networking-info

By Melvin Greer Managing Director, Greer Institute for Leadership and Innovation Without question, the rise in cyberleaks, nation-state cyber terrorism and the beach of consumer data across multiple industry domains has led to a heightened awareness of the enterprise and personal responsibilities associated with cybersecurity. The consumerization of IT and the adoption of cloud, mobile and social media by enterprise organizations is opening a new threat landscape and new threat vectors. Everyone is affected and everyone is talking about it, from senior executives to teenagers. In its SecureWorks “The Next Generation of Cybercrime” executive brief , Dell cites a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, which found that “the average cost of a data breach was $7.2 million in 2010.” The rate of cybercrime and the impact of cyberbreaches have exponentially accelerated since then. This has resulted in the emerging science of digital forensics. Digital forensics can be describ...

By Sandra K. Johnson Technology leadership is driven by the innovation and creativity of science, technology, engineering and mathematics  (STEM) professionals. S TEM careers offer some of the highest-paying jobs and the potential for a high quality of life. However, the realization of such promises has not benefited all segments of the U.S. population, including African-Americans. As we celebrate Black History Month, I share a few facts on this issue, suggest sources for solutions and profile African-American technology trailblazers. Silicon Valley’s most innovative technology companies have reached phenomenal success levels. There are over 320 million people in the U.S.: 77.7 percent White, 17.1 percent Hispanic, 13.2 percent African-American, 5.3 percent Asian and 51 percent women, according to the U.S. Census. However, Silicon Valley technology companies have employee populations that are 64 percent White, 21 percent Asian, 6 percent Hispanic, 3 percent African-Ameri...

By Jodi Kohut Those watching federal cloud security in the defense space were pleased to learn the Defense DOD Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide (v1) (SRG) last month. This 152-page document outlines the security requirements that Department of Defense (DOD) mission owners must adhere to when procuring cloud-based services. While the document is very thorough and is required reading if you currently, or intend to provide, cloud-based services to the DOD, I wanted to cover some of the things that stood out to me. Information Systems Agency (DISA) released the CSPs are not compliant, but their offerings can be. The requirements guide makes it clear that there is a distinction between a Cloud Service Offering (CSO) and the Cloud Service Provider (CSP). A CSP can have multiple CSOs, all with different security postures. This has always been the case. However, by making this distinction, DISA has reduced some areas of common confusion. This distinction should also ...

Contrary to what your mother may have told you, going in circles is sometimes a good thing. When it comes to our economy, it is actually a great thing. Throughout history, society has built itself up by transforming raw materials into finished, usable products. This manufacturing process has always been linear in that: Materials (sand, iron, gold, etc.) are evaluated for purpose and taken from nature. Modified and refined as necessary, these materials are combined and recombined into the services and products we use every day, until… Their usefulness to society wanes and the everyday products and services are disposed of in a heap of useless trash. This linear “take, make, dispose” model uses large quantities of easily accessible resources and energy. It is also inefficient and wasteful. Enter the “circular economy.” “The circular economy refers to an industrial economy that is restorative by intention; aims to rely on renewable energy; minimizes, tracks, and hopefully eliminates the u...

Cybersecurity breaches are seemingly making headline news every day. Recent cases have highlighted identity theft, the loss of personal financial data, and the disclosure of sensitive national security information.   The executive in the hot seat for preventing these failures is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In order to better understand the challenges and concerns of this critical professional community, the 2015 National CISO Survey is now being conducted.   Commissioned by the National Cybersecurity Institute at Excelsior College , this data will be used to develop and publish actionable information for use by the day to day cybersecurity professionals. Please take the time and care to participate in this important process.   By doing so you will influence future cybersecurity strategies help establish incident response best practices.   Individuals or specific organizations will not be mentioned.   The results will, however, provide industry vertical relevant ins...

Recent security breaches have heightened our awareness of cybersecurity issues. The hack  and other  security breaches  have resulted in unprecedented damages. However, the majority of mobile device users have yet to be sensitized to their personal and corporate security risks. Staples For example, a  security study  found that 69 percent of users store sensitive personal information on their mobile devices.  Examples include banking information, confidential work-related items and provocative videos and photos. In addition,  51 percent  of mobile device consumers share usernames and passwords with family, friends and colleagues. This in spite of the fact that  80 percent  of such devices are unprotected by security software.  While mobile device security attacks are relatively small, they are the new  frontier for hackers .  Listed below are highlights from several mobile device surveys: The  four top threats to mobile devices  include: 1) lost and stolen phones; 2) insecure...