Articles by 'Steve Gold'

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security, Support

Written with contributions from Bert Amodol and Jason Santamaria.  Turning every conversation into a word salad of acronyms wasn’t bad enough. Now, we’re taking words that have one meaning and assigning a different meaning. This must stop! First, it was “agent.” This always meant a piece of software that was installed on a computer. Now it means an autonomous system that can take goals, plan steps and carry out actions across multiple systems. Second is “Governance.&rdqu... read more.

• June 05, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Earth’s heroes don’t lose because they lack power—they lose because they’re disorganized. Some fight in New York, others in Wakanda, others in space. Each group acts with good intent, but without centralized coordination, gaps appear—and Thanos exploits them. That is the exact problem CIS Safeguard 10.6: Centrally Manage Anti-Malware Software i... read more.

• May 26, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In Ocean’s Eleven (2001), the casino isn’t protected by a single impenetrable vault. Instead, it relies on layers of controls—motion sensors, pressure floors, timed locks, and human oversight. The brilliance of the heist is that it only succeeds when multiple safeguards are bypassed at once. If even one layer holds, the plan fails. That layered-defense mindset is exactly what CIS Safeguard... read more.

• May 19, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In the documentary Zero Days (2016), investigators explain how Stuxnet, one of the most sophisticated malware campaigns ever discovered, initially spread through infected USB drives. The systems it targeted weren’t connected to the internet. They were air-gapped. And yet, malware still got in—because removable media was trusted by default. That lesson is exactly why CIS Safeguard 10.4: Configure... read more.

• May 12, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In Independence Day (1996), Earth isn’t nearly destroyed because the aliens have better weapons—it’s because their technology is allowed to interface freely with human systems. Once malicious code is permitted to run, the damage is already underway. The turning point comes when access is restricted and assumptions are challenged. That same lesson sits at the heart of CIS Safeguard 9.6: Blo... read more.

• May 05, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In Catch Me If You Can (2002), Frank Abagnale successfully impersonates pilots, doctors, and lawyers—not by hacking systems, but by exploiting trust. People believe the uniform, the letterhead, and the signature. The deception works because there’s no reliable way to verify identity at a glance. Email spoofing works the same way. Messages look legitimate, appear to come from trusted senders, and... read more.

• April 28, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In The Lord of the Rings, the One Ring is small, unassuming, and even useful—at first. It grants power and convenience, but every additional moment it’s worn increases risk, influence, and loss of control. The danger isn’t obvious until it’s too late. Browser and email client extensions often play the same role in enterprise environments. They look harmless, promise productivity, and... read more.

• April 21, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In The Matrix Reloaded (2003), the Merovingian controls access to critical pathways inside the Matrix. He doesn’t stop everyone—he decides who and what is allowed to pass. Information still flows, but only through channels he permits. That selective control is what gives him power. CIS Safeguard 9.3 is built on the same principle. Network-based URL filtering isn’t about blocking the intern... read more.

• April 14, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015), the most important moments don’t happen when evidence is collected—they happen when investigators review it, correlate it, and challenge assumptions. Bags of evidence sitting on a shelf solve nothing. The case only breaks when someone sits down, replays the data, and asks, “What does this actually tell us?” That is the core idea be... read more.

• April 07, 2026

By Steve Gold, Posted in Security

Written with contributions from Bryon Singh, Director of Security Operations, RailWorks Corporation In Blade Runner 2049 (2017), the central mystery hinges on memory. What was recorded, what was preserved, and what was lost determines who can understand the truth and who remains in the dark. The film makes a simple but powerful point: without reliable memory, reconstruction becomes speculation. CIS Safeguard 8.10 is built on that same idea. If audit logs are not retained long enough, incidents can’t... read more.

• March 31, 2026