Back to School: Education Cyber Security K-12 school systems, colleges, and universities are being increasingly targeted by hackers, yet education cyber security is as woefully lacking as other industries, as these recent incidents illustrate: In November 2016, Columbia County School District in Georgia admitted to a breach of personal information belonging to its employees and… Read More
5 Ransomware Threats to Watch Out for in 2017
Be Prepared for these New and Emerging Ransomware Threats Ransomware threats are everywhere, and the problem is going to get much worse before it gets any better. According to a recent survey, about half of all businesses have experienced a ransomware attack at least once in the last 12 months, and a staggering 85% had… Read More
Smart Toys Put Children and Parents at Risk of Data Breaches
Internet-connected smart toys, a popular holiday gift item, have vulnerabilities that put both children and parents at risk of data breaches and identity theft. Smart toys, which connect to the internet and offer children a personalized, interactive play experience, were a very popular gift item this past holiday season. However, the interactive features of smart… Read More
Method or Madness?
“The dreams I have today become my blueprints for tomorrow.” Michael Peters
5 Ways to Protect Your Retail Store from Data Breaches
Both brick-and-mortar and ecommerce retail stores make attractive targets for hackers, especially during the holidays. The 2016 holiday shopping season is in full swing, and fortunately for retail stores, consumers are not hesitating to reach for their wallets: Cyber Monday sales hit a record of $3.39 billion, surpassing estimates, and Thanksgiving and Black Friday receipts… Read More
UC Berkeley Offers Cyber Security Advice to Donald Trump
In a new report, UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity offers suggestions to President Elect Trump Now that the election is over, the nation’s attention has turned to President Elect Donald Trump and what a Trump Administration will mean for cyber security. Notably, information security was the only tech-related topic Trump addressed directly on his… Read More
Mirai Botnet Attacks Likely Pulled Off By Teenagers
The recent Mirai botnet DDoS attacks were the largest on record – and they were likely masterminded by teenagers. In October, a massive DDoS attack on the Dyn DNS “Managed DNS” infrastructure brought down a number of major websites, including PayPal, Twitter, Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify. The attack was accomplished through the use of the… Read More
Cyber Security Due Diligence and the Yahoo Breach
Cyber Security Due Diligence Has Become a Fundamental Part of M&A Transactions Data breaches and a failure to comply with governmental and industry standards can impact a company in many ways, as Yahoo is finding out the hard way. The company’s recent disclosure of a massive data breach, which resulted in 500 million user accounts… Read More
Entrepreneurs ‘N Fuego interviews Michael Peters
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Office Pile and being interviewed by the inimitable Francisco X. Aguirre. We had a great time discussing cyber security and the little know origins of the company name Lazarus Alliance. Entrepreneurs ‘N Fuego, a project of The TOP Foundation, a non-profit organization, is the First Multimedia Broadcast… Read More
Vote Hacking: Could Cyber Criminals “Rig” the Election?
Vote hacking is a legitimate concern, and election officials need to take it seriously. Right alongside immigration, healthcare, and the minimum wage, cyber security has emerged as a major – and contentious – issue in this year’s presidential election. First, the Democratic National Convention’s email server was hacked, and thousands of embarrassing emails were published… Read More
IoT Cyber Security Issues Could Stall Self-Driving Cars
How quickly self-driving cars roll out is dependent on the industry addressing some very serious IoT cyber security issues. Now that Uber has commenced a pilot test of driverless vehicles in Pittsburgh, and competitor Lyft has predicted that most of its cars will be driverless by 2021, self-driving cars are what everyone is talking about.… Read More
Free HIPAA Awareness & Compliance Survey
Free HIPAA Awareness & Compliance Survey If you are in the healthcare business you have HIPAA compliance requirements to adhere to. Maybe you are not aware of what they or maybe you just want to gauge your organization’s readiness prior to seeking professional help? The good folks over at Continuum GRC have provided a short… Read More
The NSA Hack and the Sorry State of Cyber Security
The NSA Hack Proves that Much More Needs to Be Done to Protect Enterprise Data In the hit USA Network series Mr. Robot, a rogue group of hacktivists target major corporations and the government. In a recent episode, the group enlisted the help of a malicious insider to hack the FBI. Sound far-fetched? Maybe not:… Read More
PCI DSS Compliance Alone Won’t Protect Your Customer Data
PCI DSS compliance is serious business for anyone who processes or accepts major payment cards. Retailers or payment processors who are found to be in violation of PCI DSS can be fined millions of dollars, and they may even be stripped of their ability to accept major credit cards. However, PCI DSS compliance standards are… Read More
What Innovation and Innovators are made of
“The spirit of innovation or the ability to innovate are not attributes a person makes a conscious decision to possess but rather they flow from the intellectual wellspring we are born with.” – Michael Peters
Poor Cyber Security Led to Houston Astros Hack
Baseball may be America’s favorite pastime, but from the Black Sox scandal to Pete Rose to the “Steroid Era,” cheating schemes have long tarnished the game. Sadly, it was only a matter of time before cheating went high-tech. Former St. Louis Cardinals executive Chris Correa has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for violating… Read More
Is Cloud Computing Really Secure? A Pragmatic Approach
Is Cloud Computing Really Secure? A Pragmatic Approach Considering Cloud Computing? So, you are making plans to move into cloud computing and are considering your options offered by the plethora of providers out there but you have questions and concerns. Congratulations! The bottom line up front is yes, cloud computing can be very secure. You… Read More
3 Cyber Security Lessons from the SWIFT Network Attacks
Over the past few months, an international group of cyber bank robbers, possibly funded by the North Korean government, have stolen nearly $100 million, thrown the integrity of a decades-old banking industry messaging system into question, and remain at large. Sound like the plot of the latest James Bond summer blockbuster? Unfortunately, these hacks, utilizing… Read More
Where’s the Data Security? Wendy’s Data Breach Bigger than Originally Thought
Wendy’s Data Breach: Forget the beef, where’s the data security? The Wendy’s data security breach, news of which first broke in January, is much worse than the fast-food company originally thought. Wendy’s first reported that the POS system breach impacted only about 5% — or approximately 300 – of its franchise-owned restaurants. However, after allegations… Read More
Continuum Clarifies What SSAE 16 Compliance Means
When contracting with a service provider, such as a data center, it is important for companies to ensure that their provider possesses the cyber security-related certifications and compliance standards that are applicable to the company’s industry. Data centers, as well as service providers who contract with data centers, sometimes claim to be “SSAE 16” certified.… Read More
POS Data Security an Issue for Fast-Food Kiosks
POS Data Security? The next time you buy a burger at McDonald’s or Wendy’s, a computer may be the one asking, “Would you like fries with that?” After decades of depending on human workers to take orders – and payments – American fast food chains are finally moving into the computer age, driven by rising… Read More
POS Data Security an Issue for Fast-Food Kiosks
POS Data Security? The next time you buy a burger at McDonald’s or Wendy’s, a computer may be the one asking, “Would you like fries with that?” After decades of depending on human workers to take orders – and payments – American fast food chains are finally moving into the computer age, driven by rising… Read More
Spear Phishing: Don’t Take the Bait!
Following a string of high-profile incidents that began earlier this year, the healthcare industry has been highly focused on preventing ransomware attacks. IoT security has also emerged as a growing concern. However, healthcare organizations (as well as businesses in other industries) cannot afford to ignore another growing threat: spear phishing. Like regular phishing, spear phishing… Read More
IoT Security: Medical Devices Are the Next Target for Hackers
Up until now, healthcare cyber security has been focused on protecting patient data, ensuring HIPAA compliance, and, more recently, protecting systems from ransomware attacks. However, as healthcare technology advances, a new threat is emerging: the potential for hackers to attack smart medical devices such as insulin pumps and pacemakers. If IoT security is not taken… Read More