While always a part of business, compliance demands have skyrocketed as the digital world gives us so many more ways to go awry. We all remember the Enron scandal that precipitated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Now, SOX compliance means being above board on a number of cybersecurity requirements as well. Fortra's Tripwire recently released a new guide:...

Electric grids are part of every nation’s critical infrastructure. Every societal activity and business depends on reliable and safe electricity distribution. The US electric grid is a huge network of powerlines, distribution hubs, and renewable and non-renewable energy generators that is increasingly exposed to cyber-physical risks due to the...

The evolution of the cyber threat landscape highlights the need for organizations to strengthen their ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate cyber risks before they evolve into security incidents. Known unpatched vulnerabilities are often exploited by criminals to penetrate Industrial Control Systems (ICS) environments and disrupt critical...

The then-new 2014 NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) was designed to plug security gaps in operational technology. It’s still in use today and more relevant than ever. Fortra’s whitepaper provides a cohesive review of this security staple and how to glean the best out of it for your strategy. A Brief History of NIST CSF “The full maximum NIST...

When building a tower, it helps to start with a sturdy foundation. Cyber maturity is the tower, and there are three levels that build it: Foundational IT/OT & Security Control Processes Fundamental Security Control Capabilities Advanced Security Control Capabilities Fortra occupies a unique space in the industry because of the sheer size of the...

Do you remember where you were on 25th May 2018? Perhaps you were enjoying a Friday night drink with friends. Perhaps you were with family, relaxing after a busy week at work. I was actually having a GDPR Birthday party with friends and colleagues because 25th May 2018 was a landmark day for the world of Data Protection (yes, seriously, we had a party!...

Non-compliance in cybersecurity marks a grave oversight. It involves neglecting established security protocols, leaving organizations vulnerable to malicious actors. Read on as we examine the potential risks of non-compliance, including heightened susceptibility to cyberattacks, the specter of data breaches, and the erosion of a company's hard-earned...

How to Build an Effective ICS Security Program Of all the different areas of cybersecurity, not many are as important, or have as far-reaching consequences as industrial control systems (ICS) security. While most relevant organizations would agree that ICS security is a significant concern for their operations, it is easier said than done. Many find it...

Cyber threats are growing more sophisticated, covert, and frequent every day. This year alone has seen the likes of T-Mobile and PharMerica suffering serious security breaches. These incidents disrupted operations and threatened their bottom lines, not to mention the lingering aftereffects and negative brand perception in the eyes of their customers. ...

Before the revolution of Information Technology (IT), the world experienced the revolution of Operational Technology (OT). Operational Technology is the combination of hardware and software that controls and operates the physical mechanisms of industry. OT systems play an important role in the water, manufacturing, power, and distribution systems that...

The basic parameters that control how hardware, software, and even entire networks operate are configurations, whether they take the form of a single configuration file or a collection of connected configurations. For instance, the default properties a firewall uses to control traffic to and from a company's network, such as block lists, port forwarding...

Technology companies are often seen as revolving doors of constantly shifting personnel. Whether they are seeking a better work environment or chasing a higher paycheck, these staff changes can hurt an organization’s progress. Worse yet, the customers are often negatively impacted by these changes in the continuity of established relationships. At...

A firewall is a security device that controls the flow of traffic across a network. A firewall may be a hardware appliance, or it may be a piece of software that runs on a third-party operating system. Firewalls operate based on a set of pre-defined, as well as customizable security rules that inspect network traffic to block or permit access to a...

The Network and Information Security 2 (NIS2) Directive is the European Union's (EU) second attempt at an all-encompassing cybersecurity directive. The EU introduced the legislation to update the much-misinterpreted Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive (2016) and improve the cybersecurity of all member states. It signed NIS2 into law in...

The United States stands at a pivotal juncture for true digital and cyber security, with unlimited potential. The 2023 U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy presents a fresh perspective on safeguarding digital territory—a perspective rooted in collaboration, innovation, and accountability. This moment poses a critical consideration of whether to invest...

Serverless architecture has increased in recent years, and is anticipated to grow by nearly 25% over the next decade, According to one source, the serverless architecture market was worth over $9 billion in 2022, with its compound annual growth rate projected to increase. The market could be worth over $90 billion by 2032. This indicates the immense...

A few years ago, I wrote about the importance of security immutability. More specifically, I discussed how important it is that your environment be unchangeable in order to ensure that it remains secure. As I looked back on the article, I found it rather amusing that the article was published 4 years ago, but that feels like a lifetime ago. In the last...

Network engineers and security analysts have a lot in common. Both require the ability to not only understand the problems at hand but to ascertain the moments leading to them. A typical scenario would include a request to help with a problem a customer has been experiencing. The person you are trying to assist is probably a member of the IT team in the...

We have come a long way in the cybersecurity sector in a relatively short period of time, but there remain many challenges in day-to-day operations that create security gaps in many organizations. One of the most common is tied to how we build our solutions, making sure they are secure out-of-the-box instead of only being evaluated during a pen test or...

Most small and midsized businesses trust an IT services partner to help them secure their networks. A few years ago, high-profile cyberattacks targeting MSP vendors Kaseya and SolarWinds thrust the security risk of relying on a complex chain of vendors into the technology media and moved the Department of Homeland Security to issue a statement about...