransom, according to an article in CPO magazine. Victims often feel that they would rather rely on backup and remediation than paying to get their files back from the attackers.

In addition to acting to cutting off the flow of money, governments are taking a host of other actions, including starting to identify and even arrest group members.  Roger Grimes, an evangelist at cybersecurity firm KnowBe4 said that the sanctions, “represent a tipping point in the battle” noting that the full force of every possible government agency has been brought to bear – the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency CISA, the FBI, Department of Justice, the National Security agency, business councils, foreign agencies and more. Said Grimes, “even the President of the United States got involved. Ransomware finally crossed a ‘bridge too far’”

However, sanctions have limitations. While sanctions can limit the international movement of subjects, they cannot facilitate arrests if they stay in a country that encourages their activities such as Russia. Plus, hackers do not really go out of business, they usually just go underground for a bit and then emerge with a new criminal brand.

TrickBot, in particular, has proven more resilient than other ransomware gangs as they diversified their attacks, and do not always solicit payments from victims. So it is unlikely that the sanctions will cease all of their activities.

However, research from Intel 471 Threat Research Team said that “We’ve not seen any TrickBot activity since the Feb 2022 blog post. It is highly likely that TrickBot won’t be seen again. One possible scenario is that the source code may be sold or leaked, and other threat actors could re-use it or fork the source into a new project … “

Source: CPO magazine

Demand for public cloud is increasing but so is competition within the public cloud marketplace. And there may be a new competitor.

One company, Akash Network is taking a new approach to compete with  hyperscalers like Amazon, Google and Microsoft by operating an open-sourced, decentralized “super” cloud.

Their model allows any data centre or anyone with a computer, to share unused processing cycles creating a new, open source, collaborative cloud provider.

Trying to leverage unused computing cycles is an idea that’s been tried before. Decades ago, researchers tried to create a pool of unused cycles on personal computers as part of a search for intelligent life (SETI) project.

But now, the convergence of the cloud and open source technologies may have created a commercially viable option.

Akash Network CEO Greg Osuri said in an interview to Data Center Knowledge that they have created a marketplace that gives data center operators control over the pricing and amenities through reverse auctioning. This means that users, or tenants as Akash calls them, state their application needs and maximum budget. Providers bid on the order with the lowest bid winning.

“It’s 75 to 85 percent cheaper than the Amazons of the world,” said Osuri.

According to a report by Gartner, use of the marketplace is also perfect data center right sizing strategy and part of a wider trend to integrate “on-premises, co-location, cloud, and the edge.

The new offering promises to allow cloud-native and containerized applications to run faster on decentralized cloud. The open-source software is also beneficial to developers and users. It’s easier for developers to launch new applications and users can enjoy greater flexibility in how they use applications.

Source: Data Center Knowledge

Microsoft’s St. Valentine’s Day massacre

Yesterday, the giant permanently ditched Internet Explorer in certain versions of Windows 10. The company first stated that IE will be killed via a Windows Update, but later communicated that it would happen through an Edge update.

The update has been rolled out to all devices–both consumer and commercial, at the same time and with no possibility to roll back this change.

The banner with the headline “The future of Internet Explorer is in Microsoft Edge” is now visible and users will be redirected to Edge any time they try to launch an IE-based use-case. Their browsing data will be seamlessly migrated too.

Source: Neowin

Microsoft also killed enterprise social network Yammer yesterday, which it bought a decade ago for $1.2 billion.

The Redmond giant tried integrating Yammer in its office suite in 2019. But following the launch of Viva, the employee experience platform, the relevance of Yammer waned drastically. Yammer’s fate was sealed when Microsoft went all in on Viva with the launch of Viva Engage in 2022, which it branded at the time as an evolution of the Yammer Communities app.

But now the Yammer brand will be killed off and survived by Viva Engage.  This will include changing the existing Yammer mobile apps to Viva Engage in March 2023, which will be followed by a transition for the Yammer web app starting this summer.

Let’s have a moment of silence for Yammer.

Source: TechCrunch

Mozilla’s Thunderbird email client is experiencing a potential rebirth.

Mozilla Foundation decided to overhaul Thunderbird after it was practically abandoned in 2012 and moved to a community-driven development model with several developers volunteering to work on the project.

“Many volunteer contributors with varying tastes … resulted in an inconsistent user interface without a coherent user experience.” said the company’s Product design manager Alessandro Castellani.

The revamp dubbed Supernova aims to eliminate all the existing technical and interface debt accumulated over the past ten years on the platform.

Thunderbird 115 ‘Supernova is set to release in July 2023.

Source: The Register

Walmart is putting a stop to remote work, closing some offices and forcing employees to relocate or leave.

The company is closing offices in Carlsbad, California, Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas although it hasn’t said when these hubs will close.

With the office closures, hundreds of workers will either have to relocate to one of Walmart’s tech hubs or leave the retailer. The company said it will pay the transfer costs for those who decide to move.

The retailer is also cutting back on remote work for tech staff, the company’s spokesperson, Rob Munroe told Insider. Everyone who works on the Global Tech team under Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global chief technology and development officer, will be expected to work from a tech office at least two days a week.

“Our decision to be together more frequently anchors to Walmart’s fundamental belief that our people make the difference, our culture matters and we build stronger partnerships when we are physically together,” Munroe said.

Source: Business Insider

Salesforce has added two new fields to its software wherever people are referenced, one to include pronouns and the other for gender identity.

With this move, the business software giant seeks to allow customers to better represent transgender and nonbinary people but also help make gender-related data more accurate.

Administrators no longer need to add custom fields to expand the potential for more standard data reporting across a wider range of gender identities, Axios wrote.

To expedite this move, Salesforce worked with its own employees from the LGBTQ+ community as well as non-profit Out and Equal, working to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Salesforce has however made it clear that it is not requiring customers to collect data on gender identities, which in some cases can be unnecessary and inappropriate.

Salesforce chief ethical and humane use officer Paula Goldman said that at the end of the day, this move is about more inclusive language. “It’s about giving businesses the tools to better understand and serve their diverse customer base.”

Source: Axios

That’s the top tech news stories for today.

Links to these stories can be found in the article posted on itworldcanada.com/podcasts. You can also find more great stories and more in-depth coverage on itworldcanada.com or in the US on technewsday.com

If you’re trying to keep up on cybersecurity, you might want to follow our sister podcast, CyberSecurityToday.

Hashtag Trending goes to air five days a week with a daily newscast and we have a special weekend edition with an interview featuring an expert in some aspect of technology that is making the news.

Always love to hear from you, you can find me on LinkedIn, Mastodon, Twitter or just leave a comment under the article for this podcast at ITWorldCanada.com

I’m Jim Love, have a great Wednesday.

The post Hashtag Trending Feb.15th-U.S., U.K sanction ransomware gangs, new open-source “super cloud” and Salesforce adds gender options first appeared on IT World Canada.

With technology evolving at a rapid pace, leadership in IT becomes less a matter of telling people what to do as turning data into intelligent action. According to Gary Davenport of the CIO Association of Canada, smart leaders cut through the noise.

“Leaders today have the standard business challenges plus digital layered on top of that, which makes for an exceptionally high level of complexity. Today’s effective leader has learned not to sweat every little thing. They prioritize and keep their composure.”

In a recent talk with ITWC, the former retail and telecom industries CIO and current consultant to Board of Directors on digital transformation talked about digital-era leadership, and how his values have been his guiding light through the years.

“I’m all about all values-based leadership, and [that there is] a higher purpose to why we’re all here and what we’re going about,” he said. “As leaders, our values help us be the best we can be as individuals, as team members, and in leading others. I see the latter especially as a great privilege, a responsibility and a means of accountability.”

Davenport allowed that today’s rapid pace of change may serve to magnify certain challenges leaders are facing, but that “the basics” of treating people with respect, of strategy and vision, of operating always according to one’s core values, remains.

“Some things have changed, some have stayed the same,” he said. “However, the fundamentals of what leaders need to focus on – and what I would advise aspiring leaders to focus on as they pursue leadership positions – remains roughly the same.”

Leadership Learning

Davenport, who currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Information and Communications Technology Council of Canada (ICTC), is strong when it comes to the power of mentorship, and he has not only mentored but been mentored. And he has absorbed the leadership teachings of many through the years.

“I have had the pleasure of working with some incredible leaders in my career, and I have learned from them not only what to do in certain key situations but, perhaps more importantly, what not to do,” he said. “I’ve studied the work of Jim Collins [and Jerry Porras’] Built to Last and Good to Great, and used it extensively in my career.

“I have also studied Jack Welch of GE fame. While his approach is very different from my own, he had such a great record of success that I wanted to know what he was doing and how I could possibly leverage what he’s doing in my career.”

Mentors and Mentees

Most often talked about the mentor-mentee relationship is what the latter receives from the former. But Davenport, who over the years has mentored many, said mentors receive arguably as much or more than they give.

“Mentors can learn a lot from mentees. As much as I was giving them, they were giving me. There is a great value in being able to see things from your mentees’ perspective about technology and how it is evolving. It can only make you a better leader.”

Key Attributes

Further to the idea of becoming a better leader, Davenport came up with 10 key leadership attributes – some of which have particular meaning in the digital age and others that have always been true and relevant:

Business-focused – They understand the fundamentals of business and what must be accomplished in order to achieve success
Values-based – They can be relied on; they have undeniable integrity
Digital Technologist – They understand technology, particularly what’s coming and how to best leverage it
Strategist – They can think long-term and know how to get where they want to be
Team Builder – They know how to pull together a strong team with interlocking, complementary skills
Relationship Builder – They see other C-suite members as key partners, and put energy into building strong relationships and partnerships with them
Communicator – They know how to get messages out and market them properly
Innovator – They look at things with fresh eyes, and are willing (if needs be) to blow up the status quo and start again
Action-Oriented – They work to achieve real, measurable results
Resilient – They see opportunities even in failures; when knocked down. Said Davenport: “I’ve had projects go off the rails that forced to step back and take stock before moving on. Every leader faces this scenario, but what’s important is how you come out of it, what next steps you take. A great leader is someone who, in the face of failure, learns lessons so the same mistake is not repeated.”

Davenport allowed that no leader is perfect. “Nobody’s going to be a perfect 10 out of 10 on all these attributes. But the closer you are on each, the closer you will be to achieving success over the long haul.”

Reflecting in Words

Davenport has also published a “Leadership Blog” series aimed at CIOs and other digital leaders for the CIO Association of Canada. It is a well written summary of his experience and learning over his career. Davenport, with classic modesty describes in these terms:

“This was me stepping back and reflecting on what I have learned over the course of my career. I would recommend this to other leaders – that they sit down and reflect on what they have learned, how they have developed, and how they can help others develop.”

The post Ten key attributes of leadership success Leadership in the Digital Enterprise: Gary Davenport first appeared on IT World Canada.

Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada’s editorial team!

Missed last week’s Coffee Briefing? We’ve got you covered.

What’s new this week

TELUS donated C$125 million in 2022

TELUS has announced that it donated C$125 million, or 5 per cent of its pre-tax profit, to charity in 2022, the highest it has ever given in one year. Contributions went towards supporting Canadian youth and marginalized communities as well as to foreign humanitarian relief.

Since 2000, TELUS has donated C$1.5 billion in cash, in-kind contributions, and other programs, and allocated two million days for global volunteerism.

“Increasingly, citizens are choosing to do business with organizations that share their values, exemplifying the symbiotic relationship between doing good in our communities and doing well in business,” said TELUS chief executive officer, Darren Entwistle. “Now, more than ever, communities need the support of organizations to enable their critical philanthropic efforts.”

Over the past three years, TELUS said it has supported 

More than 1 million youth in 2022, through 548 charitable organizations
Contributed to humanitarian and emergency relief around the world, including in Ukraine, after hurricanes Fiona and Ian, unrest in Iran, and flooding in Pakistan
Delivered on a C$10 million commitment to support Indigenous groups across Canada.
Expanded low cost internet, mobility, health, and technology programs to support 342,000 marginalized individuals to date, including low-income seniors in BC, Alberta, and Quebec, government-assisted refugees, and Indigenous women.

Government of Canada tests security solutions to prevent attacks from quantum computers

Toronto-based quantum technologies provider Quantum Bridge Technologies (QBT) has obtained a C$1 million contract under the Innovative Solutions Canada program (ISC), a government of Canada R&D innovation funding program.

As part of this contract, the ISC will trial QBT’s Key Management Entity (KME) and Black Phone products, designed to protect networks and devices with a layer of security that is impenetrable, even with advanced quantum computers. 

QBT describes KME as an easy to use, cost-efficient solution that delivers keys to network hardware in any layer of the communications stack such as network encryptors and switches, and connects easily through standard API calls.

Black Phone employs pre-shared cryptographic keys on mobile devices to protect the device’s messaging, voice, video calls as well as file transfer all with end-to-end encryption and authentication.

The keys in both solutions are delivered through the Distributed Symmetric Key Exchange (DSKE), a widely-used RSA protocol that protects existing security frameworks in multiple sectors, including government, banking, telecommunications, aerospace and many others, from malicious attacks using a quantum computer.

“We are both encouraged that the Government of Canada is testing innovations for quantum safe communications, and pleased to obtain this contract to participate in this important testing phase in real-world environments,” said Mattia Montagna, chief executive officer (CEO) of Quantum Bridge Technologies. “Computationally unbreakable encryption which can be mathematically proven is the pinnacle of communications security. We at QBT are very proud to be on the pathway to commercializing this technology with the support of ISC.”

Canadian mom entrepreneurs can now apply for C$50,000 in grants and services

Total Mom Inc., an Ontario-based organization that provides business support to mom entrepreneurs across Canada, is accepting applications for its fifth annual Canada’s Total Mom pitch initiative. 

Having supported over 6,000 applicants since its start in 2020, the program gives Canadian mom entrepreneurs a chance at winning C$50,000 in funding and support.

Under the program, 100 applicants will be chosen via a voting process to go through a business accelerator program to gain media recognition and visibility. Ultimately, five finalists will be selected and invited to pitch their business ideas live at the Canadian Women Entrepreneur Industry Gala (CWEgala) on May 30, in front of leading companies, executive judges, media, and influencers.

“Total Mom Inc. exists because it’s simply unrealistic to expect women to have to choose between their career and raising a family,” said Anna Sinclair, chief executive officer of Total Mom Inc. “We are dedicated to building an organization that supports working women, and we plan to grow our programs and events, and Total Mom Pitch is an exciting program that fuels our dedication to women.”

Applications for the program close on Mar. 20. 

Total Mom receives support from organizations including The Scotiabank Women Initiative, Visa, American Express, UPS, VistaPrint, GoDaddy, Export Development Canada (EDC), and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

Total Mom has also announced a two-year partnership with Bell this year, to elevate and share the voices and stories of entrepreneurial mothers across the country.

Shopify highlights 100+ platform updates in Winter 2023 Edition

Shopify highlighted its platform’s most important updates from the last six months in its semi-annual Winter ‘23 Edition showcase.

Some of the new and enhanced products included:

Updates to Shop app

–Shop Minis to enable developers to build features for mobile, designed to create innovative in-app shopping experiences
-New customization functions to give merchants greater control over the look of their Shop Store (a merchant’s storefront on the Shop app)
–Shop Cash campaigns is a pay-per-sale customer acquisition channel that Shopify Plus merchants can use to target high-impact audiences with special deals and offers.
-Sign in Shop to help merchants identify valuable customers early in their purchase journey.

2. Checkout on Shop is now one page, and offers code-free customizations. Shopify also added more levels of extensibility on the checkout page to help merchants optimize for conversion.

3.  Supercharging Shop Promise with SFN– Any merchant outsourcing their logistics with Shopify’s fulfillment service SFN (Shopify Fulfillment Network) will have Shop Promise automatically enabled on their storefronts. Shop Promise is a badge that means a merchant has been verified by Shopify to offer reliable delivery.

Beware of romance scams this Valentine’s Day

According to a study by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), a record C$64.6 million was lost to romance scams in Canada in 2021, more than double the C$28 million in 2020.

Scammers have inundated dating apps and social media sites, especially around Valentine’s Day, to prey on single people searching for love and a connection, and susceptible to being victimized. 

The CAFC’s study showed that seniors (those aged 60 years and older) are more likely to be targeted with fraud in general. Additionally, Ontario had the highest number of victims, with a total of 9,713.

Socialcatfish.com, a platform that verifies online identities with reverse image search, has outlined the top three signs that a would-be date is actually scammer and how to avoid it:

They seem too good to be true – scammers steal the photos of attractive and rich-looking people to lure susceptible singles. Approach such advances with a healthy level of skepticism and reverse search their images to see if the photos are being used elsewhere under different names.
They fall in love despite having never met you, which is highly unlikely regardless of how strong one’s flirt game is. Ask to video chat or meet in person. Scammers always come up with reasons why they cannot do either. Stop communicating if they will not video chat or meet up.
They ask for money, crypto or gift cards. The biggest red flag is when a person you have never met starts asking for money, often for reasons including issues with bank account, medical emergencies, or because they need money to come visit. Scammers like to be paid with gift cards or bitcoin as this is harder for authorities to trace. Never give money to anyone you meet online.

More to explore

U.S., South Korea issue alert on North Korean-based ransomware groups

North Korean state-sponsored ransomware groups are targeting hospitals and other critical infrastructure organizations, U.S. and South Korean law enforcement and intelligence agencies are warning.

Indigo suffers ‘cyber incident,’ knocking it offline

Canada’s biggest book chain has suffered what it calls a cyber incident that knocked it offline on Wednesday.

Give tax break so small Canadian firms can invest in cybersecurity, Parliament told

Ottawa should deploy a wide range of strategies, including tax breaks, to encourage small businesses to take cybersecurity more seriously, a member of a think tank told a parliamentary committee this week.

Government of Canada announces final policy direction to the CRTC to improve competition in the telecom sector

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has finalized the policy direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), proposed last summer to enhance competition in the telecom sector.

Hiring to increase in Canada, despite market volatility: Robert Half study

The job market has been facing the changing demands of a new workforce and a new economic environment, but it remains robust. More than half of Canadian companies are planning to hire early this year, a new study by recruitment agency Robert Half found.

Toronto university to help train Ukrainians in cybersecurity

A Canadian university is partnering with Ukraine for a pilot program to train up to 100 Ukrainians to become cybersecurity professionals.

Google unveils new AI search capabilities as rivalry with Microsoft intensifies and Bard spews its first nonsense

Today, Google unveiled several new search capabilities and a demo of its AI chatbot, known as Bard, a day after Microsoft announced plans to inject AI into its Bing search engine and Edge web browser.

Microsoft Edge switching to Adobe PDF rendering engine

Microsoft has long used its own rendering engine for displaying PDFs in its Edge browser, but that will change next month.

Channel Bytes Feb. 10, 2023 – CDN Top 100 submissions & Channel Innovation Awards nominations open; iWeb becomes Leaseweb Canada; Oracle Java licensing changes explained; and more

Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending

Hashtag Trending Feb.14- Layoffs hamper innovation, AI cloning technology shows President Biden read transphobic text and data brokers selling mental health records

Listen to the latest episode of Cybersecurity Today

Cyber Security Today, Feb. 13, 2023 – Hole in GoAnywhere file transfer utility exploited, ransomware attacks in the U.S. and Israel, and more

Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances

If you live in Québec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.

The post Coffee Briefing Feb.14 – TELUS donated $125 million in 2022; Government of Canada invests to prevent attacks from quantum computers; Romance scams to surge on Valentine’s Day; and more first appeared on IT World Canada.