May 19, 2024
Sometimes you have to step off the beaten path to find the right certification. Let’s take a look at the world of computer security certifications, and see which certs some people may be overlooking.
Published July 2019 in Certification Magazine.
Read the full article: Six Niche Security Certifications
The cybersecurity world is full of acronyms; it’s difficult to go an entire year without vendors beating down the door to promote the latest one as the solution to security woes for businesses. The latest entrant into this progression of technologies is the security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) platform, a platform that vendors promise will decrease incident response time, improve visibility into the security function and make security teams’ lives easier.
That sounds great, but many businesses have already made significant investments in security information and event management technology. Does implementing SOAR involve throwing those SIEM investments out the window? Let’s take a deeper dive into these questions and explore how SOAR and SIEM fit into the enterprise cybersecurity toolkit.
Published July 2019 in BizTech Magazine.
Read the full article: SIEM vs SOAR: What?s the Difference, and Do Businesses Need Both?
“Analytics centers of excellence serve as the nucleus of an organization’s data transformation efforts,” says Mike Chapple, adjunct analyst with IDC’s IT Executive Programs (IEP). “The center brings together talented staff organized around the common purpose of unlocking the value hidden in business data. Using a centralized approach helps analytics efforts gain the resources they need and develop traction within existing organizational structures that might be otherwise resistant to change.”
IDC Research Report published June 2019.
Read the full report: IDC PlanScape: Building an Analytics Center of Excellence
Cybersecurity incidents carry with them tremendous potential for financial, operational and reputational damage to organizations. To stay ahead of the fallout, enterprises need strategies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents in order to mount an effective response to security incidents. Of course, the best defensive strategy is one that aims to reduce the likelihood and impact of incidents in the first place.
To try to help organizations build robust defenses, the Australian government recently updated its list of eight essential strategies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents. While the Australian government’s list focuses on endpoint-based threats and controls almost exclusively, strategies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents need to be more comprehensive to include network security controls, secure software development practices, security awareness training programs and other elements of a strong cybersecurity program.
Published June 2019 in SearchSecurity
Read the full article: Strategies to mitigate cybersecurity incidents need holistic plans
Cybersecurity incidents require careful coordination between the incident response team and a variety of internal and external stakeholders. An incident response communication plan is a crucial component of an organization’s broader incident response plan that provides guidance and direction to these communication efforts. As with other elements of the incident response plan, organizations should develop their communication plan in a calm period to enable sound decision-making instead of attempting good decisions during the high-pressure environment surrounding a security incident.
Let’s take a look at five actions you can take to ensure that your incident communication plan is as effective as possible.
Published June 2019 in SearchSecurity
Read the full article: Incident response: How to implement a communication plan
Cybersecurity professionals around the world work to prevent security incidents that would undermine the confidentiality, integrity or availability of their organization’s information assets. Unfortunately, the stark reality we face is that these incidents are virtually inevitable. Incidents will occur, and organizations should understand the incident response steps that they will take in the event of a cyberattack or other adverse event that has an impact on business operations.
Security incidents are extremely stressful times that place business and IT leaders under enormous pressure to react quickly to minimize damage. This fast-paced, high-pressure environment is not conducive to sound decision-making.
Published June 2019 in SearchSecurity
Read the full article: 5 critical steps to creating an effective incident response plan
Earlier this week, we learned that the American Medical Collection Agency, a billing collection agency, suffered a data breach affecting millions of patients. The perpetrators had access to systems containing Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and medical records belonging to millions of individuals. Initial reports of the breach came through an SEC filing made by Quest Diagnostics informing investors that at least 11.9 million Quest patients were affected by the breach. LabCorp also used AMCA’s services, and the affected system stored information about 7.7 million of its patients. It’s likely that the number of affected individuals will continue to increase as details of other AMCA customers come to light.
We’ve heard this story so many times that we already know how it will unfold. Giant company announces breach. CEO makes statement of contrition. Executive in charge of cybersecurity is publicly fired. Customers receive letters of apology and identity monitoring services. We go back to life as normal until another breach restarts the cycle.
It’s time to break that cycle by fixing the root cause: the misuse of Social Security numbers as proof of identity by financial institutions, insurance companies, landlords, health care providers and just about everyone else.
Published June 2019 in CNN Business Perspectives.
Read the full article: Taking Social Security numbers public could fix our data breach crisis
How much do you know about passwords? You might believe password authentication is old hat, and that you already know the best practices for implementing passwords. After all, we’ve heard password hygiene messages for years, right?
But unless you’ve updated your knowledge recently, you might be in for surprises.
Published June 2019 in EdTech Magazine.
Read the full article: Fact or Fallacy: Stay Up to Date on Best Practices for Password Security
In a recent survey of Chief Information Officers, 88 percent reported that cybersecurity initiatives were on their shortlist of priorities for 2019. That’s an astounding figure that cuts across industries and geographies as organizations struggle to protect their systems and data in an increasingly dangerous threat environment.
Implementing cybersecurity initiatives requires talented and skilled staff, and surveys consistently reveal that filling cybersecurity positions continues to challenge organizations. In a 2018 CSO survey, 53 percent of organizations reported that they suffered from a “problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills.” This news might keep senior technology leaders awake at night, but it also presents an opportunity for individuals seeking to find employment in a high-demand, lucrative field.
Published May 2019 in Certification Magazine.
Read the full article: Becoming a data security administrator is a great pathway into cybersecurity
Last year, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an alert that hackers were targeting organizations in the United States with a massive wave of attacks based on successful guesses of common passwords.
These password-spray attacks seek to identify accounts at targeted organizations that use common or simple passwords, and then use those accounts to steal sensitive information. Nine Iranian nationals were indicted last year in New York for hacks of U.S. universities, companies and government agencies using this method.
In a password-spray attack, the attacker does not need advance knowledge of a user’s password. Unlike social engineering, in which the attacker tricks a user into revealing his or her password, spray attacks rely on the fact that, unless prevented, users will choose easy-to-remember passwords.
Published May 2019 in FedTech Magazine.
Read the full article: Password-Based Attacks Pose New Dangers for Agency Networks