The CHIPS Act Makes Its First Impact & More in this Week’s Top Reads

Probably the biggest news leaving the tech industry in jitters this week is the Biden administration banning U.S. semiconductor companies that accept incentives as part of the $280 billion CHIPS Act from conducting business in China for ten years. These companies won’t be allowed to invest in China, develop leading-edge technologies in China, or send the latest technology to China.

In other news, Microsoft said it would phase out Basic Auth, a legacy HTTP-based authentication method used across several protocols under Exchange Online, from October 1. The authentication protocol will be disabled for MAPI, RPC, Offline Address Book (OAB), Exchange Web Services (EWS), POP, IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), and Remote PowerShell. The tech giant is now asking all users to switch to Modern Authentication.

In an insightful interview with Spiceworks News & Insights, Tim Jones, the managing director of application modernization at Advanced, discussed why rigid and cumbersome legacy technology has increasingly become riskier in today’s digital-first world. We also did some research and picked five of the best remote PC management solutions that IT teams can use to meet the growing demands of remote users.

Here’s a look at this week’s top reads from Spiceworks News & Insights.

President Biden bans U.S. tech majors from investing in China for ten years

Earlier this week, the U.S. government made a probably-expected announcement, banning U.S. semiconductor companies that accept incentives as part of the $280 billion CHIPS Act from conducting business in China for ten years. Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo described the measure as “guardrails to ensure those who receive CHIPS funds cannot compromise national security.” 

“They’re not allowed to use this money to invest in China, they can’t develop leading-edge technologies in China, they can’t send the latest technology overseas,” Raimondo said. Beijing voiced its opposition to the legislation in August and termed it a result of a “Cold War mentality.”

These prohibitions’ granular details and specifics will be ironed out by February 2023. Still, the overall strategy, Raimondo clarified, hovers around protecting the national security of the U.S. So it is unclear at this point whether companies already invested in China and have announced advanced node production in the country would need to roll back their plans.

Read all about the latest announcement by the Commerce Secretary here.

Microsoft isn’t betting on Basic Auth anymore, sets October 1 as the phase-out date

Microsoft has urged all Exchange Online users to move away from Basic Auth, a legacy HTTP-based authentication method used across several protocols. Starting October 1, the Redmond-based giant said, Basic auth will be disabled for MAPI, RPC, Offline Address Book (OAB), Exchange Web Services (EWS), POP, IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), and Remote PowerShell. 

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Microsoft has warned users about the eventual phasing out of Basic Auth twice. However, many Exchange Online customers still haven’t moved to a newer authentication protocol yet, and Microsoft is aware of the challenge. “We recognize that, unfortunately, there are still many tenants unprepared for this change,” it said. The actual figure is in the millions.

Microsoft is now asking users to switch to the OAuth 2.0-based Modern Authentication. The new standard is Microsoft’s blanket term for multiple technologies- and age-appropriate authentication and authorization methods. These include MFA, smart cards, certificate-based authentication (CBA), and third-party Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) identity providers.

Read all about Microsoft’s latest announcement here.

The best remote PC management solutions for the hybrid workplace

Hybrid work has become the norm, and organizations are continually updating their tech stacks to make remote work as collaborative and efficient as in-office work. However, one particular solution that organizations of all sizes need the most is a robust remote PC management solution that helps sysadmins and IT teams continually meet the growing demands of remote employees.

Keeping this requirement in mind, we compiled a list of the best remote PC management solutions that IT decision-makers should consider. Our coverage features what each of these solutions is capable of and the key features that set them apart.

Read more about the five best remote PC management solutions in 2022 here.

Tech Talk: How to keep your legacy systems running at full steam?

In an insightful interview with Spiceworks News & Insights, Tim Jones, the managing director of application modernization at Advanced, discussed why rigid and cumbersome legacy technology has increasingly become riskier in today’s digital-first world. The top challenge, he says, is the shrinking talent pool of those well-versed in supporting legacy technologies.

“Mainframes rely on complicated, six-decade-old programming languages such as COBOL, Assembler and Natural. In addition to higher education not teaching today’s emerging talent about these legacy systems, these new programmers have little desire to work on old, procedural languages. A reason that leads to 89% of organizations concerned about having access to the right IT talent to maintain and manage their legacy systems,” says Jones.

In the interview, Jones talks about the top reasons CIOs should upgrade legacy systems as soon as possible, how to keep legacy systems running until newer ones are adopted, and how CIOs should prepare to stay ahead of the curve over the next decade. “As our world becomes increasingly reliant on digital and new, emerging technologies like Web 3.0 and Metaverse around the corner, it’s more critical than ever for CIOs and IT leaders to look towards modernization to remain relevant, competitive and keep up with customer demand,” he adds.

Read our interview with Tim Jones here.

As always, we invite you to explore our expansive coverage of the latest in the tech industry on Spiceworks News & Insights.   

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