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05 May 2009Hilarious/ridiculous password requirements
I came across some very laughable Web-site password requirements with some sites I've used recently that I wanted to share. The need for us to use strong passwords/passphrases on the Web is pretty obvious. I also believe in balancing security with reality and not going overboard.My first example is just that: overboard. It's AT&T Wireless. Check out their ridiculous password requirements:Your password is case-sensitive and must:- Be six to twenty ...
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30 Apr 2009
Ouch
Did you hear about the French First Lady's debacle yesterday? Apparently computer files, etc. containing some not so modest photos and videos of her were stolen. Ouch.Lesson learned: encrypt your laptop hard drives. No, no wait. How about not taking photos and videos of yourself doing things that you wouldn't want the whole world to see!...
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28 Apr 2009
Marketers can twist anything
You've heard me say before here, here, and elsewhere that the marketing fluff created by IT and security product vendors is often nothing more than, well, fluff. Most marketer jargon lies somewhere between competitive advantage and political correctness and it usually makes for some comical reading.I heard some nonsense like this on my way into work this morning. It was regarding the swine flu. Apparently the brainiacs in the pork ...
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27 Apr 2009
Think about this…
...when you're working hard for your money this week. It shines a spotlight on what's happening on our world today and has some interesting security tie-ins as well. Funny how all of this stuff affecting our lives and careers is related."You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government ...
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21 Apr 2009
Funny post about today’s RSA keynotes
Here's some funny insight from my colleague Mike Rothman into the caliber of speakers that RSA pulls in for their keynotes. Funny, amazing, sad.I'm becoming more and more glad that I didn't go out there!...
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21 Apr 2009
RSA news: virtual machine security, finally!?
Now vendors and developers have a way to ward off down those dreaded virtual machine vulnerabilities plaguing every network. It's VMware's VMsafe API to the rescue. Finally a virtual machine security solution!Now if we can just find a way to get people to:Require strong passwords on their virtual machinesPatch their virtual machinesDisable unnecessary and unsecured network shares on their virtual machinesTurn off unneeded services on their virtual machinesEncrypt the drives ...
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21 Apr 2009
Isn’t this what HIPAA was for?
I read the first paragraph in this piece regarding Obama's mandate that we move to electronic medical records (a big step in nationalizing healthcare in this country). It says "The aim is to improve medical care, increase the efficiency of heath care delivery and ultimately cut health care costs." When I co-wrote our book on HIPAA compliance back in 2003, improving medical care, increasing the efficiency of heath care delivery ...
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03 Apr 2009
Restating the obvious?
This just in (OK, it's really from a couple of days ago): Cybersecurity hearing highlights inadequacy of PCI DSS.But I thought compliance = security!? And anything forced down our throats at the hand of industry bodies and government goons is all we need to manage business risks!? Seriously...how long do you think we'll continue to hear about this...ay yay yay?...
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31 Mar 2009
Goofy “feature” in GoToMyPC that can put you at risk
I use GoToMyPC for remote access occasionally and came across a situation you may want to know about....Before I left the office last night I made sure my Windows screen was locked. My locking screensaver kicks in after a few minutes but I just wanted to make sure. While at home I accessed my laptop a few times logging on and off of GoToMyPC. When I returned to the office ...
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26 Mar 2009
How long will we be talking about this?
I saw this bit and wondered to myself: how long will we be talking about the basics of security and the ramifications when they're ignored? 10, 20 years more maybe?...
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“A business associate referred our company to Principle Logic when we were seeking a resource to perform vulnerability /penetration testing for our external and internal networks. We found Kevin Beaver to be professional, well informed, and easy to work with. His testing did not disrupt our networks, and his progress updates were timely.
His final report was very thorough and included security recommendations for our network environment. The executive leadership was so impressed with Kevin’s security expertise, they have extended their agreement to continue to perform periodic testing. We highly recommend Kevin Beaver and Principle Logic as a resource for network security testing.”
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Kevin has written/co-written 12 books on information security including one of the best-sellers of all time:
