Articles by 'Michael Hawkins'

By Michael Hawkins, Posted in Security

The SolarWinds hack provides an interesting insight into how the supply chain can be used as part of a multi-pronged attack. The ingenuity of the bad actors was on full display as they successfully infiltrated, compromised, and manipulated the SolarWinds software update service. With that manipulation in place, the bad actors had the perfect attack vector for bypassing traditional security controls. Inbound firewall rules provided no protection, since the SolarWinds servers reached outward to reach the upda... read more.

• March 15, 2021

By Michael Hawkins, Posted in Security

  Organizations continue to suffer significant financial losses and reputational damage as a result of ransomware attacks that invade their networks and encrypt valuable data. These attacks continue to occur for several reasons, including that organizations are simply ill prepared, they do not understand their security posture in the first place, or they fail to allocate sufficient funds for the needed protections. Compounding this is the scarcity of seasoned cybersecurity professionals. There simply... read more.

• December 07, 2020

By Michael Hawkins, Posted in Security

Recent events have compelled companies to support staff members working from home. Some aspects of working from home have similarities to mobile remote staff. But there are distinct differences that need to be taken into account due to the elevated risks that working from home networks present. The risks are human and technological in nature. Let’s review some of each. SECURING THE HOME NETWORK Severe vulnerabilities exist in low-cost consumer routers. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the make... read more.

• April 10, 2020