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02 Mar 2011The real numbers behind lost laptops
Here's a recent piece I wrote for my friends at SearchCompliance.com regarding the lost laptop problem and what it's costing businesses:The Billion Dollar Lost Laptop – What’s it costing your business?I've seen some naysayers out there stating that there's no way a lost laptop could match up to Ponemon's figures. I say why find out!? Whatever the cost, the solutions for laptop security are simple once the choice is made ...
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28 Feb 2011
Security talent ≠ security success
Here's one of those great quotes that applies directly to infosec:“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” -Stephen KingThere are plenty of people who understand security architecture, hacking and related technical issues but few who really get the essence of risk and have taken the necessary steps to make information security work in support of the ...
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21 Feb 2011
New issue of Security Technology Executive @secinfowatch
The new edition of a very solid and unique magazine on security (both physical and IT) - Security Technology Executive - is now online.Be sure to check out the column I wrote in this issue entitled "Fighting the Malware Fight All Over Again" on page 21....
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17 Feb 2011Are you focusing on the infosec basics where it counts?
Here's a good read from @arstechnica on the HBGary story. It's a fascinating story in and of itself. But the oversights related to information security "best practices" is amazing. What is it going to take to get people to focus on the basics? Seriously, folks...Forget about all the fancy hack attacks and complex exploits for now and fix the low-hanging fruit. It's basic triage - stop the bleeding first. Focus ...
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17 Feb 2011
Not surprised by the Wells Fargo ATM outage based on what I see
Here's an interesting story about the widespread Wells Fargo ATM outage that occurred last week. There's speculation around the cause of the outage. Was it a hack? Was the system inadvertently taken down during system upgrades? Who knows...What I can say is that virtually every ATM I've come across in my work performing internal security assessments in/around the financial industry has been riddled with security holes. I've seen weak OS ...
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12 Feb 2011
Windows 7, Windows Phone 7, & Windows Firewall
Be it smartphones or desktops, when it comes to securing Windows you've got to look at both. Here are some new pieces I wrote for SearchEnterpriseDesktop.com that you may be interested in:Security considerations for Windows Phone 7Should you use third-party patching tools to keep Windows 7 secure?Weighing Windows Firewall for enterprise desktop protection...
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09 Feb 2011
Leave the phone alone…
You have to watch this video. Seriously, stop what you're doing now and watch this. This issue has a profound affect on you, your family, your friends - everyone around us. It'll make you cry. No matter how good a driver you are and no matter how much you've heard about this topic - everyone needs to see this video. Please pass it along....
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09 Feb 2011
Is it possible to do more with less?
In this era of limited budgets and "wait and see" leadership you still have to do something to manage IT and information security. I've always had trouble understanding why people can't focus on the basics and solve these problems using solutions already at their disposal. I guess the marketing machine is just doing its job.Here's a good article about this very thing written by my colleague and publisher Steve Lasky ...
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08 Feb 2011
Principles are not values
When I started my information security consulting business 10 years ago I believed the words "principle" and "logic" would be a good fit for the way I think and work. The concept and mode of operation has worked out great. I was just reading a quote by Stephen Covey that reminded me of this - and information security leadership in general...he said:"Principles are not values. A gang of thieves can ...
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08 Feb 2011
Findings from the Fort Hood shooting underscores today’s incident response reality
You may have heard about this in the news over the weekend: apparently the Army psychiatrist turned Islamic extremist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in November 2009 could've been prevented had the FBI and Army been communicating with one another.Sadly the same poor communication exists in the corporate world. Along the same lines of this incident, based on what I see in my security assessments I can confidently ...
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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)
Kevin has written/co-written 12 books on information security including one of the best-sellers of all time:
