After Indianapolis-based American College of Education fired its IT manager, it discovered that the administrative password to its Google cloud account was changed, preventing 2,000 graduate students nationwide from accessing their email, papers and course work.
Author Archives: Mylon Staton
HIPAA Enforcement is Ramping Up
If your organization handles protected health information, as defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you are required to conduct comprehensive and timely risk assessments. As Federal regulators ramp up their audit activities, the potential for enforcement action is now a reality.
Cyber Security Compliance for the Financial Sector
Financial services encompass banks, insurance companies, investment firms, analysts, consultants, and many more firms – each overseeing highly sensitive data on behalf of their clients and staff. As a consequence, this industry is subject to a range of regulatory compliance standards, including…
A Closer Look at Data Deduplication
Data deduplication is a method for reducing storage needs by eliminating redundant data so that only one unique instance of the data is actually retained on the storage media. Reducing the amount of data that needs to be transmitted across the network, especially to the cloud, can increase backup speeds and save storage costs.
Although new approaches to achieving data deduplication are continually being developed, here are the basic methods.
Password Managers Require Careful Selection & Use
Many of us have dozens of online accounts including social networks, email, shopping, and work. Each account requires its own password for authentication along with a user name. The problem is that no one can remember so many passwords and user names, so there is a tendency to re-use them. Continue reading
IoT Devices Now a Launchpad for DDoS Attacks
The proliferation of IoT (Internet of Things) devices offer numerous benefits for consumers when they plug devices such as cameras, light bulbs, thermostats, digital video recorders, refrigerators and other household items into the Internet. It is estimated that billions of IoT devices are in operation right now and their use is growing by leaps and bounds.
The lack of adequate security measures in these devices, however, poses serious risks to users and the greater Internet community. This is because vulnerabilities in IoT devices come from several sources:
Cloud Outlook for 2017 – Accelerated Growth
According to a recent report by Forrester, the cloud computing market will enter a phase of accelerated growth in 2017. This growth is being fueled by the need of companies to power their core business systems in addition to their customer-facing applications.
Key trends highlighted in the Forrester report include…
Ready for Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication?
Passwords are no longer a sufficient means of controlling access to sensitive data, so the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) is doing something about it. They are now recommending that organizations bolster access security with multi-factor authentication.
Why all the fuss?
Are Your IT Users Suffering from “Security Fatigue”?
A recent study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that a majority of average computer users are experiencing “security fatigue” ̶ a weariness or reluctance to deal with security issues.
Typical examples of security fatigue include being tired of remembering usernames, passwords and PIN numbers; navigating multiple security measures; and dealing with account lockouts due to incorrectly entered passwords.
Cloud Adoption Grows, Getting Full Value Lags
Cisco has released the findings of a global study indicating that while cloud adoption continues to accelerate, few organizations are maximizing the value that cloud technology can offer.
According to the study, over 65% of organizations are using cloud to help drive business outcomes. Increased cloud adoption is being fueled by cloud-native applications, including security and Internet of Things (IoT) cloud-based solutions.
