You know how most people don't really understand the professions of others with whom they mingle or interact with? You know, retail clerks typically don't understand IT, doctors don't understand accountants, used car salesmen don't get landscaping and so on. Information security is arguably one of the cloudiest and least understood for those who aren't exposed to it on a daily basis.After reviewing the headlines of my emails today I ...
Continue Reading...We always hear about "disgruntled workers" wreaking havoc on computer systems and sensitive information. Interestingly we never hear about "gruntled" workers and how they can help improve security...Thanks to a Merriam Webster's "Word of the Day" I came across I now know that there's another side to the overused word "disgruntled". Interestingly, according to M-W, the prefix "dis-" usually means "to do the opposite of," hence the assumption that if ...
Continue Reading...I have to admit, when my colleague Marcos Christodonte first approached me about reviewing his new security awareness book, Cyber Within, I thought here's yet another book on boring old security awareness. I was wrong. Cyber Within takes a very unique (suspense novel-like) approach to address the problem we have with employees and information security. And it works.The book is a quick read - just 47 pages - but it's ...
Continue Reading...Check out this wild video of a train crash yesterday. It's a great example of the fact that just because you have a policy (i.e. the no truck crossing sign) doesn't mean that people will abide by (i.e. the dummy driver who probably thought "Aw, I can make this."). Some people just believe that they are exempt from certain things.Keep this in mind for your information security matters...you can't save ...
Continue Reading...I just came across a Dark Reading piece by Adrian Lane on wiping out wimpy passwords. Adrian says that user training is needed so people know how to create strong passwords. I'm not picking on you Adrian however this has become a downright ridiculous approach, one that's been proven time and again not to work. My take is if you have to set your users up for success and, therefore, ...
Continue Reading...The word 'accident' is one of those pet peeves of mine. We see and hear about car crashes, parking deck collapses, spilled milk on the kitchen floor, whatever...they're all "accidents" people say. Well I'm calling b.s. on the "accident" excuse. If you look at every single "accident" scenario there is always a set of choices and behaviors leading up to it. Guaranteed.So, when I saw this IDC/RSA report that claims ...
Continue Reading...When out on my lunch break today I drove by the entrance to a manufacturing plant (a Fortune 500 global company) that had a sign that read "Safety is everyone's responsibility".I understand that protecting electronic bits and bytes isn't as critical as protecting human bodies but this sign made me think about information security and where it is on the radar of business leaders. The truth is that unless and ...
Continue Reading...I was cleaning my office recently and found something that made me laugh. I don't remember exactly where I got it from for credit purposes but it *may* be from one Laura Chappell's BrainShare sessions way back when NetWare was cool. It defines those users that we've all had to deal with at some point in our careers:Power Users: Pc Operators Who Eventually Ruin, Unload, Screw up, Erase, and Remove ...
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