Microsoft is certainly not uninvolved, but they did include the exclusion / change details in their announcements. I don't blame them for using strong language because it is a big deal for the affected systems.
Sage didn't perform their due diligence when interpreting the potential impact of the pending M$ changes, with Sage knowing exactly how Sage software is programmed to function.
There is a difference in these two messages:
- Microsoft is locking down their services in a way that will break Paperless email functionality in Sage 100.
- Microsoft is locking down their services with enhanced security, and we want to help you make your systems more secure too.
The first turns out to be false, if Sage had taken the time to check first, but that is the message they sent out... for more than a month.
The second line is the truth, clear, and reasonable, with the adversary being cyber crime, not Microsoft security changes. This is what they are changing their tune to now, but should have been the message from the start.
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Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-14-2022 11:59
From: Brian Kelly
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
My personal opinion is that this is on Microsoft, not Sage. Our sister IT company alerted us to this issue last year, and the notice they received from MS was more of a "make this change or suffer the consequences" type notice. Clearly, MS wants to eliminate basic authentication because of the inherent security risks of a simple login with a password. I think MS could have made their messaging much more clear, but they didn't. The issue is still one of risk even though there may not be an Oct 1 deadline. My role is not to question MS or Sage when it comes to important or urgent notices that relates to their respective products. At the end of the day, it doesn't change the fact that businesses running older versions of technology expose themselves to unnecessary risks and a little scare every now and then is a good reminder.
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Brian Kelly
Accounting Systems, Inc. (ASI)
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Original Message:
Sent: 09-13-2022 10:36
From: Kevin Moyes
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
Clearly mishandled. The Sage developers were likely given a technical problem: fix OAuth with O365, which they have done. What was missed before all the promotion around the M$ changes is a detailed review of what products were affected (in consultation with M$).
The cynical side of me suspects someone at Sage saw an opportunity to get users back on plan / upgraded to currently supported versions, and consciously chose not to look deeper into the technical side of things.
I trusted Sage to have done this already, and (as Wayne said) followed their lead in communicating recommendations. At the time the news broke, I checked with Ido about Visual Cut, and his answer made me suspect he might be wrong... but it turns out Ido's reply was the correct one (and applicable to Paperless email too).
Sad.
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Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.
Original Message:
Sent: 09-13-2022 09:34
From: Jerry Norman
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
Thanks for the details. It's clearly complicated.
I asked because this was the comment I got from a customer's IT firm. Regardless of truth, it makes Sage look dumb to outside observers. Too bad.
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Jerry Norman
At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
Smartbridge Partners
(512) 653-7498
Original Message:
Sent: 09-13-2022 09:04
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
OAuth has been discussed and delayed by both Google and Microsoft.
I'm not an expert in this area.
I followed Sage's lead expecting they analyzed and knew what protocol was needed.
I think Microsoft started making plans for OAuth prior to Covid.
I believe the article that Sage is referencing is this one dated September 9, 2022 from Microsoft.
I do not think this is new information however Microsoft has issued several updates regarding Oauth and none of them went out of their way to be especially clear about exactly which type of user would be impacted.
In September 2021 Microsoft was talking about NOT disabling SMTP AUTH here.
via their 9/2021 FAQ above
I thought you said you were not going to completely disable SMTP AUTH?
You're right, we did, in blog posts here and here. We're going to continue to disable SMTP AUTH for tenants who don't use it, but we will not be changing the configuration of any tenant who does. We can't tell though if the usage we see is valid or not, that's down to you to determine. So you still should move away from using Basic and SMTP AUTH though if you can, as it does leave you exposed. Don't forget, you can disable it at the tenant level, and re-enable on a per-user/account level as described here.
So far as I can tell --- and I'm NOT AN EXPERT --- it appears that SMTP AUTH is what most/all Sage users were using prior to the OAuth capabilities being added to Sage 100 in 2020.6, 2021.4, 2022.1+.
Updates, correction and browbeating welcomed for the above info
------------------------------
Wayne Schulz
wayne@s-consult.com
Schulz Consulting
(860) 516-8990
Moodus, CT
Original Message:
Sent: 09-13-2022 08:23
From: Jerry Norman
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
Wasn't MS's decommissioning of SMTP announced quite some time ago? If so, it looks sort of like Sage waiting for the last minute for all this?
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Jerry Norman
At-Large BOD Member, 90 Minds
Smartbridge Partners
(512) 653-7498
Original Message:
Sent: 09-12-2022 17:08
From: Kevin Moyes
Subject: Sage Issues OAuth Update
This makes us and Sage look really technically competent: sending news far and wide that the sky is falling... only to later have to say: uhhhh... just kidding?
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Kevin Moyes
Technical Systems Analyst
Munjal White Consulting Co.