IT Hour | 16.Sept.2022 DattoCon Takeaways and MSP Discussion

[alexaemerson]

Community Update

•  New JC Report - Users to SSO Applications (Thanks, Derek)
•  Nilesh has a question about giving admin access to end users in order to push updates, and I think a few of y’all could help with an answer, so please go and check that one out.
• Engel is asking about custom profiles in Netskope…while I’m asking internally, if any of you have done this, hop on over to give your take if you don’t mind.
• Link to community: https://bit.ly/jcitcmty 
• Link to slack lounge: https://bit.ly/3BBKow4

Meetup Update

• Shoutout to the DC group for a successful first in-person meetup - 10 attendees!
• Kickoff meetup being planned for the Tel Aviv group - excited to continue expanding in EMEA
•  Link to meetups: https://bit.ly/jcmeetup 

Product Releases

• JumpCloud for MSPs: https://jumpcloud.com/press/newly-released-jumpcloud-for-msps-empowers-managed-service-providers-to-... 
• Password Manager: https://jumpcloud.com/press/jumpcloud-password-manager-makes-secure-access-easier 

IT News

Apple Releases First Public Beta of iOS 16.1 (macrumors)
On Thursday, Apple seeded the first beta of an upcoming iOS 16.1 update to public beta testers, opening up the beta testing process to the general public. This beta comes one day after Apple provided the beta to developers.

Apple says that iOS 16.1 will introduce Live Activities, an interactive notification feature designed to let you keep an eye on things happening in real time;... a Clean Energy Charging feature in the United States that causes the iPhone to selectively charge at times when lower carbon emission electricity is available;...and other new features:  a deletable Wallet app, changes to the Lock Screen customizing interface, and more. Apple has also seeded a new public beta of iPadOS 16.1.

Apple Releases iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7 With Security Updates (macrumors)
Alongside iOS 16, Apple has released new versions of iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7. The iOS 15.7 update is aimed at those who are not able to upgrade to ‌iOS 16‌, while iPadOS 15.7 is available while we wait for the launch of iPadOS 16 in October.

The software updates can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

The iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7 updates address multiple kernel vulnerabilities in addition to fixing security issues with Contacts, Maps, Safari, Safari Extensions, Shortcuts, and WebKit.

Apple says that one of the kernel vulnerabilities was actively exploited, so those who cannot update to ‌iOS 16‌ should install iOS 15.7 as soon as possible, and iPad owners should update to iOS 15.7.

Adobe's $20B Figma acquisition highlights web-based collaboration trends (computer world)
Adobe announced today that it would pay $20 billion in cash and stock to acquire Figma, a web-based collaborative design platform. Figma will be folded into the larger Adobe family of products, and will continue to operate independently until the deal closes.

The $20 billion figure is a substantial step up in valuation for Figma, which was valued at $10 billion in its last funding round in 2021. The company was founded in 2012, and Adobe said that it has since developed a dedicated following among developers. Figma offers a rich range of collaboration options for joint software development, as well as the popular FigJam collaborative whiteboarding environment.

Google’s failure to quash EU antitrust ruling has broad implications for tech companies (computer world)
The EU General Court's decision Wednesday to largely uphold the ruling of the European Commission that fined Google €4 billion (US$3.9 billion) for antitrust violations could have wide-ranging implications for other tech companies.

The case dates back to 2018, when the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, issued a ruling that Google used its Android mobile operating system to undermine competitors.

The ruling dealt with three types of agreements that involved Google’s mobile application distribution agreements (MADAs), antifragmentation agreements (AFAs), and revenue sharing agreements (RSAs). [read the rest on the computer world site]

US border forces are seizing Americans' phone data and storing it for 15 years (engadget via hacker news)
If a traveler's phone, tablet or computer ever gets searched at an airport, American border authorities could add data from their device to a massive database that can be accessed by thousands of government officials. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leaders have admitted to lawmakers in a briefing that its officials are adding information to a database from as many as 10,000 devices every year, The Washington Post reports. 

Further, 2,700 CBP officers can access the database without a warrant and without having to record the purpose of their search. These details were revealed in a letter Senator Ron Wyden wrote to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, where the lawmaker also said that CBP keeps any information it takes from people's devices for 15 years. 

Microsoft Teams has been storing authentication tokens in plaintext (engadget)
Microsoft Teams stores authentication tokens in unencrypted plaintext mode, allowing attackers to potentially control communications within an organization, according to the security firm Vectra. The flaw affects the desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux built using Microsoft's Electron framework. Microsoft is aware of the issue but said it has no plans for a fix anytime soon, since an exploit would also require network access.

According to Vectra, a hacker with local or remote system access could steal the credentials for any Teams user currently online, then impersonate them even when they're offline. They could also pretend to be the user through apps associated with Teams, like Skype or Outlook, while bypassing the multifactor authentication (MFA) usually required. 

6 Million People Tried to Track the Plane Carrying the Queen's Coffin the Minute It Came Online (gizmodo)

Even in death, Queen Elizabeth II is still making headlines and commanding attention. According to online flight tracker Flightradar24, more than five million people tracked the Royal Air Force plane carrying the late Queen’s coffin, making it the most tracked flight in the site’s history.

On Wednesday of this week, the late Queen’s coffin was flown from Edinburgh, Scotland to RAF Northolt near London on a flight that lasted one hour and 12 minutes. Within the first minute of the plane’s transponder activating, six million people attempted to track the flight carrying the late Queen, Flightradar explained in a blog post. This influx of traffic put “unprecedented strain,” on Flightradar24’s platform, and it buckled.

In the end, about five million people—4.79 million on Flightradar24’s website and app, as well as 296,000 via livestream on its YouTube channel—were able to follow Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight, which used the call sign “Kittyhawk.” This was the name used for any flight that carried Queen Elizabeth II onboard, the BBC reported.

[JC-ChrisTate]

I really enjoyed taking part in this session