The fundamentals of network security and cybersecurity hygiene

Infrastructure and network security The two fundamental building blocks to ensuring that your data is secure are physical infrastructure and network security. Understanding and protecting your information from threats and human error require meticulously layered security protocols. Physical infrastructure Last year, British Airways canceled over 400 flights and stranded 75,000 passengers because of an IT…

Retail Security Hygiene: The Case for Seasonal Checkups

The winter holidays offer big potential for retailers, with some companies earning around 30 percent of their annual revenue during the season, according to the National Retail Federation. Big sales numbers, however, also drive increased risks of fraud and theft, and businesses are now spending on extra security measures to keep physical stores safe. But…

How to Defend Against Malvertising Drive-By Attacks

Many longtime internet users will remember receiving pop-up ads warning that their computers were infected with a virus. In nearly all cases, the ad’s specific claims were bogus; the purpose was to scare users into paying for a questionable tech support service or to drive them to a site that would actually infect them with…

GDPR’s impact: The first six months

GDPR is now six months old – it’s time to take an assessment of the regulation’s impact so far. At first blush it would appear very little has changed. There are no well-publicized actions being taken against offenders. No large fines levied. So does this mean its yet another regulation that will be ignored? Actually…

For recent big data software vulnerabilities, botnets and coin mining are just the beginning

The phrase “with great power comes great responsibility” was excellent advice when Ben Parker said it to his nephew Peter, aka Spiderman. It is even more applicable to any organization using open source software to manage their big data analysis. This is especially true since, in 2018, significant vulnerabilities were identified and disclosed for both…

Facebook Increases Rewards for Account Hacking Vulnerabilities

According to Facebook, researchers can earn up to $40,000 if they report an account hijacking flaw that does not require any user interaction, and $25,000 if minimum user interaction is required for the exploit to work. The bounty applies to Facebook and other services owned by the company, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. “By increasing…