Cybersecurity Blog

Grubman Shire Hack: REvil Scores a Blackmail Slam Dunk How much is basketball megastar Lebron James brand worth to hackers?  When you calculate it, Lebron's name earns him more than his game. And to the cybercriminals who orchestrated the Grubman Shire Hack, that kind of payday is worth jumping through some hoops. Consider what James makes off of his reputation...

Cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates like myself are stepping up to protect strong encryption standards, which are facing an all-out legislative assault from the current administration and the Senate. But we need the help of business leaders like yourself to maintain the privacy of your data. Here is an excellent excerpt from Joseph Marks of The Washington Post: “The bill, called the...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJcT81kawc4' format='16-9' width='16' height='9' custom_class='' av_uid='av-mo9up3 Coronavirus Scammers Are After Your Stimulus Check Scammers and cybercriminals love to exploit the headlines. COVID-19 isn't the only pandemic affecting Americans - so are the scams that go along with it. Case in point: stimulus checks that will help Americans weather the COVID-19 pandemic are already being targeted by scammers, who take advantage...

Cybersecurity Virtual Office Key Links from the Webinar: ZOOM Sileo Security Video Password Managers Review Data Backup Physical/Cloud Backup  ZOOM Security & Privacy Page There is something great to be learned about cybersecurity from this pandemic. Preparing for a crisis before it happens is far less expensive than recovering after it happens. The U.S. saved several billions of dollars cutting...

The Trump administration has relaxed privacy requirements for telemedicine, or virtual doctor visits: medical staff treating patients over the phone and using video apps such as FaceTime, Zoom, Skype and Google Hangouts. The move raises the chances that hackers will be able to access patient's highly sensitive medical data, using it, for example, to blackmail the patient into paying a ransom...

What you need to know about Russia's 2020 election interference Last week, the director of national Intelligence (DNI), a Republican appointee, notified the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is indisputably tampering with the 2020 election similar to election interference in 2016. The intelligence community determined that Russia's efforts are to help see Trump reelected. Angered by the news, Trump fired...

Small Business Cybersecurity Gone Terribly Wrong  On August 12, 2003, as I was just sitting down to a tea party with my daughters and their stuffed animals, the doorbell rang. Standing there when I opened the door was a special agent from the economic crimes unit at the district attorney's office—ready to charge me for electronically embezzling (hacking) $298,000 from...

  Rule #1: Technology is highly unpredictable when it's new & untested. And even worse when it's insecure. All of us have learned not to count on Technology Version 1.0 in mission critical situations. But it seems that Iowa and Pennsylvania didn't get the memo, which rendered their election results as untrustworthy. Iowa attempted to use a caucus tally app that had very few...

Spinning Wildly on the Hampster Wheel of the Surveillance Economy You’re heading to the gym for a workout when you decide to surprise your coworkers with a treat. You search for the nearest bagel shop on your Google Maps app. The app directs you to their closest advertiser, Donut Feel Good?, which is actually a donut shop just short of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjHfbZ8TWo Security awareness training can’t be a boring afterthought if it’s going to work.  Own it. Secure it. Protect it.  Those are the key themes for this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, coming up in October, and it’s good advice. Unfortunately, it’s the same message your trainees have been hearing for years and, at this point, they’ve largely tuned it...