Newsflash – US Nuclear secrets leaked online through Shadow IT

by | Jun 16, 2021 | Security

This sounds like a nightmare that could never happen.

US soldiers have been putting sensitive information online in non-secure third party websites. It defies belief, yet we’re reading that it happened. The story popped up on ‘Gizmodo’ .

It is alleged that US Soldiers were saving sensitive information on a couple of common flashcard sites, presumably of things they were trying to memorise and learn.  It seems these are common learning tools used in universities to help students memorise facts.  That works well so long as the facts aren’t top secret!  Even worse, their settings were on ‘public’ not ‘private’!

It is a classic warning about the risk of people, however well intentioned, saving critical data online in places the organisation is unaware of, and can’t control. That’s why our KARE FOUNDATION proactive cyber-security plan helps identify use of these sites in your organisation.

For more detail : Why you need to know all the cloud services that your organisation uses – part 2 – (US DoD Nuclear Secrets!) – IT Solutions and Managed Services (kinetics.co.nz)

Shadow IT is part of our 10-point cyber-security check list

While there is no single layer of technology that can guarantee you will be safe from hackers, you can reduce your risk by adding layers of protection. How many of our 10-point check list are in place for you?

Who’s been paying attention?

Who’s been paying attention?

We’re really proud of our clients!    Last week, these little pieces of ill-intentioned mischief popped up for a couple of the businesses we look after.They were smart enough to evade anti-spam software but not the cyber-training.  Although the emails look legitimate,...

NCSC warns law firms

NCSC warns law firms

It’s not surprising that legal practices are targeted by cyber-criminals.By their very nature, they hold considerable amounts of private “PII” data (personally identifiable information).  On top of that, law firms are typically busy, pressured environments where it is...

That day when a Kinetics client DIDN’T get hacked.

That day when a Kinetics client DIDN’T get hacked.

We’ve just wrapped up a security investigation for one of our amazing clients.  All of our clients are amazing, but as you read this story, you’ll see why we’re especially proud of this client. We’ve anonymised it out of respect, although this story reflects really...

Oh no, the worst has happened! Now what? 

Oh no, the worst has happened! Now what? 

When we talk to people about the different risks that their organisation might face, one of the events that has the highest likelihood, and would have the biggest impact, is a significant cyber-event. The worst-case scenario would be a ransomware event, where the bad...