Security

When you look at the greatest technological advances of the past several decades, it's clear that software has taken the lead. While hardware continues to improve, get smaller and do more with less, it's software that has enabled feature-rich operating systems that can exist on an interface barely larger than your hand. Hardware has maintained a more or less consistent form. It's no wonder then that many corporations are still painfully in the dark ages when it comes to the increase in the BYOD ecosystem. As the new Apple Watch and other smart watches begin to hit the scene, it's going to become increasingly difficult for network engineers to keep company networks secure.

In times of war, you may be asked what you can do for your country. In modern times, your country may be asking you to do your part by updating your WordPress plugins.

The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), issued a public service announcement last week recommending website administrators to update their Wordpress sites. More specifically, the bureau wants you to update your third-party WordPress plugins.

New research from SecureAuth reveals two in five (39%)  IT decision makers in the UK admit that passwords are their only IT security measure

Ian Kilpatrick, chairman Wick Hill Group, specialists in secure IP infrastructure solutions, looks at five key IT security trends and solutions for 2015:

1. Rise in security breaches

The current high level of security breaches, from the largest organization down to the smallest, will continue unabated. What will also grow in 2015 will be the acceptance that security breaches are pretty well unavoidable for the majority of organizations. Companies will need to change their approach to security in order to reflect this. Security spending will continue to increase, with spending growth higher on asset security over perimeter security.

The landscape of network security and criminal behavior continues to evolve at an astonishing rate, and for the average company this is going to mean at least a handful of risks that must be addressed immediately. For those that have taken all of the traditional steps for protecting their network and their company's information, it may be surprising to hear that they still have vulnerable points in their system. Within most companies, the number one threat is not going to be a dedicated attack against a firewall or a backdoor hack into one's software, it is going to be the authorized users themselves.

New release brings significant new features in support of Microsoft Azure AD and Azure RMS including expedited deployment, more comprehensive forensics and reporting, and deeper mobile support

With news of security breaches happening at major corporations all over the world, it’s easy for business leaders to start focusing all of their attention on outside threats. Hackers seem to be everywhere these days, so a strategy that heightens network security against cyber attacks is usually a good idea. If your business has adopted bring your own device (BYOD) policies, however, all that preparation for avoiding outside risks may be misdirected.

It’s amazing the influence technology has. All these new gadgets have made our lives easier in so many ways, but they have also dramatically changed the cultures that embrace them. For example, digital theft is becoming a more common threat than physical theft.

We’ve heard examples of large corporations having their customer information hacked, or even celebrities having their personal photos stolen. And while we think criminals would only go after the big guys, small businesses aren’t in the clear. Without massive IT budgets and industry professionals, their networks are often left unprotected and become easy targets for intruders.

Over the years, I've made it an unwritten policy not to sensationalize bug fixes and security vulnerabilities in content management systems. While there may be great interest in such stories, I believe such stories have a tendency to cause more harm than good. When sensationalized, such articles tend to cause customers to address security concerns with emotion instead of logic which is never a good thing. So, when the security vulnerability known as "Drupageddon" broke and Drupal developer Bevan Rudge posted "Your Drupal website has a backdoor", I knew this story was going to eventually reach mainstream media.

One of the biggest trends from just the past few years can easily be summed up through the letters BYOD. Bring Your Own Device policies have been all the rage among companies looking to increase employee productivity while also saving on costs, and it’s a trend that doesn’t appear to be slowing down. According to Gartner, about half of companies will have some sort of BYOD program in place by the year 2017. But all is not sunshine and rainbows for the relatively popular BYOD movement.