Even if you’re not in the utility industry, it’s hard to ignore the slow march forward of the smart meter. The days of a utility employee stopping by to check the meter are well on their way out. In fact, it’s hard to imagine a system that relies on someone physically showing up to check the meter at all. Today, smart meters go beyond simply...

When the world's biggest online advertising platform is reported to be working on a technology to block ads in the world's most popular browser, it's no wonder that some eyebrows will be raised. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Google is planning to build an ad blocker into Google Chrome. The feature, which would be turned on by...

London gun owners want to know if the Metropolitan Police shared a database containing 30,000 firearm registrants' information with a marketing firm. On 18 April, 5,000 rifle owners and 25,000 shotgun owners living in London received a leaflet in the day's mail. Titled "Protect Your Firearms and Shotguns with SmartWater," the leaflet urges the...

In any conflict, humans are impacted. In conflict, the best scenario is that the individual leaves unscathed and perhaps even unaware of what could have been their misfortune, whereas in the worst of cases – such as kinetic warfare – the impact can be the ultimate price: loss of life. There is also a cruel truth of conflict that often gets looked...

Cyber security is a priority for every country in today's world. Canadian educators are among those who understand this fact. This explains why some of Canada's teachers are creating programs designed to foster students' interest and skills in the field. We at The State of Security are enthusiastic about these new cyber security educational programs...

The Center for Internet Security (CIS) Top 20 Critical Security Controls, or "Foundational Controls," can help any organization address the growing number of digital security threats confronting them. Obviously, for these controls to reduce risk, a company must first implement them. Failure to do so can result in some real security nightmares. IT...

The world is currently experiencing a serious cyber security talent shortage that is having profound effects on businesses and governments alike. An alarming number of cyber security/information security professionals surveyed for ISACA’s State of Cyber Security 2017 report (37 percent of 633 respondents) said fewer than 1 in 4 job applicants...

What is the first thing you do upon returning from a conference, seminar, or other event? Quickly update your LinkedIn network with new contacts from the event? Draft a presentation that you promised as part of the business justification to attend the conference? Prioritize a list of products you want to implement, and why? Me? I add my latest...

Previously, I interviewed Dr. Jessica Barker. She's a woman who runs a firm, J L Barker Ltd., where she advises many British organizations on how to handle information more securely. Now, I'm honoured to talk to Emily Crose, a network threat hunter. I discovered her on Medium, where she wrote a thought-provoking article about the differences in her...

A restaurant chain has confirmed that a payment card breach affected more than three dozen of the locations it currently manages. On 14 April, Best American Hospitality Corp. (BAHC) revealed it had received a report indicating someone had stolen payment cards used at some of the corporate-affiliated...

In 2016, the U.S. gift card industry was worth $127 billion. That figure is expected to reach $160 billion by 2018. It's little wonder why. Everyone loves them! From the retailer's point of view, customers who shop using a gift card oftentimes spend more than the initial value of the card. As for the customers themselves, gift cards allow them to...

With analyst group Gartner valuing the annual global spending on educational technology at over £17 billion ($21 billion USD) in 2015, there's no doubt that technology implementation is shaping the future of education systems. The appropriate integration of technology guides students, teachers, and administrators towards clarity and extensibility....

A system administrator is accused of having caused its former employer $100,000 in damages using malicious code equipped with a "time bomb" feature. Allegro Microsystems, a LLC company which makes and markets high-performance semiconductors, says Nimesh Patel of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts tampered with its servers back in January 2016. For his...

Take a moment to think about apps used daily on your smartphone. Facebook? Twitter? Email? Web browser? No one wants to be stalked or let anyone see their personal information from their smartphones. Think about leaving your phone unlocked while you're at home or unattended on your desk while going for meeting at work. What if someone looks at your...

Fraudsters have designed a new LinkedIn scam that uses phishing emails and a fake website to trick job seekers into handing over their CVs. The scam begins when a user receives a phishing email disguised as a LinkedIn email. In their message, the fraudsters inform the recipient that a company is "urgently seeking for immediate employment" in their...

Malicious hackers are seizing control of poorly-protected home routers, and commanding them to launch attacks designed to brute force their way into WordPress websites. Security researchers at Wordfence first determined that something noteworthy was happening when they witnessed an unusual spike in attacks originating from Algeria against its...

In part one of this series, I posited that additional integrity on a resume, as well as in interview situations, can benefit the entire information security profession by highlighting the specific disciplines in our industry. This, in turn, could serve to stop the perception of a cyber skills-gap by driving awareness that the InfoSec field is...

In March 2015, the Australian Federal House of Representatives passed laws making it mandatory for Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunication companies to collect their customers’ metadata and keep it for up to two years. This metadata would then be handed over to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, if need be, to help with their...

Do you know who has access to your organisation's network? Are you confident that all the users on your network are authorised to access your systems, and have a good idea of what devices have been connected to your firm's systems? If so, good for you. But not all organisations have such tight control over who gains access to their IT infrastructure...

Microsoft has announced the end of Windows Vista support and is urging customers who still use the operating system to upgrade as soon as possible. The Redmond-based technology giant finalized Windows Vista's end of term in a blog post on 11 April: "Windows Vista customers are no longer receiving new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or...