Virtually every organization hit with ransomware called the cops or the government last year, but the level of support they can expect in return remained mixed, according to security firm Sophos’s 2024 State of Ransomware report.

The annual survey, released in April 2024, found 97% of respondent organizations that reported being hit with ransomware in the last year globally had contacted either police or an official government body of some kind. While around six in 10 said they had received advice on how to deal with the attack and/or assistance with their investigation, just four out of 10 said they had received help recovering data.

John Shier, field CTO of threat intelligence at Sophos, told IT Brew that near-universal reporting by entities hit with ransomware is likely related to escalated efforts by governments the world over to combat cybercrime.

“Since we are seeing takedowns and indictments, and in very few cases, unfortunately, some actual arrests of individuals, I think people are saying that and going, ‘OK, well let’s be part of that,’” Shier said.

Read more here.—TM

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected]. Want to go encrypted? Ask Tom for his Signal.

Let’s talk hybrid meetings. Ideally, everyone feels seen and heard—whether they’re in the conference room or dialing in from home. Getting that all-in-one-place feeling is possible, but it takes creative solutions to achieve it.

That’s where Crestron comes in. The Crestron Sightline Experience combines visual AI with multi-camera speaker tracking and several in-room displays, so everyone can be a part of the conversation.

Crestron’s visual AI automatically frames the presenter, giving speakers freedom to move around the room. You know, like normal people do. Visual AI discerns between slight movements, so the camera stays on the speaker (aka no motion sickness for remote participants).

See it in action with a virtual demo.

Amazon is reportedly eyeing an investment in Italy as it looks to expand its data center operations and expand cloud services in Europe, according to Reuters. One source told Reuters that AWS is considering “expanding its current site in Milan or building a new one.”

Talking numbers. AWS announced a $2.2 billion (around €2 billion) investment in the country in 2020; the planned investment will contribute more than $4 billion (€3.7 billion) to Italy’s GDP by 2029, according to an AWS economic impact study.

Read more here.—AF

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].

It’s gonna be…June, I guess. But here’s what happened in the tech C-suite in May.

Not playing, Bungie CTO departs for PlayStation

Sony PlayStation has poached Bungie CTO Luis Villegas. Villegas posted about the change to LinkedIn on May 15, specifying that he’d be working for the company’s content vertical.

“I feel incredibly lucky because as part of my new role I get to still work closely with my Bungie family,” Villegas said.

Villegas stepped into the CTO role at the Sony subsidiary game studio in December 2020. He’d worked for the company since 2003, starting as a software engineer, and stayed there throughout, save a one-year stint with Electronic Arts from 2008 to 2009.

Keep reading here.—EH

Do you work in IT or have information about your IT department you want to share? Email [email protected].