People are the weakest link
This sounds like a nightmare too impossible to happen. US soldiers 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. Even worse, their settings were on ‘public’ not ‘private’
It’s 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 new KARE for Security S2 plan helps identify use of these sites in your organisation.
US Soldiers Accidentally Leaked Nuclear Weapons Secrets: Report (gizmodo.com)
Shadow IT
Shadow IT is one of the largest threats to data privacy in organisations today.
It’s not necessarily because these sites are going to be hacked, although that’s always possible, but just because if you don’t know the tools are in use, then there is no way that you can manage them!
The first step to maintaining this data is to identify it! That’s why you need new tools that are cloud focused. If you’re still using the same old security tools that you used to use prior to the cloud, then you are not keeping up and we need to talk!
Hot off the press – we have just received CERT NZ’s report for the last quarter of 2021
So, just a quick reminder of who CERT NZ are – it’s the official NZ Government Cyber-Security agency. So, first up – 13% increase in reported incidents on the previous year and a big spike into the last quarter. 9% more phishing attacks. 24% more malware, based on the...
When hacking can help.
Ukraine is pretty well known for tech innovation. In fact it was worth $US6.8 Billion last year Ukraine’s Booming Tech Outsourcing Sector at Risk After Russian Invasion - WSJ. On top of that ‘legitimate’ work, Ukraine has also been home to some of the...
Sigh! How dumb and immoral can hackers get?
You can only sigh! We are witness astounding bravery and inspirational leadership in the Ukraine. We are watching the unfortunate abandoning everything they have built up to become refugees as they flea the dangers. The world is heartbroken. But amongst us there are...
Latest trend – hacking Teams
Over a quarter of a billion people use Teams every month. Under the current lockdown/isolate/work-from-home regimes, it is a vital tool for most of us. Many organisations including us even use it for our phones because it is so flexible and excellent value. You can...
2021 Trend Reports confirms cyber-security advice
How many people DON’T report ransomware attacks? It’s too early to see the Q42021 results from CertNZ but their Q3 report tells there were 2,072 incidents that they responded to in Q3 and fraud/scam’s were up 25%. Their report confirms that the very risks we have been...
Hackers Caught! Millions Seized
Crime doesn’t always pay. The FSB reports (if you can read Russian) that they have taken down the “Revil” band of hackers. These are the people that have caused absolute havoc, from disrupting the US oil pipelines, to the Kaseya attack that took out businesses all...
Do you need to worry about the “Log4J” Cyber Security Zero-Day breach?
Mainstream media is abuzz with the latest software vulnerability. It is in a commonly used component called Log4J 2. This component is in widespread use and the risk is real. This is a fast paced and quickly changing alert. At the time of writing, the immediate...
What’s worse than having to pay Ransomware?
The answer : Having to pay it twice - (or even more). Your Cyber-Security is under more pressure than ever. According to Infosecurity magazine, "double" extortion ransomware victims are up a massive 935% - thats a ten-fold increase year-on-year. This is driven by the...
“Phishmas” – its not that punny
Whatever it takes to draw your attention to Cyber Security is worth it. Just because we take time off at Christmas doesn't mean the hackers do. They have taken a lot of heart from the way we have all embraced home-delivery for our shopping and are doubling down with...
Is your Fingerprint effective security?
Straight out of the movies We are all used to the idea of using our fingerprints to log into our cell phones and, for some of us, our laptops. We’ve been told fingerprints are secure, and effective for ‘biometric authentication’ In the movies, we see finger prints...