Providing IT support and solution to small and medium businesses. Servicing Edinburgh, Livingston, Fife and surrounding areas. Responsive, Flexible, Professional and friendly local support.
Key dates When do the changes come into force? 24th April 2023When were the changes released? 23rd January 2023 What are the changes? On 23rd January 2023, the NCSC published an updated set of requirements, version3.1 for the Cyber Essentials scheme. These changes called the ‘Montpellier question set’, come into force on 24th April 2023and…
Read more
On the 1st of April 2023, 3CX broke the news that their latest release had been impacted by a supply chain attack. Their latest release had a malicious payload installed into it. This had been in turn pushed out to all 3CX customers that used the Desktop version of 3CX. In most cases, corporate Antivirus…
Read more
In today’s digital age, the security risks businesses face are ever-evolving. One of the most commonly overlooked areas of risk is the listing of employees on the company website. While it may seem innocuous to include staff bios and contact information on your website, it can expose your organization to social engineering attacks, which can…
Read more
With deepfake images recently making the news by fooling many people, we look at the issues around fake images and how to spot them. Recent Examples The emergence of AI has led to an increasing output of highly convincing fake images/manipulated images/deepfake images (and deepfake videos). Motivations for making these images vary, e.g. entertainment (fun…
Read more
In the news What Mear Technology have done for our clients 30/03/23 am Identified all machines we manage with 3CX Desktop app 18.12.407 & 18.12.416. 30/03/23 am Removed the affected version of 3CX desktop app on all clients and installed Web App (PWA) version. Sent a secure message directly to affect staff with instructions on…
Read more
A recent US research paper entitled “Opted Out, Yet Tracked: Are Regulations Enough to Protect Your Privacy?” highlights how, in many cases, user data is still being collected, processed, and shared, even when users opt out through a Consent Management Platform (CMP). The Issue The research was based around developing a framework to measure how well Consent…
Read more
Meta has announced it’s launching its own version of Twitter’s Blue Tick called ‘Meta Verified’ for Facebook and Instagram where users pay a monthly subscription to be verified on the platforms. Announcement On February 19, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that Meta is starting the rollout of its new ‘Meta Verified’ subscription service for Facebook…
Read more
In April 2023, the UK government’s Cyber Essentials program will update its technical requirements to help small businesses protect against common cyber threats. The update is part of a regular review of the scheme’s technical controls and follows a major update last year. The 2023 update will be a lighter touch, providing a number of…
Read more
Blockchain data platform Chainanalysis has reported that cybercriminals have seen a 40 per cent fall in their earnings as more people have refused to pay the ransom following ransomware attacks. More Strains With Shorter Lifespans However, the number of unique ransomware strains being used in attacks increased dramatically in 2022 (Fortinet). Also, Chainanalysis reports that…
Read more
Consumer champion Which? says that high-end smart products may lose features and functionality, or become a hacking risk, after as little as two years because manufacturers may stop tech updates. Stopping The Smart Updates Limits Lifespan Which? says it discovered the risk after analysing smart appliances in six key household product areas – washing machines,…
Read more
