Slack is a cloud-based collaboration tool that aims to be the central platform through which teams communicate. In the most simplistic view, Slack is an email replacement, though it operates more like group messaging or Internet Relay Chat (IRC)–foregoing the formalities of composing emails, and having various channels to which team members can be assigned, rather than the comparatively complex task of managing mailing lists. Additionally, private channels can be used to restrict conversations to pre-approved team members, while public channels are available for team members to join as desired, like IRC. In contrast to other vendors and established competitors that have a tendency toward vertical integration of features, Slack can integrate with a wide variety of third-party services. SEE: Software usage policy (TechRepublic Premium) Among these are developer tools such as Bitbucket, GitHub, and IFTTT file storage services such as Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox project management tools such as JIRA and Zendesk and social media platforms such as Twitter and Foursquare. Slack can run in practically any modern browser. Desktop applications are available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Mobile apps are available on Android and iOS. Slack launches Platform: What Slack users and developers need to know (TechRepublic).In July 2019, Slack launched a complete rewrite of the Desktop and Web clients to improve start-up times and address memory leaks. Worried about hackers? Order our comprehensive security audit here.įeatured image by rafapress from Shutterstock.The goal of Slack is to increase productivity by simplifying communication, while putting Slack in the middle of your communication workflow. If this situation happens again, at least the only account made vulnerable will be Slack itself. In the meantime, you should make sure you’re using 2FA on your Slack account and using a unique password for the app. Even more excellent care is needed when that application is published to Android, which is an incredibly vulnerable platform for data safety. When updating applications that handle sensitive data, extra care needs to be taken. A security flaw this severe should never have been published in the first place. It’s clear that something needs to change about the app’s updating procedure as well. Not to mention, the method of changing your password is incredibly unintuitive for users. If you were hacked, you’d have to quickly change your password, and clicking 5 times to get to the password change screen is a few clicks too many. The round-about way you have to change your password is no good. This security bug has highlighted some changes that Slack needs to make. You should change your password on any other sites that use the same password, preferably to something unique. Follow our guide on common password mistakes to avoid making a blunder. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĮnsure you’re using a strong password. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĮnter your current password to confirm your identity and your new password beneath it. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĬlick ‘expand’ under the ‘Password’ heading. The link will be opened in your default web browser. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĬlick ‘Account Settings’ in the dropdown menu. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĬlick ‘More’ in the sidebar. | Source: Hacked/W.S.WorrallĬlick ‘View Profile’ in the dropdown menu. Open the desktop app and click on your profile picture in the top right of the screen. Follow the guide below to secure your Slack account. Instead, you must log in to the app’s desktop version and jump through some serious hoops to change your settings. There is currently no way of changing your password from the mobile-application versions of the software. Unfortunately, the company behind the app doesn’t make it particularly easy to access the password options on your account. Your first step should be to change your Slack account password. If you used the app at all between December and January, you might have been exposed yourself. Since then, the company released another update that cleared the bug, but passwords were left exposed during that period. In some versions of the app, passwords were stored in standard, plain-text documents that were completely unencrypted. This update made some key changes to the way the app stores your password. In December 2020, the developers behind Slack published an update to the Google Play Store. If you have had the app installed on your Android device since December 2020, you need to change your password straight away. A December 2020 update to the android version of the app has potentially exposed every user’s password. Slack is a great team-communication app, but recently the company behind it made a huge blunder.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |