Effective IT security habits of highly secure companies

When you get paid to assess computer security practices, you get a lot of visibility into what does and doesn’t work across the corporate spectrum. I’ve been fortunate enough to do exactly that as a security consultant for more than 20 years, analyzing anywhere between 20 to 50 companies of varying sizes each year. If there’s a single conclusion I can draw from that experience, it’s that successful security strategies are not about tools -- it's about teams. With very good people in the right places, supportive management, and well-executed protective processes, you have the makings of a very secure company, regardless of the tools you use. Companies that have an understanding of the importance and value of computer security as a crucial part of the business, not merely as a necessary evil, are those least likely to suffer catastrophic breaches. Every company thinks they have this culture; few do.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Effective IT security habits of highly secure companies

When you get paid to assess computer security practices, you get a lot of visibility into what does and doesn’t work across the corporate spectrum. I’ve been fortunate enough to do exactly that as a security consultant for more than 20 years, analyzing anywhere between 20 to 50 companies of varying sizes each year. If there’s a single conclusion I can draw from that experience, it’s that successful security strategies are not about tools -- it's about teams. With very good people in the right places, supportive management, and well-executed protective processes, you have the makings of a very secure company, regardless of the tools you use. Companies that have an understanding of the importance and value of computer security as a crucial part of the business, not merely as a necessary evil, are those least likely to suffer catastrophic breaches. Every company thinks they have this culture; few do.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Master Class (with video): To deliver more personalized healthcare, ditch the manuals

At St. Joseph Health, David Baker has made it his mission to give patients a more personalized and transparent experience in the way they communicate with the healthcare facility, either through interactions with their doctors or simply setting up their next medical appointment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

15 tips to get the most from your HTC 10

Make a good phone even betterImage by Ryan WhitwamHTC knew it had something to prove with the HTC 10, and it's a very good phone. It has solid performance, excellent design, and the latest Sense interface is only a mild change from stock Android. Even with all its good points, you can make your new HTC 10 even better. We've got 15 tips and tricks to make the HTC 10 the best device it can possible be.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Will your backups protect you against ransomware?

In theory, nobody should be paying any money to the ransomware extortionists. Doesn't everyone have backups these days? Even consumer has access to a wide variety of free or low-cost backup services. But the headlines are full of reports about institutions such as hospitals and police departments, organizations that should have business continuity plans in place with solid backup strategies.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to increase your project management knowledge

With 10 interconnected knowledge areas that incorporate the use of 47 processes organized into five process groups, project management can be a multifaceted maze to navigate. Developing a deeper understanding of this discipline can be an all-consuming and intimidating task at times, and just trying to find out where to turn for training can feel overwhelming.5. Professional books and articlesTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Laptop updaters riddled with security holes

A recent test of pre-installed updater software on 10 laptops showed that every single one had security problems."We went and bought about 10 laptops," said Darren Kemp, security researcher at Duo Security. "And every single vendor had their own piece of software to perform software updates, including the Microsoft Signature Editions, and they were all pretty terrible."For example, some laptop manufacturers weren't using encryption in their updaters."We found exploitable vulnerabilities in every vendor," he said.We found exploitable vulnerabilities in every vendor. Darren Kemp, security researcher at Duo SecurityTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Laptop updaters riddled with security holes

A recent test of pre-installed updater software on 10 laptops showed that every single one had security problems."We went and bought about 10 laptops," said Darren Kemp, security researcher at Duo Security. "And every single vendor had their own piece of software to perform software updates, including the Microsoft Signature Editions, and they were all pretty terrible."For example, some laptop manufacturers weren't using encryption in their updaters."We found exploitable vulnerabilities in every vendor," he said.We found exploitable vulnerabilities in every vendor. Darren Kemp, security researcher at Duo SecurityTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Alibaba invests in ecommerce search game

Ecommerce vendors are increasingly under pressure to deliver the most relevant products to site visitors. As choices available to consumers increase, so too does the requirement to filter the myriad of options and offer the most relevant products in response to a consumer's search. It is for this reason that ecommerce search tools from companies such as SLI Systems are increasingly important.Another player in the space is stealth Israeli company Twiggle. Twiggle combines the buzzwords du jour—machine learning, artificial intelligence and natural language processing—and delivers them within the context of ecommerce search.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Startup Nervana joins Google in building hardware tailored for neural networks

At the MIT EmTech Digital conference, startup Nervana announced plans to design and build a custom ASIC processor for neural networks and machine learning applications that the company’s CEO, Naveen Rao, claims will run 10 times faster than graphic processor units (GPU).The news comes after Google last week announced it had secretly deployed its neural network and machine-learning-tailored processors in its data centers about a year ago. The company reported that its custom processor had improved performance by an order of magnitude. Google’s approach and improvements in performance validate Nervana’s technical strategy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

65 million Tumblr account records are up for sale on the underground market

A few weeks ago, Tumblr notified users of a data breach that resulted in the theft of user email addresses and hashed passwords. The company did not say how many accounts were affected, but recently someone put the data up for sale and the number is: 65 million records.The data is being sold on a Tor dark market website called TheRealDeal by a user named peace_of_mind who also sold 167 million user records stolen from LinkedIn. Recently he also posted offers for 360 million accounts allegedly stolen from MySpace and 40 million from adult dating website Fling.com.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

65 million Tumblr account records are up for sale on the underground market

A few weeks ago, Tumblr notified users of a data breach that resulted in the theft of user email addresses and hashed passwords. The company did not say how many accounts were affected, but recently someone put the data up for sale and the number is: 65 million records.The data is being sold on a Tor dark market website called TheRealDeal by a user named peace_of_mind who also sold 167 million user records stolen from LinkedIn. Recently he also posted offers for 360 million accounts allegedly stolen from MySpace and 40 million from adult dating website Fling.com.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Components of modern hacking operations

During my conversations with security executives, a topic that consistently comes up is what, exactly, constitutes a modern hacking operation. Security professionals understand they’re no longer facing script kiddies who lack a comprehensive plan. However, they’re also not fully aware of how detail-oriented adversaries are when developing an attack campaign.Today’s hacking operations are well-organized and developed by well-funded teams of highly trained adversaries who have diverse experiences and backgrounds. In fact, attack planning is handled like a business operation and includes hiring plans, budgets and timelines.To help security professionals better understand the attacks they’re facing, I thought I’d share some of my observations on the work that goes into planning a hack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco’s evolution: Technology and branding changes over the years

From niche router vendor to all things networkingCisco’s new campaign “There’s Never Been A Better Time” urges everyone to consider how the network can solve the world’s biggest problems. The company is on a mission to change the world, but it didn’t start out that way. As Cisco evolved from a niche router vendor to the de facto standard for all things networking, so too has its message to the world.    To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Overclockers have pushed Intel’s new Broadwell chip to 5.7GHz

Intel's new 10-core Broadwell-E gaming chip is only a few hours old, but already overclockers have pushed a 3GHz version of the chip to 5.7GHz and they say they're only just getting started.Overclocking is the process by which software commands and extreme cooling are used to push processors to run faster than they are typically designed to run -- the chip equivalent of putting your foot on the gas and flooring it while keeping your car under control.At an overclocking event at the Computex trade show in Taipei on Tuesday, large tanks of liquid nitrogen stood on the ready to help overclockers keep the processors cool.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

From scratch: why these mass scans are important

The way the Internet works is that "packets" are sent to an "address". It's the same principle how we send envelopes through the mail. Just put an address on it, hand it to the nearest "router", and the packet will get forwarded hop-to-hop through the Internet in the direction of the destination.

What you see as the address at the top of your web browser, like "www.google.com" or "facebook.com" is not the actual address. Instead, the real address is a number. In much the same way a phonebook (or contact list) translates a person's name to their phone number, there is a similar system that translates Internet names to Internet addresses.

There are only 4 billion Internet addresses. It's a number between between 0 and 4,294,967,296. In binary, it's 32-bits in size, which comes out to that roughly 4 billion combinations.

For no good reason, early Internet pioneers split up that 32-bit number into four 8-bit numbers, which each has 256 combinations (256 × 256 × 256 × 256 = 4294967296). Thus, why write Internet address like "192.168.38.28" or "10.0.0.1". 

Yes, as you astutely point out, there are many more than 4 billion devices Continue reading

Review: Hot new tools to fight insider threats

In the 1979 film When a Stranger Calls, the horror is provided when police tell a young babysitter that the harassing phone calls she has been receiving are coming from inside the house. It was terrifying for viewers because the intruder had already gotten inside, and was presumably free to wreak whatever havoc he wanted, unimpeded by locked doors or other perimeter defenses. In 2016, that same level of fear is being rightfully felt towards a similar danger in cybersecurity: the insider threat.An entire industry has sprung up to provide a defense against insider threats. We tested products from Fortscale, Avanan, and PFU Systems, with each one concentrating on a different aspect of the problem.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

3 top tools to fight insider threats

Lurking insideImage by Flickr/Dennis SkleyWe tested three products, each concentrating on a different aspect of the insider threat problem. Fortscale did an amazing job protecting a traditional network. Its machine learning capabilities and concentration on access and authentication logs gives it an extremely high accuracy rate. Cloud-based insider threats can be even harder to detect, yet Avanan uniquely protects against threats related to trusted insiders within the cloud. PFU Systems applies insider threat security to mobile devices with their iNetSec system. (Read the full review.) Here are the individual reviews:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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