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    11Jul, 2022
    Tech News – Swiss ‘Water Battery’ Now Online After 14 Years

    Swiss ‘Water Battery’ Now Online After 14 Years

    A “water battery” hidden deep in the Swiss Alps is finally ready to begin storing 400,000 electric vehicles’ worth of energy. 

    The facility, also known as a pumped storage power plant, is a form of hydroelectric energy storage. This one will both generate and store energy for power grids throughout Switzerland. Integral to its design are two large pools of water, which sit at different heights. Pumping water from the lower pool up into the higher pool “charges” the facility’s battery. Reversing the water’s passage rotates a turbine that generates hydroelectric power when energy is in short supply. 

    Switzerland has been working on the water battery since at least 2008, when it was decided that the facility would be built between two reservoirs in the Canton of Valais. To bring materials to the battery’s site, however, engineers had to dig tunnels totaling 18 kilometers through the Swiss Alps. The team also had the height of the Vieux Emission dam increased by 20 meters between 2012 and 2016, allowing the reservoirs to store more water and, as a result, generate even more energy. 

    A pumped water storage plant (AKA “water battery”) in Kyiv. (Photo: uhe.gov.ua/Wikimedia Commons)

    Fourteen years and €2 billion later, Switzerland’s massive water battery is finally operational. The completed facility has a storage capacity of 20 million kilowatt hours. Its six turbines can generate up to 900 MW of power. This means that at its peak, the water battery can power up to 900,000 homes at once—all from 600 meters underground.

    The concept of using a pumped storage power plant to both generate and store energy isn’t new, even to Switzerland. A similar facility also exists in the Alps, near the tiny town of Linthal. This facility has four GE-made turbines that, when running simultaneously, can power up to one million homes. But as desperation for renewable energy grows, Switzerland and its neighbors need all the help they can get. Switzerland’s newest addition to the power grid will help safeguard the country (as well as other parts of Europe) against power shortages and help supplement wind power, another one of Switzerland’s domestic sources of renewable energy.

    Recourse: https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/337739-swiss-water-battery-now -online-after-14-years

    9Jul, 2022
    Information Technology – Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022

    Your quick guide to the technologies that will drive digital business and innovation over the next three to five years

    Today’s CEOs want three things: growth, digitalization and efficiency.

    As an IT leader, the responsibility for supporting the technical end of digital business rests squarely on your shoulders. You have an opportunity to deliver force-multiplying innovations to accelerate growth and strategically drive your organization forward.

    The Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022 are selected to help you to meet your CEO’s priorities to scale, adapt and grow. These innovations will deliver:

    • Trusted digital connections for your people and devices everywhere
    • Solutions to rapidly scale digital creativity anywhere
    • Innovative capabilities to accelerate business growth beyond today

    Recourse : https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/insights/top- technology-trends/top-technology-trends-ebook

    9Jul, 2022
    Internet of Things (IoT) – Why Industry 4.0 must think more like Apple

    Why Industry 4.0 must think more like Apple

    Perhaps industries making use of connected solutions should take a leaf out of Apple’s book and lock down a little more.

    For industrial applications, the Internet of Things risks becoming the Internet of Thieves. Perhaps industries making use of connected solutions should take a leaf out the Apple book and lock down their infrastructure.

    What the ethical hackers say

    As digital processes become deeply embedded across every industry, it makes sense that industrial control systems were tested at this year’s Pwn2Own contest. Hackers were asked to seek out vulnerabilities in industrial software and systems.

    Contest winners Daan Keuper and Thijs Alkemade found that once they managed to break into the IT networks used at these companies, it was “relatively easy” to then cause havoc with systems and equipment.

    In part, this is because at this stage of the transformation, much of the equipment used in manufacturing wasn’t originally designed to be connected to the internet or has weak or outdated security.

    IT understands this, of course, which is why industrial IoT deployments tend to secure the IT networks they use, but this also means that if those networks are penetrated, much of the deployed equipment lacks additional protection. And it means that numerous potential attack surfaces exist.

    This is never good, but at present the threat to critical infrastructure is growing.

    When things go wrong

    In the event that security is broken, attackers may take over machinery, modify processes, or simply choose to shutter production. This can have huge consequences — on the company, its customers and partners, and across already creaking supply chains.

    Louis Priem, consultant at ICT Group, said, “Systems in factory environments typically run 24/7, so there is very little opportunity to patch vulnerabilities. In addition, there is a lot of legacy, as machines are purchased for the long term, and there is usually no opportunity to install antivirus applications. All these make the industrial sector vulnerable to malicious parties.”

    Speaking to MIT Technology Review, the Pwn2Own winners warned that security in industrial control systems is lagging behind badly. Think of how a successful attack against Target a few years ago made use of an insecure HVAC system to penetrate the corporate network, which shows the need to protect every available endpoint.

    These days more than ever, security lives at the edge.

    The writing was on the wall

    It’s not as if we couldn’t see problems like this coming.

    The evolution of industrial IoT has seen the creation of a myriad of different standards with differing security levels. This has driven many in the space (including Apple) to  develop joint standards for connected devices.

    Matter, the consumer IoT standard that is the first fruit of that effort, should arrive this year, while the more industrial Thread standard is already seeing deployment. (I’m expecting more news regarding Matter pretty soon, potentially at WWDC.)

     “Thread is based on the universally deployed Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) standard, making it extremely robust. A Thread network does not rely on a central hub, such as a bridge, so there’s no single point of failure. And Thread has the ability to self-heal – if one node (or accessory in your Thread network) becomes unavailable, the data packets will select an alternate route automatically and the network simply continues to work,” Eve Systems  has explained.

    The Apple way

    To some extent, one way to protect any device is to follow Apple’s core mission, which is to ensure systems do as much as possible with as little information as possible.

    While the effort has arguably slowed the company’s progress in AI development in comparison with more cloud-based competitors, Apple’s focus on placing intelligence at the edge is increasingly seen as appropriate.

    Mimic Technology and Business & Decision, for example, seem to be developing industrial IoT systems that follow a model in which intelligence sits at the edge.

    When combined with other emerging network technologies, such as SD-WAN or private 5G networks, placing intelligence at the edge helps secure industrial networks by helping cordon off individual endpoints.

    The problem, of course, is that not every connected system is smart enough to be so protected, while the different priorities of IT and operational intelligence mean attackers enjoy a luxury of potential vulnerabilities for attacks.

    And that’s even before dumb, short-sighted governments force sideloading and inherently insecure device security back doors onto the mobile systems and platforms we increasingly rely on to keep our connected infrastructure secure.

    Perhaps enterprise IoT needs to borrow a page from the Apple book and design systems that are inherently more secure than anyone thinks they need? Because it’s only a matter of time before they find that anything less won’t do.

    Recourse: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3662131/why-industry-40-must- think-more-like-apple.html

    8Jul, 2022
    Info Security News – Stealthy malware shows why you shouldn’t open unknown E-mails

    A new kind of malware was recently discovered that managed to slip past 56 separate antivirus products before finally getting caught.

    The malware, when executed, can cause some serious damage to your device — and it seems to be so well made that it might be the product of nation-state actors. Opening an email attachment is all it takes to grant it enough entry to wreak havoc.

    Unit 42, a threat intelligence team from Palo Alto, has just published a report on a piece of malware that managed to avoid detection from a massive 56 antivirus products. According to the team, the way the malware was built, packaged, and deployed is very similar to various techniques used by the APT29 threat group, also known under the names of Iron Ritual and Cozy Bear. This group has been attributed to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which indicates that the malware in question could be a nation-state affair.

    According to Unit 42, the malware was first spotted in May 2022, and it was found hidden within a pretty strange file type — ISO, which is a disk image file used to carry the entire contents of an optical disc. The file comes with a malicious payload that Unit 42 believes was created using a tool called Brute Ratel (BRC4). BRC4 prides itself on being hard to detect, citing the fact that the tool’s authors reverse-engineered antivirus software in order to make the tool even stealthier. Brute Ratel is particularly popular with APT29, adding further weight to the claim that this malware could be linked to the Russia-based Cozy Bear group.

    The ISO file pretends to be the curriculum vitae (resume) of someone named Roshan Bandara. Upon arrival in the recipient’s email mailbox, it doesn’t do anything, but when clicked, it mounts as a Windows drive and displays a file called “Roshan-Bandara_CV_Dialog”. At that point, it’s easy to get fooled — the file appears to be a typical Microsoft Word file, but if you click it, it executes cmd.exe and proceeds to install BRC4.

    When that’s done, any number of things could happen to your PC — it all depends on the attacker’s intentions.

    Unit 42 notes that finding this malware is worrying for a number of reasons. For one, there is a high probability that it is linked to APT29. Aside from the reasons listed above, the ISO file was created on the same day as when a new version of BRC4 was made public. This suggests that state-backed cyber attack actors could be timing their attacks to deploy them at the most opportune times. APT29 has also used malicious ISOs in the past, so everything seems to fall in line.

    The near-undetectability is worrying in itself. For malware to be that stealthy takes a lot of work, and it suggests that such attacks could pose a real threat when used by the wrong team of people.

    How can you stay safe?

    Amidst frequent reports that cyber attacks have been on a massive rise in recent years, one can hope that many users are now more conscious of the dangers of trusting random people and their files all too much. However, sometimes these attacks come from unexpected sources and in various forms. Enormous distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks happen all the time, but these are more of a problem for enterprise users. Sometimes, software that we know and trust can be used as a decoy to fool us into trusting the download. How to stay safe when danger seems to be lurking around every corner?

    First of all, it’s important to realize that a lot of these large-scale cyberattacks are made to target organizations — it’s unlikely that individuals would be targetted. However, in this particular case where the malware is hidden within an ISO file that poses as a resume, it could plausibly be opened by people in various HR settings, including those in smaller organizations. Bigger businesses often have more robust IT departments that wouldn’t allow the opening of an unexpected ISO file — but you never know when something might slip through the cracks.

    With the above in mind, it’s never a bad idea to follow a very simple rule that many of us still forget at times — never open attachments from unknown recipients. This can be difficult for an HR department that’s actively collecting resumes, but you, as an individual, can implement that rule into your daily life and not miss out on anything. It’s also not a bad idea to pick up one of the best antivirus software options available. However, the greatest security can be gained by simply browsing mindfully and not visiting websites that might not seem too legit as well as being cautious about your emails.

    Resource: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/new-malware-is-undetected -by-56-antivirus-programs/

    7Jul, 2022
    Info Security News – Patchable and Preventable Security Issues Lead Causes of Q1 Attacks

    Attacks against U.S. companies spiked in Q1 2022, with patchable and preventable external vulnerabilities responsible for the bulk of attacks.

    Eighty-two percent of attacks on organizations in Q1 2022 were caused by the external exposure of a known vulnerability in the victim’s external-facing perimeter or attack surface. Those unpatched bugs overshadowed breach-related financial losses tied to human error, which accounted for 18 percent.

    The numbers come from Tetra Defense and its quarterly report that sheds light on a notable uptick in cyberattacks against United States organizations between January and March 2022.

    The report did not let employee security hygiene, or a lack thereof, off the hook. Tetra revealed that a lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanisms adopted by firms and compromised credentials are still major factors in attacks against organizations.

    External Exposures: A Major Path of Compromise

    The study looks at the Root Point of Compromise (RPOC) in attacks. The RPOC is the initial entry point through which a threat actor infiltrates a victim organization and is categorized as the external exposure to a known vulnerability, or a malicious action performed by the user, or a system misconfiguration.

    “Incidents caused by unpatched systems cost organizations 54 percent more than those caused by employee error,” according to the report.

    Researcher draw a line of distinction between “External Vulnerabilities” and “Risky External Exposures”.

    External Vulnerabilities, defined by Tetra Defense, refer to incidents where an attacker leverages the publicly available exploit to attack the victim’s network. Risky External Exposure, on the other hand, include IT practices such as leaving an internet-facing port open that can be used by an adversary to target the system.

    “These behaviors are considered ‘risky’ because the mitigation relies on an organization’s continued security vigilance and willingness to enforce consistent standards over long periods of time,” said Tetra Defense in the report.

    Risky external exposure, the study found, accounts for 57 percent of an organizations’ losses.

    Learning Lessons the Hard Way

    According to Tetra Defense, the widespread awareness about the Log4Shell vulnerability minimize the active exploitation and was only the third most exploited external exposure accounting for 22 percent of total incident response cases. The Microsoft Exchange vulnerability, ProxyShell outpaces the Log4Shell and leads the way by accounting for 33 percent of cases.

    The Tetra Defense revealed that nearly 18 percent of the events were caused by the unintentional actions of an individual employee in the organization.

    “Over half (54 percent) of the incidents where ‘User Action’ was the RPOC were caused by an employee opening a malicious document,” Tetra Defense noted. The researcher analyzed that most incidents include malicious email campaigns targeting individuals and organizations at random.

    The other major incident is the abuse of compromised credentials, which contributes to 23 percent of incidents involving user action. The reports indicate that usage of the same password across multiple sites is one of the main factors leading to credential leaking and account takeover.

    “If one of the sites experiences a breach and the credentials are leaked to the dark web, those credentials can be used to compromise other systems where the same pair of username and password is used,” said Tetra Defense.

    In the recent findings by Tetra Defense, the healthcare industry leads with approximately 20 percent of the total incidents reported in the first quarter of 2022. Apart from healthcare Tetra Defense collected insights from twelve different verticals, including finance, education, manufacturing, and construction.

    The Patching Imperative

    According to the reports by Tetra Defense, the median cost for an incident response engagement where external vulnerability was the RPOC is 54 percent more than the events where “User Action” was the RPOC.

    “Advocating for better patching practices has almost become a cliché at this point as it’s common knowledge that they play a major role in reducing cyber risk,” Tetra Defense noted.

    “To best prevent exploitation of external vulnerabilities, organizations need to understand their attack surface and prioritize patching based on risk, all while ensuring they have the defenses in place to protect their systems knowing that they will have obstacles that will prevent them from immediately patching vulnerable systems,” Tetra Defense added.

    The researcher observed multiple cybercriminal groups active on the dark web. “With such a large number of groups being actively observed, it highlights the constant challenges organization have in protecting themselves,” Tetra Defense concluded.

    Resource : https://threatpost.com/lead-causes-of-q1-attacks/180096/

    28Jun, 2022
    Information Security News – NIST Releases New macOS Security Guidance for Organizations

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the final version of its guidance on securing macOS endpoints and assessing their security.

    The guidance is derived from the macOS Security Compliance Project (mSCP), an open source effort aimed at creating customized security baselines to meet the cybersecurity needs of various organizations.

    A collaboration between NIST, NASA, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the mSCP eliminates the need to issue new cybersecurity guidance for each macOS release, and instead curates the macOS guidance and keeps it up to date.

    The newly released guidance, NIST says, is also meant to introduce the mSCP to broader audiences by offering an overview of the project and its components, and by providing details on common use cases.

    “This document and the mSCP GitHub site are intended for system administrators, security professionals, policy authors, privacy officers, and auditors who have responsibilities involving macOS security.” Additionally, vendors of device management, security, configuration assessment, and compliance tools that support macOS may find this document and the GitHub site to be helpful, “NIST says.”

    The project’s GitHub page provides secure baselines and associated rules that can be used as practical, actionable recommendations for properly configuring and managing macOS endpoint device security.

    With Apple releasing new macOS versions each year, the mSCP is intended to be independent of new versions, but will be updated when substantial changes occur. Thus, organizations will be provided with consistency of content, as well as with accelerated guidance, courtesy of standardized macOS baseline efforts.

    According to NIST, agencies and organizations typically “wait for guidance or accept risk before deploying the new macOS version” each year, and many create their own internal security configuration, which delays deployments. With mSCP at hand, organizations will be able to update sooner.

    “Generally, the technical security settings in macOS do not drastically change from release to release, with only a handful of new settings being introduced. By pursuing a rules-based approach, mSCP rules that remain applicable can be reused and incorporated into guidance for the latest macOS version. This enables quicker adoption of new security features that are not offered in prior versions of macOS, “NIST says.”

    The mSCP content is meant to be used by government agencies and private organizations alike, with the provided security baselines either mapped to existing guidance or controls, or customized to meet specific needs. Furthermore, since the content can be used for automated security compliance scans.

    Resource: https://www.securityweek.com/nist-releases-new-macos-security-guidance-organizations

    28Jun, 2022
    Information Security News

    Oracle spent 6 months to fix ‘Mega’ flaws in the Fusion Middleware

    Researchers have disclosed technical details of a critical flaw in Fusion Middleware, tracked as CVE-2022–21445, that Oracle took six months to patch.

    Security researchers have published technical details of a critical Fusion Middleware vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022–21445, that was reported to Oracle by researchers Peter son of VNG Corporation and Nguyen Jang of VNPT in October 2021. The flaw was addressed by the IT giant six months later with the release of its April 2022, Critical Patch Update.

    The vulnerability resides in the ADF Faces component, it is the de-serialization of untrusted data that could lead to arbitrary code execution.

    The security duo described the issue as a “mega flaw” that impacts all applications relying on ADF Faces, including Business Intelligence, Enterprise Manager, Identity Management, SOA Suite, Web Center Portal, Application Testing Suite, and Transportation Management. The duo named their attack “The Miracle Exploit.”

    “Now after a period of time after Oracle released the patch, we decided to publish this blog to share the details of Miracle exploit.” We very very excited at the time (6 months ago), but now we don’t have that feeling any more because Oracle took too long to patch this vulnerability, more than the standard.” reported the security duo in blog post. “Anyway, this is a cool exploit, a cool story me and Jang worked together in a month, so let we tell you about our story.”

    The researchers also discovered a server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022–21497. This issue could be chained with CVE-2022–21445 to achieve pre-authentication remote code execution in Oracle Access Manager.

    “In the demonstration we sent to Oracle, we chose edelivery.oracle.com , business net work.oracle.com which are popular for user to download Oracle’s products, and this site is based on ADF Faces framework.” concludes the experts. “Last but not least, we successfully achieved pre-auth RCE on login.oracle.com which plays an important role in Oracle’s online services.”

    “Why we hack some Oracle’s sites? Because we want to demonstrate the impact to Oracle and let them know this vulnerability is super dangerous , it affects both Oracle’s systems and Oracle’s customers. That’s why we want Oracle take an action ASAP. But as you can see, 6 months for Oracle to patch it, I don’t know why, but we have to accept it and follow Oracle’s policy.” they added.

    Resource: https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/132603/breaking-news/oracle-mega-flaw-cve-202221445.html

    22Oct, 2021
    Top 5 Attack Vectors to Look Out For in 2022

    Threat actors are continually looking for better ways to target organizations, here are the top five attack vectors to look out for in 2022.

    Malicious actors are continually looking for better ways to carry out successful cyber attacks. Whether motivated by a potential payday or the ability to access confidential information, cybercriminals have plenty of incentive to focus on what works best in achieving their goals. This article focuses on the top five attack vectors organizations should look out for and defend against in 2022.

    1. Phishing

    Phishing techniques use social engineering to trick victims into taking an action that helps an attacker compromise your network or access your sensitive information assets. Fraudulent emails purporting to be from authoritative company sources are the main phishing attacks that employees fall victim to. These emails persuade employees to reveal passwords for important applications or download malicious files to their devices.

    Some threat actors carry out phishing attacks using social media and networking platforms, such as Twitter or LinkedIn. Phishing scams remain such a widely used attack vector because of their efficiency. The potential rewards for very little effort make phishing scams highly attractive attack vectors requiring minimal technical knowledge.

    Some phishing scams target particular individuals because of their close proximity to sensitive information or because those individuals are likely to have administrative access to network resources. Some phishing scams are so convincing that they can fool even seasoned security professionals. A solid defense against phishing requires a dual approach of employee awareness and an anti-phishing email filtering solution.

    2. Stolen Credentials

    Stolen credentials continue to cause problems for businesses of all sizes. A 2021 report on data breaches found that stolen credentials were the initial attack vector used in 61 percent of breaches. Using stolen passwords is an easy way to masquerade as a genuine user and access sensitive information or infiltrate deeper into your network.

    It’s straightforward for threat actors to purchase bulk lists of stolen username-password credentials on the dark web. Other attack vectors such as phishing emails can be used to trick employees into disclosing their passwords, which cybercriminals then use to access your network.

    The problems posed by stolen credentials stem from a perfect storm of poor password hygiene and weak identity and access management controls. Employees regularly reuse their passwords across multiple applications and services, which means that a single stolen password could provide an easy entry route into your network. Many organizations provide excessive access privileges to users, which worsens the impact of a credential compromise by giving hackers access to administrative functions or critical systems.

    3. API Exploits

    Organizations can create new opportunities for growth through the use of APIs, which integrate their applications and service with other resources in the wider digital ecosystem. APIs facilitate communication between different apps and services. The use of APIs has become so widespread that many technologists say we’re living in an API economy.

    Ever on the lookout for new opportunities to get their hands on sensitive data, many threat actors realize that the proliferation of APIs may work to their advantage. Traditional security tactics cannot detect API attacks, so many organizations remain open to a breach or data exfiltration via APIs. This API security checklist provides best practices and considerations for closing off your APIs as an attack vector.

    4. Remote Technology

    The speed at which cyber attacks exploiting remote technology increased during the Covid-19 pandemic serves as a telling example of how threat actors dynamically adapt the attack vectors they use in response to changing conditions. A 2020 report found that 20 percent of organizations experienced a security breach due to remote work.

    The technologies used by organizations to facilitate remote work include virtual private network (VPN) connections and remote desktop protocol (RDP). These technologies let employees access business applications and resources from outside the physical location of their place of work.

    While the use of remote technology will likely reduce over time compared to at the height of the pandemic, it’s clear that remote work is here to stay in some capacity. Opportunistic threat actors know that with remote work not going away, there will be chances to gain entry to corporate networks by exploiting RDP and VPN connections.

    An actionable way to defend against remote access threats is to require multi factor authentication (MFA) for these connections. MFA requires users to provide another category of evidence that verifies their identity in addition to the standard username-password combination they use to log in. These distinct pieces of evidence can include a one-time password or a fingerprint scan.

    5. IoT Devices

    IoT devices include wearable devices, coffee makers, sensors, and cameras, all of which connect to the Internet. Many organizations don’t have visibility into all of their IoT devices. Furthermore, it’s common for IoT devices to use default credentials that hackers can easily guess.

    IoT devices are veritable storehouses of data about the environment they are in and the people that use them. A cyber attack on an IoT device could also be the initial entry point from which a hacker accesses your wider network and installs ransomware that locks down key systems.

    Organizations need a serious approach to secure their IoT infrastructures, including:

    • Full device visibility
    • Changing default usernames and passwords
    • Using strong passwords
    • Segmenting the network so that an IoT compromise can’t spread to key IT systems and assets
    • Update IoT devices on time

    Conclusion

    As we come into 2022, get your organization ready to combat these top five cyber attack vectors. Each of them calls for its own defense strategy to limit the chances of malicious threat actors successfully leveraging them to access or disrupt your valuable data and services.

    Source : https://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/123636/security/top-5-attack-vectors-2022.html

    13Oct, 2021
    7 In-Demand IT Skills to Boost Your Resume in 2021

    Skills you might consider getting to enhance your IT career include cloud computing, programming, understanding systems and networks, and more.

    Working in IT can mean anything from resolving an employee’s wifi issues to programming an organization’s new cloud infrastructure. Because the work is so diverse, the skills you need to know to get a job in the IT field can vary widely depending on your role. Browse a few listings of jobs you’re interested in to see which skills you should focus on acquiring.

    Essential IT skills

    1. Security

    Security should be foundational to any IT team. Starting out in a help desk, networking, or system administration role can introduce you to concepts that are helpful to know for security purposes. The following skills can help you qualify for IT security positions—like information security analyst—at the entry-level and beyond.

    • Familiarity with physical, network, and software security 
    • Installing firewalls and routers
    • Data encryption
    • Risk mitigation strategy and threat analysis
    • Knowledge of compliance regulations and standards like PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and CCPA
    • Ethical hacking and penetration testing

    2. Programming

    Being able to program will be a must for those who want to develop software, web applications, and websites. It’ll also be useful for IT workers who want to automate tasks. The languages below are commonly requested of programmers and can be asked of IT professionals as well. You can get started by browsing programming language courses.

    • Python
    • C++
    • JavaScript
    • Ruby
    • PowerShell

    3. Systems and networks

    Making sure computer systems and networks are operating smoothly is central to the work of an IT team. Typical roles specializing in this skill set include system administrators and network administrators. System and network skills can also be useful for working in cloud administration or security as well. On a basic level, these skills include:

    • Administering diverse operating systems like Windows, Linux, or Mac
    • Installing and configuring computer hardware and software
    • Cloud administration and applications
    • Maintaining local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), storage area networks (SAN), and virtual private networks (VPNs)
    • Troubleshooting
    • Helping employees with technical issues

    4. Data analysis

    Being able to analyze data will be useful for various IT tasks. Monitoring performance data can help teams find security threats, or see where inefficiencies exist in their operations. Jobs that work with data in the IT realm include database administrators and data engineers.

    • SQL
    • Statistics
    • Python

    5. DevOps

    DevOps—a combination of “development” and “operations”—acts as a bridge between the software development and IT teams. Though a field unto itself, DevOps skills can help in both the IT and development aspects of running an organization. Working in DevOps can mean becoming a DevOps engineer. You might need the following skills:

    • Understanding of continuous delivery theory
    • Container technologies like Docker or Kubernetes
    • Scripting languages like Python, Ruby, and C 
    • Familiarity with cloud operations

    6. Cloud computing

    Listed as one of the most in-demand skills of 2021 by Global Knowledge, cloud computing skills include anything from building cloud infrastructure to maintaining them [1]. Working with cloud technology can open doors to positions like cloud developer, cloud administrator, and cloud architect. Knowledge of the following cloud platforms can be useful:

    • AWS
    • Google Cloud
    • Microsoft Azure
    • Oracle

    7. Machine learning

    A skill useful for programmers and data professionals, machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence, has become one of the most prominent skills to learn in the technology sphere. You can start learning basic skills through online machine learning coursework. Specific skills associated with machine learning can include:

    • Parametric and nonparametric algorithms
    • Kernels
    • Clustering
    • Deep learning techniques

    What does IT refer to, exactly?

    IT jobs generally refer to work done in an organization’s IT department—typically jobs that help keep the organization’s computers running smoothly, like help desk technicians, network engineers, or system administrators. The term “IT” however is used by some as a catch-all phrase to refer to any work that includes using or developing computers and computer programs. This latter category might include software engineers or web developers. This guide includes skills that are generally applicable to both.

    How to Gain IT Skills

    Here are a few ways to learn the skills that can contribute to a successful career in IT:

    • Teach yourself: Many programming languages, data analysis techniques, and certain IT skills can be self-taught through online courses or home projects. You can find several courses on Coursera, including introductory classes to Python or cybersecurity.
    • Certifications: Certifications can be a solid way to ensure your abilities meet professional standards. You’ll generally have to study for and pass an exam. See what entry-level certification fits your interests.
    • Bootcamps: Generally lasting several weeks or months, bootcamps are intensive courses that are designed to bring you specific skills in that time period. Though coding bootcamps are popular, bootcamps exist for topics like cybersecurity as well.
    • Degrees: Though perhaps more time-consuming than the other options, getting a degree in computer science or a related field can be a structured way to gain the technical skills needed to enter the computer world. Plus, going back to school is correlated with higher incomes.

    Putting your skills into action: Resumes and interview

    Once you have the skills you need to start applying for jobs, it’s time to list them where people can find them. Update your resume and LinkedIn with your new credentials—here’s some guidance on putting skills into your resume.

    In interviews, come prepared with stories about how you’ve used your skills in the past. If you’ve only used your skills in a course or at home, that’s fine—just be ready to describe what you accomplished. Did you use Python to create graphs out of a data set, or configure devices to a new network? 

    If you’re looking for a quick way to get more hands-on experience, browse Coursera’s guided projects for projects that you can complete in under two hours. They can also help you refresh old skills to prepare you for the interview.

    Source : https://www.coursera.org/articles/key-it-skills-for-your-career

    1Oct, 2021
    Top 10 tech skills that are a must master in 2021

    The pandemic has changed almost every aspect of our professional and personal lives. It has become next to impossible to predict the future and what we can expect to happen. While change and evolution have always been the only constant for humanity, this idea has become even more dynamic thanks to an accelerated unpredictability caused by the Covid-19 phenomenon.

    Technology has entered every single walk of life. Even the sectors that worked with limited tech infrastructure now have to mold their businesses to allow technology to ensure they stay afloat. With this sudden increase in technology adoption, several skills come centre stage as essential roles required to be filled by almost all organization and enterprises.

    Here is a list of the top technology skills that young adults should learn and imbibe to stay relevant and job-ready:

    Mobile application development

    The pandemic has increasingly pushed organization to go digital and use mobile app solutions to expand their customer base. It has opened up demand for IT specialists with application programming interface (API) development and cross-platform app development expertise.

    UX design

    With the focus shifting to user experience, UI or UX design has gained importance. Businesses will need to adjust to the new normal, and there will be a proliferation of apps. As companies focus on building UI to make it more customer-friendly, there will be a huge demand for improved UL/UX designs.

    DevOps / DevSecOps

    DevOps professionals are the most in-demand role in the IT ecosystem. It has revolutionized the way businesses can meet growing customer demands. This requires strong technical skills, and DevOps professions have immense potential in helping businesses to evolve.

    Programming language skills

    Coding is vital for any backend and frontend development or even testing and debugging. As the newer programming languages emerge, the older codes become obsolete. Programming languages, such as Java, JavaScript, Go, Python, and C++, are the most popular. Learning new programming languages is critical to stay relevant in this ever-evolving world.

    Cloud computing

    Cloud computing has gained significant momentum over the years, and now with the increased adoption of cloud computing within companies, there will be a massive demand for cloud computing professionals. AWS and Azure are changing the cloud computing landscape, and having expertise in these have become critical. Top 10 tech skills that are a must master in 2021

    Cybersecurity

    With work-for-home being the new normal, organization have become even more susceptible to cyber-attacks. Companies have realized that their legacy security needs to be remained to equip themselves from vulnerabilities. Increasing cyber threats/crimes has created an uptick in demand for professionals with cybersecurity skills.

    Big data and the internet of things

    The world around us is evolving incredibly, and IoT is gradually dominating and becoming an integral part of our lives. As the world moves and becomes connected and intelligent, the demand for talent to develop and implement these solutions is rising. Similarly, big data has become critical as it enables companies to analyse variables, making better business decisions.

    Data analytics

    Over the years, there has been exponential growth in data, which has led to the adoption of analytical tools. Organisations are analysing data for complex decision making and gaining consumer confidence. Despite the slowdown in the job market, data science and analytics professionals’ demand remained high.

    Artificial intelligence / Machine learning

    The pandemic has given a new meaning to numbers and data. Hence, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have been driving people’s interest. AI is transforming every aspect of businesses, whether it is functionally, operationally or strategically. The spike in AI and ML’s growth has fueled the need for IT professional with these capabilities.

    Blockchain

    Blockchain technology has witnessed demand across various sectors, including banking, insurance and logistics, among others. It is still in its nascent stage in India, but it has enormous potential as more and more companies are adopting the technology. Thus, it will remain a top skill in 2021.

    Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/information/story/top-10-tech-skills-that-are-a-must-master-in-2021-1789928-2021-04-12