In one form or another, APIs have been around for years, bringing the benefits of ease of use, efficiency and flexibility to the developer community. The advantage of using APIs for mobile and web apps is that developers can build and deploy functionality and data integrations quickly.
API security posture
But there is a huge downside to this approach. Undermining the power of an API-driven development methodology are shadow, deprecated and non-conforming APIs that, when exposed to the public, introduce the risk of data loss, compromise or automated fraud.
The stateless nature of APIs and their ubiquity makes protecting them increasingly difficult, largely because malicious actors can leverage the same developer benefits – ease of use and flexibility – to easily execute account takeovers, credential stuffing, fake account creation or content scraping. It’s no wonder that Gartner identified API security as a top concern for 50% of businesses.
Thankfully, it’s never too late to get your API footprint in order to better protect your organization’s critical data. Here are a few easy steps you can follow to mitigate API security risks immediately:
1. Start an organization-wide conversation
If your company is having conversations around API security at all, it’s likely that they are happening in a fractured manner. If there’s no larger, cohesive conversation, then various development and operational teams could be taking conflicting approaches to mitigating API security risks.
For this reason, teams should discuss how they can best work together to support API security initiatives. As a basis for these meetings, teams should refer to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, as it’s a great way to develop a shared understanding of organization-wide cybersecurity risks. The NIST CSF will help the collective team to gain a baseline awareness about the APIs used across the organization to pinpoint the potential gaps in the operational processes that support them, so that companies can work towards improving their API strategy immediately.
2. Ask (& answer) any outstanding questions as a team
To improve an organization’s API security posture, it’s critical that outstanding questions are asked and answered immediately so that gaps in security are reduced and closed. When posing these questions to the group, consider the API assets you have overall, the business environment, governance, risk assessment, risk management strategy, access control, awareness and training, anomalies and events, continuous security monitoring, detection processes, etc. Leave no stone unturned. Here are a few suggested questions to use as a starting point as you work on the next step in this process towards getting your API security house in order:
How many APIs do we have?
How were they developed? Which are open-source, custom built or third-party?
Which APIs are subject to legal or regulatory compliance?
How do we monitor for vulnerabilities in our APIs?
How do we protect our APIs from malicious traffic?
Are there APIs with vulnerabilities?
What is the business impact if the APIs are compromised or abused?
Is API security a part of our on-going developer training and security evangelism?
Once any security holes have been identified through a shared understanding, the team then can collectively work together to fill those gaps.
3. Strive for complete and continuous API security and visibility
Visibility is critical to immediate and continuous API security. By going through step one and two, organizations are working towards more secure APIs today – but what about tomorrow and in the years to come as your API footprint expands exponentially?
Consider implementing a visibility and monitoring solution to help you oversee this security program on an ongoing basis, so that your organization can feel confident in having a strong and comprehensive API security posture that grows and adapts as your number of APIs expand and shift. The key components to visibility and monitoring?
Centralized visibility and inventory of all APIs, a detailed view of API traffic patterns, discovery of APIs transmitting sensitive data, continuous API specification conformance assessment, having validated authentication and access control programs in place and running automatic risk analysis based on predefined criteria. Continuous, runtime visibility into how many APIs an organization has, who is accessing them, where they are located and how they are being used, is key to API security.
As organizations continue to expand their use of APIs to drive their business, it’s crucial that companies consider every path malicious actors might take to attack their organization’s critical data.
This year’s shift to a near 100% WFH workforce by the Global 5000 has significantly changed the behaviors of trusted insiders, a DTEX Systems report reveals.
Key findings include a 450% increase in employees circumventing security controls to intentionally mask online activities and 230% increase in behaviors that indicate intent to steal data.
The data was collected during interviews with hundreds of customers and Global 5000 organizations representing a diverse sample set of businesses that varied by size, industry, and geography.
“Our findings indicate that in 2020 the equilibrium of employee security and trust has been broadly disrupted and is currently in chaos,” said Mohan Koo, CTO at DTEX Systems.
“Trusted insiders once thought to be reliable and responsible are changing their behaviors and increasing the risk of data loss, external attack and regulatory compliance violations for their employers.”
Key findings
56% of companies reported remote workers actively bypassed security controls to intentionally obfuscate online activity. This is more than 4.5 times higher than 2019 which represents a 450% increase in the first eight months of 2020.
More than 70% of the escalated incidents visible to the security and HR teams included at least one attempt to circumvent a second security control to exfiltrate data without detection.
Companies reported remote workers most commonly attempted to intentionally bypass the corporate VPN to mask their online activities.
72% of companies surveyed saw data theft attempts by a departing employee wanting to take protected IP with them or a new employee looking to inject IP from a previous employer. This represents an increase of 2.3 times, or 230%, over similar behaviors seen in 2019.
Over 40% of incidents proactively detected flight risk behavior as well as abnormal reconnaissance or data aggregation activities.
The growth in premeditated data theft attempts and intentional activity masking behaviors by employees strongly suggests that companies are facing a heightened risk of data loss as virtual employment models become the norm, furloughs are extended and reduction-in-force actions continue.
The findings in this report highlight the lack of adoption and ineffectiveness of network and endpoint cybersecurity, employee monitoring and data loss prevention tools and suggest that organizations need to prioritize the human-element and workforce behavior in relation to data, process and machines as a pillar of their next-generation security and IT technology strategies.
As containers continue to rise in popularity, organizations need to understand that they are uniquely designed and consequently require a specialized data protection strategy.
However, a Zerto survey reveals a major disconnect in data protection strategies across enterprises with 75% believing container-based applications can be backed up the same way as individual applications are backed up.
RTO and RPO tolerances
This disconnect not only risks increasing key RTO and RPO tolerances, but it also adds to the time and resources required for container-based application development and delivery.
For example, the survey showed that the average Recovery Time Objective (RTO) tolerance rates across survey respondents is 2.87 hours and Recovery Point Objective (RPO) tolerance rate is an average of 22 minutes. But just functioning at a rate that is tolerable isn’t an organization functioning at its best.
Businesses can do far better, and ideal time frames should be accelerated RTO in minutes and RPO in seconds. By employing container-native disaster recovery and backup solutions, recovery can be done quickly to a point in time—seconds before a cyber threat such as ransomware occurs, significantly improving organizational resilience and performance.
“Delivering security and resilience is key to the successful adoption of containers, and selecting the right data protection solution makes a substantial difference to an organization’s agility,” commented Deepak Verma, director of product strategy, Zerto.
“The research findings underline the need for organizations to adopt container-native data protection technologies that are integrated into the application deployment lifecycle from the inception, so applications are born protected and remain that way. This equates to less work for developers and consistency in protection of containerized applications, which will need to adhere to business requirements.”
Deploying container-based applications
Moreover, the research underlined that hybrid and multi-cloud strategies are intricately linked to container deployments. With 21% confirming they have deployed or plan to deploy container-based applications in a public cloud environment only and 71% saying they have deployed or plan to deploy container-based applications in a hybrid-cloud strategy, it’s clear to see why 57% of respondents indicated multi-cloud support as one of the most important features when it comes to backing up their organization’s container environments.
However, nearly two-thirds of respondents indicated the biggest challenge in managing backup/disaster recovery in container environments is managing them in hybrid cloud environments (44%) and/or across multiple public clouds (39%).
“Opting for non-native solutions from legacy backup and disaster recovery providers will only add time, resources, and barriers to application development and delivery. Selecting the right data protection solution makes a substantial difference in an organisation’s agility. Using a native solution, however, can help drive a ‘data protection as code’ strategy,” said Christophe Bertrand, senior analyst at ESG and author of the report.
“This means data protection and disaster recovery operations are integrated into the application development lifecycle from the start and applications are born protected. As a result, organizations using this approach will be able to ensure the resilience of their applications without sacrificing the agility, speed, and scale of containerised applications.”
20% of security professionals described their organizations’ DevSecOps practices as “mature”, while 62% said they are improving practices and 18% as “immature”, a WhiteSource report finds.
The survey gathered responses from over 560 developers and application security professionals in North America and Western Europe about the state of DevSecOps implementation in their organizations.
Reaching full DevSecOps maturity
In order to meet short deployment cycles, 73% of security professionals and developers feel forced to compromise on security.
AppSec tools are purchased to ‘check the box’, disregarding developers’ needs and processes, resulting in tools being purchased but not used. Developers don’t fully use the tools purchased by the security team. The more the mature an organization is in terms of its DevSecOps practices, the more AppSec tools they use.
There is a significant “AppSec knowledge and skills gaps” challenge that is largely neglected by organizations. While 60% of security professionals say they have had an AppSec program in place for at least a year, only 37% of developers surveyed reported that they were not aware of an AppSec program running for longer than a year inside their organization.
Security professionals’ top challenge is prioritization, but organizations lack the standardized processes to streamline vulnerability prioritization.
“Survey results show that while most security professionals and developers believe that their organizations are in the process of adopting DevSecOps, most organizations still have a way to go, especially when it comes to breaking down the silos separating development at security teams,” said Rami Sass, CEO, WhiteSource.
“Full DevSecOps maturity requires organizations to implement DevSecOps across the board. Processes, tools, and culture need to evolve in order to break down the traditional silos and ensure that all teams share ownership of both security and agility.”
There are growing privacy concerns among Americans due to COVID-19 with nearly 70 percent citing they would likely sever healthcare provider ties if they found that their personal health data was unprotected, a CynergisTek survey reveals.
Privacy concerns
And as many employers seek to welcome staff back into physical workplaces, nearly half (45 percent) of Americans expressed concerns about keeping personal health information private from their employer.
“With the enactment of key regulations including CCPA and GDPR, we are seeing the convergence of security and privacy come to the forefront at national, state and corporate levels.
“As healthcare systems and corporations continue to grapple with data challenges associated with COVID-19 – whether that’s more sophisticated, targeted cyber-attacks or the new requirements around interoperability and data sharing, concerns around personal data and consumer awareness of privacy rights will only continue to grow,” said Caleb Barlow, president and CEO of CynergisTek.
Patients contemplate cutting ties over unprotected health data
While many still assume personal data is under lock and key, 18 percent of Americans are beginning to question whether personal health data is being adequately protected by healthcare providers. In fact, 47.5 percent stated they were unlikely to use telehealth services again should a breach occur, sounding the alarm for a burgeoning telehealth industry predicted to be worth over $260B by 2026.
While 3 out of 4 Americans still largely trust their data is properly protected by their healthcare provider, tolerance is beginning to wane with 67 percent stating they would change providers if it was found that their data was not properly protected. When drilling deeper into certain age groups and health conditions, the survey also found that:
Gen X (73 percent) and Millennials (70 percent) proved even less tolerant compared to other demographics when parting ways with their providers due to unprotected health data.
66 percent of Americans living with chronic health conditions stated they would be willing to change up care providers should their data be compromised.
Data shows that health systems who have not invested the time, money and resources to keep pace with the ever-changing threat landscape are falling behind. Of the nearly 300 healthcare facilities assessed, less than one half met NIST Cybersecurity Framework guidelines.
Concern about sharing COVID-19 health data upon returning to work
As pressures mount for returning employees to disclose COVID-19 health status and personal interactions, an increasing conflict between ensuring public health safety and upholding employee privacy is emerging.
This is increasingly evident with 45 percent stating a preference to keep personal health information private from their employer, shining a light on increased scrutiny among employees with over 1 in 3 expressing concerns about sharing COVID-19 specific health data, e.g. temperature checks. This highlights that office openings may prove more complicated than anticipated.
“The challenges faced by both healthcare providers and employers during this pandemic have seemed insurmountable at times, but the battle surrounding personal health data and privacy is a challenge we must rise to,” said Russell P. Branzell, president and CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.
“With safety and security top of mind for all, it is imperative that these organizations continue to take the necessary steps to fully protect this sensitive data from end to end, mitigating any looming cyberthreats while creating peace of mind for the individual.”
Beyond unwanted employer access to personal data, the survey found that nearly 60 percent of respondents expressed anxieties around their employer sharing personal health data externally to third parties such as insurance companies and employee benefit providers without consent.
A stark contrast to Accenture’s recent survey which found 62 percent of C-suite executives confirmed they were exploring new tools to collect employee data. A reminder to employers to tread lightly when mandating employee health protocols and questionnaires.
“COVID-19 has thrown many curveballs at both healthcare providers and employers, and the privacy and protection of critical patient and employee data must not be ignored,” said David Finn, executive VP of strategic innovation of CynergisTek.
“By getting ahead of the curve and implementing system-wide risk posture assessments and ensuring employee opt-in/opt-out functions when it comes to sharing personal data, these organizations can help limit these privacy and security risks.”
Researchers from CSIRO’s Data61 and the Monash Blockchain Technology Centre have developed the world’s most efficient blockchain protocol that is both secure against quantum computers and protects the privacy of its users and their transactions.
The technology can be applied beyond cryptocurrencies, such as digital health, banking, finance and government services, as well as services which may require accountability to prevent illegal use.
The protocol — a set of rules governing how a blockchain network operates — is called MatRiCT.
Cryptocurrencies vulnerable to attacks by quantum computers
The cryptocurrency market is currently valued at more than $325 billion, with an average of approximately $50 billion traded daily over the past year.
However, blockchain-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are vulnerable to attacks by quantum computers, which are capable of performing complex calculations and processing substantial amounts of data to break blockchains, in significantly faster times than current computers.
“Quantum computing can compromise the signatures or keys used to authenticate transactions, as well as the integrity of blockchains themselves,” said Dr Muhammed Esgin, lead researcher at Monash University and Data61’s Distributed Systems Security Group. “Once this occurs, the underlying cryptocurrency could be altered, leading to theft, double spend or forgery, and users’ privacy may be jeopardised.
“Existing cryptocurrencies tend to either be quantum-safe or privacy-preserving, but for the first time our new protocol achieves both in a practical and deployable way.”
The MatRiCT protocol is based on hard lattice problems, which are quantum secure, and introduces three new key features: the shortest quantum-secure ring signature scheme to date, which authenticates activity and transactions using only the signature; a zero-knowledge proof method, which hides sensitive transaction information; and an auditability function, which could help prevent illegal cryptocurrency use.
Blockchain challenged by speed and energy consumption
Speed and energy consumption are significant challenges presented by blockchain technologies which can lead to inefficiencies and increased costs.
“The protocol is designed to address the inefficiencies in previous blockchain protocols such as complex authentication procedures, thereby speeding up calculation efficiencies and using less energy to resolve, leading to significant cost savings,” said Dr Ron Steinfeld, associate professor, co-author of the research and a quantum-safe cryptography expert at Monash University.
“Our new protocol is significantly faster and more efficient, as the identity signatures and proof required when conducting transactions are the shortest to date, thereby requiring less data communication, speeding up the transaction processing time, and reducing the amount of energy required to complete transactions.”
“Hcash will be incorporating the protocol into its own systems, transforming its existing cryptocurrency, HyperCash, into one that is both quantum safe and privacy protecting,” said Dr Joseph Liu, associate professor, Director of Monash Blockchain Technology Centre and HCash Chief Scientist.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced the availability of the LexisNexis ID Compass Platform for Insurance. A multi-layered identity access management (IAM) solution, the platform combines physical and digital intelligence to help insurance carriers respond to identity risk and reduce friction for consumers seeking insurance quotes and other transactions.
LexisNexis ID Compass Platform is a suite of integrated IAM products that deliver identity verification and authentication, which can help carriers avoid unnecessary risk and elevate the consumer experience by identifying and fast tracking genuine consumers while creating more friction for “bad actors”. This helps carriers to make better decisions in their workflow and defend themselves and their customers from cybercriminals and potential fraud.
ID Compass uses LexisNexis proprietary linking technology and the LexID unique identifier to help resolve, match and manage information for a more accurate view of more than 282 million U.S. consumer identities.
It also considers 1,500 data-specific and aggregated phone identity sources, and intelligence harnessed from billions of monthly transactions to provide various scores and attributes. These combined technology assets are delivered through multiple solutions to protect online data for more than a billion consumers across the globe.
Insurance carriers face the constant threat of security attacks from online consumer interactions, including identity theft, phishing, smishing, malware and bot attacks.
The ID Compass Platform can identify and thwart attacks by analyzing millions of transactions in near real-time across billions of devices. When individuals are verified and identified as trustworthy, their online experience can become more frictionless and seamless.
“As consumers gravitate toward digital interactions, it is critical for insurers to defend their online businesses while keeping data secure and their customers’ information safe. Our ID Compass Platform gives customers a solution to help detect and prevent unscrupulous online behavior without compromising consumer experience,” said Kim Brown, Director, IAM product management, LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
“Our IAM solutions are a more effective way for insurers to manage digital identity risk, reduce cyber fraud and enhance customer experience.”
LexisNexis ID Compass integrated suite of solutions includes:
LexisNexis Threat Metrix, which analyzes millions of transactions in near real-time across billions of devices for thousands of global digital businesses.
LexisNexis InstantID, which returns an index summarizing the level of verification, potential risk indicators and additional information to enhance our customers’ due diligence efforts.
LexisNexis Phone Finder, which combines authoritative phone content with a large repository of identity information to deliver relevant, rank ordered-connections between phones and identities.
LexisNexis One Time Password, which sends a simple alphanumeric authentication code via email, text or voice to a device in the consumer’s possession.
LexisNexis InstantID Q&A — a near real-time, interactive knowledge-based authentication technology that verifies a customer is who s/he claims to be. InstantID Q&A generates an interactive, multiple-choice knowledge-based questionnaire using more than thirty (30) years of unique identifiers, such as property, telephone and address history.
BullGuard announced its new 2021 suite of antimalware solutions featuring Dynamic Machine Learning capabilities and Multi-Layered Protection.
The BullGuard 2021 security suite empowers consumers to confidently perform sensitive online transactions in absolute safety and rest assured knowing cyber threats are stopped dead in their tracks. BullGuard 2021 blocks malicious behavior before it can do damage, even when malware attempts to intentionally take a consumer’s device offline.
BullGuard 2021 offers enhanced Multi-Layered Protection. Multi-Layered Protection uses six layers of protection – Safe Browsing, Dynamic Machine Learning, Sentry Protection for Zero-Day Malware, an On-Access AV Engine, a Firewall and a Vulnerability Scanner – to defend the user’s devices from malware, without the need for user interaction.
The six layers work in tandem to create a buffer between the internet and each device BullGuard 2021 is installed on, catching inbound and local malware, any erroneous outbound communication to the internet, phishing scams and more.
Crucial to BullGuard’s Multi-Layered Protection is Dynamic Machine Learning, which continuously monitors all processes on a user’s device, enabling real-time detection and blocking of potentially malicious behavior before it can do damage, even if malware attempts to cut the internet connection.
The advanced machine learning system stays one step ahead of cybercriminals by continually learning and improving based on threats that are detected across the entire BullGuard customer base. Dynamic Machine Learning is included in all three 2021 products: BullGuard Antivirus, BullGuard Internet Security and BullGuard Premium Protection.
Streamlined to be the fastest product versions BullGuard has released to date, BullGuard 2021 has also improved application performance while reducing system resource usage, including significantly reduced virus definition file sizes. Additional enhancements include:
Identity protection provides heightened protection for your online identity in addition to protecting a user’s physical devices. Additional support for international phone numbers and bank accounts ensures the most accurate monitoring of dark web platforms where stolen user data is sold or traded.
Game booster now includes support for anti-cheat engines and uninterrupted video performance while broadcasting during gameplay. Online gaming platforms with built-in anti-cheat features are now supported, allowing users to confidently participate for prize money and in paid competitions. Gamers who wish to play while broadcasting on Twitch or other video gaming community networks will benefit from added support for optimized video.
“Unlike the majority of other cybersecurity solutions, BullGuard’s Dynamic Machine Learning protection continually monitors all processes on your device, enabling real-time detection and blocking of potentially malicious behavior, even if malware attempts to cut your internet connection,” said Paul Lipman, CEO of BullGuard.
“BullGuard 2021 is ideal for consumers who want ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ cybersecurity that works behind-the-scenes to provide the best endpoint protection against today’s known and zero-day threats.”
The BullGuard 2021 product line comes standard with next-generation Antimalware, Game Booster and Vulnerability Scanner. BullGuard Internet Security and BullGuard Premium Protection include a Firewall, Secure Browser and Parental Control, and BullGuard Premium Protection also includes comprehensive Identity Protection and a Home Network Scanner.
BullGuard 2021 also automatically alerts customers if they try to access an unsecured Wi-Fi network, enabling them to connect immediately to a secure server if they have BullGuard VPN installed, or prompting them to install a trial of BullGuard VPN to secure their Wi-Fi connection if not.
Rescale announced the availability of the industry’s first hybrid and multi-cloud intelligent control plane to deliver new levels of performance, architectural control and R&D productivity.
Enterprises face the challenge of fast-growing R&D workloads and new specialized hardware architectures, all while managing cost and performance for hybrid cloud operations.
The Rescale intelligent control plane combines software-defined computing, hardware-based acceleration, and performance intelligence to deliver the best high-performance computing solution for each project per business objectives.
“We have a variety of specific and intensive compute requirements that Rescale was able to optimize and help us choose which types of processors best fit the workloads that we run,” said Sensatek Propulsion Technology CTO, Josh McConkey.
“With Rescale, we can dynamically allocate and maximize our HPC resources, ultimately reducing our projected 2,200 simulation hours down to 300, or nine months of work down to two months.”
Rescale’s control plane introduces an intelligence-driven logic and control layer between R&D workloads and the underlying infrastructure, enabling flexibility, performance and efficiency not seen in traditional static HPC environments.
Rescale intelligence includes software licensing schemes, real-time cloud provider infrastructure pricing worldwide, and the Rescale Performance Index, an always-current library of benchmarks on application-specific performance.
Enterprise IT can take advantage of any of these parameters in defining policies, and track project spending for software and hardware for full stack economic visibility.
Key Rescale intelligent control plane components:
Rescale API – Compute job submission and admin controls for unified hybrid and multi-cloud. Control resources managed by schedulers (e.g., SLURM, LSF, PBS Pro) and leading cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP and Oracle Cloud)
Rescale intelligence – Software licensing intelligence and global infrastructure intelligence on multi-cloud pricing, maturity, capacity, and workload-specific performance (Rescale Maturity Index and Rescale Performance Index)
Operational workflows – Define security, architecture, performance, and budgeting policies based on the Rescale API and Rescale Intelligence
R&D workflows – Easy-to-use tools for researchers to run jobs and visualizations, collaborate on results, without making infrastructure decisions
“IT professionals want to make informed data-driven decisions on their hybrid and multi-cloud operations,” said Edward Hsu, VP Product, Rescale. “With the intelligent control plane approach to HPC, they can both make informed decisions, and take immediate action to be strategic partners to the businesses they support.”
The Rescale intelligent control plane delivers three major benefits:
Performance and efficiency – maximize the economic impact of hybrid and multi-cloud operations using the latest architectures and performance intelligence
Control at scale – enable global and multi-BU organizations with controlled and secure computing environments with the highest levels of service
Empowered R&D – accelerate commercializing new innovations with researcher-centric workflows and collaboration, abstracted from infrastructure
“By adopting Rescale, we were able to reduce the cost of trial production by 37%, in addition to improving the speed of our analysis and reducing the total person-hours required,” said Tetsuya Okimoto, Computational Mechanics Engineer at Toyo Advanced Technologies. “Choosing specialized, multi-cloud
Unisys announced ClearPath MCP Software Series for Microsoft Azure − the first availability of its flagship software environment in the public cloud. This offering can leverage complementary Unisys CloudForte hybrid and multi-cloud services and the Unisys Stealth cybersecurity solution in transitioning to Microsoft Azure.
With this initiative, Unisys has not only taken the latest step in platform independence for this powerful, secure enterprise-computing environment, but also enabled new ways for clients to transition their IT infrastructure to the cloud while preserving their longstanding software investments and avoiding additional capital expense for server platforms.
ClearPath MCP clients can now deploy business-critical applications in the public cloud without altering existing business models, re-engineering, refactoring, re-architecting, changing code, recompiling or changing workloads and related databases.
They can then use other familiar Unisys technology, such as Data Exchange data integration software and – with availability planned for 2021 – ClearPath Forward ePortal microservices development software to extend the power of those native applications in Azure.
“ClearPath MCP Software Series for Azure affords organizations a more seamless transition to hybrid and multi-cloud environments, with reduced risk and time to achieve value from the cloud,” said Vishal Gupta, senior vice president, Products and Platforms and Chief Technology Officer, Unisys. “It also enables them to streamline operations and reduce associated costs over the long term.”
Unisys clients such as longtime MCP user Job Service of North Dakota (JSND), the state’s unemployment insurance agency, are committing to ClearPath MCP Software Series for Azure because of the economic, operational and customer-service benefits it provides.
“The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that we need to be more agile than ever in developing and deploying new applications to deliver benefits to citizens in immediate need,” said Pat Kelly, JSND’s IT director.
“ClearPath MCP Software Series for Azure, combined with the Unisys CloudForte consulting services in the Azure GovCloud, will enable us to achieve that customer-service goal while reducing our capital-equipment costs, streamlining IT operations, enabling compliance with federal-government regulations and reducing potential for fraud in benefits payouts.”
In this new offering, the MCP operating system runs directly on Azure, so clients can transition and run their applications in this cloud environment with no disruption. Microsoft Windows and Hyper-V have long supported MCP, so this new solution expands the Microsoft environment on which MCP clients can capitalize.
“Microsoft welcomes the opportunity to bring the power and flexibility of the Azure cloud to ClearPath Forward clients,” said Bob Ellsworth, Director, Mainframe Transformation at Microsoft Corp.
“We are committed to helping with their digital transformation journey while preserving the value of their strategic software solutions. Deploying ClearPath on Azure gives them the choice to leverage a new cloud computing model in order to reduce operational costs and quickly seize new market opportunities.”
Incorporates CloudForte services and Stealth security software
CloudForte consulting services assist clients in transitioning their applications to Azure. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Unisys plans to make CloudForte Navigator available to provide ClearPath MCP for Azure with an automated guide to decision-making in cloud adoption and governance based on best practices.
An upfront Navigator assessment ensures that all internal teams collectively understand the impact a cloud implementation will have on cost, security, performance, reliability and operations.
It documents how to configure the underlying cloud environment properly for ClearPath Forward and automates deployment and configuration audits of crucial ancillary components of the software environment.
The ClearPath Forward operating environment – the only one on the market from which data has never been forcibly extracted – is hardened to provide unmatched security.
Organizations adopting ClearPath MCP Software Series for Azure can also incorporate Stealth, which uses microsegmentation, encryption and Dynamic Isolation™ to contain threats and protect public, private, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, as well as datacenters.
Microsoft recognized Unisys as Azure Innovation Partner of the Year in 2015 and 2017. Unisys is a Microsoft Azure Expert MSP partner and a Microsoft Gold Partner, holding 11 Microsoft Gold and Silver Competencies, including Cloud Productivity, Cloud Platform and Application Development.
Actian announced a strategic partnership with enterprise data protection provider Sotero. This partnership incorporates Sotero’s KeepEncrypt 360 solution into the Actian Avalanche hybrid cloud data warehouse service, extending Avalanche’s enterprise-class security.
The combination of Actian Avalanche and Sotero KeepEncrypt 360 offers enterprises robust and comprehensive end-to-end encrypted data security across all enterprise data, both at rest and in motion, and ensures that regardless of workload or location, data is protected.
In addition, this partnership delivers enterprise-class automated threat detection and prevention, further mitigating risk for data warehouse processes with Actian. This critical capability enables enterprise-class levels of data security for data migrations across enterprise systems and operational data warehouse analytical workloads, both in the cloud and the data center.
“We understand an enterprise client’s concern for data security and privacy when adopting cloud-based SaaS offerings,” said Purandar Das, CEO and Co-Founder, Sotero. “We are thrilled to partner with Actian to further expand their capability in securing the enterprise client’s journey end-to-end with Actian Avalanche hybrid cloud data warehouse.”
Sotero was engineered to address the inherent limitations of today’s data protection products. Sotero, with KeepEncrypt, enables data to stay encrypted through the entire lifecycle, thereby eliminating the vulnerability of today’s data solutions to decrypt data for use.
Sotero is also architected to operate in scale and support the high performance Actian solution. Sotero is a comprehensive solution providing role-based access control with built-in key management and key rotation. Like Actian, Sotero is a multi-cloud solution enabling organizations to operate in their cloud of choice.
Actian Avalanche sets the bar for performance, scalability, deployment flexibility and economics, both in the cloud and on-premise. The Avalanche single tenant architecture ensures the highest levels of security by providing private network isolation, disk and columnar encryption, built-in data masking, robust access control capabilities, as well as 24×7 maintenance and monitoring.
As part of the Cloud Security Alliance, Actian continuously adopts best practices to ensure secure cloud computing. Its robust Cloud Security Framework ensures SOC-II 2 compliance.
“Actian customers deploying cloud data warehouse solutions are looking for the ability to manage encryption and key management across multi-cloud platforms and in a hybrid deployment with a centralized solution,” said Marc Potter, Chief Revenue Officer, Actian.
“Enterprises are also looking for secure data migration between environments as they move from on-premise to a hybrid or multi-cloud environment. The partnership between Sotero and Actian provides customers with the industry’s first solution to address these requirements with zero impact on performance.”
The Sotero partnership is part of Actian’s ongoing drive to identify key partners to join its partner ecosystem, helping enterprises improve data analytics capabilities, achieve faster time to insights, facilitate more effective business decision-making, improve data security and thrive in the competitive global marketplace.
The solution is available immediately, with both companies having completed technical integration and certification.
VMware and NVIDIA announced a broad partnership to deliver both an end-to-end enterprise platform for AI and a new architecture for data center, cloud and edge that uses NVIDIA DPUs (data processing units) to support existing and next-generation applications.
Through this collaboration, the rich set of AI software available on the NVIDIA NGC hub will be integrated into VMware vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Tanzu. This will help accelerate AI adoption, enabling enterprises to extend existing infrastructure for AI, manage all applications with a single set of operations, and deploy AI-ready infrastructure where the data resides, across the data center, cloud and edge.
Additionally, as part of Project Monterey separately announced today, the companies will partner to deliver an architecture for the hybrid cloud based on SmartNIC technology, including NVIDIA’s programmable NVIDIA BlueField-2.
The combination of VMware Cloud Foundation and NVIDIA BlueField-2 will offer next-generation infrastructure that is purpose-built for the demands of AI, machine learning, high-throughput and data-centric apps.
It will also deliver expanded application acceleration beyond AI to all enterprise workloads and provide an extra layer of security through a new architecture that offloads critical data center services from the CPU to SmartNICs and programmable DPUs.
“We are partnering with NVIDIA to bring AI to every enterprise; a true democratization of one of the most powerful technologies,” said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware.
“We’re also collaborating to define a new architecture for the hybrid cloud—one purpose built to support the needs and demands of the next generation of applications. Together, we’re positioned to help every enterprise accelerate their use of breakthrough applications to drive their business.”
“AI and machine learning have quickly expanded from research labs to data centers in companies across virtually every industry and geography,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.
“NVIDIA and VMware will help customers transform every enterprise data center into an accelerated AI supercomputer. NVIDIA DPUs will give companies the ability to build secure, programmable, software-defined data centers that can accelerate all enterprise applications at exceptional value.”
UCSF advances healthcare with NVIDIA and VMware
Among the organizations integrating their VMware and NVIDIA ecosystems is the UCSF Center for Intelligent Imaging. A leader in the development of AI and analysis tools in medical imaging, the center uses the NVIDIA Clara healthcare application framework for AI-powered imaging, and VMware Cloud Foundation to support a broad range of mission critical workloads.
The center provides the University of California San Francisco community and academic and industry partners a critical resource for discovering, innovating and adopting AI to improve patient care.
“AI can be used to detect disease in large patient imaging studies more rapidly than the human eye, and, with further research, this technology will enable doctors to provide the fastest, most accurate and safest diagnoses and treatments for patients,” said Christopher Hess, chair of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at UCSF.
“Bringing our NVIDIA Clara AI application frameworks and VMware Cloud Foundation together will help us expand our work in AI using a common data center infrastructure for activities such as training and research, and to help support time-sensitive urgent care diagnostics.”
Enterprise-ready platform for AI
The first aspect of NVIDIA and VMware’s collaboration – the integration of NVIDIA NGC with VMware vSphere and VMware Cloud Foundation – will simplify the deployment and management of AI for the most demanding workloads.
Industries ranging from healthcare to financial services, retail and manufacturing will be able to easily develop and deploy AI workloads using containers and virtual machines, on the same platform as their enterprise applications, at scale across the hybrid cloud.
VMware customers will be able to accelerate data science and AI workloads building on existing infrastructure, resources and toolsets – helping to broaden adoption of AI and ML technologies.
Data scientists, developers and researchers will gain immediate access to the wide array of NGC’s cloud-native, GPU-optimized containers, models and industry-specific software development kits.
NGC software is supported on a select set of pre-tested NVIDIA A100-powered servers expected from leading system manufacturers, including Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Lenovo.
Delivering new hybrid cloud architecture for next gen apps
The second element of VMware and NVIDIA’s collaboration recognizes that, as next-generation workloads grow in complexity, SmartNICs and DPUs are critical technologies for securely accelerating a wide range of enterprise applications where the data resides.
VMware and NVIDIA are delivering a new architecture for the hybrid cloud that will help organizations evolve their infrastructure and operations and introduce a new security model that offloads hypervisor, networking, security and storage tasks from the CPU to the DPU. This new architecture will also extend the VMware Cloud Foundation operating model to bare metal servers.
The architecture is the cornerstone of VMware’s Project Monterey, a technical preview announced at VMworld 2020 today. Leveraging the NVIDIA BlueField-2 DPU with VMware Cloud Foundation, customers will be able to speed up a wide range of next-gen and general-purpose applications, deliver programmable intelligence and operate a distributed, zero-trust security model across data centers, the edge and telco clouds.
Sysdig announced automated inline image scanning for AWS Fargate containers, directly in Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR). Sysdig is the first container and Kubernetes security platform to offer inline scanning for Fargate, which doesn’t require customers to share images or registry credentials outside of their Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment.
Sysdig also announced the addition of threat detection using AWS CloudTrail with Falco, the runtime security tool created by Sysdig, and now a CNCF project. The announcement today focuses on closing the visibility and security gap for organizations running on AWS, including in serverless environments like Fargate.
The Sysdig Secure DevOps Platform is based on open source technologies. By marrying rich data with context, Sysdig provides deep visibility to organizations looking to embed security, validate compliance, and maximize availability across their entire infrastructure. The Fargate and CloudTrail integrations are available to current and new Sysdig customers today.
The challenge of securing AWS workloads
The ultimate goal of moving to the cloud is to innovate faster. Fargate is a managed container environment from AWS that helps run serverless containers at scale. Today, AWS customers launch tens of millions of containers on Fargate each week.
It enables organizations to run applications in Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) without having to spend time managing the underlying infrastructure; however, security and visibility are a challenge.
A best practice in AWS container and Kubernetes-based environments is to scan images directly within registries and CI/CD pipelines. Image scanning manages risk by detecting vulnerabilities and misconfigurations during both development and production.
Most third-party security solutions are unable to scan inside the AWS environment and require sharing image and registry credentials outside of AWS, increasing the risk.
Another challenge in cloud-based, containerized environments is that data collected across infrastructure and managed services is often viewed in different tools. Providing correlation and a consistent view and reporting experience improves efficiency. This provides insights that ultimately enhance security and performance.
Cloud and operations teams need to be able to implement a secure DevOps approach that allows them to efficiently gain insights and take actions to reduce risk and ensure compliance, performance, and availability.
Closing the visibility and security gap
The first Fargate inline scanning increases visibility and reduces risk – By extending the Amazon ECR integration to listen for Fargate tasks, Sysdig triggers automated scans directly within Amazon ECR. With this unique inline scanning approach, registry credentials and image contents are not shared outside of the AWS environment. This enables DevOps teams to stay in control over images since they are not sent to a backend or exposed to a staging repository, rather only the scanning results are sent to the Sysdig backend.
Automated and faster CloudTrail threat detection with Falco – CloudTrail provides event history of AWS account activity, including actions taken through the AWS Management Console, AWS SDKs, command line tools, and other AWS services. This data can be helpful in understanding unusual activity in AWS Cloud environments, including security events. Inspection of CloudTrail logs, however, has been a manual process up to this point, forcing cloud teams to monitor the AWS console to identify issues.
With this announcement, Sysdig introduces integration with AWS CloudTrail by extending the Falco engine to ingest CloudTrail logs. Users can now detect threats across containers, hosts, Kubernetes, and AWS services using a single-policy interface. As an open source project, Falco brings a community-driven mindset and a flexible and unique approach to setting policies for securing AWS environments.
With more than 50 out-of-the-box Falco rules being added over the next month, it is easy for organizations to implement best practices with policies that automatically detect unusual access rights with changes to IAM policies, publicly exposed accounts and services, unauthorized access, and other anomalies.
Providing a commercial interface for Falco is unique to Sysdig, which provides enterprise-grade threat detection support based on open source standards and community-driven Falco rules. Being able to manage threat detection rules as policy as code is also a benefit to Sysdig customers.
Fargate and Lambda monitoring – In addition to providing security for AWS Fargate, Sysdig also adds monitoring for core AWS services, such as Fargate and AWS Lambda, in addition to already offered ECS and EKS monitoring.
With native support for Prometheus from Sysdig, DevOps teams can monitor AWS cloud services and serverless entities, along with their Kubernetes environments. Having access to correlated data on performance, health, and availability issues saves teams time and arms teams to make better-informed decisions.
Sysdig can then show information about workloads running in Fargate and functions running in Lambda alongside container, Kubernetes, and services metrics. Curated Prometheus exporters, dashboards templates, and documentation for Fargate and Lambda can be found on PromCat.io, an open source repository of Prometheus integrations maintained by Sysdig as a community resource.
“When using the public cloud, there is a shared security responsibility model, where the customer is responsible for securing its data. Our goal is to close the visibility and security gap as cloud teams move critical applications to production,” said Suresh Vasudevan, chief executive officer at Sysdig.
“Adding inline Fargate scanning and automated CloudTrail support is the latest step in our vision of providing a single platform to support a secure DevOps workflow, as they accelerate application delivery.”
A SaaS-first approach to secure DevOps
The Sysdig Secure DevOps Platform provides organizations a SaaS-first platform to address the most critical security, compliance, and monitoring functions, allowing teams to ship cloud applications faster.
The Sysdig platform delivers image scanning, Kubernetes and container monitoring, application and cloud service monitoring, runtime security, compliance, threat detection and prevention, incident response, and forensics at scale.
With ContainerVision, Sysdig collects and correlates granular data from infrastructure, services, and applications. Sysdig then contextualizes that with Kubernetes and AWS service data, using Sysdig ServiceVision, to provide a consistent, single view of the entire infrastructure.
Without a macro view of the environment, it is difficult to anticipate issues with microservices that have cross-platform dependencies. With the information, ImageVision then identifies and prevents images with vulnerabilities or misconfigurations from being shipped. In the event of an issue, having system-wide visibility can facilitate quicker resolutions.
Sysdig continues to collaborate with AWS on providing the deepest visibility and security within AWS environments.
Earlier this month, Sysdig announced that it was a launch partner for AWS Outposts, a fully managed service that extends AWS infrastructure, AWS services, APIs, and tools to virtually any datacenter, co-location space, or on-premises facility for a consistent hybrid experience.
With early access to Fargate 1.19, the Sysdig team worked on a series of Falco optimizations that were released in April.
odix has officially joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) program.
odix was nominated to MISA for integrating their recently launched product, FileWall, with Microsoft Azure Sentinel. FileWall is a security application for Microsoft 365 mailboxes and now includes reporting capabilities to Azure Sentinel.
The Microsoft Intelligent Security Association was formed in 2018 to provide a community for premier cybersecurity companies to collaborate and better integrate their technologies with Microsoft Security products. By joining MISA, odix looks to advance its CDR solutions fluid integration into the range of widely used Microsoft software products.
MISA uniquely fosters the critical relationships between innovative designers and developers creating cyber security products that integrate with Azure Sentinel, the Graph Security API and other Microsoft products.
By removing the obstacles to direct integration, MISA members, such as odix, can fast track technological and product developments to produce a more robust security ecosystem for Microsoft 365 users.
According to odix CEO, Dr. Oren Eytan “odix inclusion into MISA, Microsoft’s premier security association, is a clear sign of Microsoft’s recognition of the innovative technology and market demand for our industry leading CDR solutions. With our participation in MISA, odix is better positioned to integrate our products for the benefit of MIcrosoft 365 users.
“Combined with the recent launch of FileWall, this allows us to better protect users from malware and cyber-attacks while enabling security teams to get visibility via Microsoft Azure Sentinel. We couldn’t be happier to solidify our relationship to help remove the threat of malware for millions of Microsoft 365 users globally.”
For MISA members the association provides the avenues to; enrich security products, execute go-to-market strategy, connect with customers and other MISA partners, and ease integration into the Microsoft ecosystem.
Rani Lofstrom, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft Security acknowledged the value of odix joining MISA, saying: “The Microsoft Intelligent Security Association has grown into a vibrant ecosystem comprised of the most reliable and trusted security software vendors across the globe.
“Our members, like odix, share Microsoft’s commitment to collaboration within the cybersecurity community to improve our customers’ ability to predict, detect, and respond to security threats faster.”
With its membership in MISA, combined with the recent launch of FileWall, odix looks forward to leveraging Microsoft’s security products to better defend against cyber security threats with added identity and access management, threat protection, information protection, and security management.
Jumio announced that the company acquired the AML platform from Beam Solutions, a San Francisco-based startup focused on transaction monitoring and KYC.
Jumio will integrate Beam’s suite of AML solutions into its current KYX Platform to further strengthen the company’s position in the anti-financial crime marketplace. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Launched in 2016, Beam provides secure, accurate and easy-to-use solutions for fintechs, banks, broker-dealers, credit unions, lenders, cryptocurrency providers, marketplaces and other regulated organizations who need to comply with anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC) and suspicious activity reporting (SAR) regulatory requirements.
Beam’s mission is to make the financial system safer by applying creative technological innovation to the detection and reporting of suspicious financial activity that facilitates money laundering, terrorism and human trafficking.
“Financial institutions of all sizes currently rely on a number of point solutions to combat financial crime and mitigate money laundering threats. At the same time, they must satisfy countless government regulations in order to avoid expensive fines and reputational damage,” said Robert Prigge, Jumio’s CEO.
“Together, Jumio and Beam’s solutions deliver the first end-to-end compliance solution designed to minimize reputational and regulatory risk, increase operational efficiency and genuinely address harmful activity.”
Organizations that are subject to financial regulations currently rely on multiple systems to mitigate financial crime and meet their compliance obligations. The asset purchase of Beam Solutions accomplishes a number of strategic objectives.
The KYX Platform
Beam provides critical AML transaction monitoring, watchlist and sanctions screening and customer risk rating functionality to expand Jumio’s KYX Platform strategy, which combines data from a variety of sources to build a complete digital profile and risk assessment of each customer.
Case management
Beam streamlines the process of investigating suspicious activity by integrating powerful tools with a modern, intuitive workflow. The data captured during the onboarding process can seamlessly feed into this process, making analysts better informed and more efficient.
Analysts can then document their findings, progress through a workflow and submit regulatory filings — all through a single user interface.
AI-powered anomaly detection
Beam leverages state-of-the-art machine learning to analyze hundreds of factors about millions of financial transactions to adaptively search for abnormal patterns and activity.
This capability will be enhanced by combining with Jumio’s AI Labs to further reduce the number of false positives and dramatically lessen review time.
A more holistic view
By integrating upfront KYC processes and ongoing AML screening and transaction monitoring, organizations will have a more comprehensive and holistic view of the risk associated with each customer.
The combined offerings provide comprehensive protection from fraudsters, bad actors and money launderers through the entire customer lifecycle.
“When financial institutions are compelled to use multiple solutions, efficiencies are lost, both with respect to workforce and data,” said Andreas Bayer, Beam’s co-founder and CTO.
”Data gathered during the onboarding and customer due diligence processes should be leveraged going forward as part of the ongoing KYC and transaction monitoring program. That’s the real promise of this partnership.”
As financial crime continues to evolve, the asset purchase of Beam Solutions will create strategic synergies, technological unity and new innovation opportunities for Jumio to better meet the needs of existing and new customers around the world by providing a comprehensive end-to-end compliance solution. Beam’s U.S. employees will relocate to Jumio’s Palo Alto headquarters.
“I should make a bust cake of Mick Jagger,” I told my boyfriend as we watched the latest episode of TheGreat British Baking Show. “I just have to make the lips really big. It would be easy.” “Okay, well I don’t want to be here for that,” he replied, no doubt recalling the very dramatic Cinnamon Roll Incident of 2017.
Every time The Great British Baking Show (aka Bake Off aka GBBO) returns to Netflix, I get the baking bug and plan all sorts of GBBO-inspired projects that never come to fruition. I do not particularly enjoy baking (the effort-to-payoff ratio skews too heavily towards “effort”), but I do like eating cookies, cakes, and pies, and GBBO makes baking look like a pleasant activity.
What usually happens is I’ll start with a very big baking plan (like a cake bust), then I’ll decide that one of the smaller projects from that week is more my speed, then spend an hour or so looking at recipes for said project before finally settling on something completely different and very easy (or nothing at all).
This week, while perusing recipes for Battenberg—one of those British cakes that sounds made up—I stumbled upon a recipe for three-ingredient peanut butter cookies. All you need to make them is a cup of peanut butter, a cup of sugar, and a single egg, and they bake up in 10 minutes. The next morning, while browsing Food52, I found an almond butter version. Aha.
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As a woman of science, I immediately deduced that these cookies could probably be made with any nut butter. So I tried making them with peanut butter, then Nutella, then an almond-hazelnut-cocoa blend.
The Nutella experiment was unsuccessful, which was not surprising, but I had to try it (for science). The batter was too oily, and the cookies baked up into hard, sugary shards that fused to the pan. But the other two were fantastic: sweet, chewy, crisp around the edges, and honestly pretty astounding in relation to the amount of effort involved.
You can add things to the batter if you want—chocolate chips, nuts—but a little salt is a must if you’re using a sweetened nut butter. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt into the batter or sprinkle some of the flakey stuff on top. These cookies are also fairly prone to spreading, so pop ‘em in the freezer (on the baking sheet) for five minutes before baking. Almond butter, sunflower seed butter, and even tahini would all work as a base—just make sure that any separated oil is completely incorporated into the nut butter before adding to the batter, or choose brands that do not separate.
3-Ingredient Nut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup nut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon fine salt of flakey salt to finish
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375℉. Mix all ingredients (except flakey salt) together in a bowl with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth batter with no visible streaks of egg. Using your hands, roll the dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
(If you want flatter, crispier cookies, make a criss-cross pattern on the tops of the cookies by pressing down with a fork; if you want them fudgier, leave them in little blobs.)
Sprinkle on the flakey salt if you’re using it, then pop the baking sheet in the freezer for five minutes. Once the cookies are chilled, bake them for 10 minutes (if they’re flat) or 14 minutes (if they’re blobs), then remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk.
Fall hardwareannouncement season continues. Google is on tap today; its fancy “Launch Night” event kicks off in just a few hours. As for what the company is planning to announce, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since much of it has already leaked across the internet—or at Home Depot.
If you haven’t been paying attention, you can expect to see the (official) debut of the Pixel 5 today, as well details on a 5G-friendly Pixel 4A. As you might expect, the latter should be pretty similar to the extant Pixel 4A, just with 5G connectivity
The Pixel 5, however, will be Google’s new flagship device. Interestingly, it’s rumored to have a somewhat mid-tier processor (Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G) instead of a speedier Snapdragon 865 Plus, but perhaps we’ve reached the point in the Android lifecycle where simply a reasonable processor is good enough for most people’s needs.
I’m most curious to see what kind of battery life the average user will be able to get from a Pixel 5; rumors suggest Google is giving the physical battery a boost. How that will play out in combination with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G is anyone’s guess, but I suppose we’ll have more details relatively soon.
You can also expect to see the debut of Google’s Nest Audio smart speaker, as well as a brand-new Chromecast rumored to include a built-in user interface (a first for Google).
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You don’t have to take my word for any of this, though. If you want to see it all for yourself, pull up Google’s official page for the event at 11:00 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET. Or, if you’re feeling lazy, come back to this post and watch the embedded YouTube link below.
You could also cozy up on the couch in front of your Chromecast-equipped television and steam that YouTube link to your big screen if you really want to make the most of the afternoon’s festivities. Or check back later, as we’ll have a full roundup of everything Google talked about (and info on when you can buy it).
Featured Deal:First Bag Free | Atlas Coffee | Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20
First Bag Free | Atlas Coffee | Promo Code AtlasCoffeeDay20Gif: Atlas Coffee
National Coffee Day is Tuesday, so why not find a new brew to enjoy to celebrate? We even have a great deal for you right now to get your first bag of Atlas Coffee for free. That link should automatically mark your first bag down to $0, but you will need to cover shipping. If not, use code AtlasCoffeeDay20 at checkout. For me, the shipping charge was around $5. You can choose whether to get your bag ground and ready to go or as whole beans you can grind yourself.
This subscription, which you can cancel anytime, brings you a fresh bag of new coffee every two or four weeks depending on what schedule you set up. You can get caffeinated conveniently and on your terms by indicating your preference for lighter or darker roasts, or have them surprise you with each delivery.
LG 75" 8K TV | $2,149 | BuyDig | Promo Code ASL250Image: Jordan McMahon
You don’t have to drop a huge stack of cash to get a decent TV, and you probably shouldn’t when there are plenty of affordable options that offer great picture quality. That said, if you absolutely must have the latest and greatest specs, and you’re lucky enough to not worry too much about money, you can save almost two grand on an 8K TV from LG right now. This 75" 8K TV is 46% off right now, bringing the price down to $2,149 using the promo code ASL250. That’s still a lot of money for a TV, and unless you absolutely need the best picture quality, you really could find a great TV for much less, but if you must hit that buy button, at least do so while you can save a little bit of money.
One of Amazon’s top-rated speakers is $130 off right now thanks to our friends at SideDeal. For the rest of the day, or until they sell out, save 57% on the Libratone Zipp Mini 2 Bluetooth Speaker.
This WiFi/Bluetooth Speaker will play up to twelve hours off of one charge (takes about three hours) and works seamlessly with Alexa. With a far-field mic, she’ll be able to hear you from quite a distance. The speaker easily connects through the app that you can download in both the Android and iPhone stores. The Libratone provides full 360 sound wherever you play it and there’s even the option to connect up to 10 speakers with SoundSpace Link. Hop on your WiFi and take full advantage of the Zipp Mini feature where you can save/play five playlists or radio stations. Take calls without the fear of crackly noise once you link up with Bluetooth. There are changeable speaker covers to match your mood or home. You can choose one in this deal but others are available for purchase. Pick from stormy black, frosty grey, cranberry red, or pine green and get grooving today.
If you’ve read a few of our pieces on SideDeal before and you like what you’ve seen they offer a $5 monthly fee to get free shipping on all of your orders no matter how many. Otherwise, it’s a flat rate of $8.
You don’t need to spend a bundle to bring a crisp, 4K-resolution TV into your home. Right now, Best Buy has an LG 43-inch 4K HDR Smart TV for just $250, a $20 savings from the list price.
This Smart TV already has the most popular streaming video apps built in, from Netflix to Disney+ and plenty more, plus it offers Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. It has a 4.6-star rating from customers and is a great 4K option for anyone who wants the resolution bump but doesn’t want or feel the need to splurge on it.
While you could find it for the same price on Amazon, the 77" LG CX-series 4K OLED TV—a top-end premium 4K OLED smart TV from a widely trusted brand—is $3,697 at BuyDig AND comes with a $300 Visa gift card. With the extra credit in hand, redeemable just about anywhere, you could save it or buy a larger TV stand or upgrade your furniture while you’re in the mood for improving your space. But, hear me out: You could also put it toward a PS5 or Xbox Series S/X to play next-gen games that truly take advantage of the hardware. It’s even got Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync to cut down on screen tearing for us PC gamers who couldn’t give a flying fuck about consoles.
Behold deeper blacks and a more pronounced color palette, and find out for yourself what OLED is all about. Powered by a leading AI processor and compatible with both Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants the new webOS is a marked update over previous versions you may have squabbled with in the past. Motion smoothing provides a more realistic picture, free of noticeable delays between frames. Apple users can cast content from their iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, thanks to AirPlay 2 support. And, of course, Dolby Vision, HDR 10, and HLG are all present to ensure your top-of-the-line TV yields a top-of-the-line experience—all bundled up with an extra $300.
Every time I see an iPad deal, I’m reminded of this tweet from Washington Post reporter Gene Park. Also the NY Times article he’s referencing, but mostly his tweet. The iPad has supplanted our TVs as the main TV- and movie-watching device of the house. It’s an all-in-one distraction, and you can pick up the latest base model in 32GB for $299 on Amazon, a $30 cut. The 128GB version is also down to $395. Between its 10.2-inch Retina display, the aging but still pretty fast A12 Bionic processor, and up to 10 hours of battery life, there’s a lot to love about the iPad. It’s the latest model, has plenty of character, and is one of the first models compatible with the Apple Pencil.
It’s gonna be a while before we start going to any concerts again, and even when we do, they’re probably gonna look a little different. Even so, there’s a particular delight in being in a space filled with music, and humming along to your favorite tunes. This isn’t a concert replacement, but the Marshall Stanmore II offers impressive sound quality for a Bluetooth speaker, and it’s down to $250 at Best Buy right now, saving you over $100, so tuck that extra cash away for a rainy day.
Anyone desperate for a night out should look no further than the backyard, or if you live in an apartment, a random unoccupied field (PARODY). And thanks to AuKing, you can save 30% on a mini projector by clipping the onsite coupon and entering the promo code 4G63N2XD at checkout, perfectly suited to replace nights out at the AMC or Regal. In fact, with a projector, you don’t have to worry about the smell of Arby’s roast beef the person behind you snuck into Tenet. Instead, you can watch actual good movies like Palm Springs with your large adult sons. Or, in case the little ones tag along, rent Scoob!, a movie I’m curious about but don’t have the children to justify watching it on my own.
The AuKing mini projector gets you 55,000 hours of viewing time, or over 6 years consecutive years. It boasts a 4.5-star rating on Amazon out of nearly 4,000 reviews and supports both HDMI and VGA input. That means all you have to do is hook up a Roku or an Apple TV for endless streaming. You can also connect it to your gaming console of choice or even a PC. At this price, it’s a hell of a steal, but you’ll have to act fast—this deal ends Sunday 10/4. So you only have a few more days to think it over. An impulse buy never hurt anyone.
This deal was originally published in August 2020 and updated with new information on 9/29/2020.
Portable power bricks come in all sorts of capacities and price points, but many aren’t primed to handle more demanding devices such as laptops. Luckily, AUKEY’s 26,800mAh USB-C Power Bank is designed for just that, delivering 60W of charging power.
That’s good enough to charge modern MacBooks and many other laptops, not to mention a Nintendo Switch (while playing), tablets, smartphones, and any other smaller portable devices. Whether you’re planning a trip anytime soon or just want to have a backup handy, this versatile and compact (just 6.46” long) brick can do the trick.
Right now, save 30% off the list price by using promo code H36B3QN9 at checkout.
Are you the friend constantly asking if anyone has a charger? Or pre-pandemic were you asking bartenders if you could plug your phone in somewhere? The second option is probably not on the table now so what better way to solve the problem then by grabbing these two Power Banks for $29.
I’ve had Mophie products before and really like them. This two-pack is a great value so whether it’s you who needs these or a friend no one should be without power again. I personally like to have one at all times and swap two out each day, one is charging while one is out and about with me. Lightweight and in three color options you’ll get up to twenty-plus hours of extra power on the go. Charge up to two devices at once with the USB-A and USB-C ports. You and your pal can juice up your phones or if you need to recharge and tablet or wireless headphones all can be done at the same time. This pack comes with two guide books so if you are gifting one the recipient won’t be without a manual.
If you’ve read a few of our pieces on SideDeal before and you like what you’ve seen they offer a $5 monthly fee to get free shipping on all of your orders no matter how many. Otherwise, it’s a flat rate of $8.
Got more than one device that needs to be charged at the same time? Well, the RAVPower 40W Desktop charger is only $18 with the promo code QC30, bringing the price down to a decent $18. It includes one quick charge 3.0 port, bringing a dead phone or tablet back to 80% charger in about 35 minutes. What are you waiting for? Jump on this deal now!
If you’re in the market for a new smart TV, Best Buy has you covered with a great deal on a Sony 65" option. Complete with Sony’s speedy X1 processor and X-Reality Pro engine, the TV—being a Sony after all—is optimized for PlayStation, thanks to its built-in Game Mode. If you’re planning on getting a PS5 whenever pre-orders go live again, this may be the perfect companion purchase. HDR 10 and Android TV sweeten the deal, making it not only visually stunning but user friendly as well.
The X750H model (original retail $999) has mostly positive reviews on Best Buy and Amazon, and it doesn’t drop below $745 on the latter. Take advantage of the savings while you can!
This deal was originally published by Elizabeth Lanier on 9/27/2020 and updated by Gabe Carey with new information on 9/28/2020.
Whooooooa, this pair of Ankbit earbuds by 1Mii plummets to $16 with promo code 65384LYM, down from a $46 list sticker, and while I can’t vouch for these personally, they’re cheap enough that you can take a chance and not feel bad. These things sport Bluetooth 5.0 AptX sound and IPX5 water resistance, and you’ll get eight hours on a single charge. The biggest shocker might not even be the price tag, though: it’s the fact that its enormous charging case with an LED battery indicator packs 150 hours worth of added playtime. That’s because it doubles as a 2,600mAh power bank that can also charge your smartphone and other devices. Again, only $16.
It’s only been out a week since launch and we’re already seeing discounts on the Apple Watch Series 6. Amazon has some 40mm models down to $384, while the 44mm falls to $415, both about $15 off and shipping anywhere between 1-4 weeks out.
The Apple Watch Series 6 runs laps around the competition as far as technology is confirmed. It features everything you love about the Series 5 watch like an ECG heart rate sensor, and also adds new tricks like a blood oxygen sensor and an always-on altimeter, making it more ideal than ever for fitness buffs.
Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 2 is one seriously premium gamepad, and while the price might seem insane, stores have often had trouble keeping this thing in stock. Luckily, right now Amazon not only has the Elite Series 2 available, but is also taking $10 off the price in a rare discount. We saw a larger drop near the start of the year, but only for Prime members.
What does your $170 get you? The robust Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X/S controller comes with a series of swappable analog sticks and d-pads to find your perfect setup, plus it has a built-in 40 hour battery, a charging dock inside the case, and optional added paddle buttons on the back.
Obviously, this price and these perks won’t be for everyone—but if you want to go Elite (Series 2), now’s the time.
Grinding for bells is hard work and you probably break a sweat while doing it. Keeping cool on your island paradise is important and this officially licensed Animal Crossing water bottle from Controller Gear can do just that. Take $5 off this travel-friendly double-wall stainless steel bottle. It holds up to seventeen ounces, is sweat-free, and keeps beverages both hot and cold. This adorable bottle has all your townie faves including my beloved K.K. Slider. It was built for a life on the move so you know it will hold up while you’re digging for fossils, catching bugs, or even fishing. Easy to clean and it’s durable for even the toughest of journies no matter your hemisphere.
Free one-day shipping for Prime members.
If you’ve ever played Super Smash Bros.and said to yourself, “I wish these were all anime characters instead,” Jump Force Deluxe Edition is for you. Well, maybe. While it’s more akin to a traditional arcade fighting game like Mortal Kombator even Dragon Ball FighterZ, the premise is undoubtedly similar: Here are a bunch of characters you’re familiar with. Now make them fight. Outside the fighting, however, your Shonen faves—including Dragon Ball Z’s Goku, Monkey D. Luffy of One Piece (ya-yo ya-yo) origin, and Naruto from Naruto—can explore an AI-filled hub world. But the clear focus is on fighting, even if it is simplistic.
Jump Force is one of the most newbie-friendly 3D free-roaming fighting games I’ve encountered. There are two attack buttons, light and strong, which players can pound to perform auto-combos. There’s a throw button, which is useful for when the opposition tries to hide behind the block button (R1). L1 allows players to chase their foes or escape, if they have enough meter to allow for it. Holding R2 charges the super meter and, in combination with the controller’s face buttons, executes special attacks. Pressing the right analog stick down awakens a fighter and transforms them should they possess an alternate form. It might seem like a lot written out, but it’s incredibly easy to pick up.
Evidently, Jump Force won’t be seen at any EVO tournaments in the foreseeable future, pandemic or not. Still, it’s classic otaku fun to see anime/manga characters who wouldn’t ordinarily interact at all arise from the screen/pages and come together to beat each other to a pulp. If that sounds fun to you, you can pick up Jump Force Deluxe Edition for Nintendo Switch from Best Buy for $50—a 20% discount off the list price. Considering it just came out last month, this may be just the price drop you were waiting for, whether out of curiosity or good ol’ fashioned nostalgia for worlds you haven’t seen in a while.
As we await the arrival of the long-rumored Switch Pro, along with its dimensions and specs, it’s my opinion the Switch Lite is the best way to play Nintendo games in 2020. Now, before you denounce me in a fit of rage, put one in your hands for a few minutes of Mario Galaxyor Burnout Paradise and you’ll see what I mean. Back in stock on Amazon in the Coral variant for the retail price of $200, you can do just that without getting swindled by a price-gouging third party seller.
The lightweight and truly portable handheld gaming console is reminiscent of the PS Vita hardware-wise, down to the actual D-pad as opposed to the discrete up/down/right/left buttons on the Switch proper. Though it’s admittedly disappointing there’s no way to output Switch Lite games to the TV due to hardware constraints, I haven’t missed the functionality since I traded up my launch day Switch for the bright yellow guy you’ll find here. Since a lot of Switch games look better on other platforms, mobility is the system’s primary advantage anyway. I haven’t regretted my purchase, and I doubt you will either.
First off, how did I just never know the Operation character’s name is Cavity Sam? That just adds a layer to how disturbing this is. Who’s the audience for this? Are there Operation enthusiasts clamoring for a Funko of a cadaver? This is quite possibly the most unnerving toy they’ve released to date. I mean Funko’s have their own weirdness with each recreation being a full dead-eyed version of the source material and I’ve only ever really found it works for animals. But hey, to each their own. If you a board game junkie and need a frightening figure to grace your space Cavity Sam is for you. I just hope he doesn’t haunt your dreams.
Good ‘Ol Sam is a preorder and will be released on October 17. Prime members will get free shipping.
I’m not about children but I am about The Child, and I know I’m not alone. This officially licensed six pin pack is exclusive to Amazon. Is this a good deal? Yes, very much so. These enamel pins are normally $10 each. So grabbing this for $25 is kind of a steal.
These pins are about an inch in size and have a backer with the basemetal. Only 10,000 packs were made and the collector’s packaging will be numbered. The Child is featured in these poses: napping in the pod, eating the frog, sipping on soup, pushing buttons, and using the force. You can’t deny how adorable he and these pins are no matter how hard you try. You can’t fight the cute so you might as well buy this pack and share with your pals from a galaxy far far away.
Free one-day shipping on this item for Prime members.
If you’re looking for a gaming headset, this Razer Kraken Tournament Edition is $25 off at Best Buy right now, bringing it down to $75. Compatible with all major gaming consoles, PC, and mobile, the Kraken Tournament Edition includes a USB audio interface housing all your volume controls. This set has customizable bass, too, allowing you to tweak the boom in your ears across 17 different levels.
Amazon has a great sticker price on the Logitech G533 right now, offering the well-rated wireless gaming headset for $74, down from a $150 MSRP. With DTS 7.1 surround sound you’ll get full immersion in supported movies and games, and this is a Lightspeed connection, giving you a solid, low latency connection up to 15 meters from the source. The embedded boom mic has a pop filter embedded, and you can toggle mute simply by tucking it away.
Whether young or old, Yoshi’s Crafted World can warm any heart with its charm. This puzzler-platformer for Nintendo Switch can be played with one other friend, and right now, you can buy it for just $50 at Amazon.
Its fun setting and mix of new and classic Nintendo characters make this a great game to sit back and relax with. Don’t be afraid to put all your Yoshi eggs into this basket if you’re looking for something new to play.
This deal was originally published by Quentyn Kennemer in September 2020 and updated by Elizabeth Lanier with new information on 9/27/2020.
Have you heard? Microsoft bought Zenimax Studios, reportedly for an earth-shattering $7.5 billion in cold, hard cash. With the acquisition, Microsoft gets full control of everything under that banner, including Bethesda, id Software, Arkane, and more. Those studios are responsible for some of the most fun games this generation produced, including Doom, Wolfenstein, Fallout 4 (and 76 now, apparently, but I’ve personally given up), The Evil Within, and Dishonored. And while we haven’t gotten a new single player Elder Scrolls game since the Xbox 360, we know Elder Scrolls 6 is on the way, and Bethesda is working on other exciting new IPs like Starfield.
The other leg of this news is that all the games from these studios, like any first party Microsoft studio, will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. Game Pass Ultimate was already one of the hottest deals going in gaming before the news, and even without meaty discounts like 3 months for $25 at Eneba (currently $45 on Amazon), you’ll enjoy all the benefits for one low price. That means you’ll get online play, hundreds of first- and third-party games, exclusive discounts, in-game perks, and more, and that goes whether you’re on Xbox One, PC, or the soon-to-arrive Xbox Series X.
Pre-order Cyberpunk 2077 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) | $50 | AmazonImage: CD Projekt RED
As it often does for hot new games, Amazon is taking $10 off pre-orders for Cyberpunk 2077, the ambitious open-world game by CD Projekt Red, makers of the critically acclaimed The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Your total is $50 with the deal, and that goes whether you buy on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or PC.
Unlike Geralt of the ancient (and totally fictitious) land of Rivia, Cyberpunk takes us into a not-so-distant future where guys good and bad are yoked up with cybernetic enhancements. Life is generally fine until it’s discovered there’s a prototypical component that grants immortality to whoever has it installed, and, of course, all hell breaks loose to secure it.
Cyberpunk 2077 was originally set to be out this Spring and was once delayed until September, but it has since suffered another delay to November 19, 2020. Pre-order now, and Amazon will offer you the lowest price if it drops again before release date.
Thermometers have certainly become less… invasive… over time, and thanks to the pandemic, we’ve seen a lot more infrared, touchless forehead thermometers in the wild. Now you can get your own at a deep discount.
Right now, Purea’s forehead thermometer is just $24 at Amazon when you clip the coupon and input the Kinja Deals exclusive promo code, KINJAK4H. It’s perfect for scanning friends and neighbors, if you own a shop or run community gatherings of any sort, plus you can convert it to a more typical ear thermometer if you prefer.
Purea’s thermometer has a 4.8-star rating across more than 2,200 customer reviews, and it’s 40% off in this exclusive deal.
Brush your teeth with a Fairywill Sonic electric toothbrush. Only $26 from a price drop, you can whiten your teeth with 40,000 strokes per minute. It’s soft bristle, so you won’t hurt your gums, has a smart timer, and five modes of brushing for a clean mouth. What are you waiting for?
It’s happening months later than usual, but we finally know when Amazon’s Prime Day sales extravaganza is taking place: October 13-14. We can expect a non-stop barrage of bargains across those days, but Amazon is already dripping out some early deals.
Right now, Amazon Prime members can snag a two-pack of Echo Dot devices for just $40 using promo code DOTPRIME2PK. That’s a $60 savings over buying the two compact smart speakers without a discount, and that’ll give you access to the Alexa voice assistant over a wider spread of your home. Just add two Dots to your cart and then pop in the code at checkout.
These aren’t the brand new models that were announced last week with a globe-like design, much like the larger new standard Echo. However, these little pucks have been top sellers over the last two years, and this is a hell of a deal exclusively for Prime members.
My dog’s favorite bed is on sale and it can be your floof’s favorite too. All sizes are on sale but depending on how big your good boy or girl is the price will fluctuate a little, $17-$28. It’s still a good deal on one of the softest and comfiest beds my pooch has ever had.
The medium bed is what my old Jack Russell now has and it’s hard to get him off it. Not because he’s thirteen but because it’s so cozy. He prefers this over the bed now. The donut shape obviously makes it ideal if your pet is a little cinnamon roll all curled up when they sleep. But there’s plenty of support if they like to stretch out too. It’s lightweight and easy to move around or even take with you if they need it on a trip or for boarding. It’s faux shag fur and self-warming. It’s deep enough to get a little burrowing action on if you’ve got a digger on your hands. There’s a variety of colors to choose from to match it to your decor and it’s got an anti-skid bottom so it’s all good on wood floors or tile. It’s easy to clean and can go right in the washer and be tumble dried. Your pet deserves the best and when you get to save a little to give them that all the better.
Free two-day shipping for Prime members.
One of the easiest ways to redecorate or spruce up a room is an accent pillow. It’s also relatively inexpensive which is a huge plus when wanting to revamp your home. For the next two days comb through more than 450 accent pillows at Wayfair and find the perfect one or three to breathe new life into a dull space.
This is also a great time to bulk up your holiday pillow collection if you’re one of those enthusiastic people who start decorating November 1. Here are a few of Wayfair’s top sellers if you need some inspiration and are unsure of the new motif you’d like to go for.
A fan favorite for customers are these Mccullough Square Cotton Pillows ($18). They come in eight different colors so you’re sure to find one that matches your abode. There’s also something very Twin Peaks about these and now I know you can’t unsee it. You get the cover and the insert which means these are easy to clean.
These Kingman Cotton Throw Pillows ($22) are another crowd-pleaser at 62% off. They come in three colors, all cotton, and have a soft cozy vibe to them. While they are cotton just like the previous pillows these ones will need to be dry cleaned if you have an oopsie.
This Daysha Shag Cotton Throw Pillow ($24) takes me back. I had one just like this growing up except it was bright pink. This one is obviously a little more demur but no less fun. Take 54% off this peacock blue one and no worries because it is machine washable.
Free two-day shipping on these items.
What if you can get into your space with the touch of a finger? Well, check out this Eufy Smart Touch Lock. It recognizes your fingerprint in 0.3 seconds and will unlock your door in one second. You have four ways to unlock your door—with your finger, the Eufy security app via Bluetooth, the electronic keyboard, or actual physical key. The lock itself can withstand all types of weather, and does not connect through WiFi, which means your privacy is protected just as much as your house. Lastly, with the promo code PREPD15999, it’ll bring the price down to $160, which is about 20% off the list price.
Matcha, an organic form of antioxidant-rich green tea powder, is a popular add-in for all sorts of drinks. You can even get the health benefits in the matcha latte form with not too much effort and for a great deal right now.
Jade Leaf organic matcha green tea powder is on sale right now for 20% off on Amazon. You get an additional 10% if you buy more than one bag, so it might be a good time to stock up. There are additional savings if you sign-up for subscribe and save of 5% or more, but how much matcha powder do you need? That’s a personal choice— no judgment here.
You can easily make your own matcha drinks at home by adding the liquid of your choice to some powder and whisking with a frother.
You’re in luck if you’re shopping for one of those, as the top-rated one is up to 36% off right now. The cheapest options are the black and silver frothers for $12, but you can get them down to $9 apiece if you buy three (that’s 51% off). The other colors are mostly $14, with a few special options held firm at full price for $16. However, you can also get an additional 15% off of those options if you buy three frothers (so the special color options like unicorn will be $12 each). Although I’m not sure why you would need three of them— maybe matcha latte kits would make for thoughtful gifts?
You can keep your pet’s thirst quenched with this deal on Amazon today: The furrybaby cat drinking water fountain is 20% off. This brings it down to a pretty reasonable $16!
I’m considering getting one for my dog. It looks like they respond well to it, too, according to several reviews. Get it before it goes up to its usual price of $20!
Over 13,000 customers can’t be wrong. 71% of Amazon reviewers have given the AuraGlow Teeth Whitening Kit a 5-star rating. If you’ve been looking to clean up a few coffee stains or make those pearly whites a little brighter this is the kit you’ve been searching for. This lightning deal from Amazon has AuraGlow’s kit for 50% off the rest of the day.
If you’ve seen these sets before you know it comes with a LED light that helps accelerate the whitening process. It has a built-in timer so you don’t need to worry about setting one yourself and each session will be accurate. Also in this kit are the two 5mL teeth whitening gel syringes and the mouth trays for top and bottom. The trays don’t need to be molded which alleviates a huge headache and is usually my biggest gripe when I’ve tried kits akin to this one. Several customers have mentioned this worked just as well with their sensitive teeth which are really nice to know if you’re on the delicate side. Use these bad boys once a day for thirty minutes and see stains from your life fade away even after one treatment. If only you could remove other problems that easily.
Prime members will enjoy free one-day shipping.
On the hunt for a compact, no-fuss card wallet? Meh has a two-pack available today only for just $10. Each card has a small lever that lifts it up in a cascading design, making it easy to snag the card you need for any occasion, with room for up to 12 total cards. The wallets are built with a sturdy aluminum frame but a faux-leather outside, making it tough but soft to the touch.
And if you’re worried about the unlikely threat of RFID skimmers stealing your digital data, this particular design is meant to keep your cards safe. As Meh points out, “They’ll keep you safe against digital pickpockets who likely don’t exist.” Hey, added peace of mind can’t hurt.
You’ll get two wallets in this bundle, so save one as a backup or give it to a friend. Meh offers a $5/month free shipping subscription that applies across multiple deals sites that we tend to feature here at Kinja Deals, including MorningSave and SideDeal, otherwise you can pay a one-time $5 fee to ship these wallets.
From now until the end of September take 15% over 30 of Bellesa’s best selling vibes and even lubes. All the crowd-pleasers are included like the Satisfyer Pro 2 ($50). Just remember to use the code BESTSELLER at checkout just in case it doesn’t prompt you. But there’s quite the variety here so it’s not all just for the ladies.
You’ve asked and I’ve heard you so let’s spotlight the Satisfyer Men 2.0 ($33). Gentlemen, you tweeted me and I listened. This is Bellesa’s top budget masturbator. Stimulate yourself and your savings. The interchangeable sleeve feels like the real deal and it’s a pretty demure design so no one is the wiser. Easy to clean, easy to use. You’ll love it, I promise.
Let me go ahead and include one of my favorites too, the Nirvana by Bellesa ($101). And it’s already on sale so you get it at an even deeper discount. I love everything Bellesa has designed. These ladies really know that they’re doing but this Nirvana Wand is tops. Combining tech and function it’s a fan favorite for a reason. It’s truly my wand and only.
Free shipping for orders over $29.
If you’re a Libra during Libra season, you should get your hands on a Bijoux Indiscrets Pleasure box from Ella Paradis. It’s only $20, and includes a gemstone to cast witchy spells with, an orgasm balm, and a vibrating bullet to really go to higher heights. Realize your inner beauty and grab this before its gone!
As the bewitching month approaches what better way to usher in the spookiest time of year than with the Little Devil Bullet from Better Love. Our pals at Ella Paradis are giving it to you for practically nothing too. With the code, SPICY grab it now for just $18. That’s 60% off the original price.
This bullet vibe is as wicked as it is adorable. Channel your dark side in a discrete and clever manner. This smooth silicone little satan vibe has ten different settings and will be as naughty as you want to. Easy to use as it has one button and it’s splash-proof for simple cleaning. This buzzing Beelzebub will need AAA batteries but it’ll be worth it when get to dance with diablo.
Free shipping on all orders.
Rae vitamins and dietary supplements are 50% off right now on Target. This brings them down to $15 each, which is lower than you can even find these capsules and drops on Amazon. You can get capsules meant to aid a variety of different lifestyle ailments, from stress to insomnia.
I’m curious about the Rae Beauty ingestible drops, also 50% off, which sounds like snake oil at first glance. A look at the ingredients list shows this is just biotin in liquid form. But, biotin is supposed to have great effects on your hair, skin, and nails, so it makes sense. This flavorless drop form can be consumed alone or with coffee or tea.
They say less is more, and this is never more true than when you are searching through your bag for the one makeup brush you need. If you’re in the market for new makeup brushes, consider skipping the big kits and go for this more eco-friendly and compact 4-in-1 travel brush. It includes smaller lip and blush brushes inside of a larger brush body that includes a sponge applicator and a kabuki on the ends. Normally $16, bring it down to $6 with promo code 60RG821Q— although the link should apply the discount automatically.
You can bring some eco-friendly and skin-friendly measures into your routine this fall with 30% off of this Original MakeUp Eraser kit at Ulta. These reusable erasers just need water to activate and remove cosmetics from your skin, making them sensitive skin-friendly as well as far more sustainable than single-use makeup remover wipes. The set includes seven fall-color erasers for $18, which is a great deal for this popular brand. Plus, just look how pretty they are— those purple hues!
If you want to stock up, you can get three pairs for $100— these pants come in lots of colors and you can mix and match. You’ll also get free shipping as a part of the bundle with promo code 3PT.
I’m so proud of you for still wearing a mask, it’s super cool of you. But do you need an upgrade or maybe something a little more heavy-duty? Or maybe you just want to put your mind at ease with something a smidge more protective? Grab five of the KN95 masks from Amazon right now for just $12.
These are industry-standard which means they are supposed to filter 95 percent of particles. That is just about as good as you can get. So the mask obviously doesn’t completely eliminate the risk of catching or spreading something but if you wear it correctly it still drastically reduces the likelihood. These are also great if you’ve got severe allergies or asthma and protect against pollen, dander, and whatnot. The KN-95 isn’t made for clinical environments not that you’re performing surgery with these but they will definitely protect you and others against what is currently out there. Not all heroes wear capes, but they do wear masks. So thank you.
Batman day was a week ago, but the Dark Knight still delivers deals the rest of the year. Case in point: right now, you can snag a Blu-ray bundle of 18 animated Batman feature-length films for just $50.
Amazingly, the Batman: 80th Anniversary Collection isn’t comprehensive, which means there are even more Batman cartoon flicks out there. But here you’ll get picks like Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Ninja, and the two-part The Dark Knight Returns. And best of all, the 19-disc set is marked down from the $90 list price right now, making it less than $3 per film.
Cowboy Bebop was responsible for sparking my anime interest. I’m not the world’s biggest otaku, but between the eccentric characters, the space-noir setting, stylish fighting, and a jazzy soundtrack the protagonists throw their kicks and punches to, it was unlike anything I regularly watched. If you want to check it out, the Blu-Ray collection is only $33 at Amazon. It’s not the longest series ever at 26 episodes, but it’s short and sweet, perfect for a quick weekend binge.
Enjoying Marvel’s Avengers? If you can’t get enough of the game’s visuals, then perhaps you need to check out the art behind it. You’ll get a deeper look at the concepts the game’s developers were working with before realizing it into the 3D loot grinder it is. From sketches of the heroes themselves to popup locations of iconic installations like Stark Industries, Marvel’s Avengers The Art of the Game not only visualizes the pre-production ideas, but you’re also getting commentary on the creative process from those who worked hard on the game. Amazon has it down to $31 right now, a 23% discount, and it ships in October.
With fifteen titles in this awesome deal from Best Buy, you can create quite the combo for a great day of lazy television binging. Grab any two titles for just $20 and get caught up on a favorite series, experience a new one, or relive the best moments from a past one. I’d like to recommend Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing as a combo. Both had no excuse for being as good as they are/were. Season two of Doom Patrol is currently out on DC Universe and HBO Max. Swamp Thing was sadly canceled too soon. But both are well worth a go.
Build a DC combo with these titles or The CW favorites Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl. Titans and Krypton are other good options...wow, this list is very DC heavy. But all the Rick and Morty seasons are available too and well as Big Bang Theory is that’s more your jam. No matter what you pick this is a killer deal for hours of quality entertainment.
This combo will ship for $5.
In my family, September is the time to start the trial runs for everything that will be cooked and baked for the holidays. My aunt bakes a million cookies and loaves of bread from now until the end of the year and her process improved sustainably after buying one of these. The best investment she ever made for all her culinary concoctions was a KitchenAid Mixer on sale now for $200 less.
This professional-grade KitchenAid Mixer isn’t just a lifesaver for baking it can relieve a lot of elbow grease for batter and creams too. The grinder, pasta maker, and ice cream maker attachments add a whole other level of options. You can really expand your culinary horizons with this one item. The sturdy bowl can handle even the heaviest of recipes and mixing. It’s got ten speeds for a variety of whipping. This sizable five-quart bowl allows up to nine dozen cookies or up to four loaves of bread. It’s easy to clean and is dishwasher-safe. As mentioned there are ten attachments that work with this mixer (sold separately) but that really opens up all the options you’ll have to experiment and/or perfect any recipe. Simple to use with endless foodies possibilities. Three colors are on sale and this item ships for free.
For a short time, you can get a Satisfyer Pro 2 for a decent $50! It’s an oral sex simulator that will suck the shit out of your clitoris and has so many modes of pleasure. One of our writers, Jolie Kerr, says it best:
Satisfyer Pro 2 delivers a very specific experience; basically, it’s designed to stimulate the clit and nothing else, although you can certainly explore other areas with it. It is not, however, an insertable toy and should only be used externally.While it’s not an especially versatile toy, and doesn’t strike me as a great candidate for couples play, it is very, very good at what it does. Basically, if oral sex is the way you like to get off, Satisfyer Pro 2 will make you very, very happy.
The Satisfyer is only $50, so make sure you grab this and get off before it’s gone!
Whether or not we’re headed back into another possible lockdown we are definitely headed into the time of year where we spend more time indoors. What better way to prepare than with this month-long sale at Honey Adult Play. From now until the end of October take 40% off all vibrators.
Because one guy keeps tweeting at me that we don’t cover enough dildos, this featured item is for you. The King Vibrating Dildo is what you were asking for. This velvety silicone vibrator is the perfect size and shape for anyone looking for fast fun. With nine vibe modes and three different rotations, you can hit all the spots you’re aiming for. You’ll actually never want to leave your house now that you’ve got your new buzzing bestie.
Our own Ignacia wrote an extremely comprehensive and helpful review of the Fenty Skin Start’rs where she was pleasantly surprised. If you’ve been thinking about trying it out but are still on the fence this travel set might be the way to go. It’s half the price of the full-size set but only available for a limited time.
I was gifted a set also, have used it for over a month and can say I love the cleanser. I use it a few times a week and it smells unbelievable, super fresh, sweet, and inviting. But if you’re averse to more perfumed products this might not be for you. However, the Hydra Vizor Moisturizer held up pleasantly well during the more humid days at the tail end of summer. It never felt heavy and was breathable enough to still have on with my foundation. Fenty Skin gets two thumbs up from me.
All orders ship for free.
While the capabilities of Samsung’s latest smartphones put them in an elite class of their own, the price tags match and it keeps many at bay. But today, you can grab a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G or Note 20 Ultra 5G for $200 less than they usually cost. That’s still $800 and $1,100, respectively, a big pill to swallow for sure, but if you’re a Note fan who refused to pay four digits for one, this seems like your time to shine.
The Note phones are big, but for a purpose: they’re the ultimate powerhouse champions. You’re in for one of the fastest processors in the game, a massive AMOLED display to show multiple apps simultaneously, and the Wacom-powered S Pen for doodling, note-taking, and multitasking. Four total cameras come on board for your photography needs on the $800 Note 20, you’ll get all-day battery life that can be charged in minutes with “Super Fast Charging”, and a whole lot more. Be sure to check out Gizmodo’s Galaxy Note 20 review to see what all the hype is about.
Our pals at Ella Paradis want everyone to take some time for relaxation and self-care. This week the company is giving us the gift of these Singles Bundles. Now obviously you don’t have to be single to save in these deals are experience some good products but you don’t need to feel bad if you are.
It’s not often I see a good deal for the gentlemen so this bundle is a pleasant surprise. Not only is this pack $81 less than it should be it’s a nice mix. There are two masturbators to choose from because we like variety. You’ll receive both the Hawk Dual Masturbator and the Juicy Topco Masturbator. Plus you get a pack of Pjur Aqua Lubricant to try out. Not bad for just $40.
Ella Paradis really loves the G-Spot HeroRelax and you will too because they are practically giving it away as you’re saving $80 on this bundle. Take a ‘me day’ and chill out with a nice hot bath and these extra sensual bath bombs. Then get cozy with one of the company’s top-selling vibes. This is the perfect bundle for a boss babe.
Fun fact: The super-popular Benetint lip and cheek stain was created to help strippers tint their nipples before performing long before it became the beauty industry favorite it is now.
I personally love Benetint (for my lips, ya perv) but the price tag is kind of hefty at $25-30. Thankfully, I found a K-beauty dupe on Amazon that I think works just as well, and comes in three shades to boot— oh and it is only $6 a bottle.
The classic Benetint comes with a brush bottle that is a little unwieldy for those not used to it, but this Etude House Water Tint has a spongey-tip that is easier to use. It comes in the shades “Cherry Ade,” “Strawberry Ade,” and “Orange Ade.” I personally have the cherry shade and love it, though the strawberry option’s berry tones look super flattering too.
If you want to stock up, you can get an additional 5% when you buy two bottles (must be of the same shade to work from what I can tell) or try all three for $15.
Had a long week.? Same. Why not kick it with some CBD goods to bring your weekend relaxation to another level? We will even help you out with an exclusive offer of 25% off all products with the code KINJA25.
If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend checking out Cornbread Hemp’s CBD oil. It claims this is the strongest CBD oil you can find that is also USDA certified whole plant organic. You can get a bottle of the original stuff (which has 25MG CBD per milliliter) for $49 after discount. If you want even more CBD goodness packed into every drop, the extra strength version is available with 50MG per milliliter in a larger bottle for $82 after discount.
