We first addressed personal devices in the workplace back in 2018. That seems like such a long time ago now. With record numbers of employees now working from home due to COVID, how should we think about personal devices in the workplace? What are some of the security concerns that you should address? When work occurs on personal devices, how …
Two-Factor Authentication
What is two-factor authentication? Two-factor authentication is a second level of authentication for you the user to be able to access your account. The first level of authentication is your user ID and password. What that means is that anybody with your user ID and password can log into your web-based accounts whether it’s your email account, Office 365, your …
Stolen Login Credentials on the Dark Web
Just because the company you work for is not a Fortune 500 company does not mean your credentials were not stolen at some point. According to an article in Security Magazine, 21 million login credentials stolen from Fortune 500 companies were found on the Dark Web. Bleepingcomputer.com reported that only 4.9 million of the passwords were unique. Just imagine what …
The Wild West of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
The Wild West When you think about the Wild West, what do you see? Do you picture unspoiled scenery, picturesque cattle drives, spacious farms, gold miners, unfettered individual freedom, rugged individualism, and no federal income taxes? This is definitely a “romantic” picture. Remember the darker side. Don’t forget about the lawless gangs of robbers, disputes settled by gunfights, and clashes …
Benefits and Disadvantages of BYOD
What is BYOD? BYOD is an acronym for “Bring Your Own Device.” It refers to the practice of employees using a personal device for work. With BYOD, a single individual has the capacity to affect himself, those close to him, the company, and potentially millions of other people. One unsecured device can harm millions of individuals and organizations who may …
What is GDPR and does it affect me?
GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation adopted by the European Union (EU) in 2016. This just became enforceable as of May 2018. Does it affect me? The short answer is “Yes”. This law may affect you if you have an enterprise class system that collects and shares data around the world. What is GDPR? In a nutshell, GDPR is …
More Than Half of Ex-Employees Still Have Access to Corporate Networks
In today’s security programs, we often lose sight of the forest for the trees and forget the basics. Removing an employee’s ability to access company property – whether physical access or access to corporate networks – is so basic that it too often gets overlooked. This article from InfoSecurity is a painful reminder of how lax many security programs are. …
Do Your Homework before Moving to Smart Cards
First, let’s talk about the cards. There are a number of different types and uses for smart card technology. One of the most common is that of a banking-type card where the actual chip is visible. Think about your new debit card. When used, the chip makes contact within the device reading the information. This is a contact type card. …
Ransomware – All Hope is Not Lost
Recently Protus3 was asked to assist someone who had fallen prey to ransomware. The person had clicked on an attachment in an email. It wasn’t too long before the message, shown here, popped up on their screen that the ransomware had encrypted all of the files in their My Documents folder. Remembering a recent news article about the identification of …
Are VoIP Phones Secure?
A recent article identified and discussed a security flaw in VoIP phones. I am not advocating throwing away your VoIP phone system and going back to analog; I recommend educating yourself to the possible threat, measuring the likelihood of that threat in your environment, and making corrective measures if necessary. Most of the electronic devices we use on a daily …