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!
Disaster at Kinetics
Sometimes, it feels like there is only bad news. All businesses face challenges with suppliers, our own people and even some of our customers. As managers, we work hard to get ahead of issues and create systems to mitigate problems, but there’s always something. ...
MS OFFICE ZERO DAY ATTACK – MAY 31st
One of the scariest news items to wake up to is that there is a ‘zero-day’ vulnerability in a common piece of software. That means that the hacking community has found an opportunity to hack a bit of software and there is no update yet – ‘zero’ days to apply a fix....
Beware – When Anti-Money Laundering (AML) CREATES a risk
That’s right. AML is not only frustrating to many of us, but it has also created cyber-risks. The irony isn’t lost on us. We’re honoured to support a large number of NZ law firms as clients, and it is a responsibility we take very seriously. Law firms handle such a...
Is MFA driving you mad?
Getting tired of having to open your phone for access? If so, you are not alone! But, its necessary. Hackers are counting on you suffering from an excess of having to reach for your phone to approve access, with something called “MFA Fatigue Attacks”.MFA Fatigue...
When QR codes go bad
Thanks to Covid, we’re all familiar with QR codes. Of course, with Covid, we were using the official tracer app to scan them, but in normal use, you can just use your phone’s camera to open the link. It’s a great way to make it easy to visit a website without having...
Is nothing safe? Fake logins!
Every day, there is a new cyber-threat to watch out for, and to warn friends and colleagues about. I’m frequently stunned when talking to friends and colleagues that these threats are abstract and academic. For the sake of absolute clarity, these cyber risks...
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...