MB-500 resources - Microsoft Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer Updated: 2023

At the CYBERWARCON 2023 conference, Microsoft and LinkedIn analysts are presenting several sessions detailing analysis across multiple sets of threat actors and related activity. This blog is intended to summarize the content of the research covered in these presentations and demonstrates Microsoft Threat Intelligence’s ongoing efforts to track threat actors, protect customers, and share information with the wider security community.

Reactive and opportunistic: Iran’s role in the Israel-Hamas war

This presentation compares and contrasts activity attributed to Iranian groups before and after the October 7, 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war. It highlights a number of instances where Iranian operators leveraged existing access, infrastructure, and tooling, ostensibly to meet new objectives.

With the physical conflict approximately one month old, this analysis offers early conclusions in a rapidly evolving space, specific to observed Iranian actors, such as those linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). While the presentation details attack techniques observed in specific regions, Microsoft is sharing this information to inform and help protect wider organizations around the world facing attack methods similar to those used by Iranian operators, such as social engineering methods for deceiving victims, and exploitation of vulnerable devices and sign-in credentials.

First, Microsoft does not see any evidence suggesting Iranian groups (IRGC and MOIS) had coordinated, pre-planned cyberattacks aligned to Hamas’ plans and the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7​. Although media and other public accounts may suggest that Iran played an active role in planning the October 7 physical attacks on Israel, Microsoft data tells a different part of the story.

Observations from Microsoft telemetry suggest that, at least in the cyber domain, Iranian operators have largely been reactive since the war began, exploiting opportunities to try and take advantage of events on the ground as they unfold​. It took 11 days from the start of the ground conflict before Microsoft saw Iran enter the war in the cyber domain. On October 18, 2023 Microsoft observed the first of two separate destructive attacks targeting infrastructure in Israel. While online personas controlled by Iran exaggerated the claims of impact from these attacks, the data suggests that both attacks were likely opportunistic in nature. Specifically, operators leveraged existing access or acquired access to the first available target. Further, the data shows that, in the case of a ransomware attack, Iranian actors’ claims of impact and precision targeting were almost certainly fabricated.

Second, Microsoft observes Iranian operators continuing to employ their tried-and-true tactics, notably exaggerating the success of their computer network attacks and amplifying those claims and activities via a well-integrated deployment of information operations. This is essentially creating online propaganda seeking to inflate the notoriety and impact of opportunistic attacks, in an effort to increase their effects. For example, Microsoft observed Iranian actors compromising connected webcams and framing the activity as more strategic, claiming they targeted and successfully compromised cameras at a specific Israeli military installation. In reality, the compromised cameras were located at scattered sites outside any one defined region. This suggests that despite Iran actors’ strategic claims, this camera example was ultimately a case of adversaries continuing to opportunistically discover and compromise vulnerable connected devices and try to reframe this routine work as more impactful in the context of the current conflict.

Third, Microsoft recognizes that, as more physical conflicts around the world spur cyber operations of varying levels of sophistication, this is a rapidly evolving space requiring close monitoring to assess potential escalations and impact on wider industries, regions, and customers. Microsoft Threat Intelligence anticipates Iranian operators will move from a reactive posture to more proactive activities the longer the current war plays out and continue to evolve their tactics in pursuit of their objectives.

The digital reality: A surge on critical infrastructure

In this presentation, Microsoft Threat Intelligence experts walk the audience through the timeline of Microsoft’s discovery of Volt Typhoon, a threat actor linked to China, and the adversary group’s activity observed against critical infrastructure and key resources in the U.S. and its territories, such as Guam. The presentation highlights some of the specific techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) Volt Typhoon uses to carry out its operations. The talk features insights on how Microsoft tracked the threat actor and assessed that Volt Typhoon’s activity was consistent with laying the groundwork for use in potential future conflict situations. These insights show the backstory of threat intelligence collection and analysis, leading to Microsoft’s May 2023 blog on Volt Typhoon, sharing the actor’s reach and capabilities with the community.

At CYBERWARCON, Microsoft provides an update on Volt Typhoon activity, highlighting shifts in TTPs and targeting since Microsoft released the May blog post. Specifically, Microsoft sees Volt Typhoon trying to Improve its operational security and stealthily attempting to return to previously compromised victims. The threat actor is also targeting university environments, for example, in addition to previously targeted industries. In this presentation, Microsoft experts compare their Volt Typhoon analysis with third-party research and studies of China’s military doctrine and the current geopolitical climate. This adds additional context for the security community on possible motivations behind the threat actor’s current and future operations.

Microsoft also describes gaps and limitations in tracking Volt Typhoon’s activity and how the security community can work together to develop strategies to mitigate future threats from this threat actor.

“You compile me. You had me at RomCom.” – When cybercrime met espionage

For many years, the security community has watched various Russian state-aligned actors intersect with cybercrime ecosystems to varying degrees and with different purposes. At CYBERWARCON 2022, Microsoft discussed the development of a never-before-seen “ransomware” strain known as Prestige by Seashell Blizzard (IRIDIUM), a group reported to be comprised of Russian military intelligence officers. The cyberattack, disguised as a new “ransomware” strain, was meant to cause disruption while providing a thin veneer of plausible deniability for the sponsoring organization.

This year at CYBERWARCON, Microsoft experts profile a different threat actor, Storm-0978, which emerged in the early 2022 as credibly conducting both cybercrime operations, as well as espionage/enablement operations benefiting Russia’s military and other geopolitical interests, with possible ties to Russian security services. The duality of this Storm-0978 adversary’s activity intersecting with both crime and espionage leads to questions Microsoft are engaging conference attendees in exploring. Is Storm-0978 a cybercrime group conducting espionage, or a government-sponsored espionage group conducting cybercrime? Why are we seeing the confluence of what historically have been separate crime and geopolitical objectives? Is this duality in some way a reflection of Russia becoming limited in its ability to scale wartime cyber operations? Is Russia activating cybercriminal elements for operations in order to provide a level of plausible deniability for future destructive attacks? The Ukraine war has illustrated that Russia has likely had to activate other capabilities on the periphery. Storm-0978 is one probable example where it’s clear that other elements have been co-opted to achieve objectives of both a wartime environment and strategic landscape either to achieve effects-led operations or prepositioning.

Microsoft’s extensive insight on the ransomware economy and other cybercrime trends, coupled with experience tracking Russian nation-state adversaries, allows for presenting this profile of the Storm-0978 actor at CYBERWARCON, which Microsoft hopes will be further enriched and analyzed by the wider security community’s experiences, data sets and conclusions.  

A LinkedIn update on combating fake accounts

This presentation focuses on what LinkedIn’s Threat Prevention and Defense team has learned from its investigations of cyber mercenaries, also referred to as private-sector offensive actors (PSOAs), on the platform. The focus of this presentation is on Black Cube (Microsoft tracks this actor as Blue Tsunami), a well-known mercenary actor, and what we’ve learned about how they attempt to operate on LinkedIn. The discussion includes insights on how Black Cube has previously leveraged honeypot profiles, fake jobs, and fake companies to engage in reconnaissance or human intelligence (HUMINT) operations against targets with access to organizations of interest and/or concern to Black Cube’s clients.

Further reading

For the latest security research from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence community, check out the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Blog: https://aka.ms/threatintelblog.

To get notified about new publications and to join discussions on social media, follow us on X at https://twitter.com/MsftSecIntel.

A new white paper by Microsoft has highlighted the role that replenishment can have in addressing global water shortages, as well as tackling wider issues including greenhouse gas emissions and protecting biodiversity.

Microsoft’s has previously outlined a number of sustainability goals, including to be water positive and replenish more water than consumed across global operations by 2030.

The paper shares lessons learned through Microsoft’s efforts to reduce water consumption and address water stress in the areas where it has operations.

According to the report, Microsoft sees water replenishment as a way to help restore and protect the water basins where it operates.

“Water availability and water quality challenges are a collective problem that require collective efforts to address,” the report states.

“By setting a water replenishment target, we are aiming to do our part to not just reduce our water use but also play a role in protecting the high water stress basins that we all depend on.”

Microsoft’s water lead Eliza Roberts said in an interview the company is looking to “inspire action and investment in innovative new approaches” that will build scale and impact.

Roberts added historically there has often been a lack of “shovel ready” water replenishment projects around the world, so organisations like Microsoft need to build such projects or find new partners to help develop them, which can be very time consuming.

She highlighted the importance of water replenishment, which can include restoring, cleaning and limiting the amount of water being used in the first place.

Roberts said this can include everything from helping farmers collect rainwater to land conservation projects.

“Replenishment is not just about counting volumes for individual projects, it's about protecting basin health,” she told me.

“The water challenges we face today and in the future are tremendous,” said Roberts. “But there's a lot of low-hanging fruit. You know, 30% of water is lost to leakage.”

And she added that technology will play an important role in water replenishment. Applications could include using artificial intelligence and acoustic sensors to identify leaks and ensure they are fixed as quickly as possible.

Roberts said Microsoft has also invested in irrigation monitoring specialist Kilimo, which uses artificial intelligence to help farmers maximise efficiency and ultimately reduce the amount of water they are using.

She added technology plays a pivotal role in helping track the additional benefits that many of these projects can have, including greenhouse gas reductions and improvements to biodiversity.

“I think the more there are media stories to talk about water challenges that we face today and climate change, it will help everybody better understand the importance of investing in solutions to protect freshwater resources.

“And ultimately it gives us even more drive to invest in projects on the replenishment front that are scalable, and will drive impact in critical places across the globe.”

Microsoft’s ongoing work with AI specialists FIDO Tech recently expanded to include a project in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico.

The project will deploy actionable artificial intelligence over 350km of pipelines, which accounts for almost 10% of the water network operated by the State Commission of Water in Querétaro, one of the main utilities covering the region.

Along with Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Guanajuato, Jalisco and Nuevo Leon, Querétaro is one of the six states suffering from droughts across the territory.

“We look forward to work with Generagua and utility CEA as we drive down water losses to help collectively increase water security,” said FIDO Tech co-founder and chief executive, Victoria Edwards in a statement.

Welcome to a new era in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, powered by AI. In recent years, businesses have embraced AI to automate and enhance processes from planning to forecasting. Now, generative AI is taking center stage as a game-changing technology that promises to modernize the way work gets done, driving innovation across ERP; from streamlining operations to speeding time to actionable insight.
Dynamics 365 Copilot, announced in March, takes advantage of recent advancements in generative AI to automate tedious tasks and unlock the full creativity of the workforce. In April, we shared how generative AI can be applied to key supply chain processes, and today we are introducing more AI-powered assistance across our ERP portfolio, included in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management. To activate these new Copilot features within your Dynamics 365 products, work with your IT admin.
ERP systems have long been the central nervous system of modern businesses, centralizing data for better business insight from core functions like finance, HR, procurement, resourcing, and supply chains. However, traditional ERP solutions have struggled to keep pace with the dynamic nature of today’s global markets. Complex and rigid processes within ERP create more work for people, and repetitive manual data entry overwhelms departments. Dynamics 365 Copilot promises to help finance managers, collections agents, project managers, and procurement professionals complete time-consuming tasks and get insights faster.
Harnessing big data is even more crucial as we enter a new era defined by next-generation AI. At Microsoft Build 2023, we announced how Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Fabric work with Dataverse and our business intelligence tools to deliver actionable insights and reporting. Our upcoming extended planning and analytics solution will build on this powerful foundation to help finance managers and business analysts spend less time slicing and dicing data. With the ability to use familiar tools like Microsoft Power BI and Excel infused with Copilot capabilities, these professionals can:
By using these tools and technologies, finance managers can optimize their performance, allocate resources effectively, and drive better financial outcomes for their organizations.
Project managers frequently struggle to complete projects on time and within budget. Today, we are announcing Copilot capabilities for Dynamics 365 Project Operations to dramatically reduce the time spent on project status reports, task planning, and risk assessments.
With Copilot, project managers can rapidly create new project plans for new engagements in minutes, instead of hours, simply by describing details of the project using natural language. Copilot will generate a project plan that can be further refined by the project manager.
Once the project is underway, the project manager can use Copilot to create a project status report, which Copilot will help generate in moments—reducing the hours often spent manually researching and writing. To ensure project success, Copilot then can be used to identify risks and suggest mitigation plans on a continuous basis. For example, the project manager can prompt Copilot to search across all open projects to identify common project risks that can derail a project, such as significant delays or budget overruns.
With Copilot, project managers can Improve efficiency, reduce risks, and focus on more strategic and value-added activities.
Today, we are announcing Copilot capabilities that will help collections agents and procurement professionals enhance productivity and better collaborate with customers.
Timely payments and healthy cash flows are increasingly important in times of economic uncertainty. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance, collections managers have quick access to credit and payment history so they can prioritize and personalize customer communication, helping to increase successful collection rates and proactively keep customers in good standing.
Disruptions to supply chains are an everyday occurrence, and supply and demand can shift quickly. Workers like procurement professionals and buyers are tasked to sort through large volumes of purchase order change responses daily and need more intelligent and agile tools to help address and streamline this process. Order responses oftentimes require changes to ordered quantities, delivery dates, or products delivered. Today, procurement professionals must review the changes for individual orders one by one to identify the risk to plan and potential downstream impacts. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, users are able to efficiently handle changes to purchase orders at scale and assess the impact and risk to help optimize procurement decisions. 
They can quickly identify high-impact or low-impact changes and take rapid action to address any risk. Copilot enables quick collaboration with internal and external stakeholders that brings relevant information into Outlook and Teams using natural language. Users can also dig deeper with pointed questions to refine and approve changes so they can rapidly adapt their sourcing plans to meet customer and partner needs.
At Microsoft, we are fully committed to revolutionizing the future of ERP by harnessing the power of intelligent, composable technologies. With its ability to speed time to insight, intelligently automate processes, and foster productivity, Copilot can help you stay ahead in an increasingly complex business landscape. With Copilot, you’re in control as it is grounded in your business data and automatically inherits your valuable security, compliance and privacy policies, regulations, and processes. Stay tuned and join us on this exciting journey into the future of ERP.
Learn more about the latest AI breakthroughs with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot on the Dynamics 365 AI webpage or through a free trial.
With next-generation AI, interactions with AI across business roles and processes will become second nature.
Wow, I’d like to see a Demo
Hi Team,
I am trying to enable SCM Copilot using the below link.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/supply-chain/procurement/purchase-order-changes-after-confirmation?WT.mc_id=d365fo_community_productblog
In this, Step 4: Enable Supply Chain Management to access your Dataverse environment
Follow these steps to enable Supply Chain Management to access your Dataverse environment.
Go to Power Platform admin center.
Select the Dataverse environment that’s connected to your Supply Chain Management environment, and open the detail view.
Select the Settings menu on the menu bar.
Go to Product > Features.
Set the Finance and Operations in Dataverse option to On.
Here, I am not able to see the above listed feature. Kindly let me know if anything needs to be checked/enabled?
Bottom left corner. You should be able to see the capability now.
Looking to learn more
I am interested to know more about this topic.
Looking forward to working with Microsoft ERP.
is there any more documents to introduce how to enable /setup this feature in FnO ?
Hi Henry,
Please reference the following resource for more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/dynamics365/finance/accounts-receivable/CollectionsCoordinatorSummary
We’re always looking for feedback and would like to hear from you. Please head to the Dynamics 365 Community to start a discussion, ask questions, and tell us what you think!
Drive more efficiency, reduce costs, and create a hyperconnected business that links people, data, and processes across your organization—enabling every team to quickly adapt and innovate.

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The modern workplace has changed and a significant paradigm shift is underway for both occupiers and owners.

London, England, United Kingdom - November 17, 2023 —

U.S. office vacancy is at a 30-year high of 18.2% in Q2 and workers are in the office 30% less days than they were pre-pandemic. So it is imperative that a seamless, connected workplace experience is required to drive engagement, retention and occupancy. 

Based on JLL’s Future of Work Survey, 77% of organizations concur that providing options for remote and hybrid work is vital for attracting and retaining top talent. With the demand for new dynamic workplaces providing hybrid and coworking solutions, organizations find themselves grappling with an array of challenges. Ensuring an optimal functioning of the workplace is imperative for managers to increase the potential for flexibility and productivity. The lack of a frictionless integration between physical and digital workplaces presents the need for a connected workplace where technology and workplace converge to boost efficiency, building security and user-experience. 

The evolution of the workplace is connected 

A seamless integration is not just about connecting systems, it’s about creating an ecosystem that utilizes technologies to ensure smooth and intuitive interactions to experience higher levels of building automation, visitor experience and access management. An investment in a connected workplace solution that facilitates such frictionless integration leads to a streamlined user experience, fostering a relationship that embodies simplicity, backed by the power of trusted and secure systems. 

As the demand for hybrid workplaces grows, companies are increasingly seeking innovative solutions that integrate with the existing software platforms they already use to address the challenges of this new working paradigm, striving to create environments that are flexible, efficient, and conducive to effective collaboration. 

Robust software and hardware solutions for a seamlessly connected work environment

Sentry Interactive steps in as a key player amidst the evolving workplace software solution landscape, offering a meticulously crafted connected workplace experience by being able to integrate with management software for coworking and flex space, tenant experience apps and smart building ESG focused platforms via its Software Development Kit (SDK). 

Through a seamless blend of intuitive design and cutting-edge technology, Sentry Interactive encapsulates its unique offering within a suite of solutions to provide a ‘single pane of glass’ platform that is designed to simplify and optimize workplace operations while reducing front desk operating costs and maximizing a return on investment.

This all-in-one solution seamlessly integrates front desk operations, facilities management, digital communications, a digital receptionist, big tech proprietary calendar integration with Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar and mobile access through integration with existing access control hardware so that there is no need for new reader hardware or installation costs. This provides an end-to-end experience for front desk teams to tenants, employees and visitors that is unrivaled in the industry. 

Unique to Sentry Interactive, the solution ingeniously synchronizes mobile access and visitor check-in functionalities with calendar integration. This innovative feature streamlines the scheduling, visitor management and building access process, a critical need in today’s dynamic workplaces, thereby ensuring efficient appointment and visitor management while optimizing the utilization of front desk resources and space.

With the integration of NFC Technology, the platform facilitates seamless mobile access for users of both iPhones and Android devices, ensuring compatibility with major legacy access control systems. This not only offers users an integrated experience but also simplifies access control for managers, making it an essential tool for modern, connected workplaces. 

Sentry Interactive offers an array of hardware solutions which benefit from their award winning software platform. The Edge is a versatile 8" multi-touch screen, that can be either wall-mounted next to doors or counter-top mounted to the front desk. The premium 55" touch screen Tower transforms front desk operations, achieves ROI and improves tenant, employee and digital visitor experience in lobbies and receptions. 

Sentry Interactive establishes itself as an invaluable integration partner for PropTech organizations, access control OEM manufacturers, the wider security sector and for enterprises that are navigating their way through the modern workplace with their cohesive ‘Connected Workplace Experience’. The future of work calls for offerings that are not just robust and reliable but also visionary and ready to empower companies with the tools necessary for a smooth transition into a new age of work. 

To learn more about how Sentry Interactive’s Connected Workplace Experience platform provides secure, efficient and seamless workplace solutions, get in touch with the Sentry Interactive team here. 

Contact Info:
Name: Cameron Turriff
Email: Send Email
Organization: Sentry Interactive
Website: https://www.sentryinteractive.com

Social Media:
Instagram: @sentryinteractive
LinkedIn: company/sentry-kiosk

Release ID: 89113494

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African payments company Paystack has reduced its operations outside of Africa, trimming its workforce in Europe and Dubai. This decision comes as part of a streamlining effort, particularly in markets where the company had previously hired technical roles to support its primary operations in Africa.

Paystack reduced its workforce by 33 employees, as highlighted by co-founder and CEO Shola Akinlade in a tweet on Thursday. Following its acquisition by U.S.-based fintech Stripe, Paystack expanded its geographical presence by establishing offices in Accra, Cape Town, Dubai and Nairobi. This expansion was complemented by recruiting staff in Europe through remote operations and establishing an engineering hub in Dubai. Paystack had already maintained offices in Lagos and San Francisco prior to these developments.

Paystack currently maintains an operational footprint in four markets: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The company, characterized by its lean operation, has experienced a moderate expansion in staff strength, contributing to a series of product releases over the past three years. Notable developments include introducing an app for Shopify, launching a terminal device and, most recently, adding a direct debit feature. Paystack has also developed integrations with global software and payment solutions, with notable examples being ApplePay. The company is undergoing private beta testing in Ivory Coast, Egypt and Rwanda as part of its strategic expansion efforts.

Yet, despite the progress on these fronts, the Stripe subsidiary, which has over 150 employees per LinkedIn, acknowledges it’s time to change strategy. Stripe itself had laid off 14% of its team last year and a few dozen this June.

“We’re changing our operating model to prioritize locating team members within the markets we serve, to localize costs and get closer to customers,” Akinlade said. The chief executive noted that those affected will receive a severance package that includes four months’ salary, accelerated equity vesting and health insurance extended by three months.

“These are some of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with, and my goal is to ensure that every single one finds new roles as soon as possible. I’m personally happy to vouch for each one and do reference calls as needed,” he added in the tweet while leaving a form for parties interested in hiring the affected Paystack employees, whose roles cut across software engineering, legal and compliance, finance, sales and marketing, product design and human resources.