Cybersecurity Expert

Article by  Beau Peters For better or worse, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work and our corresponding cybersecurity needs. Now, millions of us across the world are adapting to remote work. And this requires securing our networks for the new normal of IT infrastructures. Surprisingly, a large portion of cyberattacks can be best prevented by reducing the risks to a remote workforce created by human error. Lack of employee knowledge, distraction, and neglect all can leave remote networks vulnerable. While there is no way to guarantee against data breaches, securing the human element can help mitigate security threats and improve the integrity of your remote work systems. This article will explore not only the cost of human error but the practices you can employ to prevent it. The Cybersecurity Cost of Human Error While many security executives agree that ransomware poses the greatest threat to security infrastructure, a majority believes that human error is the greatest r...

Cyber attacks are a threat to businesses of all sizes and in all industries. With cybercrime rising by 600% during the pandemic, businesses are more vulnerable than ever to the financial and reputational repercussions of cyberattacks. This makes it even more important for businesses and organizations to make cybersecurity a priority. Costs of Cybercrime Global cybercrime costs are on the rise, increasing 15 per cent year over year, according to a 2021 cyberwarfare report by CyberSecurity Ventures . By 2025, it is estimated that cybercrime will cost businesses worldwide $10.5 trillion annually. With the global cost of cybercrime at $3 trillion in 2015, that’s more than a threefold increase over a decade. This represents the “greatest transfer of economic wealth in history,” stated the report. To put this into perspective, if the total of $6 trillion in cybercrime losses in 2021 were measured as if it were a country, this would be the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and Ch...

There is a growing generation of adults who have grown up in the digital age, not knowing a life without almost immediate access to a digital connected world. Most adults and children either carry or have access to connected computers, whether they be smartphones, tablets, games consoles, or good old-fashioned PCs, computers have become an essential human tool. Even toddlers seem to have an inherent ability to pick up and use tablet devices to play and learn. While the digital age has brought countless benefits for society, what of the trade-offs in our sleepwalk towards a lifetime dependency on digital technology? In his book ‘ Born Digital ’, Bob Wigley shines a light on the darker side of humanity’s relationship with digital technology, pulling out and expanding on the serious issues which are all too often underplayed or brushed aside by a technology distracted and addicted world. Throughout Born Digital Bob cites a series of sobering statistics which brings a reality check in his ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses across all industries to revise their working processes and requirements. From shifting overnight to a remote working model, furloughing staff and operating in a challenging economic climate, many businesses were unprepared for these transitions. However, these changes highlight the important role of Human Resource departments in communicating, supporting and responding to the necessary adjustments and helping employees through the process.  HR's role in enforcing a strong cyber aware culture in the new normal As HR departments rethink and reconsider how they foster talent and strengthen their organisations, front and centre to that shift needs to be IT security, underpinned by digital tools and a cyber-aware culture. With a 31% increase in cyberattacks during the height of the pandemic, reinforcing cybersecurity should be at the top of HR’s agenda. Andrea Babbs, UK General Manager, VIPRE SafeSend , discusses what this new way of working...

Article by Paul German, CEO,  Certes Networks   Why is it that the security industry talks about network security, but data breaches? It’s clear that something needs to change, and according to Paul German, CEO, Certes Networks, the change is simple. For too long now, organisations have been focusing on protecting their network, when in fact they should have been protecting their data. Paul outlines three reasons why the security industry has been protecting the wrong thing and what they can do to secure their data as we move into 2021. They’re called data breaches, not network breaches, for a reason Looking back on some of the biggest data breaches the world has ever seen, it’s clear that cyber hackers always seem to be one step ahead of organisations that seemingly have sufficient protection and technology in place. From the  Adobe data breach  way back in 2013 that resulted in 153 million user records stolen, to the  Equifax data breach  in 2017 that exp...

  A roundup of UK focused Cyber and Information Security News, Blog Posts, Reports and general Threat Intelligence from the previous calendar month, February 2021. Serious Linux Vulnerability Last month  a newly discovered critical vulnerability in 'sudo', a fundamental program present in all Linux and Unix operating systems caught my eye. The sudo vulnerability aka  CVE-2001-3156 , seemed to go under the radar after it was announced and patches were released on 26th January 2021. I  wrote a blog post  about my concerns given Linux is embedded everywhere, yet many of these systems are rarely, and even never updated with security updates. From IoT devices to internet-based services, the security of countless devices and web-based services' are dependant upon a secure Linux account privilege model. While these Linux operating systems remain unpatched to prevent exploitation of the CVE-2021-3156 vulnerability, there are waiting to be hacked. Npower App Hack Npowe...