Encryption is key to protecting information as it travels outside the network

A new Vera report reveals stark numbers behind the mounting toll of data breaches triggered by cybercrime and accidents. One of the most recognized and mandated security controls, installed encryption tools protect just four percent of breached files. Meanwhile, compliance-focused mindsets and perimeter-driven encryption deployments keep organizations’ encryption investments fundamentally misaligned with how employees and…

Vulnerabilities in high-performance computer chips could lead to failures in modern electronics

A Washington State University research team has uncovered significant and previously unknown vulnerabilities in high-performance computer chips that could lead to failures in modern electronics. The researchers found they could damage the on-chip communications system and shorten the lifetime of the whole computer chip significantly by deliberately adding malicious workload. Led by Partha Pande, assistant…

Not all data collection is evil: Don’t let privacy scandals stall cybersecurity

Facebook continues to be criticized for its data collection practices. The media is hammering Google over how it handles data. JPMorgan Chase & Company was vilified for using Palantir software to allegedly invade the privacy of employees. This past June marked the five-year anniversary of The Guardian’s first story about NSA mass surveillance operations. These…

Making it harder for attackers to know when a system begins to deceive a bad actor

Can you deceive a deceiver? That’s the question that computer scientists at Binghamton University, State University of New York have recently been exploring. Assistant Professor of Computer Science Guanhua Yan and PhD student Zhan Shu are looking at how to make cyber deception a more effective tool against malicious hackers. Their study was inspired by…

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…

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…

Third parties: Fast-growing risk to an organization’s sensitive data

The Ponemon Institute surveyed more than 1,000 CISOs and other security and risk professionals across the US and UK to understand the challenges companies face in protecting sensitive and confidential information shared with third-party vendors and partners. According to the findings, 59 percent of companies said they have experienced a data breach caused by one…