Top 5 Must Reads: 7/21/2023

You already know that every day at?InformationWeek?there will be original reporting from our team of journalists and unique commentary you won’t see anywhere else. But in case you missed them, here are some of our favorites from this week:

1. Microsoft Bugs

Report by?Shane Snider

Key Points:

• Last Tuesday, Microsoft released a?security update?with patches for 130 vulnerabilities and the company says an unpatched zero-day bug already exploited by attackers remains unfixed.
• The large swath of products impacted include Windows, Office, .Net, Azure Active Directory, Print Drivers, DMS Server, and Remote Desktop.
• While Microsoft has not yet fixed the flaw, the company says it will provide customers with patches via the monthly release process or an out-of-band security update.

2. Broadcom-VMware Deal

Story by Joao-Pierre Ruth

Key Points:

• Analysts from Forrester and Gartner are waiting to see if Broadcom will repeat its ownership approach with VMware, which might make it difficult to compete as cloud competition intensifies.
• After some prior hiccups, the European Union’s?conditional antitrust approval?points to the?$61 billion deal?more than likely to close, according to Tracy Woo, senior analyst with Forrester.?
• The tricky dance between cloud growth and continued on-prem computing could also affect VMware’s place as a huge player in virtualization. Dennis Smith, distinguished VP analyst with Gartner, says about one-quarter of workloads have moved to the public cloud.

3. Intelligent Apps

Story by?John Edwards

Key Points:

• An intelligent application is software that integrates artificial intelligence capabilities with human decision-making, leveraging the best of both worlds.
• “AI excels at handling large volumes of data, making calculations quickly, identifying patterns, and performing repetitive tasks without error,” says Joseph Ours, AI strategy and modern software delivery director at Centric Consulting.?
• Humans, on the other hand, have capabilities such as reasoning, critical thinking, empathy, creativity, understanding context, and making ethical decisions, he notes.

4. Managing Stress Levels

Story by? Nathan Eddy

Key Points:

• Amid talent constraints, the pursuit of efficiency has taken center stage, compelling organizations to discover and invent new ways to optimize existing talent and resources within these limitations.
• George Jones, CISO at Critical Start, says a shortage of skilled professionals has led to delays in certain projects and increased workloads for existing team members.
• “To combat these delays, we have looked at upskilling current employees, brought in interns with specific skill sets, leveraged contract and freelance workers, and implemented knowledge-sharing to encourage cross-functional collaboration, empowering employees to learn from one another,” he says.

5. Cisco Vulnerability

Story by?Carrie Pallardy

Key Points:

• On July 5, Cisco released a?security advisory?warning users of a “vulnerability in the Cisco ACI Multi-Site CloudSec encryption feature of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Fabric Switches in ACI mode.”
• The networking and cybersecurity solutions company has no plans to release software updates to address the vulnerability, and there are no workarounds. IT teams are now faced with responding to a patchless vulnerability.?
• The company recommends that customers using its ACI Multi-Site CloudSec encryption feature on certain Nexus Series Switches and Line Cards immediately disable the feature.

Latest Major Tech Layoff Announcements

Original Story by?Jessica C. Davis, Updated by?Brandon J. Taylor

Key Points:

• As COVID drove everyone online, tech companies hired like crazy. Now we are hitting the COVID tech bust as tech giants shed jobs by the thousands.
• Updated Thursday, July 20, 2023?with layoff announcements from?Microsoft, Binance and? Stitch Fix .
• Check back regularly for updates to our IT job layoffs tracker.

REGISTER NOW:

"Hybrid Work vs. Desktop Management" LIVE webinar on 7/25 - Presented by?Network Computing?&?Netskope

On Tuesday – July 25, beginning at 1pm ET – tune into?Network Computing's free online webinar featuring?Carrie Goetz?- Principal and CTO at?StrategITcom, and?Robert Arandjelovic?- Director, Solutions Marketing at?Netskope?as our keynote speakers! This live virtual event will be moderated by?our colleage?Salvatore Salamone.?REGISTER?now at the link above.

"Hybrid Work vs. Desktop Management"

Connecting users to enterprise resources has become more complicated.

Hybrid users might work at home some days and in the office other days making desktop management, support, and connectivity more challenging than ever before. What is the best option for providing access to on-premises applications running in data centers? VPN, desktop-as-a-service, virtual desktops, or something else?

Join this new webinar as we discuss:

• Best practices to ensure secured access to cloud/private applications and data, public cloud services, and the open web for mobile devices.
• The importance of prioritizing user experience when considering security solutions.
• The role of technologies like Zero Trust, secure SD-WAN, or SASE play in maximizing visibility and control in high-traffic, and cloud environments.

"Achieving Network Visibility and Proactive Threat Hunting with Network Detection and Response" LIVE webinar on 7/26 - Presented by?Network Computing?&? OpenText

On Wednesday – July 26, beginning at 1pm ET – tune into?Network Computing's free online webinar featuring? Carl Bolterstein ?- Director of Product Management at? OpenText , and? David Neuman ?- Senior Analyst at? TAG Infosphere ?as our keynote speakers! This live virtual event will be moderated by?our colleage? Michael Krieger .?REGISTER?now at the link above.

"Achieving Network Visibility and Proactive Threat Hunting with Network Detection and Response"

Enterprise networks are experiencing a deluge of highly sophisticated threats from motivated attackers.

Cloud computing, remote working, and traffic encryption expand the attack surface while making threats harder to detect. Addressing security gaps requires total visibility and a proactive approach to finding threats. In this webinar, you will learn how Network Detection and Response (NDR) empowers enterprise SOC professionals in fast-evolving infrastructures.

When you attend this webinar, you will:

• Walk away with ideas on how to improve network visibility.
• Learn how better visibility can improve detections.
• Examine what datasets should be analyzed.
• Identify aspects unique to enterprise threat hunting.

Treasures from the Archives...

Story by?Joao-Pierre Ruth

Key Points:

• Organizations that accelerated their adoption of cloud native apps, SaaS, and other cloud-driven resources to cope with the pandemic may have to weigh other?security?matters as potential “new normal” operations take shape.
• The swift move to remote operations and work-from-home situations naturally led to fresh concerns about endpoint and network security, says Guy Podjarny, CEO and co-founder of Snyk.
• Decentralization was already underway at many enterprises before COVID-19, though that trend may have been further catalyzed by the response to the pandemic.

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