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09 Jan 2015Core human psychology principles are what hold us back with security
2015 marks my 26th year working in IT and my 20th year focusing on information security. I'm so fortunate to work in such an amazing field and even luckier to have gained some wisdom over the years that has allowed me understand the true challenges we face with information security! As much as the vendors, researchers, and criminal hackers want us to believe it's the threats that cause all the ...
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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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05 Nov 2014
Car racing and security breaches, you’re not as ready as you think you are!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to run the race of my life - a 90 minute enduro car race in my Spec Miata - held at the America Road Race of Champions at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.It wasn't the most competitive race - there were only 17 entries, 14 that made it on track...I've raced with over 60 cars at once. It wasn't the most stressful race. ...
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08 Oct 2014
What no one is saying about cyber insurance
I race cars for fun and sport and found out the hard way not long ago that if I wanted to increase my life insurance I was going to have to jump through numerous hoops and pay enormous premiums for a minimal increase in my existing coverage. I was thinking about this scenario compared to 'cyber insurance' and, wow, what a difference. Knowing what I know, there appear to be minimal ...
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08 Oct 2014
My trip to the 2014 ISC^2 Congress
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the ISC2 Congress in Atlanta. It was held in conjunction with that physical security organization. When I arrived to walk the show floor, it was nothing but physical security vendors - as far as the eye could see. After about 45 minutes (sans program guide), I discovered where the information security vendors where. There were about five of them and they were ...
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19 Sep 2014
Resources to get up to speed with the latest HIPAA security requirements
Check out the newly-revised second edition of the book I just finished co-authoring with Rebecca Herold that's due out October 21st: Be sure to check out my other IT security compliance resources on my website. Enjoy!...
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17 Sep 2014
What if The Home Depot looked to their own store policies for help with infosec?
If The Home Depot's management were as strict with information security as they are with store policies I'm confident they could've avoided their data breach.Have you heard their policy monger guy on their intercom system while shopping?? He sounds like that guy we've seen in those disturbing Allstate commercials. A bit creepy. It's also quite uninviting - certainly doesn't make you feel welcome in their stores.At least they've covered their ...
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10 Sep 2014
Magnasphere and the physical security vulnerability you may not know about
If you have an alarm system that's dependent on the decades-old reed switches like the one pictured below, you should know they can be easily defeated with a mere compass and a magnet. It's pretty eye-opening...Certainly a good reason to have two, three, or (depending the country you live in and your stance on self-defense) more layers of security in your building or home! :-)A good option for beefing up ...
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02 Sep 2014
Bits & pieces on the 2014 Home Depot data breach
The news of the new Home Depot credit card breach combined with me being based in Atlanta as well, I feel compelled to share some links to some of the recent pieces I've written about point-of-sale and retail information security in hopes that a nugget or two might prove beneficial to someone out there...here they are:The Target Breach – Can It Be Prevented?Six endpoint management lessons from POS security breachesSecurity ...
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28 Aug 2014
The latest Android / Gmail security flaw & why people don’t take IT & security seriously
You may have heard about the recently-discovered Android exploit that makes Gmail vulnerable to criminal hackers. I read it over and realized that I have to use this opportunity share an example of what I talk about when "researchers" claim that all is bad in the world because of the latest and greatest exploit impacting whatever software or device they've discovered.This Android/Gmail finding in particular is a great example of ...
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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:
