June - 2020

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Cybersecurity and Social Media

We have all heard of and probably use Twitter. Everyone recognizes the corporate logo and symbol. While there have been other social media outlets, Twitter has stayed the course and continues to be a social media giant. Breach Recently, Twitter had an issue with a breach, aka “data security incident” in corporate speak. The problem was detected by Twitter on May 20, 2020. Affected Users This did not affect all of the users, which would have been a disaster and epic fail. This

Cybersecurity and Your Grocery Store

Kroger Servers Targeted! Kroger is a large grocery chain in the US. In addition to the usual groceries that everyone purchases, the Kroger stores also have clinics, pharmacies, and telemedicine, dependent on the location and store footprint. The smaller stores may not be able to offer all of the services a large store would. While this is a fine business with excellent product, there was an issue from late last year. Granted this is a few months old, however, this is a viable

Cybersecurity and Small Business Predictions

Cyber Security Predictions for Small Businesses and Organizations The good news: most companies and individuals are more aware of cyber risk than previously. Cyber security measures do work. The bad news: small businesses continue to be victims of cybercrime, and this trend will increase. As Dan Leary at White Hat Security states: Companies will continue to get breached because of simple vulnerabilities. We have seen year after year that vulnerabilities we knew about at the t

Cybersecurity and Drones

Drones and Small Business Cybersecurity Drones are being used for many creative tasks. They are now used to deliver packages and take-out. Pizza express, anyone? Cowboys may no longer need to ride the fence to look for damage. A rancher can send a drone with instant video and GPS details to the ranch house. Repairs can be schedule efficiently. Farmers can send a drone over their fields to look at crop growth and water levels. They can then remotely turn on needed irrigation.

Cybersecurity and Municipalities

Municipalities have a very distinct problem. They are frequently targeted for ransomware and other attacks, as the attackers know their systems generally are not fully secure unless they been recently successfully attacked and have corrected and mitigated the issues. This is driven by budgetary constraints, not allowing the city, county, etc. to be able to hire exceptional talent, purchase the tools needed in a timely manner, and other requisite uses for cybersecurity. While

Cybersecurity and Accounting

With most industries, there is a trade association or group. The focus with these is to bring together leaders and members to discuss issues, communicate messages to the membership, and be a portal for the industry. Accounting is no different. In the US, we have the AICPA which functions to administer these tasks. This is accomplished is a timely, exceptionally professional manner. Canada is no different in that the accounting industry likewise has this for our northern frien

Cybersecurity and Summer Travel Tips

People often travel with lots of devices, many of which are could be hacked. There are a number of ways to reduce a traveler’s cyber security risk while traveling. Top 15 Tips for Cyber Secure Traveling 1. If you are going to be somewhere with lots of people and where everyone leaves their phones around, add a screen saver that quickly identifies the device as yours. Reduce the chance of someone inadvertently walking off with your phone and then it falling into the hands of s

Cybersecurity and Banks

Data breaches: Not just a US issue Banks are located throughout the world. They perform vital services for consumers and commercial organizations in every country they are located in. These are also connected with the respective nation’s banking systems. Another commonality is these hold a mass amount of data also. This is very attractive to the attackers for many reasons. This is also a concern for the consumers, as their personally identifiable information (PII) is in the h

Cybersecurity and Biometric Authentication Analysis

TIME AHEAD OF COVID-19: Outgrowth of Cloud Encryption Algorithm on Biometric Authentication analysis. Today, citizens of the world community are unable to function without identification and authentication operative mechanism. Over the past centuries, global citizens were represented, identified, and authenticated by a complex set of external variables such as last name, ethnicity, nationality, religion, ways of life, and occupation. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a par

Cybersecurity and University Attacks

Michigan State University (MSU), located in East Lansing, Michigan, is one of the premier institutions in the Midwest. This is a 5,300-acre campus with 563 buildings, with nearly 20,000 cares throughout Michigan used for agricultural and natural resources research and education. In Fall 2019, there were 49,809 students. With such a large number of students, the amount of data generated by the students and administration staff is massive year after year. This data, including t

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