The Generic Blanket Training is not Appropriate or Effective By Charles Parker II Every year corporations and businesses go through the annual, employee dreaded security training. Their eyes become glazed over and the staff’s mouths slowly begin to open even so slightly as the physical manifestations of the apathy being to appear. To simply check the box that the training had been without usability focus is a fallacy of actual security. The training needs to be different fr

Cell Phone Towers Are Also Vulnerable By Charles Parker The typical cell phone towers are omnipresent through the countryside and in the cities. In the cities they may be located on parking structures, buildings, in vacant lots, or near buildings. These cell phone towers or base transceiver stations (BST) function to facilitate the communications between the user’s equipment and the network. This communication is the transmitting and receiving of signals. Issue This equipme

Tax time frauds can harm small businesses By Carolyn Schrader Tax filing due date for individuals is April 18th this year, which is soon approaching. The IRS recently alerted taxpayers to be watchful for last-minute phishing email scams. Cybercriminals continue to send phishing emails requesting employee W2 information. They are also sending scam emails to tax preparers asking for a change of disbursement of refunds to a prepaid debit card or to a different bank account. Sc

WCC14 Domain name privacy for small businesses By Carolyn Schrader Domain names are a must-have in today’s business world. Many businesses own multiple names, even if they only use one actual website. Some businesses neglect to ensure privacy of the registration information, unfortunately. A personal address, email address or phone number are visible to anyone looking, unless the WHOIS data is marked private. What is WHOIS? WHOIS is a protocol used on the Internet. It is

Cyber-Vigilantism By Charles Parker There have been a number of scams perpetrated over the years. These have preyed on the elderly, less than tech savvy, grandparents, and others. They could steal intellectual property, money, staff member data and information, or simply be an annoyance. This could cost thousands of dollars and hours upon hours of work to correct. The effects could last years. With all of the cost, stress, and anxiety this generally causes, people affected

PDFs: Still be wary By Charles Parker Phishing is no different than other attack methodologies. These evolve over time. Initially the attack may be a bit unsophisticated and rough. These attacks tend to work for a bit, until a defense is put in place. At this point, the attack improves its operations or mode of attack, much like a business would improve its operations if the need presented itself. Phishing has exhibited this trait as well. Phishing began, and to an extent,

Even Non-Profits are Targeted By Charles Parker To an attacker, data is data. It is a commodity to look for, breach a target for, steal, and sell. The focus and process itself is not that complicated. The target data is the same for a profit and non-profit. The difference to the attacker though is the non-profit may not have the ability to put a full defense-in-depth in place to secure its enterprise. A specific, troubling issue affecting the non-profits has been social eng

Preparing for an Attack & Breach By Charles Parker The attackers have branched out and are no longer merely focusing on one or two industries, such as DoD contractors or hospitals. This is partially due to their business model and ease of use, especially with ransomware. The revenue driven by these activities continues to grow. At this junction, it is prudent to plan for an attack and breach. With this completed and periodically updated, the enterprise and operations would be

Cloud Computing and HIPAA Guidelines By Dr. James Angle As healthcare organizations across the country scramble to take advantage of the power of the cloud, Health and Human Services (HHS) is providing guidance for use of cloud services. The guidelines provide both covered entities and the Cloud Service Provider (CSP) information to assist them in understanding their obligations under HIPAA regulations. When a covered entity contracts a cloud provider for services that rece

Brain Drain in Our Government Agencies By Dr. Jane LeClair As long ago as 1981 the federal government was concerned with the loss of knowledge -'brain drain' - from various agencies. A GAO report "The Government Brain Drain" dated Sep 14, 1981 notes "The Government brain drain caused by inadequate salary levels, irregular pay adjustments, and distorted pay interrelationships of top Federal officials is one of the most critical but perhaps least understood and appreciated pr