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27 Apr 2022It’s here! Hacking For Dummies, 7th edition
Hot off the press, the latest (7th) edition of my best-selling book on security vulnerability and penetration testing, Hacking For Dummies, is here! Hacking For Dummies is one of the oldest and most successful books on information and computer security and, as of 2019, it has been translated into 9 different languages. Who would've thought all the blood, sweat, and tears that I put in to the first edition of ...
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16 Feb 2022
Macs are secure…no need to test them?? You might want to rethink that approach.
Macs are secure! Right...? They don't really need to be tested...including them in an overall vulnerability management program is likely overkill. It's an age-old philosophy coming from those who need some enlightenment...perhaps get caught up on their reading. The next time someone tells you that macOS is secure, respectfully push back and ask: How do you know? Here's a screenshot of the Tenable.io findings from just one scan of a ...
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07 Feb 2019Hacking For Dummies now in its 9th language
I just found out from my publisher, Wiley, that my book Hacking For Dummies is being published in Dutch. That makes the ninth language for my book since its inception way back in 2003. Here's the full list of languages: English German (including the new 6th edition)DutchHindiFrenchPortugueseSimplified ChineseItalianBulgarian I'm eager to see what the next language will be! I really hope you'll check out my book. Of course, I'm a ...
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13 Jul 2018
Introducing my brand new vulnerability and penetration testing book: Hacking For Dummies, 6th edition
Want to learn the essentials of vulnerability and penetration testing? Looking for insight into which testing tools you need to use to get the job done right? Maybe you need help in determining the difference between the vital few security vulnerabilities and the trivial many that sidetrack so many people? Perhaps you need help selling information security to management and keeping them on board with what you're doing? Well, if ...
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10 Aug 2017Rapid7’s Insight platform provides focused analytics for your security program
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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12 Aug 2016Penetration Testing and Security Assessment Essentials…Don’t ignore this stuff.
Want tips on how to perform better security assessments and penetration tests? Here you go:What are the most important security testing basics?Determining your scope of security testingBest Practices and Tips for Choosing Application Security Testing ToolsWhy ALL of your Web applications need security testingIt can be dangerous assuming a vulnerability is not a vulnerabilityWhat constitutes a “critical” security flaw?Rely on data center audits alone and you’ll get hit eventually What ...
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28 Jun 2016
Email phishing expertise: Lack of skills or just a lackadaisical approach to security?
I can't think of any current security test that's more important than email phishing. Yet, it seems that so few organizations actually include this phishing as part of their ongoing information security assessments and penetration tests. I suppose that's why we keep hearing about all of the Cryptolocker infections and crazy statistics being published by Verizon, Ponemon and others. Here are some articles that I have written that can help ...
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02 Dec 2015
How effective is your security program? New content and, perhaps, some new ideas.
Slow going on the posts lately - too busy writing for other websites! :-) So, here's some of my latest for you - this time on the subject of information security management and running an effective security program:Information security is not stagnant but dynamicThe mishandling sensitive data: Do you really know what you don’t know?Security Decision-Making: When Decisions Are Based on Fear Rather Than FactState of the Network study: How ...
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22 Dec 2014
Some vulnerability + penetration testing content to send off 2014
Here are some pieces I've written recently on determining just how "fit" your network and application environment really is. Whether you're an IT auditor, penetration tester, IT admin, or security consultant, there's some stuff for you:How to perform a (next-generation) network security audit Don’t overlook details when scoping your Web application security assessmentsTop gotchas when performing email phishing tests How to take a measured approach to automated penetration testingFive steps ...
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18 Aug 2014
A resource to help with PCI DSS 3.0’s penetration testing methodology requirements
PCI DSS has been getting a lot of buzz lately and the latest version 3.0 will continue gaining momentum until the many small and medium-sized businesses get their arms around the new requirements. Of particular interest is the updated requirement 11.3 (below) which is much more prescriptive on how to find the actual security flaws that matter. I've always believe that you can't secure what you don't acknowledge...PCI DSS 3.0 ...
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Resources
Client Testimonials
“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.”
(IT managed services firm)
I’ve written/co-written 12 books on information security including one of the best-sellers of all time:
