You've secured the budget. You've implemented the program. You've checked every box on the information security checklist. Frameworks? Followed. Best practices? Established. Policies? Written and approved. The technology stack is humming along, auditors are nodding approvingly, and consultants are signing off on your approach. Everything suggests your network and information assets are locked down tight. Then the breach happens. The investigation reveals gaps you never saw coming. How did this ...
Continue Reading...Everything is easy, until it's not... When you start a new relationship, everything feels easy. It’s exciting. It’s fresh. You want to impress. You like being impressed. You want to explore. Every day feels like a new adventure. But then reality sets in. The fun stuff gives way to routine, and routine takes work. You start learning nuances and dynamics. You have to show up. You have to communicate. You ...
Continue Reading...At the Petit Le Mans race this past weekend, the TV announcers couldn’t stop talking about incident responsibility. Apparently, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) made it clear they’re done tolerating sloppy driving. [SIDENOTE: I certainly had my fair share of that back when I raced - like this example]. The rules of racing have always been there; now IMSA says they’re finally going to enforce them. Zero tolerance. No ...
Continue Reading...This article is from 2004. Tell me what has changed or is outdated...Perhaps my reference to "SSL" VPNs or "anti-virus" software? ;) Information security isn’t what it’s cracked up to be these days. Sure, there are vendors out there pushing faster, better, cheaper security products. And, we have all these new fancy systems to protect our digital assets like SSL VPNs, email and wireless LAN firewalls, intellectual property “leakage” appliances ...
Continue Reading...Security incidents are a case of when not if. Whether it’s ransomware, information theft, denial of service - you name it, you need a structured and practical approach to incident response without the fluff and vendor noise. Is TechTarget asked me to put such a guide together a few years back...but, don't worry, it's every bit as relevant today since most things with security haven't changed in decades. Sure, the ...
Continue Reading...“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.” – Ayn Rand Interesting how the world has changed in the past couple of weeks, huh? Here in the U.S., we went from a thriving economy and living in what might be described as the best time to be alive to what seems like an abrupt halt - doom and gloom - all within a couple of ...
Continue Reading...I had the opportunity to be invited to speak at the Attorney's Liability Assurance Society (ALAS) 2020 Cybersecurity Conference in Phoenix, AZ last week, and it was awesome. With a great group of 220 law firm IT leaders and general counsel professionals, I presented Beyond the Policies: Top 5 Security Findings (that I see in literally every security assessment I perform). I also served as a panelist for a lively ...
Continue Reading...I've heard it said that experience is something you don't get until just after you need it. Incident response is one of those things. How do you fully prepare for something that you've never had to deal with? Well, there are ways, but you have to prepare before the going gets rough. The best thing you can do is to define what "incident" means, think through the scenarios, and create ...
Continue Reading...Just over 17 years ago, on 9/11, we witnessed what it was like dealing with something that had never occurred. I remember thinking at the time and it still rings true – it's hard to protect against something that's never happened. Little to no clues, as far as we know...massive destruction on a scale we never expected. That's the tricky thing about terrorist threats and, on a much smaller scale, ...
Continue Reading...Fairly recently, Rapid7 took their vulnerability management platform up to the next level with their analytics platform called Rapid7 Insight. It's a beneficial for an independent consultant like myself and even more useful for enterprises with IT environments of growing complexity. Rapid7 Insight is marketed as a way to bring together the Nexpose vulnerability research, Metasploit exploits, global security intelligence and exposure analytics into a single system that can help ...
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