Dropbox is making moves in the cloud storage and AI sectors with its latest updates and Dash AI Studio integration. The company recently announced an overhaul of its web interface to improve user experience and workflows.

According to the companys press release, Dropboxs vision is to power the next generation of knowledge work. The companys stated goal is to create workspaces where work feels effortless. The integration of Dash AI Studio into the web interface is a significant move toward this goal. This AI-driven feature helps users in managing tasks with greater efficiency, prioritizing user-friendliness, productivity, and team collaboration.

In addition to the Dash AI integration, Dropbox has introduced improvements to existing tools like Dropbox AI and Dropbox Studio. These updates are tailored to offer users a more intuitive experience.

Addressing the challenges of the modern digital workspace, Drew Houston, Dropboxs co-founder and CEO, said, People are grappling with information overload and fragmented workflows like never before, resulting in unnecessary work about work.' He sees AI as a solution to these challenges, automating routine tasks and enhancing overall productivity.

In the competitive realm of cloud storage and collaboration, innovation is key. Industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, and Apple are consistently introducing new features and tools recently with an AI focus.

Dropboxs decision to revamp its web interface with Dash AI Studios capabilities is indicative of the broader shift toward AI integration in the tech industry. As investments in cloud and AI services continue to pour in, users will watch how companies cater to their needs in order to maintain a competitive edge.

Maxwell William, a seasoned crypto journalist and content strategist, has notably contributed to industry-leading platforms such as Cointelegraph, OKX Insights, and Decrypt, weaving complex crypto narratives into insightful articles that resonate with a broad readership.

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Dropbox's web overhaul: Bridging AI and cloud storage with Dash AI ... - ReadWrite

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There is a preconception among media and entertainment (M&E) companies that the cloud can be viewed simply as a convenient storage hub. This view that cloud technology equates to storage has caused some inertia for adoption across the M&E industry as budgets tighten. In reality, storage is only one facet of the clouds capabilities, and broadcasters are quickly discovering its potential for actively generating revenue and driving business operations.

Cloud archiving is a tool which offers a wider range of business benefits than many people realize there is, in fact, far more to be leveraged through cloud archiving than gains to storage capacity. Broadcasters are beginning to recognize the potential of cloud archiving as an engine for driving business operation efficiencies and unlocking new avenues for revenue growth.

M&E companies face the daunting prospect of a highly competitive market that demands uninterrupted delivery of quality content. This is a tall order, and tools that can be leveraged to meet these demands are being sought with growing urgency as the global appetite for content increases. Operational efficiencies must be continually refined and improved in order to keep pace in todays crowded market. To plan forward and build long-term business agility, the choice of tools must be highly flexible. The adaptable nature of cloud technology enables practically unlimited scalability and this is an essential precondition for broadcasters to thrive in todays rapidly expanding market.

One of the clouds most powerful tools for driving revenue lies in its archiving capabilities, which can be used to turn archive material into newly profitable content thats ready for broadcasting. For companies with extensive archives, the cloud offers a way to realize the full value of what theyve been sitting on; its a recipe for turning lead into gold.

Conversely, building and maintaining physical facilities for local archiving is an ongoing cost that only the largest industry players can afford let alone justify as smaller competitors can make better use of their existing content without the burden of manually storing and managing their archives on site.

One of the essential ways that the cloud makes archive content usable is through metadata enhancement. Metadata enhancement is an automated process that applies metadata to archive content tagging and categorizing the archive material by set criteria (which can be adapted to suit the individual use cases for each business). This means that any content can be sorted and retrieved instantaneously to suit the business needs of operators at any given time a great asset to keep viewers watching after the expensively produced show they tuned in to see has finished. With metadata keeping archive material accessible by an automated process, the gains to business agility and the benefits for the production workforce make metadata one of the most powerful tools that the cloud has to offer.

To meet the round-the-clock requirements of video consumption in the digital age, the tools used by video production teams must be optimized for flexibility. For creative collaboration, cloud storage is the closest thing to a frictionless solution. Its the tool that provides a basis for creative teams to thrive equally whether they are distributed or working in a single studio. Allowing creative teams to have a clear run at producing their best work in a way thats independent of their location or time zone, is to enable production teams to give the best they have to offer as a distributed workforce. Through ubiquitous access, the cloud offers a wide-reaching tool to streamline the entire process of content storage, production, and distribution by empowering production teams to deliver content from anywhere.

Another unique advantage of cloud storage is its capacity for nearly seamless disaster recovery (DR). The results of outages and hardware or system failure can be extremely costly, both in the short term and long term. In an outage, there is an immediate financial cost to be reckoned with, but there is also reputational harm that can be even more damaging in the long run. Audience loyalty can be considered a long-term investment for media companies one that can disappear in a matter of minutes if something time-sensitive, such as a live sports event or a severe weather warning, fails to reach its intended audience. Extreme weather events, power outages, and ransomware attacks are all looming possibilities for broadcasters and since they arent going away, the only pragmatic approach for media companies who wish to keep and grow their audiences is to treat these eventualities as certain outcomes to prepare for.

With the increased prevalence of multi-distribution endpoints in todays media landscape, seamless delivery of assets to the required endpoints has become a daunting task. The clouds flexibility and scalability make it an ideal solution to accommodate the demands of multi-distribution endpoints. Cloud-based distribution provides a flexible framework that accommodates the complexity of content delivery in todays media landscape allowing M&E companies to adapt to changing demands and technical challenges with a minimum of friction.

The full extent of the clouds archiving capabilities may not be obvious. Still, an overview of its varied use cases, with everything from disaster recovery to creative collaboration, suggests that the cloud can be usefully thought of as a toolset as opposed to a single tool for one purpose. On the other hand, the cloud comes as a single all-in-one solution making it one of the most versatile and budget-friendly investments for broadcasters looking to drive their business operations to the next level.

AboutSam Peterson, BitcentralAs Chief Operating Officer Sam Peterson has direct control of the organizations operations in accordance with Bitcentrals strategic objectives and business plans. Sam is a career broadcast professional with more than 32 years of experience including over 20 years in various leadership roles at large, industry-leading corporations. He has held positions spanning product management, marketing, direct sales, and sales engineering. His broad experience spans all aspects of media production and distribution including automation, master control and playout, news gathering and production, post-production, signal management, and live production. He has successfully overseen the integration of several products from international acquisitions into the North American market. On the OTT side, Sam has extensive networking expertise in contribution and distribution networks for live streaming and video on demand.

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More than meets the eye: The full value of cloud archiving - NewscastStudio

If youre looking to save big on Adobes Creative Cloud suite, you wont want to miss this great Amazon offer. The retailer has slashed a huge 32% off the price of a 1-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud in its Prime Big Deal Days October sale.

This means that Prime members can bag a years access to 20+ desktop apps for Mac and PC for just 371.41. Thats a 177.37 saving over the course of the year compared to Creative Clouds usual 548.78 price tag.

All you need to take advantage of this offer is an Amazon Prime account, which new members can try for a month free of charge with Amazons 30-day free trial.

Save 32% on 12 months of Adobe Creative Cloud

Gain access to 20+ Adobe desktop and mobile apps (including new generative AI features) for 371.41 with this huge Creative Cloud bundle. Shop now to save 177.37 on Photoshop, Premiere Pro and more.

Creative Cloud is an Adobe software bundle that encompasses more than 20 desktop and mobile apps designed to aid creativity. Popular programs include Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, InDesign, Acrobat Pro and Adobe Express.

On top of this, subscribers gain access to more than 1000 free fonts, 100GB of cloud storage for projects and files and a range of tutorials, inspiration and community support.

The software is installed on your computer meaning you have the ability to work offline, while automatic updates ensure your apps are consistently up to date.

Creative Cloud also includes new AI features powered by Adobe Firefly such as Generative Fill in Photoshop. This makes it possible to remove, replace and generate images with a simple text prompt for faster and easier image manipulation.

If youve been thinking about investing in Adobes creative tools, you dont want to miss out on this offer. Head to Amazon now to save 32% on a years subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud and get 20+ apps for as little as 371.41 down from 548.78.

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Amazon's Adobe Creative Cloud deal is out of this world - TrustedReviews

Microsoft is to overhaul OneDrive in a move that will bring Copilot to the cloud storage service and herd users towards the tool's web interface.

In a presentation that combined both consumer and business editions of OneDrive, Microsoft was keen to show off OneDrive Home the experience to be enjoyed by users of the the product's web interface.

For business customers, OneDrive Home is intended to be a portal into the user's files, wherever they might lurk in an organization. One slightly worrying panel on this interface is captioned "For You," and surfaces files that Microsoft's AI reckons will be of interest. One can but hope that administrators are on the ball sufficiently to ensure that nothing that shouldn't be there inadvertently pops up.

Other views include Meetings, showing upcoming and past meetings, along with files and recordings; People, which organizes files by the people a user works with; and Shared, which, as its name suggests, shows files shared with the user.

Users can also select colors for folders, flag favorites, or create shortcuts.

Microsoft floated the new design for work and school in May, but it is the items flagged as coming soon that will pique the interest of customers, even with the inevitable mentions of AI and Copilot.

New features announced include the ability to fire up desktop apps from files in the browser interface via "Open-in-app" due worldwide in December. This might be useful for some, but we suspect many would opt for the File Explorer incarnation of OneDrive to do the same thing.

While adding OneDrive into Teams and Outlook will be handy for customers keen to link files without having to jump interfaces integration into the Windows Outlook app or the web version is due in December the offline functionality is the most intriguing.

It is already possible to use desktop synchronization to keep some files always available and others in the cloud. Microsoft intends to bring this functionality to the browser and permit users to select files or folders to always be available locally via OneDrive for the Web. It also plans to allow users to open and work on files flagged for offline access in the browser without internet access.

Rename, move, copy, and delete functionality will all be available to offline browser users, with changes synchronized when the internet connection is restored.

According to Microsoft, Files On-Demand for Web and Offline mode in the browser are due in early 2024.

Inevitably, Copilot skills are due to arrive in OneDrive. Microsoft hopes these will help users find files and stay organized. Worryingly, in the example given, Copilot can move files around and create folders depending on its interpretation of the user's instructions. What could possibly go wrong?

Copilot in OneDrive is due to turn up in December although you'll need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license for questions about individual files. The delivery date for the other new skills remains vague for now.

Finally, and more useful for users, security tools will arrive that restrict access to files, set conditional access policies at a granular level, and deal with moving OneDrive accounts across tenants. Plus, due in preview from January 2024, administration reports will be available as part of Microsoft Graph Data Connect for SharePoint.

Missing from the announcement was mention of a Linux client or any potential increase in storage. The company moved away from unlimited storage in 2015, and for many users the only way to breach the 1TB OneDrive limit is to hand over more cash to Microsoft.

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Microsoft introduces AI meddling to your files with Copilot in OneDrive - The Register

Cloud misconfigurations have emerged as a major security threat. This led to over 400,000 buckets and 10.4 billion data exposed to the public. Are your sensitive data and personal files truly secure in the cloud? The development of cloud storage has undeniably transformed the way firms protect their digital assets. However, great convenience comes with enormous risk.

In this blog, we will look at the consequences of cloud misconfigurations. Further, we will understand the role of cloud security testing in preventing ransomware attacks.

Organizations seek high availability and performance by transferring their digital assets to cloud storage in todays web-centric environment. One critical issue that is at times missed is the right design of cloud buckets. These buckets store essential corporate assets like private data, sensitive databases, and source codes. While cloud providers ensure the overall safety of these files within their network, users are responsible for configuring access privileges.

Unfortunately, as a result of human error, cloud buckets can become publicly accessible. This potentially leads to the exposing of private data. Cloud storage misconfigurations contributed significantly to 13% of data breaches, according to Verizons 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report. These misconfigurations are used by hackers to gain unauthorized access to buckets containing important information. Such data breach violations have severe consequences and can end in harmful ransomware attacks.

Open-source programs and platforms have further exacerbated the issue of cloud misconfigurations. These platforms allow anyone to scan millions of public buckets simultaneously using certain keywords. The buckets generally follow a common naming convention, making them easily detectable. Hacker utilizes these platforms, such as GrayhatWarfare, to gather information on publicly available buckets for their malicious activities.

The availability of a comprehensive collection of public bucket data in one place serves as an attractive opportunity for threat actors. It becomes a potential focal point for cyberattacks, including ransomware attacks, as threat actors search for vulnerable buckets and exploit them for financial gain.

The consequences of public bucket exposures are broad. The situation becomes worse with the availability of platforms that centralize public bucket searches. While these platforms are meant to raise awareness about the issue, they unintentionally generate resources for threat actors. A recent event involving Microsofts AI research team is an excellent example in point. While sharing an open-source training data bucket on GitHub, they inadvertently exposed 38 terabytes of sensitive data. This vulnerability was caused by an incorrectly set Azure Shared Access Signature (SAS) token during the URL construction procedure.

These bucket discloses have revealed important configuration information and backup disc images. This further poses a substantial risk. When combined with current vulnerabilities, they have the potential to enable additional cyberattacks, including ransomware operations.

Misconfigurations in the cloud can have severe consequences for businesses. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data and data breaches. To limit the risks associated with cloud misconfigurations, organizations must follow guidelines to maintain the security of their digital assets. Some of the key tips and strategies for protecting data are provided below:

Implement robust access control: Properly configure access rights and permissions for cloud storage buckets, ensuring that only authorized individuals or systems have access to sensitive data. Regularly review and update access controls to reflect changes in the organizations structure and personnel.

Follow the principle of least privilege: Grant the minimum level of access necessary to perform the required tasks. Avoid providing unnecessary permissions, as this can increase the risk of data exposure in case of a misconfiguration.

Leverage encryption: Encrypt data stored in the cloud to add an additional layer of security. Encryption ensures that even if unauthorized access occurs, the data remains unintelligible and unusable.

Regularly monitor and audit cloud environments: Implement continuous monitoring and auditing of cloud storage buckets to detect any misconfigurations or unauthorized access promptly. Tools like cloud security modules can provide real-time alerts and insights into potential threats.

Raise employee awareness: Educate employees about the risks of misconfigurations in the cloud and train them on proper security practices. Encourage them to follow best practices and report any suspected misconfigurations or security incidents.

Conduct regular security assessments: Conduct periodic security assessments (cloud penetration testing) of cloud environments to identify potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. This can help address any security gaps proactively and prevent future incidents.

Organizations must prioritize cloud security testing to prevent harmful ransomware attacks triggered by cloud misconfigurations. Preventative steps should be taken to discover vulnerabilities in cloud environments and ensure that access rights and permissions are properly configured. Different approaches to security testing, such as black, grey, and white box testing, can help companies improve their security. Continuous monitoring of cloud settings for odd activity and potential security threats is part of a full cloud security testing approach.

In a time where cloud usage is rising in addition to an increasing number of human errors that expand the attack surface, the possibility of cloud misconfigurations and subsequent ransomware attacks remains a significant concern. As companies attempt to preserve their valuable assets and protect against cyber threats, cooperating with a reputable cybersecurity service such as Kratikal becomes ever more essential.

Book a Free Consultation with our Cyber Security Experts

Kratikal, a CERT-In empanelled auditor, provides comprehensive cloud security testing services to enterprises. Our experts tailor VAPT services and Compliance for companies of all scales to ensure overall cyber resilience. Our knowledge of identifying vulnerabilities, establishing access privileges, and conducting regular security audits can assist firms in mitigating the risks associated with misconfigurations in cloud data. Organizations can securely safeguard their data from ransomware attacks. Lets maintain a strong security posture by adopting a proactive approach to cloud security.

Ref: socradar.io/over-400k-buckets-and-104b-files-are-public-due-to-cloud-misconfigurations

The post Cloud Misconfigurations Expose Over 400K Buckets and 10.4B Files to Public Access! appeared first on Kratikal Blogs.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Kratikal Blogs authored by Riddika Grover. Read the original post at: https://kratikal.com/blog/cloud-misconfigurations-expose-400k-buckets-and-10-4b-files-to-public-access/

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Cloud Misconfigurations Expose Over 400K Buckets and 10.4B Files ... - Security Boulevard