ComputerWorld – Page 34 – PossibleThreat Articles

Phishing e-mails are more prevalent (and dangerous) than ever

March 8, 2022 0 Comments email security, phishing, Security

Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2022 08:56:00 -0800

Phishing, those malicious e-mails that pretend to be legitimate messages, has been a problem since Canter and Siegel launched the first spam campaign in 1994. (Mea culpa — it seems they learned about this thing called the Internet from some of my articles.) Today, spam, while still annoying, is the least of our e-mail troubles. In addition to invading Ukraine, Russian agents are now doing their best to invade our IT systems via phishing e-mails.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Google buys cybersecurity company Mandiant for $5.4B

March 8, 2022 0 Comments Google, Security

Credit to Author: Charlotte Trueman| Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2022 04:58:00 -0800

In a move to offer an end-to-end security operations suite from its cloud platform, Google has announced it will acquire cyberdefense and response company Mandiant for $5.4 billion, in a deal expected to close later this year.

The acquisition will complement Google Cloud’s existing security services and together, the companies will deliver a security operations suite as well as advisory services that help customers address critical security challenges and stay protected at every stage of the security lifecycle, Mandiant said in a press release.

The company recently announced a new Ransomware Defense Validation service for its SaaS-based XDR (extended detection and response) platform, Mandiant Advantage, to help enterprises gauge the ability of their security systems to guard against ransomware attacks.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Google buys cybersecurity company Mandiant for $5.4 billion

March 8, 2022 0 Comments Google, Security

Credit to Author: Charlotte Trueman| Date: Tue, 08 Mar 2022 04:58:00 -0800

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ComputerWorld Independent

Change my password? AGAIN?

March 7, 2022 0 Comments Security, small and medium business, Windows

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2022 10:02:00 -0800

Every year at this time, I have to fill out my firm’s cyber insurance application — and every year they ask whether we encourage strong passwords and change them often. This question annoys me tremendously, because we really shouldn’t be changing passwords often. We should instead be choosing authentication processes that appropriately match site risks; using a password should be the last thing you want to rely on.

First, think about the information and data a website is keeping on you. The sites we want to offer the most protections often have the weakest. Where you can, always add two-factor authentication to a site’s access. (Not all multi-factor authentication is created equally, but some sort of multi-factor is better than none. If it encourages attackers to go elsewhere, it’s done its job.

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ComputerWorld Independent

Employee monitoring risks ‘spiraling out of control,’ union group warns

March 4, 2022 0 Comments Privacy, productivity software, remote work, Technology Industry

Credit to Author: Matthew Finnegan| Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2022 04:40:00 -0800

An increase in workplace surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to widespread discrimination, work intensification, and unfair treatment of workers unless regulatory safeguards are put in place, according to a prominent UK union group.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), which represents most unions in the UK, published survey results this week highlighting the use of surveillance technologies to monitor workers in a variety of job roles.

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ComputerWorld Independent

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it's time to hunker down

March 3, 2022 0 Comments Security, Technology Industry

Credit to Author: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols| Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2022 10:46:00 -0800

Chances are you don’t live in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, so you don’t need to worry about a missile landing on your office. But even if you’re 6,000 miles away, you could still get smacked by Russia’s or its Anonymous enemies’ cyberwar fallout.

As the war grinds on, chances will only increase that everyone will be affected by the resulting and growing cyberattacks. So, what can you do to protect yourself?

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ComputerWorld Independent

It's time to secure the Apple enterprise

March 3, 2022 0 Comments Apple, MacOS, Mobile, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Thu, 03 Mar 2022 09:35:00 -0800

It’s not unreasonable to assume that war in Ukraine will generate a wave of cyberattacks. That means every business or personal computer user should audit their existing security protections, particularly for companies that have embraced the hybrid workplace.

While larger enterprises usually employ Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and security consultants to manage such tasks, what follows is useful advice for Mac, iPad, and iPhone users seeking to start such an audit.

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ComputerWorld Independent

In a time of war, it’s important to stay secure

February 28, 2022 0 Comments Apple, Security, small and medium business, Windows

Credit to Author: Susan Bradley| Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 06:09:00 -0800

As Russia invaded Ukraine, seeing the disruption in the world occur in near real time on social media brought poignancy to what was happening. While I don’t know anyone in Ukraine, I know many people who have friends or family members that have been impacted by the war. Ukraine has many technology ties around the world. It’s also been a source of cyberattacks, which is why there’s extra concern about what we can do to protect ourselves in case of attack. (Eastern Europe has often been the source of many of the ransomware attacks that occur around the world.)

So what can tech users do to ensure you protect yourself from possible cyberattacks arising from the conflict?

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ComputerWorld Independent

Behavioral Analytics is getting trickier

February 28, 2022 0 Comments Mobile, Security, small and medium business

Credit to Author: Evan Schuman| Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 03:00:00 -0800

Behavioral analytics is one of the best authentication methods around — especially when it’s part of continuous authentication. Authentication as a “one-and-done” is something that simply shouldn’t happen anymore. Then again, I’ve argued the same thing about using unencrypted SMS as a form of multi-factor authentication and I sadly still see that being used by lots of Fortune 1000 firms.

Oh well.

Although most enterprise CISOs are fine with behavioral analytics on paper (on a whiteboard? As a message within Microsoft Teams/GoogleMeet/Zoom?), they’re resistant to rapid widespread deployment because it requires creating a profile for every user — including partners, distributors, suppliers, large customers and anyone else who needs system access. Those profiles can take more than a month to create to get an accurate, consistent picture of each person.

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