Birchwood Technology

06/11/2026

Welcome to the Human Error Hall of Fame 🏆

The biggest cybersecurity threats often aren't sophisticated hackers they're everyday mistakes:
🔗 Clicking the wrong link
📡 Sharing sensitive information
🔑 Reusing passwords
🚫 Ignoring MFA

Cybersecurity starts with awareness. Which of these mistakes do you see most often? 👇

05/01/2026

It’s surprisingly common for businesses to rely on software that’s no longer supported.

Not because anyone chooses to take a risk.

More often, the software has been around for years. It works, people are familiar with it, and replacing it never quite reaches the top of the priority list.

But at some point, the company that created it stops maintaining it. From that moment on, security gaps aren’t fixed and new weaknesses aren’t patched.

The software may still appear to work exactly as it always has. But the protection behind it has disappeared.

Our latest guide explains what unsupported software means for a business, why the risk grows over time, and how to find out if any of your systems have reached that stage.

Download your free copy now.

It’s surprisingly common for businesses to rely on software that’s no longer supported.

02/27/2026

If your team uses WhatsApp for work conversations, this one should make you stop and think 👇

Security researchers have discovered an Android malware called Sturnus.

It does something most people assume is impossible.

It can read WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram messages, in real time, even though they’re end-to-end encrypted.

And no, it doesn’t “break” the encryption.

It waits until the message appears on the screen and captures it.

Like someone standing behind you, reading over your shoulder, but digitally.

Sturnus is a powerful banking trojan that gives attackers full control of an infected Android device.

Once installed (usually through fake apps posing as Chrome or system updates), it can:

Read everything on the screen
Capture messages, contact names, typed text and conversations
Steal bank details using fake overlay screens
Monitor app activity
Take remote control through a live session
Tap buttons, approve MFA prompts, transfer money
Hide malicious actions behind fake “system update” screens
Block you from uninstalling it
Sturnus is still being tested, but its architecture is “ready to scale”, meaning it could quickly turn into a widespread campaign.

And here’s the part that really matters for businesses:

📌 End-to-end encryption doesn’t protect you from malware sitting on the device

📌 Consumer messaging apps were never designed for sensitive business communication

📌 If a phone is compromised, so is every app on it, including WhatsApp

This is why my team and I constantly advise businesses not to rely on WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal for customer information, financial discussions, internal planning, or anything confidential.

Tools like Microsoft Teams or your business email offer proper access controls, admin oversight, compliance options, and secure device management.

WhatsApp doesn’t.

If your team is still mixing personal apps with business communication, malware like Sturnus turns that from a convenience into a serious risk.

🤔 Do you think your staff still use WhatsApp for business chat? Even if you’ve told them not to?

02/26/2026

Cloud storage bills creeping up?

You’re not imagining it.

AI is putting pressure on global hardware supply, and many businesses are seeing storage costs rise as a result.

But did you know, you can often cut those costs dramatically without changing providers?

A new report found that up to 50% of the data businesses store is never used.

Half.

Just sitting there gathering digital dust.

This is what the industry calls ROT data:

Redundant

Obsolete

Trivial information

Old files, duplicated documents, outdated backups, “just in case” folders, and random clutter nobody has touched in years.

And that unused data is costing businesses real money.

It’s calculated that removing 100TB of cloud data could save the average AWS customer around $27,600 per year.

That’s a salary. A new hire. Upgraded hardware. A security budget.

But the benefits aren’t just financial.

🔍 Too much old data slows everyone down

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index found that 3 in 5 workers spend too much time searching for information.

Less clutter = easier searches = faster work.

🌱 Less data means less energy use

Data centers are on track to more than double their electricity consumption by 2030.

Cleaning your digital storage reduces your carbon footprint.

⚖️ And yes, some data must be kept

Regulations mean you can’t delete everything. It’s important to know what you’re allowed to keep and what you’re allowed to remove.

You should also reconsider “scan everything” thinking.

Digitizing everything simply shifts clutter from filing cabinets to the cloud.

And finally, when you do get rid of data or devices, do it responsibly. Recycle paper properly and dispose of e-waste safely.

Remove the ROT and you save money, reduce risk, boost productivity, and support sustainability.

But if you’re not sure what to save, what to keep, and where to store things, it’s a good idea to take advice.

My team and I can help with that. Get in touch.

👉 When was the last time your business did a proper clean-up of its data storage?

02/25/2026

Do you open the same apps every morning? There’s a Windows trick that launches them for you…

02/24/2026

Because you run a business, you’ve probably got screens running quietly in the background all over the place.

Reception displays, meeting room screens, dashboards on the wall, digital menu boards, information panels, warehouse boards, or TVs showing KPIs.

And when one of those screens crashes? ❌

It doesn’t just look messy… it looks unprofessional.

Staff notice. Visitors notice. Clients notice 👀

It sends the message “something’s not working properly”.

Microsoft clearly understands the pain, because Windows 11 is getting a new Digital Signage mode, designed to hide those embarrassing system crashes.

Instead of a giant Blue Screen of Death sitting there for hours, the screen will now show the error for 15 seconds, then go blank.

Someone from your team will still need to interact with it to bring it back up. But your boardroom wall won’t be screaming technical chaos.

And that’s just one part of a much bigger push for stability and control.

Microsoft is also rolling out some genuinely helpful tools for business IT.

🕒 Point-in-time recovery

Imagine being able to rewind a device to how it looked a few hours ago.

If a bad update or software install causes issues, you can roll back to a previous snapshot instantly.

That means far less downtime.

☁️ Cloud Rebuild

If a device fails completely, IT can now rebuild it remotely using Intune.

The system pulls your settings and files from the cloud.

No on-site rebuilds, no manual imaging, no fuss.

🔐 Stronger security moving forward

Upcoming devices will support faster BitLocker encryption and even post-quantum cryptography.

That future-proofs business data against tomorrow’s threats.

✍️ New AI writing tools

AI is being baked into more apps.

Summarizing Outlook emails, auto-describing images in Word, and offering writing help in any text box on supported devices.

For businesses, these updates mean fewer interruptions, faster recovery when things go wrong, and more stable systems everywhere.

Including those screens you rely on to keep your business running smoothly.

🤔 Do you think a “no more embarrassing crash screens” mode will help your business look more professional day-to-day?

02/23/2026

As businesses become more flexible, more remote, and more connected, something interesting has happened behind the scenes…

Security perimeters have stretched so far that they barely look like a perimeter anymore 😬

Data now travels through laptops, phones, home Wi-Fi, cloud apps, personal devices… you name it.

And every time data travels, there’s a risk ⚠️

But here’s the part most people don’t think about: Printers are part of that perimeter too.

And they’re still one of the most overlooked security gaps.

Research shows more than half of businesses had at least one data loss through a printer last year.

Not because anyone did anything dramatic.

But because printers are endpoints.

They connect to the network. They store data temporarily. And they often run quietly in the background with settings that haven’t been reviewed in years.

It’s basically leaving the back door open while putting bars on every window in the house 🏠🔓

Modern printers connect to the internet… and attackers know it.

At the same time, almost a third of businesses say securing print in a remote or hybrid environment is their biggest challenge.

And only a small percentage have fully adopted zero-trust security for their print infrastructure.

But handled properly, printers can become a strength.

They sit at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. Every time someone prints, copies or scans a document, it crosses multiple points where information can be intercepted.

With the right hardware, the right software, and the right controls, your printers can act like a mini fortress instead of an exposed side door.

What does strong print security look like?

💡 Multi-layered protection. Not just login badges but verifying the person is at the location they claim to be.

💡 Intelligent MFA that cross-checks system activity with printer access.

💡 AI-powered monitoring that constantly checks the environment printers sit in and adjusts settings to block threats automatically.

💡 Full visibility. Knowing where data lives, how it moves, and who touches it.

This is where AI really earns its keep.

It can watch the network around your printers 24/7, spot unusual behavior instantly, and support IT teams who can’t be everywhere at once.

🔐 Print security is business security.

Ignoring it leaves a hole in your defenses.

Strengthening it closes off a route attackers have relied on for years.

👉 When was the last time your business reviewed the security settings on its printers?

02/20/2026

One of the things I love about the Microsoft 365 ecosystem is that it never sits still.

The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is full of upcoming upgrades, and while dates sometimes shift, it’s always a great sneak peek at what’s around the corner.

A few new updates caught my eye.

They’re especially relevant for businesses that rely on Outlook, Teams, Edge and Copilot day in, day out.

🟦 Outlook is finally getting a long-requested feature

The new Outlook app (on Windows and the web) will soon let you run rules on specific folders, not just on incoming mail.

People have been asking for this since 2022, and it’s a huge win for anyone who likes tidy inboxes, structured workflows or automated filing.

It’s also a nice boost for the new Outlook’s reputation (which could use a little boost).

Mobile Outlook is also getting “Up Next” meeting notifications, complete with a “Prepare” button powered by Copilot to help you quickly catch up before you join a call.

A small feature, but a very smart one.

🟦 Teams is getting smarter with AI agent approvals

As more bots and AI assistants enter the workplace, IT admins need a clear way to judge which ones meet company standards.

Teams will soon generate an automated Trust Score based on the rules your business sets.Define your requirements once and let Teams do the rest.

Faster decisions, fewer risks.

🟦 Microsoft Edge is getting clearer names

Efficiency mode is being renamed Energy Saver, and its gaming variant is becoming PC Gaming Boost.

Same functionality, clearer messaging, which should make life easier for people who just want to know what a setting does.

🟦 Copilot will summarize files right inside the share menu

Soon, when you share a document from File Explorer or OneDrive, you’ll be able to include a Copilot-generated summary automatically.

Your recipient knows exactly what the file contains immediately. No more “What’s this about?” emails.

All these updates have one thing in common…

They’re small quality-of-life improvements that add up to smoother, more efficient working days.

🤔 Which Microsoft 365 app would you like to see get a helpful new feature next?

02/19/2026

Microsoft Teams is great for collaboration… but a new security concern shows that being too open can create dangerous gaps 🔎

A blind spot has been discovered in Teams.

It allows attackers to slip past Microsoft Defender for Office 365 simply by exploiting guest access.

When you join someone else’s Teams environment as a guest, your security no longer comes from your own organization.

👉 You inherit the security of the place you’ve joined.

If their setup is strong, great.

If it’s weak… you’re suddenly working without your usual protection 😱

And that’s exactly where attackers saw an opportunity.

Teams now allows users to chat with anyone via email (a feature rolling out widely).

If someone sends you a Teams invite, you get an email directly from Microsoft, which makes it look safe.

No warnings. No red flags. It even passes SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks – the tools normally used to detect suspicious emails.

But a cybercriminal can create a Microsoft 365 tenant with very cheap licenses. The kind that don’t include AI-based protections like Safe Links or Safe Attachments.

Then they send you a Teams invite.

If you accept, you’re now inside their environment, with their (lack of) defenses.

From that point, they can:

Send malicious links
Share infected attachments
Chat with you as if everything is legitimate
And your business’s security tools never see it, because the conversation is happening outside your normal protection bubble.

So, what can your business do?

You don’t need to ban Teams or external collaboration. Simply tighten the rules:

🔐 Allow guest access only from trusted domains

🔐 Restrict external chats if they’re not essential

🔐 Put cross-tenant access controls in place

🔐 Train staff to question unexpected Teams invites

Teams is a powerful tool, but like any powerful tool, it needs guardrails.

❓ Does your business allow anyone to chat with your people via Teams, or do you already restrict outside access?

02/18/2026

Desktop in chaos? There’s a Windows shortcut that snaps everything into place. You’ll love this…