Blog

Blog

30 Ransomware Prevention Tips

Dealing with the aftermath of ransomware attacks is like Russian roulette. Submitting the ransom might seem like it’s the sole option for recovering locked data. Ransomware also continues to evolve as a threat category within the past year, with old names like REvil rearing their heads and new players like Black Basta emerging in 2022. Malicious...
Blog

Healthcare Supply Chain Attacks Raise Cyber Security Alarm

The healthcare sector has become a popular target for cybercriminals and is one of the most targeted industries by cyber criminals. In 2022, 324 attacks were reported in the first half of the year. As bad actors continue to target the healthcare industry, cybersecurity experts and healthcare administrators should be aware that attacks are...
Blog

How to deal with cyberattacks this holiday season

The holiday season has arrived, and cyberattacks are expected to increase with the upcoming celebratory events. According to The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) 2022 Holiday Season Threat Trends and summary report, ransomware and phishing attacks are expected to increase in retail. With the FIFA World Cup 2022,...
Blog

Privacy Updates in Q3 2022: Major Developments Across the Globe

The third quarter saw some major developments across the privacy space. In the U.S., we saw a federal bill for comprehensive privacy achieve more than ever before, children’s privacy proved to remain a top concern, and the Federal Trade Commission formally began its heavily criticized “Magnuson-Moss rulemaking” process. Not to be outdone, the...
Blog

New Canadian Cyberattack Data Says 80% of SMBs Are Vulnerable

If you were to take a look at the cybersecurity news cycle, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s only large enterprises with expansive customer bases and budgets that are the most vulnerable to attacks. But that’s not entirely true. Even if it’s at a much smaller scale, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) still have stores of sensitive...
Blog

Shifting Left with SAST, DAST, and SCA: Advanced Best Practices

In the past, teams incorporated security testing far after the development stage of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Security testing would influence whether the application would to proceed to production, or get passed back to the developers for remediation. This process caused delays while teams worked on remediation or, worse yet, it...
Blog

Place your budgets on the right cybersecurity for your business

As budgets start to tighten for countless businesses concerned about the potential financial winter that many are predicting, security teams across the world are reviewing where best to place their investment to ensure they get the best “bang for their buck”. With that in mind, now might be time to explore some key areas where I see organisations...
Blog

What Is the Role of Incident Response in ICS Security?

In recent years, cyber espionage has been growing in magnitude and complexity. One of the most common targets is Industrial Control Systems (ICS) within critical infrastructure sectors. With many organizations relying more heavily on ICS networks, there has been an increase in threats and cyberattacks aimed at these systems. Not only do these...
Blog

What Are the Benefits of Adopting the Cloud in Industrial Cybersecurity?

Cloud adoption has come a long way from its early days where corporate executives questioned the stewardship of their data. The initial suspicions of “where’s my data” have been laid to rest, as administrative tools and contractual obligations have emerged to give better visibility to, and accountability of, data custodianship. Even the capabilities...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

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...
Blog

CIS Control 06: Access Control Management

CIS Control 6 merges some aspects of CIS Control 4 (admin privileges) and CIS Control 14 (access based on need to know) into a single access control management group. Access control management is a critical component in maintaining information and system security, restricting access to assets based on role and need. It is important to grant, refuse,...
Blog

CIS Control 05: Account Management

Knowing who has credentials, how those credentials are granted, and how they are being used is the foundation of any secure environment. It begins with user accounts and the credentials they use. Maintaining a thorough inventory of all accounts and verifying any changes to those accounts as authorized and intentional vs unintended is paramount to...