Blue Ridge Technology

Microsoft and Samsung team up to boost work phone security If the way your team members access work resources from their smartphones keeps you up at night, we’ve got good news: Microsoft and Samsung are teaming up to give a massive security boost to the smartphones people use at work. But of course there’s a catch: you have to use the right phones. Here’s what you need to know about this smarter way to secure your company’s data and digital assets. The Breakthrough: On-Device Attestation We won’t get too technical here, don’t worry— but the technology breakthrough underlying this change is something called on-device attestation. We’ve talked about passkeys and other advanced authentication methods before, and this is sort of like those, only even more intense. Basically, with on-device attestation, companies can see more deeply into the software and firmware on a phone to identify possible compromises, hacks, or other threats. There are other attestation tools out there, but they all r...

Is that Microsoft email actually a phishing attack? Phishing attacks come from all sorts of places. But where they actually come from isn’t something you need to spend time worrying about: they’re all bad, and unless you’re a security expert yourself, the actual source of the threat isn’t going to change what you do about it. What’s even scarier is where phishing attacks appear to come from . And a recent report shows that the #1 “source” for Q2 2023 is one of the most trusted brands in business. We’ll break down what this threat means and what you can do about it — but let’s start with a quick refresher on phishing in general. What Is Phishing, Again? Phishing attacks are digital attacks that dangle some kind of bait out there, hoping to get you to bite. Usually these take the form of an email (or text message or even social message) that appears to be from a trusted brand or trusted source, like your bank or even your boss. That email alerts you to some kind of problem, usually one ...

Google Calendar has a great update for hybrid workers If you’re using Google Calendar for any part of your business, you’ll want to know about some recent productivity enhancements Google has added to Google Workspace (formerly G Suite, Google’s cloud-based office suite). Even if you don’t — maybe you’re a Microsoft 365 and Outlook Calendar kind of organization — it might be worth taking a look at the ways Google is taking leaps forward in terms of productivity. That’s especially true if you have a remote or hybrid workforce. Let’s dive in — here’s what you need to know. Location Sharing Got an Upgrade Back in 2021, in response to the influx of remote workers brought on by the pandemic, Google introduced workplace location sharing in Google Calendar. It was (and still is) a handy way to let your colleagues know some context about where you’re operating. If you’re in a different time zone or working from home while tending to kids, now there’s a subtle way to inform your coworkers that ...