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?
Cert NZ Business online security assessment tool
A Personal Encounter with Cert NZ's Assessment Tool. Have you recently received an email about cyber-security that set off your system's alarms? It's ironic isn't it? That was my recent experience with an email from Cert NZ. Despite the initial warning, the email...
Avoid the IT Travel Woes
Free Webinar Replay : Avoid the IT Travel WoesBusiness travel is fraught enough. It's a nightmare to balance tight connections, and tough time zones with work colleagues that are accustomed to being able to link you into Teams meetings and urgent chats.How can you...
Lessons from the Change Healthcare attack. Why MFA Matters
By now, regular readers know how important MFA is. Unbelievably, there are still some people who think this is for someone else, and they don't need it themselves. Unfortunately, we are seeing some of these people fall victim to the very scams we've been writing...
What happened when we got told we’d been hacked?
“We’ve been hacked”. When you hear that the world stops. What does this mean? How bad is it? How can we manage that? That was the news earlier this week. It was quite confronting! Suddenly your careful plans for the day are thrown aside as your priorities have...
Can VPNs be defeated?
We’re reading about a flaw called ‘TunnelVision’ that could give hackers access to overcome virtually any VPN security solutions. It works by manipulating routing in DHCP, which is the mechanism networks use to hand out IP addresses to devices. DHCP has been around...
Will some of your emails stop?
Microsoft Exchange Online to retire Basic authentication We are going to face a big change coming in September 2025, Microsoft is going to be disabling SMTP Basic Authentication. This continues work they commenced a couple years ago to disable other protocols such as...
How to create passwords that hackers hate
A guide to making your online accounts more secure and less boring Have you ever used your birthday, your pet's name, or the word "password" as your password? If so, you're not alone. According to a study by NordPass, these are some of the most common and worst...
Is MFA enough? – the need for multiple cyber security layers.
At Kinetics, we've always emphasized the importance of multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a critical layer in cybersecurity. Without MFA, it's only a matter of time before you fall victim to a cyber attack. However, as we've also mentioned, no single defense is...
Securing your Mac
It does not seem that long ago I would hear Mac users say “I don’t need Anti-Virus”, or "Mac’s are not affected". To a certain extent they were right. Apple's use of tightly controlled application approvals reduced the surface area for attack. Mac users did not enjoy...
How secure is your cloud IT? Is it as safe as you expect?
Your cloud computing can be safe and secure, or open and vulnerable - the choice is yours. With the rise of hacker activity and cybercrime, it’s essential to lock down your cloud and protect it from threats. For most businesses, the standard 365 settings aren't...