Cisco has unveiled a cloud-native security platform called SecureX, which is aimed at giving businesses more visibility across security services with analytics and workflow automation.

SecureX fits into Cisco’s existing security products and those from third-party providers, and analyses data across endpoints, cloud, networks and applications to help identify threats.

What’s more, it can respond to these threats more efficiently, according to Cisco. This is one of the first cloud security services to come out ahead of the RSA conference and another big vendor looking to aid customer security with AI.

Last year, Box announced a similar feature with Box Shield that aimed to protect the customers from outside threats and also their own mistakes. SecureX has a similar protocol that takes an automated approach to cloud security.

“Today we are introducing Cisco SecureX – a new way for users to experience Cisco’s Security portfolio,” said Jeff Reed, SVP of product for Cisco’s security business. “Cisco SecureX streamlines our customers operations with increased visibility across their security portfolio and provides out-of-box integrations, powerful security analytics, and automated workflows to speed threat detection and response.

“SecureX is an open, cloud-native platform that connects Cisco’s integrated security portfolio and customers security portfolios for a simpler, more consistent experience across endpoints, cloud, network, and applications.”

The platform offers a full multi-domain orchestration, with AI capabilities through a low-code approach and drag and drop interface. It uses adaptor models to orchestrate the platform, with more than 50 adaptors for security, networking, IoT, cloud and data centres.

The new service will be bundled into every Cisco security product from June when it becomes generally available.

Unlike the competition, SecureX helps customers get more value quicker, according to Reed. He suggests that users can get up and running in minutes, rather than hours, with its simple homepage that just requires API keys.

Oracle is being sued for allegedly inflating cloud revenues and resorting to “systematically coercing and bribing” existing customers into cloud migrations.

This is according to a 164-page complaint filed to a Federal District Court in California by German-based Union Asset Management AG.

It’s the third time that the company has sort to challenge Oracle in US courts having failed to get beyond the first hurdle in 2018 and 2019.

The report names founder Larry Ellison, CEO Safra Catz, former CEO, the late Mark Hurd. and claims that its top executives were “highly motivated to misleadingly inflate Oracle’s Cloud revenues through the use of engineered deals by virtue of the company’s compensation plan”. 

The documents also name Oracle’s former cloud boss, now Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian as a defendant.

In the court filings, it stats that Oracle employed a strategy known as Audit, Bargain, Close that it used to coerce cloud sales. With this Oracle would install its on-premise software in its existing client’s ecosystems with preferences automatically enabled, which, according to the filing, would cause the customer to unknowingly exceed the limits of its license.

“After the customer fell into this trap, Oracle would audit the on-premises customer for violations of its on-premises software license,” the filings said. “When it found violations, Oracle would threaten to impose extremely large penalties. Oracle would then offer to reduce or eliminate those penalties if the customer agreed to accept a short-term cloud subscription that the customer neither desired nor intended to use.”

The documents also quote a 2017 email from Kurain, sent while working at Oracle. In the email, he is critical of the interface for Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud, calling it a “disgrace”.

“I continue to get extraordinary pressure from our two CEOs [Mark Hurd and Safra Catz] and LJE [Larry Ellison] himself that the UI is not tenable… the core product UI is awful. Until you all collectively accept the mess you have made and the need to move quickly we are talking past one another.”

In June 2018 the tech giant changed the way it reported cloud revenues every quarter by only putting forward a combined figure for SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Cloud Pro has approached Oracle for a response. 

We all love free software – the joy of discovering a great new program, the satisfaction of a successful installation – but that doesn’t mean we have to rely on it completely.

Thanks to ever-faster broadband connections and cross-platform web technology such as HTML5, it’s now possible to perform an increasing number of previously PC-based tasks without needing to download and install bloated and slow desktop programs. Not only does this save you time and storage space, but it also means you can avoid bundled junk and potential malware threats. 

In this feature, we look at the latest free web-based alternatives to traditional software that let you do everything in the cloud. From security scanners and office tools to image editors and messaging clients – with our recommendations, you can run everything in your browser from any device and it won’t cost you a penny!

Remove junk and free up space

CCleaner is an excellent if controversial (since it was purchased by Avast) system-cleaning tool, but you don’t need to install and download the program. CCleaner Cloud Free offers the same functionality, but runs in your web browser, which means you can completely avoid the bundled junk that plagues the desktop software.

This cloud service lets you manage and maintain up to three PCs remotely (including systems belonging to friends and family), and it can also clean every user profile on your PC, making it more thorough than the desktop version. Other features include the ability to remove junk files, disable unnecessary startup programs, repair Registry issues and defrag hard drives. 

You need to sign up with CCleaner Cloud and run the 14-day trial but, after that expires (no credit card details are required), you will automatically be switched to the free edition. This means losing some functionality, but it’s nothing to be too bothered about.

Software you no longer need: 

CCleaner, BleachBit

Zip and unzip files

Windows comes with built-in zip support, allowing you to compress files and open archives directly in the operating system without needing to install any software. However, it’s not the most elegant of solutions, which is why most people prefer to install a third-party program such as 7-Zip instead. 

An even smarter option, which doesn’t require installation, is ezyZip. This online compression service can create zip files and open archives in a variety of compressed formats including ZIP, RAR, TAR, TGZ and JAR. Usefully, it can also convert one archive format into another – RAR to ZIP, for example – directly in your browser.

Software you no longer need: 

WinZip, WinRAR

Scan your PC for malware

If you suspect that your PC may have picked up some malware but your existing antivirus solution (assuming you have one installed) isn’t finding anything, you can use an online scanner to provide a second opinion, rather than downloading a second security tool that may cause clashes. 

F-Secure Online Scanner is one of the better options and promises to scan and clean your PC for free. To use it, click the blue ‘Run now’ button and it will save a small file to your desktop. Launch this to open the online scanner and click the ‘Accept and scan’ button. This will set up the scanner so it can begin checking for harmful items.

If you don’t want to download anything at all, you can use Chrome to look for malware on your PC. Type chrome://settings/cleanup in the address bar and press Enter. Click the blue Find button and it will begin to look for potential threats. Chrome displays a spinning circle during the process – you don’t get any idea of the progress – so be patient and it will eventually report back with its findings.

Software you no longer need: 

AVG Free Antivirus,

Avast Free Antivirus

Scan suspicious files for threats

The real-time protection offered by reputable antivirus software ensures you’re protected from most threats at all times but, if you’re careful and don’t visit bad sites, download suspect files, or blindly click on unknown email attachments, you may not need this level of security, especially as Windows 10 has Defender built-in.

Google’s VirusTotal service can help keep you safe by analysing suspicious downloads and potentially malicious websites. It uses more than 70 different antivirus engines including AVG, Bitdefender and Sophos. 

To scan an item from your hard drive, click the ‘Choose file’ button and navigate to it. The file will be uploaded to VirusTotal and scanned by all the engines, with the results displayed in your browser. To check a website, click the URL tab and enter the site address.

Software you no longer need: 

Malwarebytes

For the past six years, the UK Cloud Awards has been celebrating the best and brightest of the cloud industry’s talent, looking at the projects, products and people that keep this fast-moving sector progressing at pace. 

In that time, the event has seen impressive entries from leading cloud vendors and startups alike, including the likes of Red Hat, Oracle NetSuite, Dropbox and more, with an even more expansive list of entrants expected for this year’s ceremony. The man with the unenviable task of overseeing the selection process to determine a shortlist from all these nominations is Jez Back, who returns as head judge for the second year in a row.  

We sat down with Back to get the low-down on everything you need to know about the UK Cloud Awards, as well as his thoughts on the broader cloud industry.

Please could you tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you do?

I like to describe my situation as having three jobs. I am the Managing Director of Erebus Digital; we’re a small, boutique consultancy that focuses on client business outcomes using technology. Erebus Digital offers 3 main strands in its portfolio; Digital Transformation, Technology Cost Optimisation and Digital Design Services.

My second job is as a board director for a Rugby Club where I lead the strategy, marketing and communications teams. Finally, I am the head judge for the UK Cloud Awards! I often remind myself that I have a family as well.

How would you describe the UK Cloud Awards in three words?

Credibility with Integrity.

This is now your second year as head judge – congratulations and welcome back! What made you want to do it all over again?

Getting to see what people are doing in the market, hearing their stories and seeing how positive outcomes occur is something I really enjoy, so it was a bit of a no-brainer to come back.

I also get to work with some of the brightest and best our industry has to offer as my colleagues on the judging panel. I come away knowing a little more every time I have a conversation with any of them – that’s another great reason.

Finally, to work with my colleagues in the Cloud Industry Forum & Dennis Publishing to promote what our country has to offer in the cloud market is a great privilege and one I take really seriously.

You bring a great breadth and depth of experience to the judging panel in your role, what are you most looking forward to about this year’s awards?

The stories that people have to share. I love to see a great story on how positive outcomes for clients are achieved when I read the entries. I love to see old friends in the industry and make new ones at the awards night as I discover what they have been doing, too. Essentially, it’s the people!

This year’s awards have had a bit of a makeover, with new categories and some other tweaks. Can you share details of the key changes and why they’ve been made?

Obviously, there has been a bit of a shift and I think it very much reflects an outlook that I discussed earlier. It is much more about outcomes and less about the products themselves. That’s why we have reduced the number of product categories and have increased the number of project ones, whilst also adding new people awards.

Given those tweaks, what advice would you give to a) those entering for the first time and b) those returning for another year either to maintain their crown or win one of the accolades for the first time?

I would give three main pieces of advice. Firstly, read the entry criteria carefully. Judges want to give the points but often entrants lose them but simply not answering all of the criteria in the entry. Secondly, provide evidence in everything you say for the entry, backed up with client testimonial. That gives your entry more credibility. Finally, don’t sell the product or service to us by adding marketing brochures – sell the product and service through the stories and outcomes in the entry!

When you’re reading through an entry, what are looking for and is there anything that will really pique your interest?

It is always about the tangible outcomes; that’s what I enjoy the most. The stories of positivity that are backed up with testimonials or delighted customers.

What would you say to those thinking about entering but haven’t fully decided to do so as yet?

Do it – celebrate the achievements of you and your teams, and tell the world about the difference you make.

Do you have a category that is particularly close to your heart?

It has to be the People category, seeing what achievements they’ve made and celebrating them is a major reason why I love being Head Judge.

We’re now in 2020 – how do you think the cloud landscape has changed since the beginning of the decade? What are the key trends and challenges that remain front of mind for you?

Wow, this is a big question and one I could talk for hours on. For me, I would summarise the change in two main areas. Firstly, the evolution and maturation of many of the major providers in the cloud market – look at Microsoft’s transformation as a really obvious example. Second, the acceleration of business value that has come from cloud to businesses both big and small.

That means that the key trends and challenges that lie ahead for the industry will be to tackle the question of cloud security once and for all; it truly bothers me that those perceptions still exist. I also see the major providers doing a lot more co-operation and alliances as the service offerings seek to become more powerful. I’m seeing an increased demand for Cost Management and Optimisation for spend in cloud, especially in manging compliance spend in software licencing in Hybrid and Multi-Cloud. There are more, but these are the ones that are forefront in my mind.

Do you have a standout cloud moment from 2019?

Clearly, it has to be being the head judge for last year’s UK Cloud Awards!

What are your top 3 cloud predictions for 2020?

Cost optimisation will become more important, the major providers will do more alliances and partnerships and finally, Service Meshes will become the next battleground.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

If you’ve got a cloud achievement that you want to celebrate, submit your entry today!

Microsoft has unveiled an operations-centric module for its Dynamics 365 suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications, on top of enhanced AI capabilities.

Customers are being promised smarter AI-powered business insights in 2020, with additional technology powering new features such as forecasting in Dynamics 365’s Sales and Finance Insights apps. A preview for these features is expected to be released in May.

This is included in a package of 400 new and updated features set to be rolled out over the course of this year as part of Microsoft’s 2020 release wave 1, which spans features touted to be released from April through September.

The Dynamics 365 Project Operations tool, slated for an October 2020 release, is being launched to support project-oriented teams managing data across different data silos to stitch their systems together.

The application connects cross-functional project teams, with Microsoft claiming that it offers the visibility needed to reduce the barriers to efficient working that currently exist.

“The predictive forecasting capabilities enable the proactive decision-making needed to meet sales goals,” Microsoft’s president for business applications James Phillips said, of the suite’s enhanced AI capabilities.

“Dynamics 365 does this by extracting patterns from customer relationship management (CRM) data, current and historical leads, won or lost opportunities, contacts, accounts, customer interactions such as emails and calls, and more data sources, and then projecting these patterns into the future.”

Updates to Microsoft’s customer data platform, meanwhile, aim to help organisations struggling to give their customers a personalised experience. These struggles are largely attributable to disconnected systems and data silos that can’t join together to give a holistic view of the customer journey across websites, purchases, service calls, and app usage.

The company is introducing first and third-party data connections to enrich customer profiles, that can be updated in real-time. These will be laced with insights from third-party data sources, including demographics and personal interest, in order to generate a rich picture of organisations’ customers.

Microsoft is also expanding the availability of customer insights to government cloud computing environments in order to improve the ‘citizen experience’, meaning public sector customers can better interact with employees and citizens.

The UK is among the most cloud insecure countries in Europe, according to a new survey conducted by Specops Software.

Nonetheless, it is still among the European countries least likely to encounter ransomware attacks and cryptocurrency mining, at 3.82%, making it the 16th most cyber-secure country in Europe – out of the 32 which took part in the study.

Specops’ survey measured European citizens’ cyber security by analysing the percentage of cloud provider attacks on Azure and the monthly percentage of machines that encountered cryptocurrency mining, malware and ransomware attacks to determine who is the most cyber-insecure.

The study found that machines in the Netherlands were most likely to encounter cyber-crimes via the cloud, with 16.28% of Azure accounts in the Netherlands having faced attacks.

Despite being one of the countries least likely to encounter ransomware attacks and cryptocurrency mining, it was still named the most cyber insecure country (17.64%) in Europe, alongside Bulgaria, Belarus, and Ukraine. Specops also revealed that one in ten (10.17%) machines in Belarus encounter malware every month.

On the other side of the spectrum, Ireland, which is famously home to one of  Facebook’s major HQs, was the least likely to experience cyber-crimes – at 1.08%.

Other cyber-secure countries include Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, and Iceland.

Microsoft has also recently conducted separate research into cyber threats in Ireland, revealing that 70% of large Irish firms have experienced problems with phishing, hacking, cyber-fraud, or other cyber-attacks.

Three in four (76%) of senior leaders in large Irish firms worried about digital threats, while only one in four are confident they can respond to any security incident effectively. This proves that, despite Ireland being supposedly the most cyber-secure country in Europe, senior leaders do not feel confident about their level of security.