Monthly Archives: December 2017

What are the security threats lurking within your organization? Discover how to keep your systems safer:

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A 2016 IBM cyber security intelligence report found that 60 percent of all cyber-attacks were related to, or directly the result of, insider activity. Cody Wray, Co-Managing Partner of Tampa FL based Adsero Security, observes that these security breaches often originate from three unique sources within an organization’s known security perimeter.

• Malicious Insider: This individual has motive to harm. He or she could be a disgruntled employee, one facing workplace discipline or financial difficulties, or an individual using work privileges for personal gain.
• Negligent Insider: This employee is bypassing company cyber security protocols to be more productive or save time. He or she is careless in securing data or losing credentials, or is falling prey to phishing attacks that can result in security breaches, theft of sensitive data and the introduction of malware into an organization’s IT systems. These individuals often knowingly exceed the organization’s risk tolerance.
• Third Parties: Subcontractors, vendors, and business partners may all have access to your systems. However, your ability to ensure they adhere to best practices is limited. To maintain your organization’s cyber security standards, all third parties should be treated as a security risk.

“Employees and associates can pose the biggest cyber security threat, whether their actions or intentional or not,” says Wray. “Establishing a culture of security through an employee awareness training program is essential. And, once you have an entity-wide security program in place, an organization must continually evolve with it through ongoing employee training and consistent security program maintenance and updates. Finally, remember that practicing basic cyber hygiene can address or mitigate many security breach attempts.” Read more »

IT security advice from Adsero makes the news:

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Organizations that rely on simple security appliances or monitoring services are not getting a complete view of their risk surface and are enjoying a dangerous false sense of security, observes Jason Martino, Co-Managing Partner at Adsero Security.

In addition, cloud computing and mobile, while increasing business agility, have fragmented the traditional security perimeter and further complicated security efforts. According to Martino, reactive security protocols are no longer sufficient. Instead, a proactive security approach is mandatory in today’s severe risk environment. Read more »

Sharing some breaking news with you about a healthcare data breach. Emails could be the culprit. Are you protecting yourself against a data breach? http://www.healthexec.com/topics/health-it/email-most-likely-source-healthcare-data-breach

A survey of senior information technology and security professionals in healthcare found the most likely source of a data breach to be email—which the vast majority of respondents admitted to using frequently to transfer protected health information and consider critical to their organization.

Seventy-six IT professionals were surveyed by Mimecast, a data security company, and HIMSS Analytics. When asked to rank likely sources of a breach, email got more first place votes (37) than the other categories combined. Laptops and other portable devices were the next likeliest sources. Read more »

Sharing some breaking news with you about the recent Uber breach. Ransomware is becoming more and more expensive with every incident. Are you taking precautions to avoid being victimized? http://for.tn/2Bt1VYY

The massive data breach at Uber that exposed the data of some 57 million accounts was the work of 20-year-old Florida man, who was paid by the ride-hailing company to destroy the information through its bug bounty program.

The revelation, which was uncovered by Reuters, is the latest mark against Uber as it struggles to move past its many controversies and reshape its toxic work culture.

Read more »