Overnight Experts Wanted
It isn’t breaking news that there is a steady – and alarming – rise in cybersecurity breaches and overall compromises in data and hardware. What is news is the lack of field experts that are available to deal with such a rise in demand.
The field of ‘cybersecurity expert’ wasn’t even on the radar until recently, and since this type of expertise comes with experience, there isn’t a long list of candidates available for hire.
A Quick Glance Back – the Year in Cybersecurity
Nothing Random in this Ransom
The end of the year always gives one reason to reflect back and review the past 12 months in a variety of ways. When we take a look at the year in cybersecurity, we can say with certainty, that there was nothing random about the pattern of attacks on businesses.
Smart Speakers, Are You Listening?
Alexa, What Are You Collecting?
At the top of many holiday gift lists was a smart speaker device. They can make our life easier and more convenient with integration across all of our devices, taking efficiency to the next level. And it is likely we’ve all made a new friend in Alexa, Siri or their Google cousin in the past year.
The Rise in Cryptojacking
You can teach your clients how to spot a phishing email and hope that they take heed.
You can warn them about the dangers of reusing passwords and basic cyber safety.
But how do you educate and create awareness about something that is so slow-moving and “creepy” that most people don’t even realize it’s there until it is too late?
We’re talking about cryptojacking and it works in a way that is slow, hits victims from a variety of angles, and is on the rise.
Getting Ahead of the Curve
Plan, people, policies
Under the guidance of Maria Vullo, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) created and finalized cybersecurity regulations for the banks, insurance companies, money transmitters, credit unions, brokers, and mortgage bankers that they oversee. These companies and institutions run the gamut in size and sophistication of their systems. So, they looked at it individually but reviewed the risk level and factors of each one.
All Jolly, No Folly
Some of us attack and engage in our holiday shopping with a plan that rivals the most well thought out strategies. We scour weekly fliers, online ads, and research who will have the best price and coupon code for us to use. In order to shop smart, yes, keeping track of prices is important, but being a genius means that you include cybersecurity and personal limits in your plans.
Here are a few tips that you should include on your shopping list.
No Personal Callers
If your phone rings and the caller id is UNKNOWN, you likely won’t answer. And scammers know that, so they’ve been cleverly hiding behind fake caller id numbers that are just a digit off from numbers that are familiar. So, you pause, and figure you better pick up “just in case”. The voice on the other end isn’t one that you recognize, but what they say to you is familiar, so you listen.
Don’t Let Your Holiday Get Hacked
Prices may go down over the holidays but hacking incidents go up. Way up. While online shopping is something we all need to be diligent about when it comes to our personal cybersecurity, we need to be mindful of our working environment as well.
Cybersecurity in the Legal Industry
Modern Law
Cybersecurity is something you have to think about at the individual level.
At the healthcare level.
And at your place of business.
But what about when it comes to the businesses that support you? We make assumptions that there are policies and procedures in place, but never really verify them, we just trust that “they know better”.
Election Season: Another Favorite for Scammers
Election season scams
Political candidates will target voters to get their message across, and hackers will take advantage of the timing. With petitions, polls, and surveys being posted to get a sense of the political climate online or by telephone, citizens let their guard down and assume that the information being collected is for candidates and news reporting. Not always the case.