Companies face legion of security operations challenges

After a week away from all things cybersecurity, I’m back at work and focusing on security analytics and operations again. Alarmingly, most organizations readily admit to problems in this area. For example, a recent ESG research survey of 412 cybersecurity and IT professionals identified some of the biggest security analytics and operations challenges. Some of…

Antivirus: From Stand-Alone Product to Endpoint Feature

Endpoint experts discuss the evolution of AV and its shift from stand-alone product to a feature in broader security tools. The endpoint security evolution is underway. Antivirus (AV) isn’t dead, but its nature is changing as enterprise threats become faster, more widespread, and more complex. “Antivirus has become, to me, more of a specific feature…

Blindfolded on the Battlefield: The Importance of Threat Hunting in the Modern Age

One of the fundamental problems with cybersecurity is that organizations often do not realize when they are compromised. Traditional incident response methods are typically reactive, forcing security teams to wait for a visible sign of an attack. The problem is that many attacks today are stealthy, targeted and data-focused. Just stop for a moment to…

Stepping Up Cybersecurity This Summer

It’s summertime, and everyone’s on vacation. What could possibly go wrong? For the security team, the answer is “plenty.” Summer brings a set of new challenges to security organizations including employees taking more time off, often with their corporate laptops. Our own security personnel are taking vacation time, too, which makes staffing the security operations…

Personal Details of 117,000 AA Shoppers Exposed

The Automobile Association (AA) — the UK’s largest motoring organization with over 15 million members — is being heavily criticized over its public handling of a major data incident that occurred in April. A server misconfiguration exposed personal details of more than 100,000 AA Shop customers; but its importance has been consistently downplayed by the organization….

Microsoft Forces Users to Review Windows 10 Privacy Settings

Windows 10 users who haven’t installed the Creators Update will soon be notified to review their privacy settings and to install the latest feature update to remain secure, Microsoft announced. Microsoft has been criticized for its Windows 10 data collection practices, and the French National Data Protection Commission (CNIL) recently served the company a formal notice to…

How Hotel Cybersecurity Keeps Guests and Data Secure

Hotels need cybersecurity: Although they don’t have the volume of transactions that big box retail stores do, their transactions are generally larger, and their guests have more at stake than just their groceries. But the personal information hotels store is only part of what’s at risk. Hospitality organizations need to understand their vulnerabilities, as well…

Social media is a cybersecurity risk for business

By itself, social media might not constitute a cyberthreat but once again,  employees who ignore best practices around security are making it easy for scammers. It’s even been described as the perfect hunting ground for illegal activity. Social media has also turned into a dandy reconnaissance tool that cybercriminals use to socially engineer their victims. When someone neglects their privacy settings or publicly posts personal notes and photos, they can leave cybercriminals free to use their information…

UK Parliament Cuts Email Access After Cyberattack

Britain’s parliament shut down external access to e-mail accounts on Saturday following a cyberattack. Parliamentary authorities described the attack as “sustained and determined”, in an email sent to lawmakers and published by the Daily Telegraph. “Earlier this morning we discovered unusual activity and evidence of an attempted cyberattack on our computer network,” it read. “Closer…