Many companies and people get confused when it comes to policies, procedures, processes and standards. Here is a short definition of each to help you understand the differences and how they work together. Policy: Business rules and guidelines of a company that ensure consistency and compliance with the company’s strategic direction. The Policies lay out…
Even as IT pros wrestle with the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, corporate security is being further complicated by another emerging trend: bring your own network (BYON). BYON is a byproduct of increasingly common technology that allows users to create their own mobile networks, usually through mobile wireless hotspots. Security professionals say BYON requires a new approach…
The latest version of Firefox, version 16, returned to Mozilla‘s servers with the release of Firefox 16.0.1 after the discovery of vulnerabilities caused the organization to remove the just-released update for the Web browser from circulation. Mozilla described the problem as that of a malicious Web site being able to potentially determine the URLs and…
The latest update to the Windows version of Apple’s iTunes media player closes an alarming number of security holes. According to the company, iTunes 10.7 for Windows addresses 163 vulnerabilities, all of which are in the WebKit browser engine used by the media player to display HTML-based pages in its iTunes Store. Apple noted these…
The term “social engineering” refers to an attempt to gain access to information, primarily through misrepresentation, and often relies on the trusting nature of most individuals. Most users should be familiar with email phishing scams (a form of social engineering) and have been taught not to open attachments from unknown or untrusted sources or to…
Most workplaces have cyber security policies, processes, and technologies. You can create a more cyber-secure environment at home by implementing similar strategies. Policies At home, determine: A central location for your computer so you can monitor your children’s activities online. Whether you allow access to certain sites. You may choose to use parental control settings…
The use of mobile applications (apps) is increasing in parallel with the increased use in mobile devices. According to Gartner, “Worldwide mobile application store revenue is projected to surpass $15.1 billion in 2011… and by 2014 over 185 billion applications will have been downloaded from mobile app stores.” The continued growth of mobile apps requires…
From the Desk of Chad M. Barr, CISSP, CISA The popularity of social networking sites — such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and others — has expanded tremendously in recent years, with nearly two-thirds of Americans using these sites regularly. The number of adult Internet users having a social networking profile has more than quadrupled in…
During 2011, cyber security incidents included theft of intellectual property and government data, hacktivism, malware targeting mobile devices and a resurgence of the Zeus Trojan, which targets financial information. Protecting against these attacks was a key challenge for organizations of all sizes in both the public and private sectors. What is in store for 2012?…
As the holiday season draws near, an increasing number of people will be doing their shopping in cyber space. Last year, online shopping expenditures in the U.S. reached a record $32.6 billion for the November-December period marking a 12% jump from 2009. In fact, an estimated $1 billion was spent online in a single day–Cyber…
