Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest headlines, interviews, and podcasts. These briefings drop on Tuesday mornings. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada reporter Pragya Sehgal with files from editorial director Alex Coop.
ITWC Podcasts
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Intel says the semiconductor chip shortage will last at least another two years, Apple’s iOS 14.5 has arrived, and giant paydays for CEOs are rubbing the internet the wrong way.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
Emotet wiped from servers, Passwordstate password manager compromised and be careful with Apple AirDrop file sharing
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)
If you live in Quebec, or prefer to consume the latest technology news in French, our sister publication Direction Informatique has you covered. Follow them on Twitter as well.
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Channel Innovation Awards
Tune in to tomorrow’s Channel Innovation Awards, a flagship event gone virtual for the second year in a row. It’ll feature the stories of MSPs across the country, as well as a thorough analysis of the 2021 Benchmark Report, which is put together thanks to survey responses from more than 120 solution providers.
Thanks to amazing sponsors, registration is free. Click here to learn more and to register!
In case you missed it
The recent tech news that we maybe didn’t get to yet, or it’s the news we’ve reported on and feel is worth resurfacing.
Cisco commits $100M to help address climate change
Cisco recently announced that it’s committing $100M over 10 years to help reverse the impact of climate change.
Cisco says it will allocate its funding in these two areas:
- Innovative and/or imaginative climate solutions that drive forward net-zero or circular/regenerative economies.
- Community education and engagement around climate, eco-awareness, and working toward individual habit change and effective collaborative action.
You can read more details about the announcement here.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Facebook and Microsoft grant free patent access for low-carbon innovators
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Facebook and Microsoft have announced the launch of the Low-Carbon Patent Pledge, an HPE-led initiative as part of which the three technology leaders are making key patents available royalty-free to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies.
Under the pledge, hundreds of patents that could support technologists developing low-carbon solutions for generating, storing and distributing low-carbon energy will be listed at lowcarbonpatentpledge.org.
Toronto-based networking services company closes $14.7 million private placement
Toronto-based networking services company TeraGo announced that it has closed its previously announced private placement with certain institutional investors, including the Canada-based investment company Cymbria, acting at the direction of its portfolio manager, Toronto-based investment management firm EdgePoint Investment Group.
An April 21 news release indicated that TeraGo intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement in support of its proposed launch of 5G fixed wireless services in Canada, to continue testing and trialling 5G technology, upgrade its core network, and support its current networking business. In addition, portions of the net proceeds will be used to repay indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
Celebrated information security researcher dies at 42
The computer world is mourning the death of Dan Kaminsky, who died last week at the age of 42. He was known for having a technical ability matched only by his compassion and support for the industry.
The reaction to the news was met with an outpouring of emotions and stories dedicated to Kaminsky’s memory.
If you have any pictures of @dakami please post them and RT. Memories are whats keeping many of us going #dankam
— Marc Rogers (@marcwrogers) April 24, 2021
We are saddened to hear the news of the passing of Dan Kaminsky. Rest in Peace. pic.twitter.com/zrud3ckXCk
— Black Hat (@BlackHatEvents) April 24, 2021
Dan Kaminsky once found a flaw in DNS that would have basically destroyed the internet and helped fix it in secret. Doesn’t get any more legendary than that. RIP. https://t.co/suzTRqhdEA
— rob rhyne (@robrhyne) April 24, 2021
Aw Dan. The year we met, you showed me a camera that fit in an Altoid box the night HD told me he was building metasploit.
Your DNS bug catalyzed the creation of Microsoft Vulnerability Research. But your kindness is what we’ll miss. Rest easy old friend🖤https://t.co/cbeta7uRGe— Katie Moussouris (she/her) is 1/2 vaccinated (@k8em0) April 24, 2021
An obit in The Register cited a statement from Kaminsky’s family that said he died as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis.
ICYMI – IT World Canada
Canada should follow U.S. program to scrutinize ICS in electric utilities: Expert [Full Story]
Ottawa should follow a U.S government program to have electric utilities carry out a so-called 100-day sprint look at and improve the readiness of their industrial control systems to resist cyberattacks, according to an expert in cybersecurity for critical systems.
New Apple iMac and iPad Pros now use the M1 chip [Full Story]
It didn’t take long for Apple to put its M1 chip into its other products. During its product event on April 20, Apple’s M1 system-on-chip (SoC) made its way into the new iMac and iPad Pro.
A ransomware group is trying to squeeze Apple into paying for blueprints of upcoming products it says have been stolen from a Taiwan-based manufacturing company.
ICYMI – IT Business Canada
Amazon announces first renewable energy project in Canada [Full Story]
Amazon has announced its first renewable energy investment in Canada, a solar project in the County of Newell in Alberta.
Douglas Hayward, a research director responsible for IDC’s Worldwide Digital Strategy and Agency Services research stream, joined ITWC President Fawn Annan in April 2021 for an installment of CMO Talks, a podcast series produced by ITWC to address today’s marketing challenges. Hayward shared his thoughts on next moves for customer experience (CX) service providers.
Amazon launches IP Accelerator program in Canada to help SMBs protect their brands [Full Story]
Last week, Amazon announced the launch of its Intellectual Property (IP) Accelerator program in Canada to help small and medium-sized (SMBs) businesses across the country secure a trademark and protect their brands both in Amazon’s stores and the broader marketplace quickly and cost-effectively.
ICYMI – Channel Daily News
Trend Micro unveils additional support for partners selling on AWS [Full Story]
Trend Micro announced updates to its partner program, a move that the cloud security firm says will benefit partners selling through authorized distributors like AWS.
Former CDW Canada and Nest Wealth talent fill out Arctiq’s new executive team [Full Story]
Ever since they turned heads at Red Hat’s North American Partner Conference in 2017 by winning the Canadian Partner of the Year Award and earning the trust of large Canadian enterprise customers along the way, Toronto-based solution provider Arctiq has been on a tear.
Use of TLS to protect malware communications has doubled, says Sophos [Full Story]
A common cryptographic protocol used to protect the majority of website communications and some virtual private networks is increasingly being used by threat actors to protect their attacks, according to a new report.
