Xenex Systems’ monthly information technology news continues, keeping your business up to date with changing technology trends. We also have some exciting news! We have moved to a new location in vibrant Osborne Park and are very much looking forward to this next chapter and new opportunities. All of our teammates are now back at the office after COVID-19 restrictions have eased.
Microsoft’s Patches for the June edition were disruptive and need a new update
This month Microsoft released the June 2020 Patch, the company’s monthly security updates. Redmond engineers have patched 129 vulnerabilities, making this the largest security patch release in the company’s history.
There have been issues identified with the June patches because of a conflict between Microsoft’s latest version of Windows and Office (eg, Microsoft 365). Installing patches as soon as they are released has led to Outlook disruption. The bug was resolved a week later.
System administrators who manage a large fleet of computers, such as those deployed across enterprises and government organisations, were advised to test updates for any bugs and deploy them as soon as possible.
At Xenex Systems, we keep an eye on Microsoft’s monthly security updates to protect against malware and apply the patching to ensure our clients are secure.
New features released for Office 365 -Microsoft Teams
As more businesses around the world move from “remote working” to a more hybrid model of work, Microsoft Teams have made available new updates and capabilities. Microsoft Teams continues to evolve, bringing new functionality to help teams do their best work. A feature was released for the education sector, which now accommodates for up to 49 participants at once on a single screen. Soon the Breakout Rooms feature will allow meeting organisers to split meeting participants. Click here for more features on Microsoft Teams.
AWS and Slack Join Forces to Deliver the future of the Enterprise Workplace
Slack and AWS announced that they will strategically partner to help distributed development teams communicate and become more efficient in managing their AWS resources from inside Slack. Slack will migrate its Slack Calls capability for all voice and video calling to Amazon Chime. Amazon Chime is AWS’s communications service that lets users meet, chat and place business calls. The company is also leveraging AWS’s global infrastructure to support enterprise customers’ rapid adoption of its platform and offer them data residency – the ability to choose which country or region their data is stored in.
The business communication platform continues to rely on AWS as its preferred cloud provider. Therefore, it will use a range of AWS services including storage, compute, database, security, analytics, and machine learning, to develop new collaboration features. Additionally, AWS has agreed to use Slack to simplify the way teams at AWS communicate and work together.
For organisations that haven’t made the move to Slack or Teams, the need to transition to this important product is at an all-time high due to remote workforce now becoming common place. The transition can be very cost-effective if you’re already a Microsoft 365 subscriber. Read more about why video and voice are essential in today’s business and enterprise environment.
Government Advisory 2020 – 008: Reducing the Risks of Copy-Paste Compromises
The Australian Government raised awareness of a state-based cyber attack that Australia is facing, including the private sector. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASCS) announced an advisory about the nature of the attack, as well as guidance on how to mitigate these types of attacks in the future. The Copy-paste compromises used to target multiple Australian networks are copied open-source proof-of-concept exploit code, web shells, and other tools which are readily available.
Tech companies have made several donations during the fight with the global COVID-19 pandemic
Cisco is now providing free WI-FI access to Cayman Islands communities. Residents of the Cayman Islands will now benefit from public access to wireless internet to help connect with family, friends, and online resources.
The launch of this initiative marks the easing of three-month shelter-in-place restrictions imposed by the Cayman Islands Government in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
PetSure turns to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to deliver remote care to half a million ‘fur babies’ in Australia amid COVID-19 pandemic
In June HPE announced the continued expansion of its hybrid cloud portfolio with enhanced automation, workload-optimised solutions and a consistent experience across clouds. Following this, HPE Nimble Storage dHCI was introduced and now is available to customers as a service.
HPE has enabled PetSure to deploy a virtual desktop infrastructure solution that is capable of managing unpredictable workload volumes and complex infrastructure needs, to deliver fast and reliable remote access. HPE Nimble Storage dHCI also aided in controlling IT costs to support business continuity strategies and avoid financial strain.
Sophos enables new powerful IT operations and threat hunting
The latest version of Sophos EDR is now available bringing new capabilities that enable us to ask for detailed IT operations and threat hunting questions. This version also provides new functionality to remotely respond with precision.
Managed IT Services team
If you have any questions in relation to these new technologies or require assistance for your IT system, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Xenex Systems Managed IT Services team.