Embargo to Espionage: A Cursory Review of the Shamoon Virus

There has been very little coverage about a new usage of the latest class of cyber-weapons, specifically one dubbed the Shamoon Virus. The most likely reason for this is that it did not affect western interests more so than it did middle-eastern state interests. Specifically, the sabotage of computers at state oil giant Saudi Aramco… Read More

2012 Louisville Metro InfoSec Conference

I attended the 2012 Louisville Metro InfoSec Conference, now in it’s 10th year, as keynote speaker. The conference is a function of the ISSA Kentuckiana Chapter currently led by Randall Frietzche. Once again, they are pushing the capacity of the venue space due to the increasing popularity of this important conference. On a personal note,… Read More

Dichotomy

  As we approach retail’s favorite season, I have the unique perspective of being concerned about information security as both the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for a commerce software company and as a customer to a plethora of retailers — some who are clients and others who are not. In effect, I’m wearing two… Read More

Symbiotic Mutualism: A BYOD Love Story

The mass proliferation of consumer computing devices is in full force with only escalation on the horizon before us and any technologist who thinks that they can stop it or officially banish it from their little kingdoms should think again. Those troglodytes will only lead a frustrating existence in a world where resistance is truly… Read More

Possible Implications of FCRA Actions?

On August 8, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission settled with HireRight Solutions, Inc. (“HireRight”) for failure to comply with certain Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) requirements. According to the FTC’s complaint, HireRight provides background reports on current and prospective employees to thousands of employers. These background reports contain public record information, including criminal histories. Employers… Read More

HORSE WIKI: The Holistic Operational Readiness Security Evaluation wiki

Looking for the HORSE Project? Look no further! Welcome to the Holistic Operational Readiness Security Evaluation (HORSE) project Wiki. We would like to invite the information security community to participate in this open community project. The intention is ultimately to raise the proficiency level of information security auditors, security practitioners, lawyers and legal practitioners, financial… Read More

THE SECURITY TRIFECTA

The Security Trifecta An Introductory Review Information Security By the Numbers The Security Trifecta Methodology Briefings The Security Trifecta: Information Security By the Numbers The Security Trifecta: We are all in the Same Boat The Security Trifecta: Collaboration Vs. Isolation The Security Trifecta: Governance, Technology and Vigilance The Security Trifecta: Source Code, Application and Systems… Read More

Is Facebook Losing its Luster?

I’ve been trying out an opted-in email based campaign this month targeting University Teachers, Higher Education Teachers and Book Stores in the US with a simple message that includes links to the most common sources of information and purchasing options for one of my books, Governance Documentation and Information Technology Security Policies Demystified which makes… Read More

Risk Management CPM Model

I recently wrote an article about IT risk management and created several illustrations. One in particular stands by itself in terms of depicting a holistic view of the whole risk management life cycle in a critical path method model which I thought would be worth sharing. It would be useful to your ISO 27005 or… Read More

Western Governors University – Alumni News

My alma mater, Western Governors University, included a very nice alumni profile of yours truly in their spring 2012 newsletter. I have been a huge fan of WGU because of their progressive programming, competency approach to education, accessibility to non-traditional students, and significantly lower cost of education especially when compared to the outrageously ever-increasing costs to… Read More

ISSA Hall of Fame recipient

Yesterday I received wonderful and humbling news from Kevin Richards, International President of the Information Systems Security Association that I’m being inducted into the ISSA Hall of Fame. In the realm of information security, this could probably be compared to the Hollywood Oscars. It is tremendously exciting and as I’ve mentioned, very humbling for me to… Read More