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Topic 1: The “Big Four” IT buisinesses grilled by Congress.
Will there be any real aftermath to these hearings, or is this all just political showmanship?
CEOs from Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google were grilled by Congress. We discuss what this might mean (or not).
Sample Link:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/07/29/technology/tech-ceos-hearing-testimony
Topic 2: SolarWinds abdicates RMM.
SolarWinds has announced that they’re just going to use the Microsoft tools to manage patch management. Is this simply “opting out” of the RMM game, or a smart move acknowledging that Microsoft does it better.
What does this mean to you as a SolarWinds user? And does it affect you if you use something else? And is there any long-term effect on the industry generally? We discuss.
Link:
https://www.channele2e.com/technology/management/solarwinds-msp-microsoft-365-intune-partnership/
Topic 3: Life after Covid: College Life Expectancy
How will colleges survive in the long term, and how is this affected by the Covid? Scott Galloway had a great blog post – with a great graphic. He looks at how colleges will emerge from this strange time.
Check out the comments as well.
https://www.profgalloway.com/uss-university/
Love the graphic https://api.profgalloway.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/US_Higher_Ed4.png
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Jason Norton, Product Marketing Director with Vipre Advanced Security talks with Brian about Hacker Little Leagues who eventually graduate to the Big Leagues and the threats they present along the way. They are getting faster and smarter by the day with new abilities to be able to penetrate perimeter defenses and weaponize only a few hours after they have safely landed in your inbox.
A great introduction to Vipre Advanced Security and you can learn more or contact Jason directly in our Security Solutions Showcase or by visiting their website.
Topic 1: Tech VC funding down and moving sideways (not up) due to the pandemic.
Funding for new ventures is being affected by the recession and the circumstances surrounding the pandemic. The change in money makes sense, but the response to social distancing is a new factor the venture capitalists haven’t dealt with before.
Related Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tech-startup-funding-declines-as-pandemic-drags-on-11595494800
Topic 2: Embracing Crypto Currency
Bitcoin might not be taking over the world, but some very big financial outfits are building their own crypto currencies. We talk about what’s really going on here (embracing blockchain), and more. Plus, of course, our commentary.
Favorite quote: “Money is nothing but alphanumeric data and it would become alphanumeric data not in paper form, but in a form of arranged electrons and photons,”
Topic 3: Life after Covid: The four Internets. Maybe five.
We’ve talked before about the Splinternet – dividing the Internet between the U.S.-centric and China-centric models. This article proposes two more model: Euro-centric and India-Centric. Each has unique challenges, limitations, and opportunities.
. . . On top of that, consider the emerging Quantum Internet, base on U.S.-centric Quantum computing initiatives.
Related Links: https://stratechery.com/2020/india-jio-and-the-four-internets/
Your feedback is welcome!
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Brian is joined by our new security partner, Travis Ray, Director of Channel Sales with High Wire Networks to discuss scaling your security stack. Future proof your stack and make it scalable for all size clients and requirements. âIn security, speed killsâ states Travis. What is needed for one client to ensure max remediation and response isnât necessarily needed for another. One size never fits all so what does scaling individual customer needs look like and how are these needs best managed?
Another fun show! Please give us your feedback. And share it if you love it!
We start with a couple of major stories and finish with an eye on the future.
Topic 1: EU says their privacy laws are not being enforced appropriately in the U.S.
To make that point, a random group of hackers broke into a series of Twitter accounts. Question one: Are we doing enough to protect data privacy? Question two: Is it possible to get this right?
Can you, as a solution provider, actually do a decent job to protect your clients?
Links:
Topic 2: âEthical Explorer Packâ for developers.
This is a cool offspring from the “Ethical OS” project. Basically, programmers wanna program. They want to create cool programs, games, and so forth. And sometimes they accidentally produce unintended consequences related to ethics and human interaction. In the best of worlds, this might have to do with blind spots. But sometimes the bias is built into the data and the processes themselves.
Basically, this is an attempt to open developer’s view of the world. At a minimum, keeping an eye on ethics is good for everyone.
Link: https://www.wired.com/story/ethics-guide-tech-rewritten-workers/
Topic 3: Thinking about the quote from William Gibson: âThe future is already here; Itâs just not widely distributed.â
As we look at all the “Covid” related changes, there’s lots of speculation about how much of the change will stay. We start with the question, how much of the change weâre seeing is not new at all? A great example is Zoom. Many of us have been using Zoom and similar tools for more than a decade. What’s “new” to one group is not new to everyone.
Some of this is just cutting edge technology thatâs just in the right place at the right time. Some is established technology that has just been waiting for an opportunity to shine. But perhaps most of it is very well established technology that has been proven in niches and is suddenly visible to a wider audience.
We touch a bit on all of our favorite topics: RMM, remote tech support, food delivery apps, AI, etc.
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That’s it for this week. Please give us a like, thumbs up, or whatever other goodness you can.
Comments and questions welcome.
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Brian talks with IT Channel veteran and consultant Mike Semel, President of Semel Consulting about compliance during Covid and the requirement to be managing data sprawl more than ever. There has been no change in the rules and compliance requirements are the same now as they were pre-Covid.
Mike provides some really good insights and things you need to be looking at to protect yourself and your business as they breakdown a recent lawsuit launched in Ohio against an MSP as a result of a Business Email Compromise attack.
One thing we know for sure is the bad guys wonât ever stop and are constantly adjusting their approach and attack vectors. This makes it critical for IT Service Providers to always be on high alert and ready to adjust and evolve their security stack and protocols.
Head Security Nerd at Solarwinds MSP, Gill Langston joins Brian to talk innovation in the Cybersecurity realm and provides some clarity on evolving your stack from both a technical standpoint as well as communicating effectively with your customers so these transitions arenât met with resistance.
Topic 1: AI – Take One: Fighting Covid on mass transit
In Barcelona’s subway system, AI is helping regulate airflows to fight the spread of Covid. Of course, that has implications for other diseases and other mass transit. We discuss what this means for you.
Links:
https://www.erinbromage.com/post/flying-in-the-age-of-covid-19?postId=5ebbf881fa49b100172cdf76
Topic 2: AI – Take Two: Creating Fake Journalists to Write Fake Editorials
This is the kind of weirdness most of us weren’t expecting from Artificial Intelligence. Now, on top of fake picture, fake profiles, and even fake videos, we now have entirely made-up background stories and profiles, with all the details.
This affects many things, including, potentially, your client’s reputation management. And, of course, the possibilities for phishing and related attacks is almost unbelievable.
Links:
https://thispersondoesnotexist.com/
Topic 3: Life after the Pandemic . . . Social Media Responsibility
Once again, we look into the self regulation of social media. In the new again . . . Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and more.
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Topic 1: Regulations are real in Louisiana.
Now moving to a city and state near you.
Also, check out the new page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3011459202301532 (MSP Regulation and Legislation).
Topic 2:Face-changing technology . . . with a nod to what this means for facial recognition.
And maybe a quick discussion of Pandoraâs box. Can we keep the genie in the bottle?
Related Link: https://gizmodo.com/disneys-developed-movie-quality-face-swapping-technolog-1844202003
Topic 3: Life after the Pandemic . . . Revisit Social Media trying to figure out if (how much) they should limit content ?
Of course we have opinions!
One thing we know for sure is that Covid-19 is driving massive change. Technological change that may have been hesitant to shift, however is now a necessity for businesses to survive. The common response we are hearing from business owners is that remote work forces will continue to be the norm long after we are through the current pandemic.
Brian talks with Secure Now CEO, Art Gross about the shift to a type of hybrid remote work force and the implications this brings to cybersecurity. The re-structured work force model opens the door for discussions that may have been previously procrastinated by the SMB but are now front and center. What this means for MSP models and the importance, more than ever for robust cybersecurity training for employees.
