Articles In Security

By Ken Phelan, Posted in Security

I’m fresh back from RSA this week, which means that in the last 10 days I’ve seen approximately one billion new cyber security applications. Many of them make claims regarding AI and its value to their platform. It’s my job to make some judgement about the reality of that claim. Here’s what’s going on in the back of my head when someone tells me about their great AI. First of all, when people talk about AI in this context, what they generally mean is machine learning. Machine... read more.

• March 20, 2019

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

NIST Privacy Framework working drafts have been published for input. The Privacy Framework group has posted an outline of the NIST Privacy Framework, along with a summary analysis of the comments received on their Request for Information. The group developed the outline in response to what was heard from stakeholders, and are looking forward to feedback. A comments spreadsheet has also been posted. A list of standards guidance referenced is available. The NIST Privacy Framework Group is hosting a live webi... read more.

• March 01, 2019

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

NIST held their first privacy framework workshop on 10/16/18 in Austin Texas. Representatives of NIST and private industry discussed the development of a privacy framework and plan to leverage the process used to develop the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.  This will include workshops and sessions throughout the US to gather information.  https://www.nist.gov/news-events/events/2018/10/kicking-nist-privacy-framework-workshop-1 The three hour event was recorded for additional viewing and can be fou... read more.

• December 20, 2018

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced on September 4, 2018 that it has started a collaborative project to develop a voluntary privacy framework. The framework design for the enterprise will complement the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. At the same time NIST will be developing a legal and policy approach for the US “…for consumer privacy in coordination with the department’s International Trade Administration to ensure consi... read more.

• October 01, 2018

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

On May 17, 2018, the PCI DSS council published an updated standard. The updated standards document and summary of changes document are available at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/document_library?category=pcidss&document=pci_dss This update consists of clarification statements to remove references to effective dates and Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/early Transport Layer Security (TLS) migration deadlines that have passed. No new requirements are added in PCI DSS v3.2.1. PCI DSS v3.2 remains valid th... read more.

• June 28, 2018

By Eduardo Blanco, CISSP, Posted in Security

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect May 25, 2018, and much like in the months approaching Y2K nearly two decades ago, many organizations are still scrambling to fully understand its impact, relevance, and scope. GDPR is a unified set of laws that create stricter regulations for EU Subject data along with steeper penalties for non-compliance than the previous EU Data Privacy Directive it replaces. Some organizations may have to make sweeping changes to how they process and... read more.

• February 08, 2018

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

From Dark Reading on 1/24/18: Intel provided another update on advice for patching: https://newsroom.intel.com/news/root-cause-of-reboot-issue-identified-updated-guidance-for-customers-and-partners/ From Dark Reading on 1/23/18: Intel Says to Stop Applying Problematic Spectre, Meltdown Patch Cause of reboot problems with its Broadwell and Haswell microprocessor patching now identified, the chipmaker said. Intel is now advising its customers and partners to halt the installation of patches for its Bro... read more.

• January 24, 2018

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finalized its Digital Identity Guidelines in December 2017 and published the following four documents: NIST Special Publication 800-63-3, Digital Identity Guidelines Presents an executive summary of the series along with a glossary. NIST Special Publication 800-63A, Digital Identity Guidelines, Enrollment and Identity Proofing Provides requirements for enrollment and identity proofing of applicants for access to resources at each Identity Assuran... read more.

• January 12, 2018

By Nancy Rand, Posted in Security

Earlier this week, the public was apprised of a major hardware vulnerability in Intel, AMD and ARM. This vulnerability affects practically every computer and mobile device in use today.   First and foremost, you should patch all devices up to the current releases to ensure you receive the latest protection combined with Endpoint Detection and Response software. The articles linked below present the information in detail.   The following Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) are associate... read more.

• January 05, 2018

By Hank Smith, Posted in Infrastructure, Security, Support

Throughout my years of IT consulting, patching servers and desktops has been a sore subject with customers. It’s always been something that is required, but in many cases not performed. The benefits of patching in a timely manner include feature enhancements, bug fixes, and of course security updates. But for many of our customers, patching is time-consuming and resource-intensive, and gets in the way of IT teams focusing on more strategic and tactical matters. As a result, patches aren’t maint... read more.

• December 21, 2017