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Ransomware attacks reached an all-time high in 2021.

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Date published: 30th May 2022

Monday 30th of May 2022, London, UK – This week’s top IT news series delivers collaboration announcements from some of the world’s leading vendors, like Adobe, BT and Microsoft, along with the latest feature of MS Teams and ransomware analysis.

IT news #1: Adobe and Microsoft partner to tackle hybrid working.

Topic: Hybrid working, software update

The software giants combine their powers to change the nature of hybrid working with newly-launched integrations. It was revealed at Microsoft Build 2022 that new integrations between some of its best-known tools, such as Microsoft Teams, Power Automate, Frame.io and Adobe’s very own PDF editors, are in the making. The initiative aims to increase the ties between the two companies. With the launch, Microsoft and Adobe establish long-term business software partnerships to optimise the modern work experience by utilising technology that enhances teamwork, collaboration, and effectiveness. As such, Adobe is committed to making it simpler to read, annotate, convert and sign Acrobat documents on MS Teams. It has already added a secure identity management tool, Single Sign-On, and introduced a personalised homepage for easy file access. The features are not also available in Acrobat Sign for Teams, allowing users to conveniently sign documents via a Microsoft Teams notification without disrupting their workflow.

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IT news #2: BT integrates cloud-based calling system with Microsoft Teams.

Topic: BT, telecommunications

The company has announced the launch of Wholesale Hosted Communications Direct Connect to help businesses access external calling for MS Teams. This cost-effective integration will build on the firm’s cloud-based phone solution, Wholesale Hosted Communications (WHC). Specifically created for the channel market, the company says the application is easy to deploy. The popularity of collaboration software has increased massively since the pandemic and was also fuelled by the spread of hybrid working. Microsoft Teams currently dominates the industry with its most significant share and highest number of users, reaching almost 6.75 million only in the UK. This figure has been said to rise to ten million by 2023. With WHC Teams Direct Connect, users can now take advantage of hosted PBX or hosted SIP Trunking directly from within Teams. This results in high-quality digital phone calls across all devices with additional benefits of WHC, including call recording and analytics.

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IT news #3: Ransomware attacks reached an all-time high in 2021.

Topic: Cybersecurity, ransomware

According to Verizon’s 2022 data breach investigation report (DBIR), 2021 saw an increase in the volume of successful ransomware attacks. In fact, this year-on-year (YoY) jump was more significant than the past five years before that combined. The Threat Research Advisory Centre (VTRAC) at Verizon worked together with more than 80 independent industry contributors and has observed a 13% increase in ransomware last year. The report has also highlighted that with cybercriminals leveraging increasingly sophisticated tools to exploit businesses, ransomware proved successful in illegally accessing data. The latest edition looked at a total of 23 895 security incidents, of which 5,212 were confirmed breaches. The research team has confirmed it is possible to attribute roughly 80% of these breaches to organised crime, with web attackers being about four times more likely to cause damage to an organisation compared to insiders. However, a potential human element in these attacks also cannot be ignored due to three factors, including social engineering, abuse of privilege and human error. 2021 is also a memorable year regarding security incidents affecting the victim’s supply chain, such as the SolarWinds and Kaseya breaches being the most prominent examples. The VTRAC team also found that 62% of the time, system intrusions originated via a third-party provider.

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IT news #4: Microsoft Teams announces yet another new feature.

Topic: Microsoft Teams, collaboration platform

Thanks to the latest update, users will be able to share their Teams channels with customers, clients and partners. The new collaboration feature that will unlock a range of exciting collaboration opportunities for businesses is almost ready to be released to all customers after launching a limited preview in March 2022. Organisations can now invite external users into a shared MS Teams environment, which opens the door to cross-business collaboration with clients and partners. Microsoft Teams has gained immense popularity since the pandemic, but until this point, it has only focused on interactions between co-workers. The arrival of Teams Connect shared channels will turn the service into a hub for collaboration between businesses, providing secure environments to hold video meetings while exchanging messages, files, and other data. The aim to bring cross-business collaboration to MS Teams is part of a broader initiative to make the platform a central hub for working, delivering all the tools an employee might need to execute daily tasks. The feature is expected to be launched to the public by July 2022.

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