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An Introduction to the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP)

Cybersecurity funding in corporate environments has always been a source of anxiety for those who seek to keep organizations safe. When we examine the cybersecurity readiness of many state, local, and territorial governments, this funding struggle is taken to new heights of scarcity. Fortunately, a new program has been created by the Department of...
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Integrity Monitoring Use Cases: Compliance

What is File Integrity Monitoring? The IT ecosystems of enterprises are highly dynamic. Typically, organizations react to this volatility by investing in asset discovery and Security Configuration Management (SCM). These core controls enable businesses to compile an inventory of authorized devices and monitor the configurations of those assets. In...
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Defense and Development: Key points from The Complete Guide to Application Security for PCI-DSS

The increasing popularity of online payment systems results from the world’s gradual transition to a cashless and contactless digital economy — an economy, projected in a recent Huawei white paper, to be worth $23 trillion by 2025. With digital commerce emerging as the largest segment in the projected $8.49 trillion global digital payments market in...
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A 5 Step Checklist for Complying with PCI DSS 4.0

In March 2022, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) was updated with a number of new and modified requirements. Since their last update in 2018, there has been a rapid increase in the use of cloud technologies, contactless payments have become the norm, and the COVID-19 pandemic spurred a massive growth in e-commerce and online...
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PCI 4.0: The wider meanings of the new Standard

The new PCI DSS Standard, version 4.0, contains all the steps, best practices, and explanations required for full compliance. In fact, even an organization that does not process cardholder data could follow the PCI Standard to implement a robust cybersecurity program for any of its important data. In our series about how the new standard differs...
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What you need to know about PCI 4.0: Requirements 10, 11 and 12

As we continue our review of the 12 Requirements of PCI DSS version 4.0, one has to stop and consider, is it possible to have a favorite section of a standard? After all, most guidance documents, as well as regulations are seen as tedious distractions from the importance of getting the job done. However, depending on a person’s position and function...
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What you need to know about PCI 4.0: Requirements 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

In Part 1 of this series, we reviewed the first four sections of the new PCI standards. As we continue our examination of PCI DSS version 4.0, we will consider what organizations will need to do in order to successfully transition and satisfy this update. Requirements 5 through 9 are organized under two categories: Maintain a Vulnerability...
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What you need to know about PCI 4.0: Requirements 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council has released its first update to their Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) since 2018. The new standard, version 4.0, is set to generally go into effect by 2024, but there are suggested updates that are not going to be required until a year after that. This, of course, creates a couple of problems...
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PCI DSS 4.0 and ISO 27001 – the dynamic duo

It’s not often we can say this, but 2022 is shaping up to be an exciting time in information governance, especially for those interested in compliance and compliance frameworks. We started the year in eager anticipation of the new version of the international standard for information security management systems, ISO 27001:2022, soon to be followed...
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PCI DSS 4.0 is Here: What you Need to Consider

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a benchmark with tenure in the industry, with the first version being introduced in 2004. The PCI DSS was unique when it was introduced because of its prescriptive nature and its focus on protecting cardholder data. Cybersecurity is a changing landscape, and prescriptive standards must be...
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How to Fulfill Multiple Compliance Objectives Using the CIS Controls

Earlier this year, I wrote about what’s new in Version 8 of the Center for Internet Security’s Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls). An international consortium of security professionals first created the CIS Controls back in 2008. Since then, the security community has continued to update the CIS Controls to keep pace with the evolution of...
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CIS Control 14: Security Awareness and Skill Training

Users who do not have the appropriate security awareness training are considered a weak link in the security of an enterprise. These untrained users are easier to exploit than finding a flaw or vulnerability in the equipment that an enterprise uses to secure its network. Attackers could convince unsuspecting users to unintentionally provide access...
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CIS Control 13: Network Monitoring and Defense

Networks form a critical core for our modern-day society and businesses. People, processes, and technologies should be in place for monitoring, detecting, logging, and preventing malicious activities that occur when an enterprise experiences an attack within or against their networks. Key Takeaways for Control 13 Enterprises should understand that...
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CIS Control 12: Network Infrastructure Management

Networks form a critical core for our modern-day society and businesses. These networks are comprised of many types of components that make up the networks’ infrastructure. Network infrastructure devices can be physical or virtual and include things such as routers, switches, firewalls, and wireless access points. Unfortunately, many devices are...
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How Achieving Compliance with PCI DSS Can Help Meet GDPR Mandates

Data security and privacy are today a prime focus for most organizations globally. While there have been several regulations and standards introduced to improve data security, the evolving landscape makes it challenging for organizations to stay compliant. For many organizations, GDPR and PCI DSS are the first topics that come to mind when privacy...
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CIS Control 11: Data Recovery

Data loss can be a consequence of a variety of factors from malicious ransomware to hardware failures and even natural disasters. Regardless of the reason for data loss, we need to be able to restore our data. A data recovery plan begins with prioritizing our data, protecting it while it is being stored, and having a plan to recover data. Key...
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CIS Control 10: Malware Defenses

With the continuing rise of ransomware, malware defenses are more critical than ever before with regard to securing the enterprise. Anti-Malware technologies have become an afterthought in many organizations, a technology that they’ve always had, always used, and never really thought about. This control serves as a reminder that this technology is...
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CIS Control 09: Email and Web Browser Protections

Web browsers and email clients are used to interact with external and internal assets. Both applications can be used as a point of entry within an organization. Users of these applications can be manipulated using social engineering attacks. A successful social engineering attack needs to convince users to interact with malicious content. A...
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CIS Control 08: Audit Log Management

Audit logs provide a rich source of data critical to preventing, detecting, understanding, and minimizing the impact of network or data compromise in a timely manner. Collection logs and regular review is useful for identifying baselines, establishing operational trends, and detecting abnormalities. In some cases, logging may be the only evidence of...
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CIS Control 07: Continuous Vulnerability Management

When it comes to cybersecurity, vulnerability management is one of the older technologies that still play a critical role in securing our assets. It is often overlooked, disregarded, or considered only for checkbox compliance needs, but a proper vulnerability management program can play a critical role in avoiding a series data breach. CIS Control...