Wireless mice and keyboards could allow attackers to take over user devices. Meanwhile, lawmakers are pushing for the creation of an encryption commission. To hear more, just click play!

IT Rewind Featured Stories:

Did our short segment leave you wanting more? Check out the original articles of stories we covered!





InfoWorld, @infoworld, Grant Gross, @GrantGross





eWeek, @eWEEKNews, Robert Lemos





Continuum's Must-Read Blog Post This Week

Have you opened any invoice attachments lately? Now, there's a new ransomware called Locky that's joined the ranks of viruses like CryptoLocker and CryptoWall. This latest malware threat was detected just last week and already, IT service providers and MSPs have discovered that it's spread at an alarming rate, employing sophisticated social engineering tactics and bypassing antivirus (AV), spam filtering and web filtering solutions. According to Dark Reading, Kevin Beaumont, one of the first security researchers to unearth Locky, revealed he had seen "around 4,000 new infections per hour, or roughly 100,000 per day."

How does Locky work? What does it reveal about the state of ransomware and next generation cyber threats? What do you need to know to protect clients? Answers to all this and more!

Keep reading »

What Else Is New in the IT Channel?

Now that you've seen our top picks for this week, here are some more stories that made the headlines. Have a suggestion for a story that we should cover next week? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting @FollowContinuum or @BenDBarker!





Rapidly rising ransomware:

Ransomware Rising

Network World, @NetworkWorld, Jason Armerding





Apple's impenitrable iPhone:

Apple Wants to Make It Impossible for the Company to Comply With Law Enforcement's Demands for Data

Business Insider, @businessinsider, Rob Price, @robaeprice





Speed up Windows 10:

3 Ways to Speed up Windows 10 Without Buying New Hardware

PCWorld, @pcworld, Lincoln Spector, @LincolnSpector



Transcription

Hey everyone welcome back for another edition of IT Rewind. Today is our 67th episode and it’s an extra special episode for a couple of reasons. First of all, 67 is the same number as former Miami Dolphin offensive lineman and member of the 17-0 Super Bowl team, Bob Kuechenberg. But more importantly, this marks the very first IT Rewind episode in our new Boston studio! Looks the same? Surprised? Let’s do this thing!

Lawmakers are pushing for the creation of an encryption commission that would be responsible for recommending resolutions to debates over government access to encrypted communications. Currently, Apple and the FBI are in court fighting over access to a terrorist suspect’s iPhone. The proposed commission would include law enforcement leaders, the tech industry, and private groups. According to Representative Michael McCaul from Texas, passing “knee-jerk” legislation won’t solve the over arching problem. McCaul said quote – given the complexities of this issue, there’s no legislative, knee-jerk response that will solve this problem. This is an urgent issue, and I believe a commission is the best vehicle – end quote. The development of a commission would give all sides a chance to look at the issue and seek alternative resolutions.

Do you use a wireless mouse or keyboard? I have mine right here. I love this thing. However, according to Bastille, a communications-security firm, these wireless devices are allowing attackers to send commands to user systems. This type of attack is being called “MouseJacking” and it exploits the weak security of the custom communications protocols that many wireless mice and keyboards use. Among the notable vendors that could be affected are Logitech, Microsoft and Dell. Basically, attacks can send mouse click and key strikes to targeted systems from more than 100 meters away. Chris Rouland, founder and CTO of Bastille said quote – “It really only takes a $15 dongle and about 15 lines of Python code and you can get complete control of the target system.” -End quote. It’s worth noting that the attack only affects peripherals that do not sue the Bluetooth standard to communicate between devices.

That’s all the time that we have for this week’s episode of IT Rewind, but before we go, I want to mention this week’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. On Thursday, Continuum invited guests to the new office space at 99 High Street in Boston to celebrate and give tours. Jay Ash, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts even showed up and helped Continuum’s CEO, Michael George cut the ribbon.

As always, you can always find us on Twitter, Instagram and Vine at FollowContinuum. We’re also on Facebook, LinkedIn, Spiceworks, YouTube and Periscope.

Take it easy.

How do you know if you're choosing the right vendor for your MSP business?