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Top IT News of the Week (03/2022)

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IT news #1: No roaming charges for O2 users from January.

Topic: Mobile, unified communications

Virgin Media will not impose roaming charges on O2 phone users as of January, the company has announced. This comes after two of the UK’s four biggest networks – Vodafone and EE – decided to reintroduce roaming charges to those wishing to travel to Europe in January, with Three reintroducing the fee from May. However, both O2 and Virgin Mobile customers will maintain their inclusive roaming allowance in the region, so they can travel while using their data just like they would in the UK. Gareth Turpin, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “We’re starting the year by giving our customers some certainty: we will not be reintroducing roaming fees in Europe for customers on O2 or Virgin Mobile.” He added: “Unlike all the other major mobile networks who are bringing back roaming fees, we will not be following suit. With many Brits now looking to plan a trip abroad, we’ve got our customers covered and extra roaming charges will be one less thing to worry about.”

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IT news #2: Microsoft addresses Windows Server sign-in bug.

Topic: Microsoft, IT support

Microsoft has announced an out-of-band patch to address a Windows Server problem that could stop remote users logging into the system. The flaw is described to cause performance issues with Windows Server, resulting in a slow sign-in process, slowness in general or a black screen, Microsoft stated. Windows Server 2019 is particularly at risk and as such, Microsoft has published KB5010196 to fix this edition. The bug is said to affect Windows Server 2012 Release 2, to which the company has released KB5010215. Among the affected servers are Window Server 2022 and 2016, with fixes already on their way. The bug originated from the KB5008218 update, released during a Patch Tuesday update on the 14th of December. This update has featured some security changes for Windows. These out-of-band updates will not install automatically; admins will have to install them manually by importing them into the Windows Server Update Service (WSUS).

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IT news #3: China to seek a major role in developing 6G technology.

Topic: Mobile, 6G technology

According to Beijing’s latest digital economy plan, China intends to boost support and actively set international standards for 6G research and development. The State Council published this recent digital economy development blueprint, which was created in line with the country’s 14th five-year plan between 2021 and 2025. The sharpened focus on developing 6G technology reinforces a similar policy directive issued last month by the Cyberspace Administration of China. 6G, which represents the next-generation, global mobile technology network, will succeed 5G, which is still carried out in many countries. With the world’s largest internet and smartphone market, China has already utilised the most extensive 5G mobile infrastructure in the industry. The latest pro-6G digital economy blueprint marks China’s latest move in taking a leading role in shaping advanced mobile technology development.

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IT news #4: Ukrainian government websites hit by massive cyberattack

Topic: Cybersecurity, cyber attack

Government websites were taken down because of a massive cyberattack, including the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Education and Science. A statement made by the Ukrainian police confirmed web attackers left “provocative messages” on the main pages of government websites, which have been since taken off. No personal data has been stolen or altered during the incident. The country’s cyber-police department is currently investigating the attack by working with the State Special Communications Service and Ukraine’s security service. Some of the affected websites were already restored on Friday morning. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

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