World Password Day
Since I work in information security, I think today is a great opportunity to remind people of some good password tips. Finally, I stole this Password BINGO card … play along and see what mistakes you’ve made (I’m guilty of…
Category Security
Cyber Security Awareness Month – Four Things You Can Do
My company sends a security newsletter around regularly. Last week’s newsletter had a bunch of Cyber Security Awareness Month tips, so I poached these things YOU can do. I know I always appreciate action items that will help a situation…
Cyber Security Awareness Month – Spam Reminders
Happy Cyber Security Awareness Month! Since I work daily in cybersecurity, I figured I would try to post a couple reminders this month for my 10 readers. First, can we please all agree whether it should be cybersecurity (one word)…
It’s Like They’re Not Even Trying
Our company sends out periodic email phishing attempts to train us on what to look for and to help keep us vigilant. We even have a little plugin in Outlook that we can “report phishing” and we get a little…
Fun At Work #541
Approximately a month ago, a teammate and I updated a process to request account changes on various networks that we control We automated everything and are running it through our ticketing process so we can approve and audit the requests…
Early Adopter, Late to the Party
I’ve been an “early adopter” most of my life. I’ve always loved the newest gadgets. I’ve tried to stay up-to-date on the latest tech. In my career, I’ve often been the person tagged to test out a new implementation or…
Honoring Those Who Serve
First and foremost, thank you to all who have served in our armed forces for your service. Thank you to the families who support them and the sacrifices they’ve made as well. My father was a POW in Vietnam. His…
Psychology, Prosperity, Politics, and Productivity, oh my.
I took an “intelligent risk-taking” course through work. One of the topics discussed was the “availability bias” when trying to determine risk of something we don’t know. The way our brains work, we try to recall examples of that thing…
Mask Mandates Make Many Mad
The past week or so has been a busy whirlwind of life getting in the way. Busy at the office. Busy with schoolwork. Busy at home. So some things just had to go to the backburner, like posting a blog.…
Fall Finally Found Fairfax
It’s been quite a week, which is why I’m posting this later in the week than I want. Anyway, the wife, the son, and I went apple picking this past weekend (the daughter was out of town or she would…
Fed Up With Facebook … Again
Like most people on the internet, I go through phases in which I’m sick of social media. It doesn’t do anything other than make me angry. Everybody is wrong and I can’t do anything to prove they’re wrong (or they…
Tracking Tag Security
You’ve likely seen the cool new tracking tag on the block – Apple’s AirTags (which were released less than a month ago). This week’s Naked Security Live video from Sophos Security discusses how safe they are. Spoiler alert: they’ve already…
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. A recent resurgence of the “You are in this video” attack on Facebook prompted me to post some tips to stay safe online. These tips are lifted from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pamphlet:…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 24
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: watch this video series This is it, you’ve reached the final tip. Today’s tip is a pretty passive one and won’t require much effort on your part. I’m sharing a video series with you. Varonis, a…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 23
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: monitor your accounts Even with all the settings we’ve tweaked, browser plug-ins we’ve installed, and common sense in the world, you still might get hacked or there might be a breach in some service in which you…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 22
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: report any issues We can agree that no amount of security will keep you perfectly safe, right? That is to say, except completely staying off the internet and not using anybody with online connectivity … but…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 21
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: use common sense We’ve spent a majority of the past few weeks reviewing technological tools to help keep you secure. But there’s a saying that goes “built something more idiot proof and they’ll build a better idiot.”…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 20
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: use HTTPS everywhere I’ve already touched on encryption in this series, so you’re aware of the importance of scrambling your data. I’ve also briefly touched on encryption of your data in transit using HTTPS. So today’s…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 19
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: manage your privacy while browsing I’m sure it comes as no surprise that your browsing habits are tracked regularly by multiple sites. If you look at your cookies in your browser of choice right now, there are…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 18
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: use ad-blockers First and foremost, I use a lot of free services on the internet. And I know many of those services rely on advertising revenue to remain in business. However, as somebody who assesses risk for…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 17
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: review your connected accounts Many websites allow you to sign in using your credentials from another service (like Google, Facebook, or Twitter). While this is convenient, depending on what you agreed to when you connected the…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 16
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: be careful what you post It seems obvious to say you don’t want to give away personal information online, but it’s surprising the information you can find about people with a simple search. When you think…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 15
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: be careful in email In reality, you should be careful and pay attention to all the information you post or share, links you click, or attachments you open online; not just in emails. But most people use…
Cybersecurity Advent – Day 14
Today’s Cybersecurity tip is: protect your lockscreen I don’t even need to mention how important protecting your mobile device is … this is the third day of tips dedicated to them. And while it’s convenient to have notifications displayed on…