Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada reporter Pragya Sehgal, with files from the rest of the editorial team!
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What’s new this week
Interac to acquire exclusive rights to SecureKey’s digital ID services for Canada
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Interac has announced it has entered into a strategic transaction to acquire the exclusive rights to SecureKey Technologies’ Canadian digital ID business contracts and an exclusive Canadian license of its digital ID intellectual property. This transaction follows the acquisition of Canadian digital identity and cybersecurity firm 2Keys by Interac in 2019.
The transaction includes Verified.Me, a digital ID verification network built on distributed ledger technology, and Government Sign-In by Verified.Me (formerly known as SecureKey Concierge), a sign-in tool for accessing over 280 government services in Canada.
Using SecureKey operations and technology, Interac says it will focus on building secure digital ID and authentication services to drive Canada’s digital economy and enable priority initiatives in the country such as open banking and payments modernization.
Square launches another financial offering for Canadian small businesses
California-based financial services and digital payments firm Square last week announced the launch of Square Card in Canada to help small businesses manage their cash flow.
- Square Card is a business expense card that gives sellers instant access to the money they have processed through Square at no extra charge.
- As soon as a business makes a sale, the funds become available within their Square Balance and can be spent instantly with their Square Card.
- For those who prefer to use an external bank account, Square now also offers small businesses the option to make real-time transfers of their funds with Instant transfers by linking their debit card to their Square account.
This is the second product Square has launched for Canadian SMBs in the past month The first was Square Register, an all-in-one payment and point of sale (POS) device for medium to large businesses.
Related:
Scotiabank selects Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider for data and analytics
Scotiabank last week announced it will move customer data onto Google Cloud, using its advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to develop predictive offers, improve customer interactions and remove data silos across its global network.
By using Google Cloud’s machine learning models, Scotiabank will be able to reduce the time spent predicting customer offers from 14 days to just hours. Through this partnership, the financial institution will also be able to provide its engineers and data scientists with Google AI solutions such as natural language processing, voice, and vision capabilities to automate document processes and onboarding of customers.
Telus launches reconciliation commitment
Telus has announced the launch of its Reconciliation Commitment in partnership with, and in support of, Indigenous Peoples across Canada.
In formalizing its commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples today, Telus noted it is taking responsibility for constructive, measurable actions throughout the organization and its culture in support of Reconciliation. The telecommunications company says it will be spending 2021 engaging with Indigenous leaders, Elders, and communities in the areas it serves, which will inform the development and implementation of its first Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan (IRAP) later this year.
deepwatch launches managed detection and response solution to help mid-sized businesses defend against cyberthreats
U.S.-based advanced managed detection and response (MDR) security firm deepwatch last week announced the launch of an MDR solution to help medium enterprises detect threats and defend against them.
Called MDR Essentials, the solution uses Splunk Cloud Platform to allow organizations to deploy an automated security operations centre (SOC) in less than one hour that integrates with the existing environment without requiring additional hardware or consulting. The solution ingests data from Microsoft technologies as well as the majority of other technologies used by medium-sized businesses to enable immediate detection and response coverage, the company noted. The solution will be available on AWS Marketplace and through deepwatch’s broad network of reseller partners.
More to explore
Many Canadian firms knuckle under to ransomware demands, survey suggests
Many Canadian organizations hit by ransomware feel they have no choice but to pay to either get stolen data back or to get their data decrypted, a new survey suggests.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp offline around much of the world
There was immediate speculation online that the outage was somehow related to news in the past 24 hours of a whistleblower alleging on 60 Minutes that Facebook’s own research shows that it amplifies hate, misinformation, and political unrest to maximize profits over the good of the public.
Fintech firm Stripe is on a hiring spree to fill its first Canadian office in Toronto
San Francisco-based financial technology firm Stripe has announced it will soon open its first Canadian office in downtown Toronto, Ontario, and is hiring for roles in engineering, product development, and sales.
Twitter looks to the future with new features
Twitter has announced several experimental features to make the platform more friendly for all.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these news tidbits.
ICYMI: Analytics Unleashed 2021 event roundup – businesses must have data analytics on the frontline
ITWC’s newest event, Analytics Unleashed, focused on the importance of predictive analytics in helping organizations around the world unleash the real potential of data analytics.
Are you eligible to apply to Intuit’s new corporate VC program?
Intuit announced last week the launch of Intuit Ventures, a new venture capital (VC) program for businesses aimed to speed up innovation for growing tech startups and fintech companies.
ITWC Podcasts
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
Apple rakes in the big bucks from their games, Google Pay drops a highly anticipated feature, and New Zealand could enter the Crypto Game.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
This podcast reports on an upcoming meeting of nations to combat cyberattacks, why using multifactor authentication and password recovering the right way is vital and more.
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Tendances (Hosted by Direction Informatique)