Top IT News of the Week (43/2021)
#ITnews
IT news #1: Service outage hit supermarket chain Tesco.
Topic: Service outage, downtime
Tesco’s website and app were down due to a recent service outage. The retail giant confirmed its services crashed after several attempts to interfere with its systems, which has left shoppers unable to order groceries and track online deliveries. Soon after Tesco announced its website and app were running again, but temporarily introduced a “virtual waiting room” to control the high volume of traffic. The attacks that targeted Tesco’s systems were made overnight from a Friday to a Saturday. Still, no further details were announced, with the scale of the issue remaining unclear until Sunday. The lack of information also caused frustration among customers, with many of them wishing to cancel their orders and get a refund. This is not the first time Tesco was targeted. In 2014, almost 2,000 customer accounts were deactivated due to fear of compromised login details, Tesco bank was also hit by a cyberattack. The supermarket’s website seemed to have gone down again last Thursday when shoppers were directed to a “queue” that never seemed to end with the page frequently refreshing itself but never bringing the site back.
IT news #2: Cyberattacks against supply chains are on the rise.
Topic: Cyberattack, supply chain
A recent report conducted by BlueVoyant discovered that more than 90% of international firms have experienced breaches due to weaknesses in the supply chain. It is based on data collected from 1,200 employees working for large global corporations. The report also highlighted a 37% increase between 2020 and 2021 with 38% of the respondents being concerned about the lack of knowledge to identify whether an attack had affected their supply chain. It was acknowledged that cybersecurity budgets had been increasing, however, the report indicates the significance of establishing effective measures with a solid IT infrastructure and oversight of the supply chain.
IT news #3: Cryptocurrency romance scams are targeting dating apps.
Topic: Scam, cryptocurrency
Romance scam attacks are on the rise as hackers target dating app users in an attempt to coerce cryptocurrency payments and gain control of devices. The main target of the scammers referred to as “CryptoRom” by Sophos are iPhone users of dating apps, including Tinder and Bumble. They lure their matches into downloading a fake cryptocurrency trading app that instantly gives hackers remote control of their headsets. The fraudulent website users download the app from is designed to look like a legitimate app store, making people believe the source is safe. Victims are then asked to buy cryptocurrency through the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and transfer funds via a fake trading app to a digital wallet. Interpol has already issued a warning this year January about investment-based romance fraud taking place across digital apps.
IT news #4: Cisco introduces Webex Hologram platform for AR meetings.
Topic: Cisco, 3D technology
Hybrid workers will be able to attend meetings using a 3D hologram technology developed by Cisco, the tech conglomerate announced on Wednesday. The Webex Hologram platform will deliver photorealistic and real-time holograms and it is also the latest hybrid product of the company. It features augmented reality (AR) technology to eliminate the gap between virtual and in-person collaboration. The real-time holograms will be based on actual people using headsets from Magic Leap and Microsoft HoloLens. As part of this significant breakthrough, the technology will enable digital presentations and sharing physical content, making it efficient to use for training purposes.
USA SUPPORT OFFICES:
Los Angeles
New Jersey
ASIA SUPPORT OFFICE:
Hong Kong, China
MIDDLE EAST SUPPORT OFFICE:
Dubai, UAE
UK HEAD OFFICE:
32-34 Station Close
Potters Bar
London
EN6 1TL
