New Connectors Address Security
Included in the latest drop of 35 new Power Automate connectors are another handful of independently published ones. The first addresses, well…addresses, which I tagged “geolocation,” and the others tackle security.
If you’re concerned about data breaches or need accurate geolocation info, then read on!
Where am I?
If you travel extensively, you may have woken up in a place and thought, “I’m hungry,” followed immediately by, “Where am I?”
If you’d had access to Zippopotamus, the open-source project focused on converting zip codes into valid geographical locations, you might have stood a chance answering that question. But, with the new connector, you could let Power Automate do the work for you. Its two geolocation actions get you latitude, longitude and other location details for a postal code or a given state and city in over 60 countries.
That, or you could just call the front desk and ask.
Four stars
Somebody Call Security!
Part of addressing your personal and business security is knowing when a data breach has occurred. Once you know, you can address it.
The new Have I Been Pwned connector lets you learn when security breaches happen that include your email or phone by getting: a breach name, all breached sites or data classes in a system, all breaches in an account, or all pastes for an account. That’s a good start.
In a future iteration of this connector, I’d love to see a trigger to add to a flow that notifies me (or the head of the IT department) as soon as it’s clear a breach has occurred. Even so, a strong entry.
Five stars
Under the U.S. Department of Commerce, this connector taps the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s NVD, the U.S. government repository of standards-based vulnerability management data using the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP).
For a narrow set of government users* whose task it is to assess vulnerabilities via Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), the NIST NVD connector has two actions.
(1.) retrieve a collection of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), the list of publicly disclosed vulnerabilities and exposures that is maintained by MITRE, or
(2.) retrieve CPE information. Official Common Platform Enumeration, otherwise known as CPE, is a structured naming scheme for information technology systems, software, and packages.
* ”NIST employs about 3,400 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support and administrative personnel primarily at two locations: Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado. NIST also hosts about 2,700 associates from academia, industry, and other government agencies, who collaborate with NIST staff and access user facilities.” ~ Source https://www.nist.gov/work-nist
Two stars for a relatively small group of possible users (though they’ll likely find great benefit from it.)
Wrap it Up.
I’ll continue to sift through the newest available Power Automate connectors to bring you reviews of each from my vantage point. If you missed yesterday’s Space, Images, Emails and Triggers in Power Automate, or Monday’s post, Climate Change and Power Automate connectors, be sure to check them out.
You never know when you might need to answer that key geolocation question, “Where Am I?”, but if you’re really lost, we’re here to help you find the right connector to automate your project so you can get on with what you do best.
