Latest news with #MicrosoftOffice365
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Govt to roll out free laptops for college students by Oct
Chennai: Tamil Nadu will roll out the first batch of free laptops to college students by October, with three global companies Dell, HP, and Acer competing in the tender. While sources said one of these three firms quoted the lowest price of 23,000 per laptop, officials maintained the bidder will be known only after work orders are issued. K P Karthikeyan, managing director, ELCOT, said the bidding is in its final stages and the govt will likely roll out the distribution of laptops by Oct. "We will announce the lowest bidder soon once the work orders are issued," he said. The govt will distribute 10 lakh laptops in the first phase, and another 10 lakh later. The contractor will also have to set up district-wise maintenance centres and a web portal for students to raise grievances. The spare parts have to be shipped within a few days, and the status of complaints must be live on the portal. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Gold Rates Today in Chennai | Silver Rates Today in Chennai The companies distributing the laptops will supply processors equal to or above Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen, with a minimum RAM of eight gigabytes. The laptops shall be 14 inches or 15.6 inches, and they must have at least one USB C-type port for fast file transfers. These laptops are more modern than the ones provided in the past, which came with dual-core processors and a 2GB RAM, unlike the ones now, which come with four-core processors with 8GB RAM, which can help students stream 4K videos and edit videos. The students will also get a free one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Mid East Info
09-08-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Attackers Abusing Proofpoint and Intermedia Link Wrapping to Deliver Phishing Payloads: Cloudflare
DUBAI, UAE, August, 2025: From June 2025 through July 2025, the Cloudflare Email Security team has been tracking a cluster of cybercriminal threat activity leveraging Proofpoint and Intermedia link wrapping to mask phishing payloads, exploiting human trust and detection delays to bypass defenses. Link wrapping is designed by vendors like Proofpoint to protect users by routing all clicked URLs through a scanning service, allowing them to block known malicious destinations at the moment of click. For example, an email link to might become While this is effective against known threats, attacks can still succeed if the wrapped link hasn't been flagged by the scanner at click time. Recent campaigns observed by the Cloudflare Email Security team reveal how attackers are abusing Proofpoint's and Intermedia's link wrapping features to bypass detection and redirect victims to a variety of Microsoft Office 365 phishing pages. This technique is particularly dangerous as victims are much more likely to click on a 'trusted' Proofpoint or Intermedia URL than an unwrapped phishing link. Impact: By cloaking malicious destinations with legitimate urldefense[.]proofpoint[.]com and url[.]emailprotection URLs, these phishing campaigns' abuse of trusted link wrapping services significantly increases the likelihood of a successful attack. Attackers exploit the inherent trust users place in these security tools, which can lead to higher click-through rates and a greater probability of impacts such as: Direct financial loss: By making fraudulent links appear legitimate, attackers lower user suspicion at the critical moment of click-time, making direct financial loss more likely. In 2024, email was the method of contact for 25% of fraud reports. Of these, 11% resulted in financial loss, amounting to an aggregate loss of $502 million and a median loss of $600 per incident. Compromise of personal accounts leading to identity theft: Link wrapping could serve as a highly reliable method for harvesting personal data. Phishing campaigns are a primary method for attackers to obtain personal information, contributing to 1.1 million identity theft reports in 2024, with credit card fraud and government benefits fraud being top categories. Significant time burden for victims: Victims of identity theft, often initiated through phishing, face substantial time burdens, with tax-related cases averaging over 22 months (676 days) for resolution in Fiscal Year 2024. Phishing as leading breach method: Comcast research shows 67% of all breaches start with someone clicking on a seemingly safe link. Credential theft via phishing: The 300% spike in credential theft incidents observed by Picus Security in 2024 can be fueled by more effective phishing techniques like link wrapping. Mitigation and detection: Because this campaign abuses the trusted domains of security providers, conventional reputation-based URL filtering is ineffective. The following detections were written by Cloudflare Email Security to protect against phishing campaigns leveraging the link wrapping techniques described. They leverage a variety of signals based on historical campaign data, and incorporate machine learning models trained on messages containing link wrapping URLs. 'Threat actors are constantly evolving their tactics to exploit even the most trusted layers of email security. What we're seeing with the abuse of link wrapping is a stark reminder that attackers are not just targeting users — they're manipulating the very systems meant to protect them. At Cloudflare, our mission is to stay ahead of these threats with proactive, AI-powered detection and comprehensive visibility across the email attack surface. We're committed to helping organizations in the Middle East and globally close these blind spots and build a more secure digital environment,' concludes Bashar Bashaireh, AVP Middle East, Türkiye & North Africa at Cloudflare.
Euronews
04-08-2025
- Business
- Euronews
ChatGPT use by companies fell for first time since 2022, report says
Businesses are less likely to use ChatGPT today than they were six months ago – the first time the chatbot's usage has fallen since it launched in November 2022, a new analysis has found. The report from US software company Netskope found that 78 per cent of organisations used the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot from OpenAI recently, down from 80 per cent in February 2025. It was the only AI platform to see a decline in that period. To come up with these numbers, Netskope analysed data on AI usage among its 3,500 customers from an anonymous, internal database that tracks how often their customers use 317 AI apps and chatbots. Organisations are instead giving preference to competitors like Google's Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, Netskope said, because those AI chatbots are already integrated with their office workflows, for example Microsoft Office 365 or Github. Still, ChatGPT is used more often than Gemini and Copilot overall, with 55 per cent and 37 per cent of companies using those platforms, respectively. The report also found that 90 per cent of businesses are asking their employees to use access AI tools directly like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot in 2025. Other popular AIs that businesses are adopting are Anthropic's Claude, Perplexity AI, spellcheck AI Grammarly, and Gamma AI, which works with Powerpoint presentations. Despite the major adoption by businesses, there are still some risks that they should be aware of with the platforms, the report said. The biggest risk is data protection, given users could expose sensitive data or intellectual property when they send prompts and upload information to AI chatbots. Companies that use generative AI in the workplace often turn to chatbots to summarise or generate new texts based on documents, large data sets, or source code – all things that could contain sensitive data, the report found. The number of prompts that AI bots receive has also risen 30-fold in 2025, the report found. On average, companies send AI chatbots approximately 7.7 gigabytes of data per month, up from just 250 megabytes per month in 2024. This trend is expected to continue into the back half of the year. 'The rapid increase in data volume sent to genAI apps significantly increases the data security risk,' the report said, noting it includes more potential for sensitive information to be shared, exposed, or mishandled by the apps.
Forbes
02-08-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft Quietly Confirms It's Killing Off A Version Of Windows 11
In the flurry of updates to Windows 11, and Microsoft's exhortations to upgrade your Windows 10 software, another operating system may have flown under your radar. Windows 11 SE is being phased out in the coming months. Here's what it means and what you should do. Windows 11 SE is a version of Windows designed for education, working 'on web-first devices that use essential education apps, and it comes with Microsoft Office 365 preinstalled,' as Microsoft describes it in a support document. That document has been updated, as spotted by Dr Windows, and now Microsoft has warned that Windows 11 SE is drawing to a close. 'Support for Windows 11 SE will end in October 2026: Microsoft will not release a feature update after Windows 11 SE, version 24H2. Support for Windows 11 SE—including software updates, technical assistance, and security fixes—will end in October 2026. While your device will continue to work, we recommend transitioning to a device that supports another edition of Windows 11 to ensure continued support and security,' the support page reads. The software was first released in 2021 and was designed to be affordable to compete with Google Chromebooks, to persuade schools, for instance, not to switch to Chrome OS. There was one piece of Microsoft hardware to go with the software, the Surface Laptop SE, which sold for $249 in 2021, as The Verge reports. Other manufacturers also made laptops for this software. The current version, 24H2, will not be updated to 25H2, the upcoming version that will work on other Windows 11 machines. There have been reports that sales of Chromebooks have been on the decline, so Microsoft maybe thought this was the time to focus on people upgrading to Windows 11 instead. If you have a Windows 11 SE device, you have plenty of time to change to one that runs Windows 11 — Surface Laptop SE, for instance, does not run the full version of Windows 11. As Microsoft says, your machine will keep on working after the cut-off date of October next year, but it will lack security updates as well as feature improvements.
Techday NZ
15-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Trustwave unveils phishing protection service for Microsoft users
Trustwave has announced the launch of Managed Phishing for Microsoft, a service designed to enhance phishing defences for organisations using Microsoft Office 365 and Defender for Office. Phishing continues to be the most reported type of cybercrime globally. Attackers are leveraging increasingly advanced, AI-powered tactics to bypass the default email security measures provided by major platforms. In response, Trustwave has developed a managed cybersecurity solution aimed at delivering continuous protection and user awareness for businesses. The new service works alongside Microsoft's built-in defences, providing additional layers of risk reduction and email security management. Features and integration The Managed Phishing for Microsoft service includes several features intended to reduce exposure to sophisticated phishing campaigns. Among these are end-to-end technology management, multi-layered detection systems, regular simulated phishing exercises, and around-the-clock threat response. Trustwave describes its technology management capabilities as providing complete setup and administration of phishing-related policies and rules. This minimises the management burden for internal IT teams, allowing them to focus on other priorities. The detection aspect utilises AI-driven engines, supported by Trustwave SpiderLabs threat research. According to Trustwave, these capabilities reduce exposure to threats by over 99 per cent. The company also offers regular phishing simulations to strengthen employee vigilance, tailored to each organisation's unique environment. Additionally, the service provides 24/7 analysis, investigation, and response to suspected phishing emails, including those that advance beyond Microsoft's inbuilt protections. Continuous reporting is also supplied, with intelligence on user behaviour and attack trends. Trustwave's cybersecurity specialists offer actionable recommendations to help clients adapt to evolving threats. The service is designed for seamless integration with existing Microsoft environments, with a focus on unlocking further value from Microsoft E5 investments by providing proactive protection and threat intelligence. Industry perspective Phishing attacks are growing both in volume and sophistication, putting tremendous pressure on organisations to protect their users. Our Managed Phishing for Microsoft service empowers organisations to maximise their Microsoft security investments while closing critical gaps with advanced detection, rapid response, and ongoing user education. This comment was made by Jesse Emerson, Senior Vice President of Product Management & Solutions Engineering at Trustwave, on the launch of the new service. Data from law enforcement and cybersecurity firms suggest that phishing remains a persistent challenge for enterprises and public sector entities globally. Attackers are increasingly using automation and personalisation, aiming to deceive end-users and overcome conventional security controls. Threat landscape Trustwave's SpiderLabs threat research team continues to track rapid changes in the tactics employed by phishing operators. Many phishing campaigns now employ AI tools to increase success rates and evade legacy email filters or basic security rules. The company states that its Managed Phishing for Microsoft service is intended to address gaps that exist in native email security product deployments. It seeks to offer a more comprehensive solution through a combination of technology, security expertise, and employee awareness. Regular phishing simulations delivered as part of the service are tailored to an organisation's specific business environment, aiming to create ongoing awareness and a stronger culture of vigilance among employees. Ongoing analysis Organisations that subscribe to the service receive ongoing analysis of user behaviour and the latest attack trends. This, Trustwave says, enables clients to adapt to the changing threat landscape and further reduce their cyber risk exposure. By expanding on the native functionality of Microsoft Office 365 and Defender for Office, the Managed Phishing for Microsoft service is intended to help organisations improve their incident response capabilities and lower the likelihood of successful phishing incidents.
