Frequently Asked Questions

In this section, we answer common questions that people have about diverse cyber topics.

All FAQs

The following are common tasks expected of an incident responder: Respond immediately to possible security breaches Be proficient with various computer forensic tools Obtain and maintain a security clearance Perform well in high-stress environments Stay abreast of cutting-edge attack vectors Actively monitor systems and networks for intrusions Identify security flaws and vulnerabilities Perform security audits, network forensics, and penetration testing Perform malware analysis and reverse engineering Develop a set of response procedures for security problems Establish internal and external protocols for communication during security incidents Produce detailed incident reports and technical briefs for management, administrators, and end-users Liaison with other cybersecurity and risk assessment professionals

The primary responsibility of an incident responder is to rapidly investigate and document cybersecurity incidents within an organization.

Once a possible incident has been identified through either automated or manual tools, the incident responder is tasked to investigate the event and mitigate potential damages.

As a member of the CSIRT, the incident responder works closely with the enterprise’s security organization to categorize and classify attack methods and intended payloads in support of an effort to build in protection for further similar incidents.

An incident responder will often be called upon to write reports that document their findings relative to cybersecurity investigations.

The job of Incident Responder is often a daytime role although shift work or flexi-time may sometimes be necessary. You will likely be working an average of 40 hours per week. Short-term IT Incident Responders, Contractors, and Consultants may be paid a day rate. Additional work above agreed hours/days would normally be chargeable.

This is a unique job in cyber security due to the job demands. If an incident or emergency occurs, you may work longer hours for a couple of days and then have time off for the rest of the week. Your employer is going to need you to help avoid crisis, but also be present during a crisis until it is resolved.

Incident responders often enjoy flex time. As an example, during a security event, an incident responder might need to work two back-to-back 18-hour shifts to deal with the situation. They might then have the rest of the week off.

There are many different jobs in the incident response field, including cyber incident responder, computer network defense incident responder, and incident response engineer. Other related positions include forensics intrusion analyst, intrusion detection specialist, and network intrusion analyst.

An IR provides the first line of defense after an attack is suspected or has been detected. They quickly respond to neutralize the immediate threat, bring order and control to the situation, and document the crisis for attribution and possible legal prosecution.

The demand for incident responders is expected to grow significantly in the foreseeable future. According to IDC, cybersecurity will be among the 20 most in-demand IT roles for the next decade. Incident response is one of the fastest-growing career segments within cybersecurity.

While some cybersecurity duties can be automated with new technology, the tasks of an incident responder are not in this class. All indications are that those individuals with the proper experience and skill set are expected to be employable for many years to come.

Computer security incident responders can be found in large corporations and small businesses alike. They are needed in government entities and non-profits. They can be an integral part of an in-house security team or an independent consultant.

Most DAST tools are as easy to use as inserting the web application URL and pressing the start button. Of course, behind the scenes the process is much more sophisticated.

DAST tools try to gather as much information as possible about the target. They crawl the pages and extract all inputs to expand the attack surface. Once this step is done, they start the active scanning phase. The tool sends numerous attack vectors to the previously found endpoints to test for different types of vulnerabilities. Many of the test cases for common vulnerabilities such as SQL Injections, XSS, LFI, SSRF come out of the box, but most DAST tools allow you to create additional attack scenarios.

The last step is to display the results. If the tool suspects it found a vulnerability, it will provide detailed information about the URL, attack vector, vulnerability type, severity, and basic information on how to fix it.

IAST tools work by deploying agents and sensors in a running web application. The role of these agents is to continuously monitor and analyze the application's behavior during manual or automated tests. They can identify information including HTTP traffic, data flow, control flow, infrastructure data, configuration options, or calls to external services. All of this information is passed to an analysis engine which confirms whether a vulnerability exists or if it is a false positive.

There are two types of IAST approaches:

· Active IAST — this approach involves two components: one that generates attack scenarios and the other one which monitors a running web application's behavior

· Passive IAST — this approach uses a single component, a sensor which oversees the running web application - this tool does not simulate any attacks

The first step is to implement a SAST tool into the build system of the application. This way, the tool can get a comprehensive understanding of the codebase, its configurations & dependencies, as well as the data flow.

The next step is the code analysis. SAST tools achieve this through a series of rules that can (and should) be customized by the developer/tester to accommodate the tested application. Most SAST tools come with built-in rules that can spot input validation errors, path traversals, injections, race conditions, and many others. The quality of the findings mainly depends on how well these rules are customized to suit the application.

Here is a brief checklist for teams that are evaluating static code analyzers:

· Does it support our programming language(s)?

· How is the vulnerability assessment accuracy, both the detection level and false positive rate?

· Does it fit nicely with our DevOps pipeline? Is it easy to automate? Can it run from the command line?

· How well does it work with our issue tracker? Does it offer 2-way integration and customizations?

· How easy is it to consume the output of the security analysis? How flexible is the reporting?

· How flexible is the product licensing? is it based on code lines, developer seats, scans, etc?

· Are there any requirements regarding on-premise deployment versus cloud-based remote scans?

The first step would be to identify the applications to test since it will determine some critical aspects. For instance, if the application is in development and not deployed publicly, an on-premise DAST deployment is ideal.

In order to interpret the results, the team will have to identify the right person with the right skills. It is important to find this person early in the adoption process.

Then, it is recommendable to define a triaging workflow to process the vulnerability scan results. The rate of false positives in a DAST is low, but they are still possible. It is also important to assign the resolution of the issues to the right team, which will not be immediate if the application is complex.

Since a web scanner does not implement continuous vulnerability assessment, the scan process will have to be repeated to confirm that the corrections work. So the team must agree on a timeframe for the repetition.

Different vendors have different strategies to deploy their static analysis tools. In general, there are two main deployment scenarios: on-premise, when the software runs on equipment managed by the end-user; and cloud or SaaS, when the software is run and managed by the vendor.

Once installed, it is important to incorporate the tool into the larger team ecosystem: task management, code repositories, CI/CD pipeline, etc. This step should involve adding automation so that the scans occur as planned.

Here is a simple checklist to serve as a starting point when evaluating the purchase of a DAST web scanner:

· How is the risk coverage? What is the OWASP Benchmark score?

· Does it provide enough information to be useful? Anything on top of URL and vulnerability?

· Is the collection of attacks and bypasses well maintained to reflect new risks?

· What is the key licensing aspect? Is it the number of scans, the size of the application, etc.?

· How do you deploy the tools? On-premise, or as a service?

· Does it fit the automation pipeline?

There are certain testing guidelines that should be followed while testing the software:

· Development team should avoid testing the software: Testing should always be performed by the testing team. The developer team should never test the software themselves. This is because after spending several hours building the software, it might unconsciously become too proprietorial and that might prevent seeing any flaws in the system. The testers should have a destructive approach towards the product. Developers can perform unit testing and integration testing but software testing should be done by the testing team.

· Software can never be 100% bug-free: Testing can never prove the software to 100% bug-free. In other words, there is no way to prove that the software is free of errors even after making a number of test cases. · Start as early as possible: Testing should always start parallelly alongside the requirement analysis process. This is crucial in order to avoid the problem of defect migration. It is important to determine the test objects and scope as early as possible.

· Prioritize sections: If there are certain critical sections, then it should be ensured that these sections are tested with the highest priority and as early as possible.

· The time available is limited: Testing time for software is limited. It must be kept in mind that the time available for testing is not unlimited and that an effective test plan is very crucial before starting the process of testing. There should be some criteria to decide when to terminate the process of testing. This criterion needs to be decided beforehand. For instance, when the system is left with an acceptable level of risk or according to timelines or budget constraints.

· Testing must be done with unexpected and negative inputs: Testing should be done with correct data and test cases as well as with flawed test cases to make sure the system is leakproof. Test cases must be well documented to ensure future reuse for testing at later stages. This means that the test cases must be enlisted with proper definitions and descriptions of inputs passed and respective outputs expected. Testing should be done for functional as well as the non-functional requirements of the software product.

· Inspecting test results properly: Quantitative assessment of tests and their results must be done. The documentation should be referred to properly while validating the results of the test cases to ensure proper testing. Testing must be supported by automated tools and techniques as much as possible. Besides ensuring that the system does what it is supposed to do, testers also need to ensure that the system does not perform operations that it isn’t supposed to do.

· Validating assumptions: The test cases should never be developed based on assumptions or hypotheses. They must always be validated properly. For instance, assuming that the software product is free from any bugs while designing test cases may result in extremely weak test cases.

· By detecting the flaws in the code early on, weaknesses can be fixed before attackers detect them and they become true vulnerabilities for an organization

· They find theoretical issues, looking for known patterns of vulnerability that developers may not be aware of

· You can automate the testing process

· They are scalable

· They are ideal for problems that can be found automatically with high confidence, such as SQL Injection Flaws

· The output is easily digested by developers since these tools identify the exact location in the code where problems exist · No need for a running application in order to provide immediate benefit.

· Detect potential problems from the earliest stages of the development process by integrating SAST into your build system the moment code starts working. Not only is it cheaper and easier to fix vulnerabilities at this point but, it also raises developer awareness to potential problems helping them avoid other, related issues.

· Eliminates the need to build even a partially functioning version of your product. This means you don’t have to spend time compiling and deploying code or have to deal with the headaches of configuring your build system—including having the relevant infrastructure and related assets (e.g., security tokens and certificates).

· Requires a runtime environment: This means time and effort must be invested in building the environment, then compiling and building running software. Anyone familiar with building mobile apps for iOS and Android knows that just acquiring the right certificates to deploy an app to a test device is a massive time sink.

· Requires running software: You can only start using DAST toward the end of the development process when the pressure to ship working code often outweighs the desire to ship secure software.

· Time and cost to remedy issues: The types of errors DAST detects generally take longer to diagnose and are more expensive to fix. This of course makes it of less benefit at the time when it would be most useful.

· Coverage: Like SAST, DAST does not provide 100% coverage and cannot detect static issues in source code or related libraries. Last, it differs from SAST in that it is harder to integrate DAST directly into your CI/CD pipeline.

· Reliance on static inputs: SAST can only find certain types of problems. While these problems are of course important, they can lead to a false sense of security, since many hackers run specific attacks on running software and its supporting infrastructure.

· Limited issue set: These issues relate to areas such as access control, encryption, or memory management. For example, when employing a SAST tool to locate common problems such as buffer overflows caused by C’s printf state, it might detect similar issues in languages that are written in C (e.g., Python).

· Only as good as their rule set: In cases where these rules produce ambiguous results, this can lead to a high number of false positives/negatives. Any false positives/negatives will require human interpretation, which undermines the advantages of using an automated approach.

IAST solutions combine the best of both SAST and DAST. For instance, they can use data collected by sensors about middleware services (web servers, proxies, load balancers, etc.) and configuration options to check for misconfigurations. This is something that SAST can't do. On the other hand, IAST tools also analyze the entire codebase of the running application and can show the exact location of a vulnerability, unlike DAST.

The results generated by IAST are much more accurate compared to SAST and DAST tools since IAST uses multiple sources of data to confirm a vulnerability. For example, if a potential SQL Injection vulnerability is detected during code analysis, the tool will access the HTTP request to check if there are any errors or if the behavior of the application can be altered by a SQL Injection payload.

Another advantage is code coverage. IAST solutions can analyze the entire codebase, including open-source libraries and frameworks. Since they know exactly what classes and methods of a library are used by the web application, they can filter out irrelevant public vulnerabilities of a particular library.

Furthermore, IAST tools can be used during different phases of the SDLC, both early, late, or even in production.

Implementing an IAST solution could be much harder than using a SAST or DAST tools. This is because IAST requires the installation of security sensors and agents within the web application. Depending on the IAST tool, the setup process can be complicated and require the assistance of a specialist. Additionally, it is possible to have compatibility issues between the IAST agent and the technologies used to develop the application.

IAST tools analyze the features of a web application that are executed. Therefore, the developer has the responsibility to create tests that cover the entire application.

Lastly, IAST tools are more expensive compared to SAST and DAST tools.

They tend to be complex, difficult to use, and don’t work well together

They also require access to the source code, byte code, or binaries, which some organizations or individuals may be apprehensive to give up to application testers

They're not able to identify vulnerabilities outside the application code, such as those defects that might be found in third-party interfaces.

Each SAST tool tends to only focus on a subset of potential weaknesses.

Dynamic application security testing (DAST) is a black box testing method that examines an application as it’s running to find vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.

Static application security testing (SAST) is a white box method of testing. It examines the code to find software flaws and weaknesses such as SQL injection and others listed in the OWASP Top 10.

Debugging is different from testing. Testing focuses on finding bugs, errors, etc whereas debugging starts after a bug has been identified in the software. Testing is used to ensure that the program is correct and it was supposed to do with a certain minimum success rate. Testing can be manual or automated. There are several different types of testing like unit testing, integration testing, alpha and beta testing, etc.

Debugging requires a lot of knowledge, skills, and expertise. It can be supported by some automated tools available but is more of a manual process as every bug is different and requires a different technique, unlike a pre-defined testing mechanism.

Many organizations wonder about the pros and cons of choosing SAST vs. DAST. But SAST and DAST are different testing approaches with different benefits. They find different types of vulnerabilities, and they’re most effective in different phases of the software development life cycle. SAST should be performed early and often against all files containing source code. DAST should be performed on a running application in an environment similar to production. So the best approach is to include both SAST and DAST in your application security testing program.

At a minimum, the static analysis should be run when code is committed to the repository, and prior to a new release, always allowing time to filter false positives and implement the corrections.

Depending on the maturity level of the team, the number and types of users will vary, but in general, developers should come first, and then QA and CI/CD teams. When the organization has security specialists, such as AppSec engineers and DevSecOps experts, they usually customize and tune the SAST to accommodate the organization’s security policies and requirements. Likewise, team leaders can review the high-level findings to evaluate the security position of the applications.

Since false positives will occur, most users will have to receive training regarding security practices, so they can perform the necessary false-positive triage.

Sec/IT Analyst: Optimize prevention and detection capabilities and strengthen defenses SOC: Optimize prevention and detection capabilities and strengthen defenses CSIRT: Accelerate incident investigations, management, and prioritization Intel Analyst: Uncover and track threat actors targeting the organization Executive Management: Understand the risks the organization faces and what the options are to address their impact

Tactical intelligence is focused on the immediate future, is technical in nature, and identifies simple indicators of compromise (IOCs). Tactical intelligence is the easiest type of intelligence to generate and is almost always automated. As a result, it can be found via open source and free data feeds, but it usually has a very short lifespan because IOCs such as malicious IPs or domain names can become obsolete in days or even hours.

Strategic intelligence helps decision-makers understand the risks posed to their organizations by cyber threats. With this understanding, they can make cybersecurity investments that effectively protect their organizations and are aligned with its strategic priorities.

Strategic intelligence tends to be the hardest form to generate. Strategic intelligence requires human data collection and analysis that demands an intimate understanding of both cybersecurity and the nuances of the world’s geopolitical situation. Strategic intelligence usually comes in the form of reports.

Threat actors favor techniques that are effective, opportunistic, and low-risk

Poor business and organizational decisions are made when the adversary is misunderstood

Organizations often only focus on singular threats

Analytics-driven tools including machine learning and behaviour analytics, Intelligence-driven tools including analysis of malware and ransomware, vulnerability scans, and threat intelligence reports, and finally, Situational-awareness tools, designed to add an extra layer of protection around any business-critical data or assets.

Threat intelligence should inform business decisions and the processes behind them

Engage in campaign tracking and actor profiling to gain a better understanding of the adversaries behind the attacks

Obtain a broader perspective of threats in order to combat the underlying problem.

A top threat hunting service takes a three-pronged approach to attack detection. Along with skilled security professionals, it includes two other components necessary for successful hunting: vast data and powerful analytics.

1. Human Capital

Every new generation of security technology is able to detect a greater number of advanced threats — but the most effective detection engine is still the human brain. Automated detection techniques are inherently predictable, and today’s attackers are very aware of this and develop techniques to bypass, evade or hide from automated security tools. Human threat hunters are an absolutely critical component in an effective threat hunting service.

Since proactive hunting depends on human interaction and intervention, success depends on who is hunting through the data. Intrusion analysts must have expertise to identify sophisticated targeted attacks, and they also must have the necessary security resources to respond to any discovery of unusual behavior.

2. A Wealth of Data

The service must also have the ability to gather and store granular system events data in order to provide absolute visibility into all endpoints and network assets. With the use of a scalable cloud infrastructure, a good security service then aggregates and perform real-time analysis on these large data sets.

3. Threat Intelligence

Lastly, a threat hunting solution should be able to cross-references internal organizational data with the latest threat intelligence about external trends and deploys sophisticated tools to effectively analyze and correlate malicious actions.

Threat hunting is highly complementary to the standard process of incident detection, response, and remediation. As security technologies analyze the raw data to generate alerts, threat hunting is working in parallel – using queries and automation – to extract hunting leads out of the same data.

Hunting leads are then analyzed by human threat hunters, who are skilled in identifying the signs of adversary activity, which can then be managed through the same pipeline.

Tactical intelligence Operational intelligence Strategic intelligence

Threat intelligence benefits organizations of all shapes and sizes by helping process threat data to better understand their attackers, respond faster to incidents and proactively get ahead of a threat actor’s next move. For SMBs, this data helps them achieve a level of protection that would otherwise be out of reach. On the other hand, enterprises with large security teams can reduce the cost and required skills by leveraging external threat intel and make their analysts more effective.

Threat hunting is the practice of proactively searching for cyber threats that are lurking undetected in a network. After sneaking in, an attacker can stealthily remain in a network for months as they quietly collect data, look for confidential material, or obtain login credentials that will allow them to move laterally across the environment.

Once an adversary is successful in evading detection and an attack has penetrated an organization’s defenses, many organizations lack the advanced detection capabilities needed to stop the advanced persistent threats from remaining in the network. That’s why threat hunting is an essential component of any defense strategy.

Threat intelligence is important for the following reasons:

sheds light on the unknown, enabling security teams to make better decisions

empowers cyber security stakeholders by revealing adversarial motives and their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs)

helps security professionals better understand the threat actor’s decision-making process

empowers business stakeholders, such as executive boards, CISOs, CIOs, and CTOs; to invest wisely, mitigate risk, become more efficient and make faster decisions

Let someone own QA Integrate more Make QA a priority Integrate earlier Automate what can be automated Implement a scalable approach Spot regression as soon as you can Use the QAOps framework

Quality assurance has a defined cycle known as the PDCA cycle or the Deming cycle. The cycle includes four steps:

Plan

Organizations need to plan and determine the process-related objectives and the processes that are required to deliver a good quality end product.

Development and testing of Processes and also "do" changes in the processes whenever required

Check

Supervision of processes, modification of processes, and verify whether it meets the predetermined objectives.

Act

Perform actions that are necessary to accomplish improvements in the processes

An organization must use Quality Assurance to make sure that the product or service they offer is designed and implemented with appropriate procedures. This helps in reducing the problems that may occur in the final output of the product.

Test management tools Functional testing tools API testing tools Unit testing tools Multi-browser testing tools Multi-device testing tools Performance testing tools

Quality assurance (QA) testing is focused on whether the application is performing the functions that it is supposed to do. On the other hand, software security is making sure that security is considered in every phase of software development to harden the application.

Access Control: This is one of the main application functionalities that need to be secure. Access control is used to avoid unwanted users access our application and also creating roles to only allow users access certain information or certain functionality.

Application Security: This must be a continuous effort from the beginning of the project up to its production release. All the teams should work together to avoid application security leaks or vulnerabilities. It’s recommended that security reviews aren’t postponed to the end of the project to avoid release delays or issues due to security problems.

Information Management: This section is in charge of maintaining the organization’s information secure. Here we test there aren’t any security vulnerabilities that compromise or leak the organization’s information. Information is currently considered one of the most valuable assets for organizations.

Single Sign-On: This area controls who has access to our application, it also helps maintain better control over user access and management. However, it requires better planing on setting up the different roles needed for clients and also a tight collaboration between the Quality and Security teams.

In the entire development lifecycle of a product, quality assurance teams work to fill the gaps to minimize risks to the end quality of the product or user experience. This type of testing makes the job of QA teams easier down the line. With fewer security risks comes less risk to the overall quality of the software as well. And the better the quality, the easier it becomes to spot any cybersecurity risks. Because of how QA and cybersecurity intersect in terms of risk management, coordinating with one another can significantly lighten the workload of both parties.

Quality and software security are not separate worlds, but rather two sides of the same coin—the bug that manifests as a system failure today could be a vulnerability exploited by an attacker tomorrow. Software security is just another important part of building good software.

Yes, they can.

For most systems, adhering to user experience principles and guidelines can actually improve their security. User experience and security are both essential for any system. In fact, it has recently been discovered that 2 out of 3 users abandon a purchase using their mobile device because of bad user experience and security concerns.

The art of striking the right balance between user experience and security is still evolving. On a more positive note, users are also getting savvier with each passing day, and most don’t mind an extra layer of security before they can access their personal information if that means additional security.

No. In fact, following best practices in UX design can actually make products safer. Imagine if you will, that your mother has asked you to recommend a web browser.

Insufficient User Authentication

User authentication verifies the identity of the user who connects to a network or application. Authenticating the user (through passwords, facial recognition scanning, or similar) prevents unauthorized access. Unauthorized access is when individuals gain access to an organization’s data, networks, endpoints, etc. without permission. This is probably the single most important part of ensuring a secure UX.

For a UX designer, there are many good practices to use to ensure user authentication. For example, applying inline validation for the email field ensures that the email format is correct. Require strong passwords or strong password alternatives like biometric authentication. However, avoid spelling out what the requirements are for authentication. Otherwise you would be helping the hacker refine their requirements for breaking into the application.

For when a user logs in, incorporating on-device authentication and multi-factor authentication (MFA) is extremely important for ensuring the security of the application. This year, the United Nations experienced a breach in their project management software due to lack of MFA. MFA should be included in every application that contains sensitive data or payment information. See here for more ways to improve the user sign-on experience.

Non-Intuitive App Navigation

Having an intuitive application means you’re more likely to have a secure application. As in, if users know what to do, they can do it properly. Thus, you’re going to ensure accurate & responsible app usage.

Minimizing the complexity of the application means using basic, specific terminology that makes it clear what the goal of the action is. Make it clear to the user what data is required and where it will be used. This transparency helps the user to understand the application and can improve security in the UX design.

Having defined options that are easy to understand, clear password requirements and simple navigation (on both web, mobile and tablet) through the application means that users will be able to intuitively use the application in a correct manner.

Easy to Spoof

Applications and websites with minimal branding, spelling errors, or non-responsive content relay a lack of quality. They are also much easier to copy, as a user may have difficulty differentiating between the real and fake versions. Having a unique UX in every application with a well-established, recognizable sense of brand identity can be an important step to preventing spoofing and malicious phishing.

Also making users aware of what a phishing attack looks like can be beneficial in improving UX security. A subtle pop-up is a great way to inform users of what to be aware of, without disrupting their experience.

Long Log-In Times

Cookies track the frequencies and lengths of an individual’s sessions on their device. It is a small piece of text data that identifies the individual everytime they use the network.

Setting automatic log-out timers (for example, after 24 hours) may help ensure security in an application. Breaking into the device and breaking into the application are two separate things. In the case of an application that has a log-out timer, the hacker may be able to break into a device repeatedly, but they may not be able to access the application unless they also have a separate means of doing so.

Make doubly sure that users’ data is secure by adding additional layers of encryption. When companies employ such services, they must keep in mind that deploying identity authentication services should not cause inconvenience to users. Safety and security are of the greatest importance, but that doesn’t mean users should be subjected to a negative online experience.

Work together with their security professionals to create identity verification and authorization services that can be seamlessly integrated and facilitate user transactions.

Consider employing the services of a company that provides such services and helps protect the online identity and information of their customers, while providing them with an effortless experience.

Create a system that has layers of security and also provides a pleasant user experience.

No. Even though many organizations use the terms Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) interchangeably, they are actually two different tools with different purposes.

Effective KRIs help to: Identify the biggest risks. Quantify those risks and their impact. Put risks into perspective by providing comparisons and benchmarks. Enable regular risk reporting and risk monitoring. Alert key people in advance of risks unfolding. Help people to manage and mitigate risks.

KRIs must be linked to the company’s strategic priorities, so it all starts with strategy. Each KRI should ideally be linked to a KPI and, in turn, be linked to core strategic goals, priorities, and initiatives. This helps to keep the focus on key risks and not every possible risk that the organization might face.

KRIs should be specific, predictive, and easy to quantify through hard numbers, percentages, or ratios. In addition, for each KRI, you’ll need to identify the relevant thresholds and trigger points – as in, when should your early warning system go off?

Once you’ve got your KRIs and KPIs in place, you need to monitor and track them regularly. How often will depend on the specific KPI and KRI? Some indicators may need to be monitored in real-time, for instance, while others warrant only a quarterly check-in.

It’s also a good idea to review KPIs and KRIs regularly in terms of their relevance to the business. After all, goals and priorities change as a business evolves and this will impact the risk management and performance management metrics that you choose.

You should evaluate and monitor your KPIs continually, especially as new data becomes available. Always examine your cybersecurity metrics after a successful data breach, including any new information in your KPI reporting.

Because there is no specific timeline guiding how often you should review your cybersecurity KPIs, conduct reviews based on the needs of your organization to best ensure that your metrics are working for you.

There is no authoritative list of cybersecurity KPIs and KRIs that all businesses or organizations should track.

The metrics you choose will depend on your organization’s needs and risk appetite. Those metrics should, however, be clear to anyone looking at your reporting. For instance, your business-side colleagues should be able to understand them without an explanation.

To choose the KPIs that are best suited for your business, take the following steps:

1. Write a clear objective for each KPI.

2. Share each KPI with stakeholders.

3. Review each KPI regularly.

4. Make sure each KPI is actionable.

5. Adjust each KPI as necessary to fit your business’s changing needs.

6. Confirm that each KPI is attainable.

7. Update each KPI objective as needed

Vendor relationships begin and end with contractual obligations.

Therefore, your service level agreements (SLAs) act as a primary starting point for measuring vendor performance. If you include specific metrics as part of your SLAs, you can measure how effective your vendor is in maintaining a secure environment.

Some questions to consider include:

How quickly do they resolve operational and administrative failures?

How often is the system unavailable?

How many times have they been breached?

How often do they update their product?

Do they incorporate continuous cyber security monitoring of their own environment and ecosystem?

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the gauges and measurements an organization uses to understand how well individuals, business units, projects, and companies are performing against their strategic goals. Once an organization has identified its strategic goals, KPIs serve as monitoring and decision-making tools that help answer your organization’s key performance questions.

Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) measure risk. KRIs are used by organizations to determine how much risk they are exposed to or how risky a particular venture or activity is. KRIs are a way to quantify and monitor the biggest risks an organization (or activity) is exposed to. By measuring the risks and their potential impact on business performance, organizations are able to create early warning systems that allow them to monitor, manage and mitigate key risks.

Eliminate Waste - Don't invest time and effort on activities that don't provide value. KPI reporting will help identify and reduce wasted effort. This lets you redeploy capacity to more valuable work activities.

Define Expectations - Create performance standards and baseline expectations for your employees with KPIs. Measure current performance and set aggressive but achievable targets to give employees a clear goal.

Benchmark Performance - After KPIs are defined, tracking and keeping them updated provides continuous performance data. Use this information to measure against current goals and external peers.

Quantify Results - Putting a number on an achievement speaks volumes. With this number, you can report results to management, shareholders, and your direct reports.

Improve Performance - Updated performance dashboards with effective KPIs will make meetings more effective. Focus on what's most important to streamline processes and boost output.

Increase Market Flexibility - Current-state data can provide insight into your marketing efforts. These allow you to allocate resources to a new campaign or training to better equip employees to excel.

Provide Effective Performance Feedback - Managers can use key performance indicators to create an easy-to-follow roadmap to success. This enables continuous and focused feedback to employees. Clear objectives, standards, and criteria will help to improve your team's engagement.

Pre-empt Problems - With consistent, up-to-date KPI data, you can anticipate problems in a process or activity—and stop them in their tracks. Don't let unmeasured activities ruin your business.

Improve Accountability - Measuring activities and monitoring team and employee performance enable proactive management. This provides objective data to hold teams accountable for success.

Generate Motivation to Succeed - Routine, consistent feedback supported by data shows that employees' efforts are recognized and rewarded. This will motivate them to reach daily goals.

A KPI is imperative and central to a core business strategy A KPI is the subject of a business issue that needs attention, correction, or adjusting A KPI is a combination of metrics A KPI is time-based, such as daily, monthly, or yearly A KPI is "key" and prioritized over other measurements The KPIs a company chooses to measure can change over time as business needs shift

A disadvantage of a KPI is defined as an unfavorable result of tracking or measurement that impedes success. These typically require corrective action to ensure that business objectives are achieved. One disadvantage of KPI implementation is that not every KPI is objective. Subjective KPIs—although often critical metrics—are more difficult to implement. These include such measures as the customer experience. Used incorrectly, information based on opinions can be misleading, distort data, and cause misinformed business decisions down the line.

Another is simply focusing on the wrong KPI. This can reduce the quality of work or negatively impact service levels, as employee goals aren't aligned with ideal outcomes. A narrow concentration on cycle time, for example, can jeopardize quality. Your work products may be finished faster, but that's no help if half of them have tons of errors or defects.

Problems caused by hastily implemented KPIs:

Ambiguous KPIs – Key performance indicators that lack clear definitions and parameters fail to provide information that supports decision-making. KPI definitions for the same measurement that vary based on the department or employee cannot effectively compare performance and identify improvement opportunities.

Data Manipulation – Some KPIs measure inputs, such as the Number of Incoming Calls for a call center. These, however, are subject to easy manipulation. For example, a call center rep could increase the number of calls handled by simply hanging up on customers. That would obviously increase the rep's performance for this KPI, but it would also drastically reduce customer satisfaction. KPIs must be balanced to provide an accurate view of overall performance.

Employee Confusion – Employees need to understand their KPIs. As KPIs are implemented, make sure that everyone knows precisely what is being measured, as well as how and why. Educate your employees about the goals of KPI implementation and how to interpret and improve their performance.

Wasted Investment – Implementing, monitoring, and reporting KPIs is an investment. But it can be wasted if management doesn't effectively follow up on the results. Targeted follow-up is crucial for improving team and individual performance and ascertaining whether targets need to be adjusted. Measurement with no plan to improve simply isn't worth the time or effort involved.

KPI Overload – The "key" in key performance indicator means "critical to business operations." More isn't always better. Make sure that the volume of KPIs for any particular business group or process remains reasonable Tracking hundreds of KPIs would not only be taxing for management but also counterproductive – and expensive. Every KPI being tracked costs time and money to maintain.

Data Integrity – Data must be recorded and maintained accurately. Ideally, KPIs should rely on a stable raw data feed. Data-entry errors or unexpected changes to performance data will reduce confidence. Employees may well feel that they have no control over their performance and that the KPIs are arbitrary.

Narrow Scope – An excessive focus on financials can generate an obsession with short-term earnings. Consequently, long-term benefits, such as customer satisfaction levels, can suffer. KPIs should provide a balanced and comprehensive view of business operations.

Not committing to make changes based on metrics Measuring too much, too soon, too little, or too late Measuring the wrong things Not defining metrics precisely Not using data to evaluate individual or personnel performance Using metrics to motivate rather than understand Collecting data that isn’t used Having a lack of communication and training Misinterpreting data

Metrics collected and reported should follow the “SMART” structure: Specific: targeted to the area being measured, not a byproduct or result Measurable: data collected is accurate and complete Actionable: easy to understand the data and take action Relevant: measure what’s important about the data Timely: data is available when you need it

Industry, Business Unit, and Process Specific KPIs Quantitative and Qualitative KPIs Leading and Lagging KPIs Operational KPIs: Volume, Productivity, Service, Cost, and Qualitye

The KPIs you choose should be clear and relevant and give a full picture of your organization’s cybersecurity measures.

That said, metrics should focus on identifying assets and building lines of defense to best contribute to your organization’s efforts to protect the enterprise. KPIs should help optimize cybersecurity by allowing you to focus on stopping low-value activities, increasing efficiency, and reinvesting funds in emerging and innovative technologies to enhance your protection.

You may also need to choose benchmarks for your vendors and other third parties who have access to your networks and can expose your organization to risk.

To determine which KPIs to track, examine your organization’s overall security program maturity from the top down. Identify the main categories you need to measure and follow them with sub-metrics that contribute to the main categories’ overall scores.

Risk Identification: It is the process of determining risks that could potentially prevent the program, enterprise, or investment from achieving its objectives. It includes documenting and communicating the concern.

Risk Analysis: Risk Analysis involves examining how project outcomes and objectives might change due to the impact of the risk event. Once the risks are identified, they are analysed to identify the qualitative and quantitative impact of the risk on the project so that appropriate steps can be taken to mitigate them.

Risk Evaluation: Risk Evaluation is the process used to compare the estimated risk against the given risk criteria to determine the significance of the risk.

Key reasons why a business would need a detailed and tested DRP include:

To minimize interruptions to normal operations
To limit the extent of disruption and damage
To minimize the economic impact of the interruption
To establish alternative means of operation in advance
To train personnel with emergency procedures
To provide for quick restoration of service

Businesses are prone to a host of disasters that vary in degree from minor to catastrophic and BCPs are an important part of any business. BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.

An individual's income, social security number, marital status, amount of savings or investments, payment history, loan or deposit balance, credit or debit card purchases, account numbers, or consumer reports

The fact the individual has an account with a particular financial institution

Any list, description, or grouping of customers that is derived using a combination of nonpublic personal information (NPI) and publicly available information

Any information the financial institution has obtained over the customer relationship or collected through cookies

*It lowers the risk of penalties and reputational damage caused by breaches and data leaks. *GLBA compliance can also help with compliance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) *Private or sensitive information being secured against unauthorized access *Customers being notified of private information sharing between financial institutions and third parties, and having the ability to opt-out if desired *User and employee activity being tracked including any attempts to access sensitive information or protected records These benefits improve the reputation of your organization and increase customer trust, leading to greater customer loyalty, lower churne, higher lifetime value, and less regulatory fines.

There are three major components of the GLBA, designed to work together to govern the collection, disclosure, and protection of customers' nonpublic personal information (NPI), namely:

The Financial Privacy Rule: Restricts the sharing of nonpublic personal information (NPI) about an individual and requires financial institutions to provide each consumer with a privacy notice at the start of the customer relationship and annually thereafter.

The Safeguards Rule: Requires financial institutions to develop an information security plan that describes how the company is prepared for and plans to continue to protect customers' and former customers' nonpublic personal information (NPI).

Pretexting Protection: Pretexting or social engineering occurs when someone tries to gain access to nonpublic personal information without the authority to do so. This may entail requesting private information by impersonating the account holder by phone, by mail, or by phishing or spear phishing. GLBA encourages organizations to implement safeguards against pretexting.

Non-compliance penalties include: $100,000 fine for each violation for financial institutions $10,000 fine for each violation for individuals Up to 5 years in prison for individuals

During the audit, a third party reviews the policies your organization has developed to ensure compliance with GLBA requirements, which include:

A written plan for safeguarding consumer information,

Clear incident response plan,

Employee education regarding GLBA compliance,

Demonstrated support from leadership.

The auditors will need to speak with and interview key members of your organization in order to collect the information needed about how compliance measures are actually implemented. When asked about something, be direct and honest in your response. If you do not have the information, find the right person in your financial institution to address the question and pass it off to them.

Auditors will review all aspects of your organization’s plan in order to understand how your plan works and whether it is robust enough. Remember that under GLBA, your plan must be specific and appropriate to your firm’s size, customer base, activities, and complexities.

Nonpublic personal information (NPI) is all personally identifiable information (PII) and financial information that is: Provided by the customer to the financial institution Resulting from any transactions with the customer or any service provided to the customer Otherwise obtained by the financial institution Information that is generally public but has been made private (e.g. having an unlisted phone number), must be treated as nonpublic.

The GLBA Financial Privacy Rule restricts the sharing of nonpublic personal information (NPI) and requires customers to be given a privacy notice at the start of the customer relationship and annually thereafter.

The notice outlines what information is collected, where the information is shared, how the information is used, and how it is protected, as well as highlights the customer's right to opt-out of information sharing with nonaffiliated third parties pursuant to the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If the financial institution's privacy policy changes, customers be notified for acceptance of changes. Whenever the privacy notice is reestablished, the consumer has the right to opt-out again.

When customers agree to have their information shared with unaffiliated parties, the unaffiliated parties must handle the information in accordance with the original privacy notice agreement.

GLBA Pretexting Protection encourages organizations to implement safeguards against social engineering.

For example, a financial institution may employ social engineering awareness training as part of its overall information security program to reduce the risk that employees will damage consumer privacy as the result of a social engineering attack.

The Safeguards Rule requires financial institutions to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive information security plan that outlines administrative, technical and physical safeguards that are appropriate for the size and complexity of the organization and its financial activities.

The primary concern of GLBA is to ensure the confidentiality of customers' personally identifiable information (PII) and financial information by following certain privacy and security standards:

Privacy standards: Customers must be notified of information sharing practices and provided with a way to opt-out of unnecessary sharing, see U.S.C Title 15 (a) of Sec. 6801

Security standards: Have an information security policy designed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer records and information; protect customer records from anticipated cyber attacks, cyber threats , and other attack vectors; and protect against unauthorized access to or use of customer records or information that could result in harm or inconvenience to the customer, e.g. data breaches and data leaks, see U.S.C Title 15 (b) of Sec. 6801

Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of current and former customers' nonpublic personal information (NPI)

Protect against common cyber attacks, cyber threats , and attack vectors

Protect against data breaches, data leaks , and unauthorized access to or use of nonpublic personal information (NPI)

Apply to any record containing nonpublic personal information (NPI) whether paper, electronic or other form

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), also known as the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, is a federal law that requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to protect their customer’s private information.

The GLBA requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate regulations to safeguard nonpublic personal information (NPI). GLBA also requires the FTC and SEC to implement standards, while other agencies have the option of issuing guidance.

Customers Whether or not you share customer NPI, you must give all your customers a privacy notice. You must provide an "initial notice" by the time the customer relationship is established. If this would substantially delay the customer's transaction, you may provide the notice within a reasonable time after the customer relationship is established, but only if the customer agrees. If you share NPI with nonaffiliated third parties outside of the exceptions described within, you also must give your customers:

an "opt-out" notice explaining the individual's right to direct you not to share her NPI with a nonaffiliated third party;

a reasonable way to opt out; and

a reasonable amount of time to opt out before you disclose her NPI.

You must also give your customers an "annual notice" - a copy of your full privacy notice - for as long as the customer relationship lasts.

Consumers Who Are Not Customers

Before you share NPI with nonaffiliated third parties outside of the exceptions described within, you must give your non-customer consumers a privacy notice, including an opt-out notice. If you don't share information with non-affiliated third parties, or if you only share within the exceptions, you do not have to give a privacy notice to your consumers.

If you are required to provide a privacy notice to your consumers, you may choose to give them a "short-form notice" instead of a full privacy notice. The short-form notice must:

explain that your full privacy notice is available on request;

describe a reasonable way consumers may get the full privacy notice;

and include an opt-out notice.

The GLBA applies to financial institutions, any business offering financial products and services to individuals like loans, financial advice, investment advice, or insurance. As well as limited obligations on certain third-parties who receive nonpublic personal information (NPI) from GLBA regulated financial institutions.

As GLBA is focused on customer data, financial institutions that only provide services to other businesses are not covered by GLBA. Nor is an individual who uses an ATM or cashes a check because there is no ongoing customer relationship.

Examples of financial institutions include:

Non-bank mortgage lenders

Real estate appraisers

Loan brokers

Some financial or investment advisers

Debt collectors

Tax return preparers

Banks

Real estate settlement service providers

Not necessarily. There are many good insurance brokers that are experienced with cybersecurity, Little says. If you work with an insurance provider who understands cybersecurity needs, they can likely help you choose a good policy with appropriate coverage limits.

No, tech E&O insurance is only relevant if you design or manufacture technology-related products or provide technology services. It will be relevant for companies like those writing software code, providing IT services to other companies, or designing apps.

Some insurers will supply services that are useful during (or immediately after) a cyber security incident, such as IT forensic services, legal assistance, or public relations support. They may put your organization in touch with a Cyber Incident Response (CIR) organization or their own in-house cyber incident response team.

Most cover responds to the immediate effects on the organization by working to quickly restore network systems and data while seeking to minimize losses from business interruption. For data breaches, there may be legal action from customers or other affected parties. The defense and settlement of such claims would normally be covered. Certain cyber insurance policies will go further and cover other cyber-related incidents such as computer-enabled fraud.

A robust cybersecurity insurance market could help reduce the number of successful cyber attacks by (1) promoting the adoption of preventative measures in return for more coverage; and (2) encouraging the implementation of best practices by basing premiums on an insured’s level of self-protection. Many companies forego available policies, however, citing as rationales the perceived high cost of those policies, confusion about what they cover, and uncertainty that their organizations will suffer a cyber attack. In recent years, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has engaged key stakeholders to address this emerging cyber risk area.

Cybersecurity insurance can be purchased through most reputable business insurance providers and stands as its own policy. It is not considered part of more traditional business insurances like general liability or business owner’s policies, though some insurers might provide related cybersecurity endorsements that will let small businesses add it as part of a package. Technology E&O can often be bundled with cybersecurity policies so that a small tech business is covered when it needs it.

An insurance agent should be able to answer your questions about potential risks to your business, what coverage is available, how that coverage helps you in certain situations, and how much you’re likely to pay in premiums. If you are unsure after speaking with an agent, consider reaching out to another insurance company to compare information.

Most small businesses carry around $1 million in cybersecurity coverage limits, which generally protects them against most cyber incidents. Businesses have different risks and needs, though, so an insurance agent can help you determine what level of coverage is right for your business.

The cost of a cyber insurance policy will depend on a number of different factors including the size of the business and the annual revenue. Other factors can include the industry the business operates in, the type of data that the business typically deals with, as well as the overall security of the network.

An organization that is deemed to have poor cybersecurity or has previous history of falling victim to hackers or a data breach would likely get charged more for a cyber insurance policy than one that has a good reputation for keeping itself secure.

Sectors such as health and finance are likely to find that cyber insurance policies cost more due to the sensitive nature of the fields they operate in.

Cyber liability insurance can be an affordable option for a small business. Several factors affect policy costs, including: · Amount of sensitive data handled · Your industry · Coverage limits · Number of employees

A third-party claim is most likely to occur when you’re hurt because of someone else’s negligence, and they have insurance to cover that type of third party liability coverage. To make a third-party claim, you determine who the negligent party’s insurance provider is. You notify the insurance provider of the claim. If their insurance policy covers that type of loss, they may pay you up to the limits of the policy for your damages.

Cybersecurity and insurance experts recommend that all businesses that store any form of digital data consider having coverage, even if they have low limits. Consider talking with a cybersecurity insurance agent to learn more about coverage so you can evaluate which risks you are willing to tolerate when it comes to cybersecurity.

First-party cyber insurance can cover a variety of insurable events, including: · Someone maliciously destroys your data. · A hacker launches a denial of service (DoS) attack against you. · Someone plants a virus, malware, or spyware on your computer hard drive. · An employee accidentally destroys a database. · A power surge wipes out your business server. · Your computer hardware is damaged in a storm. · Someone holds your computer data for ransom.

Many insurers will offer cyber security consultancy services and risk management support once you have taken out their policy. This may include providing resiliency planning in addition to financial protection. Making use of these services and the expertise that comes with them, especially if you don't have access to these skills in-house, may help reduce the chance and impact of a cyber incident or breach. However, you need to consider how these meet your cyber security needs and support your overall approach to cyber risk management.

Cyber insurance isn't a silver bullet for solving your cybersecurity problems – far from it. In fact, in order to get a good deal for coverage, your business will likely need to prove that it's responsible with cybersecurity in the first place. Insurers won't want to take on a client that looks almost certain to be the victim of a data breach. Insurers will want to know what cybersecurity your company has in place when applying for a policy and you'll be expected to maintain accurate details about your cybersecurity as time moves forward – as, in many cases, policies are reassessed every 12 months, so even after acquiring cyber insurance, organizations still need to ensure they maintain proper cybersecurity procedures or risk losing the insurance down the line.

· Breach costs: Covers costs associated with responding to a breach, such as forensic costs to confirm and identify the breach, costs to notify affected individuals, credit protection services, including costs to staff a call center for redemption of monitoring offers, and crisis management and public relations costs.

· Cyber Extortion: Covers response costs and financial payments associated with network-based ransom demands. With the proliferation of ransomware and anonymous currencies such as Bitcoin, network extortion demands are on the rise. In the digital world, intangible assets are ‘kidnapped’ and used to extort individuals through threats to shut down a system or divulge sensitive or proprietary information if a ransom is not paid.

· Cyber Crime: Covers financial losses associated with social engineering, reverse social engineering, and funds transfer fraud. Social engineering is when someone uses electronic means to impersonate your client, vendor, or employee to deceive your company into transferring or delivering financial assets. Reverse social engineering is when a cybercriminal uses your computer system to deceive your client or vendor into transferring money intended for you to another person or entity.

· Business Interruption: Covers lost business income when a company has its network-dependent revenue interrupted. Technology growth has created new business income perils, such as viruses, tech failures, programming errors, and computer hacking, so cyber coverage is needed to pay for interruptions from these events as well.

· Data recovery: Covers costs to replace, restore, or repair damaged or destroyed data and software. In a digital world, property is no longer exclusively tangible, so cyber coverage is needed to pay for intangible data recovery costs. Privacy Protection: Covers costs to defend and resolve claims with regard to the handling of personally identifiable or confidential corporate information. Covers negligence, violation of privacy or consumer protection law, breach of contract, and regulatory investigations. Covers issues resulting from the failure of network security, including the negligent transmission of a virus.

Property damage. Cybersecurity insurance usually only covers monetary damages, so generally, it doesn’t pay for any property damage stemming from a data breach or cyberattack, such as hardware that was fried during the cyber incident. These sorts of claims are typically considered part of commercial property insurance.

Intellectual property. During a cyber incident, intellectual property losses and any lost income associated with it are commonly excluded from cybersecurity insurance coverage. To get this coverage, a business will need intellectual property insurance.

Crimes or self-inflicted cyber incidents. Virtually no cybersecurity policy is going to cover a business that is charged with committing a crime related to or causing a cyber incident.

The cost of taking certain protective measures. Protective measures to avoid a future cyberattack are also not traditionally covered by a cybersecurity policy. This includes training employees on cybersecurity and setting up a virtual private network. However, insurers are starting to recognize the benefit of these steps and so coverage will vary with individual providers.

This insurance helps you respond to a breach if PII or PHI gets lost or stolen, whether it’s from a hacker breaking into your network, or an employee accidentally leaving their laptop at a restaurant.

First-party cyber liability insurance provides financial assistance to mitigate the impact of data breaches and cyberattacks at your small business. It covers the costs of:

· Communicating with affected customers

· Providing credit monitoring

· Executing PR and reputation management campaigns

· Other recovery activities This policy is crucial for businesses that store sensitive client or customer information online, such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers.

· Criminal Proceedings: We won’t cover claims brought in the form of a criminal proceeding, such as a criminal investigation, grand jury proceeding, or criminal action.

· Funds Transfer: Other than transfers associated with cyber crime coverage, we won’t cover claims for loss, theft, or transfer of funds, monies, or securities.

· Infrastructure Interruption: We won’t cover claims from failure or interruption of water, gas, or electric utility providers.

· Intentional Acts: We won’t cover any fraud, dishonesty, criminal conduct, or knowingly wrongful act of the business or its employees.

· Prior Acts or Knowledge: We won’t cover any claims you had knowledge of prior to the policy period.

· Subsidiary Outside Control of Named Insured: We won’t cover any incident experienced by a subsidiary you do not have majority ownership or management control of.

· Business Interruption from Systems Under the Control of Third Parties: We won’t cover business interruption costs from a system failure of a computer system owned by any person or entity that is not insured (except for those interruptions covered by dependent system failure).

· First-party coverage is like commercial property insurance. It covers a company’s own damages from covered cyber losses.

· Third-party coverage is like general liability insurance. It covers legal expenses that result from a firm being blamed for causing another firm’s cyber losses.

No. Encryption is what we call the process of turning plaintext into ciphertext. Encryption is an important part of cryptography but doesn't encompass the entire science. Its opposite is decryption.

Encrypted data can be hacked or decrypted with enough time and computing resources, revealing the original content. Hackers prefer to steal encryption keys or intercept data before encryption or after decryption. The most common way to hack encrypted data is to add an encryption layer using an attacker’s key.

As a cryptographic network protocol, SSH is most often used for secure remote logins to remote computer systems. Successful theft of a private key gives the hacker access to any server or system where that private key is used for authentication. This risk is not just limited to WordPress, but also Linux and Unix systems and embedded devices that also rely heavily on SSH for secure logins and connections.

Public Key Cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, uses two keys to encrypt data. One is used for encryption, while the other key can decrypt the message. Unlike symmetric cryptography, if one key is used to encrypt, that same key cannot decrypt the message, rather the other key shall be used. One key is kept private, and is called the “private key”, while the other is shared publicly and can be used by anyone, hence it is known as the “public key”. The mathematical relation of the keys is such that the private key cannot be derived from the public key, but the public key can be derived from the private. The private key should not be distributed and should remain with the owner only. The public key can be given to any other entity. Example: ECC, Diffie-Hellman, DSS.

Hash functions are irreversible, one-way functions which protect the data, at the cost of not being able to recover the original message. Hashing is a way to transform a given string into a fixed-length string. A good hashing algorithm will produce unique outputs for each input given. The only way to crack a hash is by trying every input possible until you get the exact same hash. A hash can be used for hashing data (such as passwords) and in certificates. Examples: MD5, SHA 1, SHA 2 family, SHA 3, Whirlpool, Blake 2, Blake 3.

Secret Key Cryptography, or symmetric cryptography, uses a single key to encrypt data. Both encryption and decryption in symmetric cryptography use the same key, making this the easiest form of cryptography. The cryptographic algorithm utilizes the key in a cipher to encrypt the data, and when the data must be accessed again, a person entrusted with the secret key can decrypt the data. Secret Key Cryptography can be used on both in-transit and at-rest data, but is commonly only used on at-rest data, as sending the secret to the recipient of the message can lead to compromise. Examples: AES, DES, Caesar Cipher.

Encryption is an excellent choice for select purposes, but it isn’t enough on its own. It can keep your email from being intercepted and read, but it can’t stop your account from being stolen by phishing. An encrypted connection can keep hackers out, but it doesn’t prevent you from manually downloading malware.

A cryptographic attack is a method for circumventing the security of a cryptographic system by finding a weakness in a code, cipher, cryptographic protocol, or key management scheme. Also known as Cryptanalysis, this technique is used to breach cryptographic security systems and gain access to sensitive data, even if the cryptographic key is unknown. In addition to the mathematical analysis of cryptographic algorithms, cryptanalysis includes the study of side-channel attacks that do not target weaknesses in the cryptographic algorithms themselves but instead exploit weaknesses in their implementation.

Secret Key Cryptography or symmetric cryptography Public Key Cryptography or asymmetric cryptography Hash Functions

Cryptographic key management involves the handling of cryptographic keys and other related security parameters during the entire lifecycle of the keys, including their generation, storage, distribution/establishment, use, and destruction. CKM also includes the policies for selecting appropriate cryptographic algorithms and key sizes, the key-establishment schemes and protocols to utilize and support the generation or distribution of keys, the protection and maintenance of keys and related data, and the integration of key management with cryptographic technology to provide the required type and level of protection required by an organization.

Keep the contents of data confidential Authenticate the identity of a message's sender and receiver Ensure the integrity of the data, showing that it hasn't been altered Demonstrate that the supposed sender really sent this message, a principle known as non-repudiation

Cryptography is an information security tactic used to protect enterprise information and communication from cyber threats through the use of codes. This practice refers to secure information and communication techniques derived from mathematical concepts and a set of rule-based calculations, called algorithms, to transform messages in ways that are hard to decipher. These algorithms are then used for cryptographic key generation, digital signing, verification to protect data privacy, web browsing on the internet, and confidential communication like credit card transactions and emails. Cryptography achieves several information security-related objectives including confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.

The proper management of cryptographic keys is essential to the effective use of cryptography for security. A cryptographic key is analogous to the combination of a safe. If an adversary knows the combination, the strongest safe provides no security against penetration. Similarly, poor key management may easily compromise strong algorithms.

The answer is that each scheme is optimized for some specific cryptographic application(s). Hash functions, for example, are well-suited for ensuring data integrity because any change made to the contents of a message will result in the receiver calculating a different hash value than the one placed in the transmission by the sender. Since it is highly unlikely that two different messages will yield the same hash value, data integrity is ensured to a high degree of confidence.

Secret key cryptography, on the other hand, is ideally suited to encrypting messages, thus providing privacy and confidentiality. The sender can generate a session key on a per-message basis to encrypt the message; the receiver, of course, needs the same session key in order to decrypt the message.

Key exchange, of course, is a key application of public-key cryptography (no pun intended). Asymmetric schemes can also be used for non-repudiation and user authentication; if the receiver can obtain the session key encrypted with the sender's private key, then only this sender could have sent the message. Public key cryptography could, theoretically, also be used to encrypt messages although this is rarely done because secret key cryptography values can generally be computed about 1000 times faster than public-key cryptography values.

After 28 October 2022, all previously validated PA-DSS applications will expire and be moved to the ‘Acceptable Only for Pre-existing Deployments’ list on the PCI SSC website. Payment application vendors wishing to maintain active payment application listings after 28 October 2022 should have their payment applications validated to the Secure Software Standard for inclusion on the PCI SSC’s List of Validated Payment Software.

Systems that store, process, or transmit only truncated PANs (where a segment of PAN data has been permanently removed) may be considered out of scope for PCI DSS if those systems are adequately segmented from the cardholder data environment, and do not otherwise store, process, or transmit cardholder data or sensitive authentication data.

However, the system performing the truncation of the PANs, as well as any connected systems and networks, would be in scope for PCI DSS.

PCI DSS is intended for all entities involved in payment processing, including merchants, regardless of their size or transaction volume. When compared with larger merchants, small merchants often have simpler environments, with limited amounts of cardholder data and fewer systems that need protecting, which can help reduce their PCI DSS compliance effort.

To support this transition, PCI DSS v3.2.1 will remain active for 18 months once all PCI DSS v4.0 materials—that is, the standard, supporting documents (including SAQs, ROCs, and AOCs), training, and program updates—are released.

This transition period allows organizations time to become familiar with the changes in v4.0, update their reporting templates and forms, and plan for and implement changes to meet updated requirements. Upon completion of the transition period, PCI DSS v3.2.1 will be retired and v4.0 will become the only active version of the standard.

Any organization can become a Participating Organization. In addition to providing feedback on draft PCI Security Standards, the benefits of becoming a Participating Organization include the ability to propose, vote for and participate in Special Interest Groups, attend annual PCI SSC Community meetings with two complimentary passes, and demonstrate to your customers and business partners your commitment to payment security. Read more about the full benefits and how to become a PO here. (https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/get_involved/participating_organizations)

Acceptable truncation formats vary according to PAN length and Payment Brand requirements.

· A maximum of the first 6 and last 4 digits of the PAN is the starting baseline for entities to retain after truncation, considering the business needs and purposes for which the PAN is used.

· When more digits of the PAN are necessary for business functions, entities should consult the table below for the acceptable formats for each Payment Brand. (table on link)

When using truncation formats for purposes other than storage, entities should confirm that their format is compatible with each of the applicable Payment Brands. To determine whether a PAN has a 6- or 8-digit BIN, contact the acquirer or the Payment Brands.

· Segment your data – It is imperative to keep your CHD segmented from your standard company data. This entails creating a cardholder environment (CHE) that only deals with CHD. This not only protects your data but also reduces the scope of your PCI audit. · Encrypt your data – All CHD should be encrypted, or tokenized, from the moment you interact with your customer’s card number. This also includes ensuring this data is encrypted while at rest.

· Control access to your data – Role-based access controls (RBAC) will make your PCI compliance much easier. RBAC will ensure your HR department has no access to CHD and your system administrators have the access they need.

· Monitor your data – Set up alerts for security incidents involving CHD or anything that could compromise your CHE. Attackers usually do not compromise your data by coming through your front door, but rather do it in a methodical, hidden manner as to not alert you. Monitor even the assets that you feel are trivial but support your CHE.

While PCI DSS v4.0 is under development, we encourage all entities to remain diligent and maintain their PCI DSS v3.2.1 security controls. Not only will this help ensure continued security, but this will facilitate the transition to PCI DSS v4.0.

Organizations that have had access to early drafts are strongly urged to wait until the final version of PCI DSS v4.0 is released before trying to implement any new or updated requirements. The RFC versions are draft only, and the standard will be different in the final released version.

Masking is not synonymous with truncation and these terms cannot be used interchangeably. Masking refers to the concealment of certain digits during display or printing, even when the entire PAN is stored on a system. This is different from truncation, in which the truncated digits are removed and cannot be retrieved within the system. Masked PAN could be “unmasked”, but there is no "un-truncation" without recreating the PAN from another source.

Vendors that want to have their software assessed to the PCI Secure Software Standard initiate the process by engaging a qualified Secure Software assessor from the PCI SSC list of Software Security Framework Assessors.

PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) is a set of standards developed and maintained by the PCI SSC and were designed for the security of the cardholder data environments that process, store, or transmit account data. This also includes systems that could affect the security of the cardholder data environment. These standards are referred to as requirements and apply to all entities involved in payment card processing including merchants, processors, acquirers, issuers, and service providers as well as all other entities that store, process, or transmit cardholder data and/or sensitive authentication data. PCI DSS compliance validation is required every 12 months.

PCI SSC is now targeting a Q1 2022 publication date for PCI DSS v4.0. This timeline supports the inclusion of an additional request for comments (RFC) for the community to provide feedback on the PCI DSS v4.0 draft validation documents.

Training for QSAs and ISAs to be able to support PCI DSS v4.0 is targeted for June 2022.

· Firewalls/Routers – required to satisfy requirement 1

· Antivirus – required to satisfy requirement 5

· Identity management – required to satisfy requirements 7 and 8

· Multifactor authentication – required to satisfy requirement 8.3

· Video recording – required to satisfy requirement 9.1

· Logging – required to satisfy requirement 10

· Intrusion Detection Systems/Intrusion Prevention Systems – required to satisfy requirement 11.4

· Change Detection (File Integrity Monitoring) – required to satisfy requirement 11.5

Compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard and other applicable PCI Standards may be necessary for entities that store, process or transmit cardholder data. PCI Standards are for entities accepting or processing payment transactions, and for software developers and manufacturers of applications and devices used in those transactions.

Secure Software Assessors are qualified by PCI SSC to validate payment software adherence to the Secure Software Standard.

Qualified Secure Software Assessors will have the Assessment Type of “Secure Software” noted in their listing in the PCI SSC list of Software Security Framework Assessors.

Compliance and enforcement of PCI Standards is the role of the payment brands and acquiring banks, not the PCI SSC. Each of PCI SSC’s participating payment brand members currently has their own PCI compliance programs for the protection of their affiliated payment card account data. Entities should contact the payment brands directly for information about their compliance programs.

• Security of cardholder data affects everyone • A breach or theft of cardholder data can trigger large financial loss • Compromised cardholder data can impact the entire payment ecosystem • Following PCI Standards will improve cardholder data security and help reduce fraud

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the goal of cyberwarfare is to "weaken, disrupt or destroy" another nation. To achieve their goals, cyberwarfare programs target a wide spectrum of objectives that might harm national interests. These threats range from propaganda to espionage and serious disruption with extensive infrastructure disruption and loss of life to the citizens of the nation under attack.

The threat of cyberwarfare attacks grows as a nation's critical systems are increasingly connected to the internet. Even if these systems can be properly secured, they can still be hacked by perpetrators recruited by nation-states to find weaknesses and exploit them. Major types of cyberwarfare attacks include the following.

Destabilization

In recent years, cybercriminals have been attacking governments through critical infrastructure, including such entities as transportation systems, banking systems, power grids, water supplies, dams, and hospitals. The adoption of the internet of things makes the manufacturing industry increasingly susceptible to outside threats.

From a national security perspective, destabilizing critical digital infrastructure inflicts damage on vital modern services or processes. For example, an attack on the energy grid could have massive consequences for the industrial, commercial, and private sectors.

Sabotage

Cyber attacks that sabotage government computer systems can be used to support conventional warfare efforts. Such attacks can block official government communications, contaminate digital systems, enable the theft of vital intelligence and threaten national security.

State-sponsored or military-sponsored attacks, for example, may target military databases to get information on troop locations, weapons, and equipment being used.

Data theft

Cybercriminals hack computer systems to steal data that can be used for intelligence, held for ransom, sold, used to incite scandals and chaos, or even destroyed.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) maintains a timeline record of cyber attacks on government agencies and defense and high-tech companies, as well as economic crimes with losses of more than $1 million. In CSIS timelines dating back to 2006, many of the recorded cyber incidents involve hacking and data theft from nation-states.

Examples of acts that might qualify as cyberwarfare include the following: viruses, phishing, computer worms, and malware that can take down critical infrastructure; distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that prevent legitimate users from accessing targeted computer networks or devices; hacking and theft of critical data from institutions, governments, and businesses; spyware or cyber espionage that results in the theft of information that compromises national security and stability; ransomware that holds control systems or data hostage; and propaganda or disinformation campaigns used to cause serious disruption or chaos.

The intention of cyberterrorist groups is to cause mass chaos, disrupt critical infrastructure, support political activism or hacktivism, and inflict physical damage or even loss of life. Cyberterrorism actors use a variety of attack methods. These include but are not limited to the following:

Advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks use sophisticated and concentrated penetration methods to gain network access and stay there undetected for a period of time with the intention of stealing data. Typical targets for APT attacks are organizations with high-value information, such as national defense, manufacturing, and the financial industry.

Computer viruses, worms, and malware target information technology (IT) control systems and can affect utilities, transportation systems, power grids, critical infrastructure, and military systems, creating instability.

DoS attacks are intended to prevent legitimate users from accessing targeted computer systems, devices, or other computer network resources and can be aimed at critical infrastructure and governments.

Hacking, or gaining unauthorized access, seeks to steal critical data from institutions, governments, and businesses.

Ransomware, a type of malware, holds data or information systems hostage until the victim pays the ransom.

Phishing attacks attempt to collect information through a target's email, using that information to access systems or steal the victim's identity.

The primary motivation for cyberterrorism attacks is to disrupt or harm the victims, even if the attacks do not result in physical harm or cause extreme financial harm.

The use of cyber attacks against a nation-state, causing it significant harm, up to and including physical warfare, disruption of vital computer systems and loss of life.

No. One of the differences is that, in pen testing, a limited number of specialists are typically looking for specific vulnerabilities, whereas bug bounty programs welcome any number of specialists to find uncertain vulnerabilities. Additionally, pen testers are typically paid hourly or annual wages, while bug bounty participants operate on a pay-for-results model that offers greater compensation for higher-severity bugs discovered.

Penetration testing can be an excellent career choice for individuals with strong computer, IT, and problem-solving skills. The BLS projects much faster-than-average growth for information security analysts, including penetration testers, from 2020-2030.

Ethical Hacker, Security Analyst, Security Auditor, Security Consultant, Senior Security Analyst, Web Application Tester.

Penetration testing requirements usually include relevant experience and education. Employers typically seek candidates with bachelor's degrees in cybersecurity or computer science.

Plan and Design Penetration Tests: Penetration testers must develop experiments and simulations that evaluate the effectiveness of specific, existing security measures.

Carry Out Tests and Other Simulations: After planning and designing assessments, penetration testing teams carry out investigations and document their outcomes.

Creating Reports and Recommendations: Penetration testing teams convey findings into reports to present to their supervisors and other key organizational decision-makers. Depending on the intended audience, these reports may use either lay or technical language.

Advise Management on Security Improvements: Senior members of penetration testing teams often interface directly with management-level employees, communicating the level of risk posed by specific vulnerabilities and offering advice on how to address them.

Work With Other Employees to Improve Organizational Cybersecurity: Penetration testing professionals cooperate with other cybersecurity and IT personnel to educate employees on steps to boost the organization's cybersecurity levels.

SANS/GIAC Certification (Various), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), CompTIA Security+, Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

SANS/GIAC Certification (Various) Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) CompTIA Security+ Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

Coding skill required to infiltrate any system

Comprehensive knowledge of computer security, including forensics, systems analysis, and more

Insight into how hackers exploit the human element to gain unauthorized access to secure systems

Clear understanding of how computer security breaches can disrupt business, including the financial and managerial implications Exceptional problem-solving skills

Communications skills to document and share your findings

Their job involves infiltrating computer systems to detect and address vulnerabilities that non-ethical hackers could exploit to cause untold havoc. Penetration testing is typically tailored to the individual organization and the industry it operates in; some industries, such as health care and banking, rely on pen testing to maintain compliance with industry security standards.

Cyberseek (US) lists the average salary for Penetration and Vulnerability Testers at $102,000. (Shows the average advertised salary listed in online job openings from October 2020 through September 2021.

Under the new DFS scheme, company executives must certify compliance with the NY DFS regulations on an annual basis. Should those certifications prove incorrect, they could provide the basis for the DFS or consumers to make claims against banks, insurers and other financial services firms for breach of such certification.

The proposal notes that its requirements will be enforced “under any applicable laws,” which include laws: e.g., New York Banking Law, New York Insurance Law That contain individual civil and criminal penalties for intentionally making false statements to DFS

Business within the banking, insurance and other financial services industry within New York City or if you provide a service or on contract as a vendor to these industry firms, you will need to follow and be subject to these rules as well.

You will also need to be compliant to the regulation and rules in having the right systems in place for security and data storage encryption of information. Requires organizations who process or hold personally identifiable information to implement adequate security measures to protect personal data loss.

Map internal and external products / devices that store data Log and require company equipment used to be covered under your data security policy and ensure data encryption is utilized.

Items such as, but not limited to: servers, hard drives, SSDs, USB Flash drives, computers and mobile devices.

Inventory Analysis Evaluate the amount of personal data in totality. Purge Eliminate archives of unnecessary personal identifiable information (PII).

Controllers of Information Review privacy risk and impact assessments. Contracts Future-proof your business by enacting policies now that become mandatory after the effective start date of February 2018

Data Breaches Regulation requires notice within 72 hours.

A good incident response program starts with building a great team. Without the right people, security policies, processes, and tools mean very little. An IR team is made up of a cross-functional group of people from diverse parts of the business, including IT and security, operations, legal and public relations. One or more of these roles could -- and should -- be at the executive management level. The reason for this is to ensure the highest level of decision-making and that the business's best interests are kept in mind.

The term is used to describe three software capabilities – threat and vulnerability management, security incident response, and security operations automation. SOAR allows companies to collect threat-related data from a range of sources and automate the responses to the threat. The term was originally coined by Gartner, who also defined the three capabilities. Threat and vulnerability management (Orchestration) covers technologies that help amend cyber threats, while security operations automation (Automation) relates to the technologies that enable automation and orchestration within operations.

SOAR and SIEM (Safety Information and Event Management) tools aim to address the same problem: the high volume of security-related information and events within organizations.

While SOAR platforms incorporate data collection, case management, standardization, workflow, and analysis, SIEMs analyze log data from different IT systems to search for security issues and alert engineers.

The two solutions can work in conjunction, with the SIEM detecting the potential security incidents and triggering the alerts and the SOAR solution responding to these alerts, triaging the data, and taking remediation steps where necessary. With SIEM platforms integrating SOAR-like functionality to increase response, SOAR can add significant value to an existing SIEM solution.

According to NIST, there are six parts to an incident response plan:

1. Preparation. Train users and IT staff to handle potential incidents, should they arise.

2. Identification. Determine whether an event actually is a security incident.

3. Containment. Limit damage from the incident and isolate the affected systems to prevent further damage.

4. Eradication. Find the incident's cause and remove affected systems from the production environment.

5. Recovery. Allow affected systems back into the production environment and ensure no threat remains.

6. Lessons learned. Document the incident and analyze how it happened so staff can learn from it and improve future response efforts.

The main obstacle to the adoption of SOAR security continues to be the lack, or low maturity, of processes and procedures within SOC teams. This is why it is vital to gain expert advice when planning to implement SOAR.

Additional pitfalls associated with the implementation of SOAR are:

Unrealistic expectations: SOAR is not a silver bullet for addressing all security challenges. Organizations are at risk when implementing SOAR if they fail to set clearly defined use cases and realistic goals.

Over-reliance on automation: It is vital to avoid simply relying on the playbooks and processes initially set up in SOAR. Companies need to ensure that they apply up-to-date security expertise to ensure that their SOAR is continually ready to respond effectively to new types of threats.

Unclear metrics: Organisations are at risk of failing to gain the results they need from SOAR due to a failure to clearly define their parameters for success. It is important to understand the breadth of what they are trying to automate.

Consolidate process management, technology, and expertise
Centralize asset monitoring
Enrich alerts with contextual intelligence
Automate response and perform inline blocking

According to NIST, there are six parts to an incident response plan:

1. Preparation. Train users and IT staff to handle potential incidents, should they arise.

2. Identification. Determine whether an event actually is a security incident.

3. Containment. Limit damage from the incident and isolate the affected systems to prevent further damage.

4. Eradication. Find the incident's cause and remove affected systems from the production environment.

5. Recovery. Allow affected systems back into the production environment and ensure no threat remains.

6. Lessons learned. Document the incident and analyze how it happened so staff can learn from it and improve future response efforts.

The overall goal of an incident response team should be to detect and respond to security incidents in order to minimize their impact on the business. Such teams are often referred to as a computer security incident response team (CSIRT) or a computer emergency response (or readiness) team (CERT). A larger group of IR professionals are often pulled together into a security operations center (SOC), whose scope is broader than incident response. The name of your IR team is largely irrelevant because its goals are the same.

The following are examples of IR team goals that might be developed by the team itself or an overarching security committee:

We develop metrics for analyzing our IR program initiatives that involve monitoring and alerting, communication among team members, and technology evaluations.
We update our IR plan document periodically and consistently.
We create and execute three separate tabletop exercises for IR simulations.
We engage our security committee and executive management to report on incidents, actions taken, and additional improvements needed for incident response.

An incident response plan is an organized method of addressing and managing security events. IRPs are sometimes called incident management plans or emergency management plans. Either term is acceptable, as long as the plan's composition is consistent with good incident response practices. Security incident response plans are required by various regulatory and certification bodies, such as PCI DSS.

Incident response is the process of detecting security events that affect network resources and information assets and then taking the appropriate steps to evaluate and clean up what has happened. Cybersecurity incident response is critical to today's businesses because simply put, there is so much to lose. From the simplest of malware infections to unencrypted laptops that are lost or stolen to compromised login credentials and database exposures, both the short- and long-term ramifications of these incidents can have a lasting impact on the business.

SOAR stands for Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response. SOAR platforms are a collection of security software solutions and tools for browsing and collecting data from a variety of sources. SOAR solutions then use a combination of human and machine learning to analyze this diverse data in order to comprehend and prioritize incident response actions.

Working in security operations can be a constant struggle. Speed and efficiency are vital, but it can be challenging to ensure that all your systems are working in harmony. Analysts are frequently overwhelmed by the volume of alerts from disparate systems. Obtaining and correlating the necessary data to separate genuine threats from false positives can be an onerous task. Coordinating appropriate response measures to remediate those threats is yet another challenge.

The purpose of SOAR security is to alleviate all of these challenges by improving efficiency. It provides a standardized process for data aggregation to assist human and machine-led analysis and automates detection and response processes to help reduce alert fatigue, allowing analysts to focus on the tasks that require deeper human analysis and intervention.

Automate Repeated Response Workflow
Save Time for Higher Priority Triage Tasks
Easy Standardized Response to follow

Incident response requires a number of skills. At the heart of an IR team are the core group of technical staff and incident responders who defend an organization against cyber threats. These members are skilled at security and can execute tasks such as monitoring the network for vulnerabilities and breaches and taking the appropriate measures where necessary.

The IR team should include the following:

Technical team: IT and security team members.
Executive sponsor: A senior executive charged with overseeing information security.
Incident response coordinator: The person responsible for ongoing management of the team and incidents.
Media relations coordinator: Your PR representative in charge of interfacing with the news media and related outlets once a breach occurs.
Forensic analyst: A forensics expert internal to the company or an outside adviser.
Outside consultant: A third-party information security or incident response expert.
Legal counsel: Your corporate attorney or outside law firm that would represent your organization as needed for incidents and breaches.

Many security experts believe security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) tools can help head off threats to networks and boost incident response capabilities. A SOAR platform is a set of software programs that monitors security threat data collection and helps inform decision-making. Mixing orchestration, which connects disparate security internal and external security tools and threat intelligence feeds, with security automation, which uses AI and machine learning to automate low-level security tasks and responses, the aim of a SOAR platform is to boost the efficiency, speed, and effectiveness of incident analysis, prioritization, and response, as well as post-incident reporting.

Networks, software, and end-users can only reach a certain level of resilience. Oversights will occur, and mistakes will happen. What matters is what you have done, in advance, to minimize the impact of a security incident on your organization. You can't prevent hackers from existing, but you can be proactive in prevention and response. That's why having a functional team, the proper technologies, and a well-written incident response plan are essential for being able to respond to such events in a prompt and professional manner.

An incident response plan helps reduce the effects of potential security events, thus limiting operational, financial, and reputational damage. It also lays out incident definitions, escalation requirements, personnel responsibilities, key steps to follow, and people to contact in the event of an incident.

Web API security starts with proper authentication and authorization. After a user has been authenticated and has access to the web API, authorization is designed to limit the user’s access to data and other resources. Even if authentication and authorization are in place, enterprises need to ensure users are not misusing, abusing or hacking the API. API security tools are emerging to track API sessions and identify abnormal behavior. They can be used very effectively to deliver audit and forensic data, as well as flag when a hacker might be working on reverse engineering your API to breach the organization.

Testing APIs is a complex and difficult task. The difficulty lies in the fact that there are usually a great number of possible states the API may end up in depending on the traffic. Developers typically test for the use cases they built the API for and limit the amount of testing for situations that fall outside those use cases. That often leads to launching an API with security vulnerabilities still present. There are tools designed to identify design and coding flaws before you go to production—and they should be used—but your testing should extend beyond their use to limit your exposure to hackers. Planning for possible API security vulnerabilities is the best course of action.

The SOAP style of security is applied at the message level using digital signatures and encrypted parts within the XML message itself. Decoupled from the transport layer, it has the advantage of being portable between network protocols (e.g., switching from HTTP to JMS). But this type of message-level security has fallen out of favor and is mostly encountered only with legacy web services that have survived without evolving.

Hackers are users, too

Applying sophisticated access control rules can give you the illusion that the hacker is a valid user. The hacker may be an insider or may have signed up to the application using a fake email address or a social media account.

Valid account, valid credentials

Attackers have many ways to get access to valid credentials, from credential stuffing to buying them on the dark web. Because they know users reuse passwords, hackers can take over legitimate accounts, effectively bypassing the first layer of access control rules.

Stolen token

OAuth token can be leaked through phishing, public repos on GitHub and other ways. Since the vast majority of token confirmations are lightweight bearer tokens, this type of leaked token can be used from anywhere and by anyone until it expires.

Outside-the-app scenarios

Bypassing the client-side app, hackers poke around to find hidden vulnerabilities in your API. These vulnerabilities are hidden to the API provider as well.

These are persistent API security risks. While they may be reduced by tightening security procedures, the risk never really goes away. The key to mitigating these risks is to leverage AI to detect anomalies as described earlier.

REST APIs do not have any built-in security capabilities—security depends on the design of the API itself.

Security must be built in for data transmission, deployment, and interaction with clients.

REST APIs do not have built-in error handling and need to resend data when an error occurs.

A common architectural choice is to deploy REST APIs behind an API gateway. Clients connect to the gateway, which acts as a proxy, not directly to the REST API. This allows many security concerns to be addressed by the API gateway.

Hackers are users, too

Valid account, valid credentials

Stolen token

Outside-the-app scenarios

Bypassing the client-side app, hackers poke around to find hidden vulnerabilities in your API. These vulnerabilities are hidden to the API provider as well.

Because you only control your own APIs, API security centers on securing the APIs you expose either directly or indirectly. API security is less focused on the APIs you consume that are provided by other parties, though analyzing outgoing API traffic can also reveal valuable insights and should be applied whenever possible.

It’s also important to note that API security as a practice overlaps various teams and systems. API security encompasses network security concepts such as rate limiting and throttling, as well as concepts from data security, identity-based security and monitoring/analytics.

An insecure API gives individuals access to resources without properly authenticating and/or authorizing access.

-Without authentication, insecure APIs allow anyone, or the wrong people, to access applications, enterprise systems, data and other resources.

-Even if authentication exists, the lack of an effective authorization process means any authenticated users can easily access enterprise systems, data and other resources, even when they should not have permission to access.

API development has increased astronomically in the past few years, fueled by digital transformation and the central role APIs play in both mobile apps and IoT.

This growth is making API security a top concern. Given the critical role they play in digital transformation—and the access to sensitive data and systems they provide—APIs warrant a dedicated approach to security and compliance.

API security is a key component of modern web application security. APIs may have vulnerabilities like broken authentication and authorization, lack of rate limiting, and code injection. Organizations must regularly test APIs to identify vulnerabilities, and address these vulnerabilities using security best practices.

Most employers focus on qualifications related to cybersecurity certification. Earning certification shows that you demonstrate the skills needed to assist during a security breach and secure a network. Most employers expect instructors to have related work experience, learning cybersecurity best practices.

Their duties include developing curriculum, creating learning materials, and assessing students’ progress and skills.

As a Cyber Security Instructor your job responsibilities entail that you regularly learn about the latest hacking techniques and newest vulnerabilities in computer systems

A cyber security instructor works with adult students to teach them the techniques and technical knowledge that they need to protect a network against cyber attacks. As a cyber security instructor, you may work for a college or for a company that provides cyber security training to businesses. You communicate this information to both individuals and cybersecurity teams to help them develop the necessary strategies and skills to protect against threats to a company or organization’s computers

A cyber security instructor needs to be able to teach a class or provide guidance in a computer lab in a calm, precise, and engaging way. Lastly, you must develop strong communication and presentation skills to teach course materials and mentor students successfully.

To be successful in this job, you need in-depth knowledge of the content you teach, including cybersecurity best practices.

In addition to an intimate understanding of equipment and techniques, you should have a well-developed teaching style.

You also need to be organized and logical to create useful lesson plans and make sure that your courses meet the school or company’s training needs.

Lastly, you must develop strong communication and presentation skills to teach course materials and mentor students successfully.

$ 73456 / Annual

GlobalHell

Though this group is said to have disbanded in 1999, GlobalHell can be credited with being one of the first hacking groups who gained notoriety for website defacements and breaches. Stealing private and financial information, GlobalHell's founder has said the group caused $2.5 million in damages. GlobalHell infiltrated the White House, Ameritech, the United States army and the U.S. Postal Service.

TeaMp0isoN

Founded by a skilled 16-year-old hacker, TeaMp0isoN hacked into the English Defence League and NATO without breaking a sweat. Rumors swirled that the hacking group disbanded in 2012, but they came back in 2015 with a new image: a white-hat security research group.

Lizard Squad

Most widely known for their distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, Lizard Squad took down the Malaysian Airlines website and Facebook, though Facebook denies this. More recently, Lizard Squad puts their hacking efforts to disrupting social media services. You're your business conduct your client and customer service and reviews online? Prepare for war.

Iran’s Tarh

Andishan Tarh Andishan apparently wants to control the world’s web-based systems. The group is estimated to have 20 members mostly based in Tehran, Iran. A talented hacker group, Tarh Andishan apparently grew out of a Stuxnet worm virus Iran claimed the US and Israel created. The Iranian government doubled-down on its cyber warfare. The group uses self-propagating software, systems, backdoors, SQL injection, and other techniques. One of the attacks for which the group is best known is “Operation Cleaver.” This hacker group has apparently hacked airline gates and security systems.

The Level Seven Crew

This hacker group’s name is rumored to be inspired by the seventh level of hell from Dante’s Inferno, ‘the violent’ level. The group hacked 60 high profile computer systems (NASA, Sheraton Hotels, The First American national Bank) in 1999. They hacked into the US Embassy in China’s website. The group disbanded in 2000.

Hacking does not necessarily count as a cybercrime; as such, not all hackers are cybercriminals. Cybercriminals hack and infiltrate computer systems with malicious intent, while hackers only seek to find new and innovative ways to use a system, be it for good or bad.

Cybercriminals also differ greatly from threat actors in various ways, the first of which is intent. Threat actors are individuals who conduct targeted attacks, which actively pursue and compromise a target entity’s infrastructure. Cybercriminals are unlikely to focus on a single entity, but conduct operations on broad masses of victims defined only by similar platform types, online behavior, or programs used. Secondly, they differ in the way that they conduct their operations. Threat actors follow a six-step process, which includes researching targets and moving laterally inside a network. Cybercriminals, on the other hand, are unlikely to follow defined steps to get what they want from their victims. Note, however, that cybercriminals have also been known to adopt targeted attack methodologies in their operations.

GlobalHell

TeaMp0isoN

Lizard Squad

Iran’s Tarh

The Level Seven Crew

Cybercriminals are individuals or teams of people who use technology to commit malicious activities on digital systems or networks with the intention of stealing sensitive company information or personal data and generating profit.

Cybercriminals are known to access the cybercriminal underground markets found in the deep web to trade malicious goods and services, such as hacking tools and stolen data. Cybercriminal underground markets are known to specialize in certain products or services.

Companies create bug bounties to provide financial incentives to independent bug bounty hunters who discover security vulnerabilities and weaknesses in systems. When bounty hunters report valid bugs, companies pay them for discovering security gaps before bad actors do.

A red team is a group of offensive security professionals tasked with using real-life adversarial techniques to help organizations identify and address vulnerabilities across infrastructure, systems, and applications, as well as weaknesses in processes and human behavior. In contrast, a blue team, typically based in a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), is a group of analysts and engineers responsible for defending organizations from cyber-attacks through a combination of threat prevention, deception, detection, and response.

Hacking experts follow four key protocol concepts: 1. Stay legal. Obtain proper approval before accessing and performing a security assessment. 2. Define the scope. Determine the scope of the assessment so that the ethical hacker’s work remains legal and within the organization’s approved boundaries. 3. Report vulnerabilities. Notify the organization of all vulnerabilities discovered during the assessment. Provide remediation advice for resolving these vulnerabilities. 4. Respect data sensitivity. Depending on the data sensitivity, ethical hackers may have to agree to a non-disclosure agreement, in addition to other terms and conditions required by the assessed organization.

A bug bounty is a monetary reward given to ethical hackers for successfully discovering and reporting a vulnerability or bug to the application's developer. Bug bounty programs allow companies to leverage the hacker community to improve their systems’ security posture over time continuously.

Ethical hacking involves an authorized attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or data. Carrying out an ethical hack involves duplicating strategies and actions of malicious attackers. This practice helps to identify security vulnerabilities which can then be resolved before a malicious attacker has the opportunity to exploit them.

Sometimes the best way to test out the security of a site or IT infrastructure is to try to break into it. Pen testing tries to mimic cyber attacks, hoping to find security vulnerabilities before hackers do. Penetration tests are a vital part of planning a security-first design for real-world applications.

Penetration testing has many computer applications. Computer systems are more complex than ever, and with the addition of black box AI applications, security and remediation are critical to businesses and organizations.

There are many benefits of using an HSM to protect your data.

· Provides maximum security. HSMs provide one of the highest levels of security against external threats. It’s safe to use and helps protect against malicious hacks.

· Take customer data seriously. Show customers that you take their privacy seriously by going the extra mile to safeguard their information, especially their payment information.

· Get HSM as a service. For companies that can’t afford to invest in an HSM but need to have PCI DSS certification, some IT providers offer HSM as a service, which makes this technology more accessible and affordable for some businesses.

· Keep your key in just one place. Unlike storing a key in software—where it could virtually end up anywhere—the HSM alone keeps the key, making it easier to track and safeguard. The key cannot leave the device.

· Enjoy tamper-proof protection. Some HSMs are tamper evident and others are tamper-resistant depending on their specific features, providing a level of security that’s difficult to achieve when using software alone.

If they are well implemented, key blocks based on the TR-31 technical report are generally considered to be very secure. Key blocks are simple but efficient. In the payment industry, they are used to protect billions of cryptographic keys and PINs in various environments, for example, banking between ATMs and HSMs.

HSMs are built to protect cryptographic keys. Large-sized banks or corporate offices often operate a variety of HSMs concurrently. Key management systems control and update these keys according to internal security policies and external standards. A centralized design of key management brings the advantage of streamlining the management of keys and providing the best overview for the keys across many different systems.

Everyone's free to create their own key block format based on the TR-31 technical report, but the most common key block formats are: · Atalla key block · Thales key block · IBM key block · TR-34 key blocks · PKCS#8 key blocks

No. A key bundle is a primitive concept, anterior to key blocks, less general, and focused only on triple-DES.

No, a key block is typically not at all the same as a key variant. Key variants are older cryptographic structures than key blocks. They are also more ‘primitive'. Key variants protect application keys with a key-encryption-key (which is derived from a master key using a control vector - that corresponds to the application type - using XOR) and a simple ECB cipher mode. Using key variants, the application type is implicit - but with key blocks, all key metadata is explicit within the block.

No. Key wrapping is more complex and generalized than key blocks. It is described by ANSI X9.102. Key wrapping focuses on cipher-based key encryption algorithms itself.

Key blocks are unique cryptographic structures with the general purpose of protecting keys outside of a strong security boundary (such as a FIPS or PCI-certified HSM). This enables the secure transfer of cryptographic keys over an insecure environment.

A Certificate Authority (CA) is the core component of a public key infrastructure (PKI) responsible for establishing a hierarchical chain of trust. CAs issue the digital credentials used to certify the identity of users. CAs underpin the security of a PKI and the services they support and therefore can be the focus of sophisticated targeted attacks. In order to mitigate the risk of attacks against Certificate Authorities, physical and logical controls as well as hardening mechanisms, such as hardware security modules (HSMs) have become necessary to ensure the integrity of a PKI.

Digital certificates are the credentials that facilitate the verification of identities between users in a transaction. Much as a passport certifies one’s identity as a citizen of a country, the purpose of a digital certificate is to establish the identity of users within the ecosystem. Because digital certificates are used to identify the users to whom encrypted data is sent, or to verify the identity of the signer of information, protecting the authenticity and integrity of the certificate is imperative in order to maintain the trustworthiness of the system. In order to bind public keys with their associated user (owner of the private key), public key infrastructures (PKIs) use digital certificates.

Digital signatures provide a proven cryptographic process for software publishers and in-house development teams to protect their end users from cybersecurity dangers, including advanced persistent threats (APTs), such as Duqu 2.0. Digital signatures ensure the integrity and authenticity of software and documents by enabling end users to verify publisher identities while validating that the code or document has not been changed since it was signed.

The hardware security module (HSM) is a special “trusted” network computer performing a variety of cryptographic operations: key management, key exchange, encryption, etc.

An HSM is trusted because it:

1. Is built on top of specialized hardware. The hardware is well-tested and certified in special laboratories.

2. Has a security-focused OS.

3. Has limited access via a network interface that is strictly controlled by internal rules.

4. Actively hides and protects cryptographic material.

A payment HSM is a hardened, tamper-resistant hardware device that is used primarily by the retail banking industry to provide high levels of protection for cryptographic keys and customer PINs used during the issuance of magnetic stripe and EMV chip cards (and their mobile application equivalents) and the subsequent processing of credit and debit card payment transactions.

In public key cryptography, code signing is a specific use of certificate-based digital signatures that enables an organization to verify the identity of the software publisher and certify the software has not been changed since it was published.

Remote hardware security module (HSM) management enables security teams to perform tasks linked to key and device management from a central remote location, avoiding the need to travel to the data center. A remote HSM management solution delivers operational cost savings in addition to making the task of managing HSMs more flexible and on-demand.

Key blocks are mainly used in banking to transport keys and PINs between HSMs, ATMs, or POS payment terminals. They can also be used in cryptographic money (cryptocurrency) or, in general, any cryptographic system that needs to exchange keys in a secure and protected way.

Hardware security modules are a must for companies that handle payment data such as credit or debit cards, but other businesses can benefit from using HSMs as well.

HSMs provide companies with a way to gain compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS.

PCI DSS defines security standards for all companies and merchants that deal with credit card information.

Yes! An entity may engage the practitioner to examine and report on only a portion of its cybersecurity risks management program, such as one or more specific business units, segments, or functions.

No. Only SOC 3 reports can be distributed for marketing purposes. A SOC 3 report ordinarily is a general-use report, which means that management of the service organization may provide the report to anyone.

A SOC for Cybersecurity report details a company’s own cybersecurity risk management program and proves their cybersecurity protections are adequate, regularly maintained, and constantly evolving. Completed annually, it’s a public testament to a company’s ongoing commitment to data security, confidentiality, and availability. Other SOC compliance audits are driven by vendors, but SOC for Cybersecurity audits are driven by you, or your board of directors. Since a SOC for Cybersecurity report is considered to be a general use document, it can be given to investors, board members, regulators, prospects, and current customers. A SOC for cybersecurity report instills confidence and trust in clients that your organization is doing everything it can to stay on top of growing cybersecurity threats.

Choosing a vendor who has the SOC for Cybersecurity certificate is not required, but, you face the risk of the audit not being completed correctly if your chosen vendor doesn’t have the certificate. The firms able to audit and produce an official SOC for Cybersecurity report are those with individual CPAs that have been certified by the AICPA credentialing program and obtained the SOC for Cybersecurity Services Certificate.

Yes! Every organization should consider getting a SOC for Cybersecurity report done annually as part of their ongoing cybersecurity compliance strategy. While it’s currently not required, as regulations surrounding data security increase, SOC for Cybersecurity will more than likely become mandated in the very near future.

"Yes. A SOC report will contain the auditor's opinion covering the following areas: "

- If the service organization's description of controls is presented fairly

- If the service organization's controls are designed effectively

- If the service organization's controls are operating effectively over a specified period of time (Type-2 report only)

If the above items have been achieved by the service organization, the service auditor would issue an 'unqualified' opinion. If the above were achieved but the service auditor found significant exceptions (i.e. such that a control objective was either not in place or was not effective), the service auditor would issue a 'modified opinion'. If, however, the service organization materially failed one or more of the above, the service auditor would issue an “adverse” opinion.

The average SOC 1 audit is completed in 12 weeks. The engagement begins with scoping procedures, then moves into an onsite visit, evidence review, report writing, and concludes with the delivery of a SOC 1 report. This timeline is extended when a gap analysis must be performed or when remediation takes longer than expected.

The opinion stated in a SOC 1 report is valid for twelve months following the date the SOC 1 report was issued.

Pricing for a SOC 1 audit depends on scoping factors, including business applications, technology platforms, physical locations, third parties, and audit frequency. Pricing will also vary based on the report type you choose, inclusion of a gap analysis, or inclusion of additional remediation time.

The industry standard is to schedule a SOC 1 audit (Type I or Type II) to be performed annually or when significant changes are made that will impact the control environment. Any frequency less than that will demonstrate a lack of commitment to compliance, plus it may cause distrust in the service organization’s systems.

Internal CPAs can try and navigate through the AICPA SOC for Cybersecurity criteria and guidance, but that can get complicated — especially if your CPA isn’t certified. More commonly, as an organization reaches a state of readiness, they engage with an independent CPA who can perform the SOC audit and provide an opinion on the entity’s description of its efforts, and the effectiveness of its controls.

A Type-1 report describes the service organizations control at a point in time. This report focuses on the design of the controls to achieve the related control objectives. It includes the service auditor's opinion, management's assertion, and the description of the system.

A Type -2 report focuses on both the design and operating effectiveness of controls over a period of time of at least six months. It includes all of the information in a Type-1 report with the addition of the service auditor's testing performed for each control. From an auditor's perspective, only the SOC-1 Type-2 report provides assurance over a service organization's controls relative to its client's financial transactions.

A cybersecurity risk management examination results in the issuance of a SOC for Cybersecurity Report that is considered a general use report that includes the following three key components:

1. Management’s Description. The first component is a management-prepared, narrative description of the entity’s cybersecurity risk management program. This description is designed to provide information about how the entity identifies its information assets, the ways in which the entity manages the cybersecurity risks that threaten it, and the key security policies and processes implemented and operated to protect the entity’s information assets against those risks.

2. Management’s Assertion. The second component is an assertion provided by management, which may be as of a point in time or for a specified period of time. Specifically, the assertion addresses whether (a) the Management’s description is presented in accordance with the description criteria and (b) the controls within the entity’s cybersecurity compliance program were effective to achieve the entity’s cybersecurity objectives based on the AICPA’s control criteria.

3. Practitioner’s Report. The third component is a practitioner’s report, which contains a third-party evaluation and opinion. It addresses both the Management’s Description and Assertion. Specifically, the opinion addresses whether (a) the description is presented in accordance with the description criteria and (b) the controls within the entity’s cybersecurity risk management program were effective to achieve the entity’s cybersecurity objectives based on the control criteria.

The SOC for Cybersecurity report is performed in accordance with AT-C section 105, Concepts Common to All Attestation Engagements, and AT-C section 205, Examination Engagements (AICPA, Professional Standards).

A SOC 1 audit is an audit at a service organization related to internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). SOC 1 audits were developed by the AICPA and follow the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 18 (SSAE 18).

The performance and reporting requirement for an examination of controls at a service organization relevant to security.

The performance and reporting requirements for an examination of controls at a service organization relevant to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy resulting in general use report.

The performance and reporting requirements for an examination of an entity's cybersecurity risk management program and related controls.

Any service organization that needs an independent validation of controls relevant to how it transmits, processes, or stores client data may require a SOC report. Additionally, as a result of various legislative requirements like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as increased scrutiny over third-party controls, clients are increasingly requiring SOC reports from their service organizations.

A SOC audit can only be performed by an independent CPA. CPAs must adhere to the specific standards that have been established by the AICPA and have the technical expertise to perform such engagements.

Yes. HIPAA allows your health care provider to share your health information with an interpreter who works for the provider to help communicate with you or your family, friends, or others involved in your care. If the interpreter is someone who does not work for your health care provider, HIPAA also allows your provider to discuss your health information with the interpreter so long as you do not object.

Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, a covered entity can share protected health information with a telemarketer only if the covered entity has either obtained the individual’s prior written authorization to do so or has entered into a business associate relationship with the telemarketer for the purpose of making a communication that is not marketing, such as to inform individuals about the covered entity’s own goods or services.

If the telemarketer is a business associate under the Privacy Rule, it must agree by contract to use the information only for communicating on behalf of the covered entity, and not to market its own goods or services (or those of another third party).

Covered Entities

Covered entities are the types of organizations that most people would assume need to be HIPAA-compliant, like medical practices.

According to HIPAA law, covered entities fall under one of these three categories:

Healthcare providers: Organizations and practices that submit HIPAA transactions. These include, but are not limited to, doctors, clinics, psychologists, dentists, chiropractors, pharmacies, and nursing homes.

Healthcare Clearinghouses: These are organizations that interpret transactions and claim data between healthcare provider systems and insurers.

Health plans: These include, but are not limited to, health insurance companies, HMOs, employer-sponsored health plans, and government-funded healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and military and veterans’ health programs.

Business Associates

Business associates are also responsible for being HIPAA compliant. Even though they do not directly collect PHI or ePHI from patients, business associates are organizations that engage with covered entities in a manner where they may have access to or come into contact with protected healthcare information.

Here are some examples of business associates:

IT companies Software companies

Law firms Accounting firms

Billing and collections companies

Answering services

Third-party administrators

Document storage or disposal companies

Auditors

Organizations are free to develop their own set of classifications but for most, this simple three-level classification works great.

Restricted/Confidential Data: Data if altered, destroyed, or disclosed to an unauthorized party could cause significant damage. This data requires the highest level of security.

Internal Data: Data if altered, destroyed, or disclosed to an unauthorized party could cause low to moderate damage. This data should not be released to the public and requires security controls — just not necessarily to the extent of Restricted Data.

Public Data: Minimal to no risk and does not need protection against unauthorized access. This data may still need protection against alteration or destruction.

Both HIPAA and HITECH are acts regarding securing ePHI and protecting patient privacy. Notably, HITECH measures are designed to support the implementation of HIPAA regulations. Since 2011, a HITECH-required rule also made it possible for patients to request reports detailing who has accessed their ePHI and according to what authority.

No. The Rule does not require a physician or any other covered entity to send medical information to the government for a government data base or similar operation. This Rule does not require or allow any new government access to medical information, with one exception: the Rule does give the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) the authority to investigate complaints that Privacy Rule protections or rights have been violated, and otherwise to ensure that covered entities comply with the Rule.

If a covered entity or business associate is found in violation of HIPAA, there are four categories used for the penalty structure.

Tier 1: Minimum fine of $100 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 2: Minimum fine of $1,000 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 3: Minimum fine of $10,000 per violation up to $50,000.

Tier 4: Minimum fine of $50,000 per violation.

In addition to financial penalties that an organization may incur, they may also receive sanctions from professional boards like the Office of Civil Rights or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Depending on the severity of the violation, individuals involved with the violation could face criminal charges. There are three tiers of criminal penalties for HIPAA violations:

Tier 1: If the individual demonstrates reasonable cause or no knowledge of the violation, they may face up to 1 year in jail.

Tier 2: If the individual obtained PHI under false pretenses, they could face up to five years in jail.

Tier 3: If the individual is found to have obtained PHI for personal gain or with malicious intent, they could face up to ten years in jail.

Emailed lab results, reports or prescriptions Appointments stored on an online calendar or booking system Stored x-rays, MRIs, scans, or other digital photographs of a patient Patient chart notes stored on a mobile device or cloud storage

The Privacy Act of 1974 (U.S. Department of Justice) protects personal information about individuals held by the Federal government. Covered entities that are Federal agencies or Federal contractors that maintain records that are covered by the Privacy Act not only must obey the Privacy Rule’s requirements, but also must comply with the Privacy Act.

Anyone can file a health information privacy or security complaint. Your complaint must:

Be filed in writing by mail, fax, e-mail, or via the OCR Complaint Portal

Name the covered entity or business associate involved, and describe the acts or omissions, you believed violated the requirements of the Privacy, Security, or Breach Notification Rules

Be filed within 180 days of when you knew that the act or omission complained of occurred. OCR may extend the 180-day period if you can show "good cause"

File a Health Information Privacy Complaint Online

Open the OCR Complaint Portal and select the type of complaint you would like to file. Complete as much information as possible, including:

Information about you, the complainant

Details of the complaint

Any additional information that might help OCR when reviewing your complaint

You will then need to electronically sign the complaint and complete the consent form. After completing the consent form you will be able to print out a copy of your complaint to keep for your records

(Under HIPAA an entity cannot retaliate against you for filing a complaint. You should notify OCR immediately in the event of any retaliatory action.)

If you believe that a HIPAA-covered entity or its business associate violated your (or someone else’s) health information privacy rights or committed another violation of the Privacy, Security, or Breach Notification Rules, you may file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR can investigate complaints against covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, or health care providers that conduct certain transactions electronically) and their business associates.

*Ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all electronic protected health information *Detect and safeguard against anticipated threats to the security of the information *Protect against anticipated impermissible uses or disclosures *Certify compliance by their workforce Covered entities should rely on professional ethics and best judgment when considering requests for these permissive uses and disclosures. The HHS Office for Civil Rights enforces HIPAA rules, and all complaints should be reported to that office. HIPAA violations may result in civil monetary or criminal penalties.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a set of tools and processes to ensure that sensitive data is not misused, lost, or accessed by unauthorized users. Below, are a few features, tools, or processes you should look for in high-performing DLP HIPAA software options:

Encryption

Access controls

Risk management

Data classification

Auditing

Policy management

Data monitoring

Real-time analytics

Breach reports

Incident workflows

Cross-system support

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA. The HIPAA Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule.

The Privacy Rule standards address the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information (known as “protected health information”) by entities subject to the Privacy Rule. These individuals and organizations are called “covered entities.” The Privacy Rule also contains standards for individuals’ rights to understand and control how their health information is used. A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to ensure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Privacy Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing.

While the HIPAA Privacy Rule safeguards protected health information (PHI), the Security Rule protects a subset of information covered by the Privacy Rule. This subset is all individually identifiable health information a covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits in electronic form. This information is called “electronic protected health information” (e-PHI). The Security Rule does not apply to PHI transmitted orally or in writing.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule expressly requires authorization for uses or disclosures of protected health information for ALL marketing communications, except in two circumstances:

1. When the communication occurs in a face-to-face encounter between the covered entity and the individual; or

2. The communication involves a promotional gift of nominal value.

Healthcare providers: Every healthcare provider, regardless of the size of practice, who electronically transmits health information in connection with certain transactions. These transactions include claims, benefit eligibility inquiries, referral authorization requests, and other transactions for which HHS has established standards under the HIPAA Transactions Rule.

Health plans: Entities that provide or pay the cost of medical care. Health plans include health, dental, vision, and prescription drug insurers; health maintenance organizations (HMOs); Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare+Choice, and Medicare supplement insurers; and long-term care insurers (excluding nursing home fixed-indemnity policies). Health plans also include employer-sponsored group health plans, government- and church-sponsored health plans, and multi-employer health plans.

Exception: A group health plan with fewer than 50 participants that is administered solely by the employer that established and maintains the plan is not a covered entity.

Healthcare clearinghouses: Entities that process nonstandard information they receive from another entity into a standard (i.e., standard format or data content), or vice versa. In most instances, healthcare clearinghouses will receive individually identifiable health information only when they are providing these processing services to a health plan or healthcare provider as a business associate.

Business associates: A person or organization (other than a member of a covered entity’s workforce) using or disclosing individually identifiable health information to perform or provide functions, activities, or services for a covered entity. These functions, activities, or services include claims processing, data analysis, utilization review, and billing.

No. The Rule does not expand current law enforcement access to individually identifiable health information. In fact, it limits access to a greater degree than currently exists, since the Rule establishes new procedures and safeguards that restrict the circumstances under which a covered entity may give such information to law enforcement officers.

It takes some work and dedication to become a cybersecurity architect. This is a prestigious, well-paying career with lots of potential, but you need to put in the time and effort to get there. Fortunately, we’ll show you how to do this!

First of all, you need some academic acumen. Conventional wisdom says you need a degree (Bachelor’s or Masters) in cybersecurity, computer science, information technology, or some other related major. If you don’t have this kind of educational background, you may be able to squeak by taking some classes that focus on IT.

Moving away from academia to actual work experience, most businesses and organizations look for candidates with five to 10 years of IT experience in the workplace, including some work with systems analysis, application development, and business planning. Three to five of those years of IT experience should focus on security matters.

Certifications play a vitally important role in the cybersecurity industry; they teach new skills, enable IT, professionals, to build upon their existing experience and expertise, and certify levels of competency to prospective employers. Several of the most notable certifications for cybersecurity architects and related professions include: Certified Information Systems Security Professional – Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (CISSP-ISSAP) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) SANS-related certifications such as GIAC Defensible Security Architecture (GDSA)

Knowledge of business continuity and disaster recovery continuity of operations plans. Knowledge of the application firewall concepts and functions (e.g., Single point of authentication/audit/policy enforcement, message scanning for malicious content, data anonymization for PCI and PII compliance, data loss protection scanning, accelerated cryptographic operations, SSL security, REST/JSON processing). Knowledge of electrical engineering as applied to computer architecture (e.g., circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer hardware). Knowledge of microprocessors. Knowledge of industry-standard and organizationally accepted analysis principles and methods. Knowledge of the enterprise information technology (IT) architectural concepts and patterns (e.g., baseline, validated design, and target architectures.) Knowledge of computer algorithms. Knowledge of program protection planning (e.g. information technology (IT) supply chain security/risk management policies, anti-tampering techniques, and requirements). Knowledge of installation, integration, and optimization of system components. Knowledge of human-computer interaction principles. Knowledge of remote access technology concepts. Knowledge of communication methods, principles, and concepts that support the network infrastructure.

Develop/integrate cybersecurity designs for systems and networks with multilevel security requirements or requirements for the processing of multiple classification levels of data primarily applicable to government organizations (e.g., UNCLASSIFIED, SECRET, and TOP SECRET). Document and address the organization's information security, cybersecurity architecture, and systems security engineering requirements throughout the acquisition life cycle. Employ secure configuration management processes. Ensure that acquired or developed system(s) and architecture(s) are consistent with the organization's cybersecurity architecture guidelines. Identify and prioritize critical business functions in collaboration with organizational stakeholders. Perform security reviews, identify gaps in security architecture, and develop a security risk management plan. Define and document how the implementation of a new system or new interfaces between systems impacts the security posture of the current environment. Evaluate security architectures and designs to determine the adequacy of security design and architecture proposed or provided in response to requirements contained in acquisition documents. Determine the protection needs (i.e., security controls) for the information system(s) and network(s) and document appropriately.

According to CyberSeek.org, the role of cybersecurity architect pays an average annual salary of $146144 (2021)

This role ensures that the stakeholder security requirements necessary to protect the organization’s mission and business processes are adequately addressed in all aspects of enterprise architecture including reference models, segment and solution architectures, and the resulting systems supporting those missions and business processes.

· Silos: Reduce the silos in your organization to provide swift feedback to fix problems faster and more efficiently

· Audits: If your organization does not actively participate in regular code audits, make sure this is set up to ensure the new testing procedure is working as intended

· Project Management: Properly prepare and train your project managers to incorporate shift-left testing into their processes

· Planning: Shift-left testing can be difficult to incorporate without an effective plan in place before you begin · Quality control: It’s not an easy task to maintain excellent quality levels during the training and transition phase · Developers: Developers can be resistant to testing and should be prepared to add testability to their skillset

There are some key strategies that will help you shift left with your software testing: Demand planning Test analysts will engage with business and operational stakeholders, providing a forward view of demand. Having this view enables you to—ahead of time—plan and finalize: · The budget, · Resourcing, · Test strategies Demand planning is an integral part of the shift left approach and provides a starting point for all other activities in the test lifecycle. Static testing Static testing is carried out in the early cycles of the project and includes validation of requirements and design. The purpose of static testing is to find defects early in the life cycle that could prove to be very expensive to remove in the later phases of the project. Use appropriate checklists to verify and validate requirements and design. Log defects into a defect management tool. Unified test strategy This is an overall, high level strategy for testing end-to-end—from unit testing through user acceptance testing (UAT), operational readiness testing (ORT), and post-deployment testing. The strategy will cover all phases of quality control, defining clear responsibilities. A unified test strategy allows you to analyze dependencies on environments, stubs, automation, and test data—ensuring that the respective teams can fulfill the needs. Risk-based analysis Risk-based analysis is carried out to determine the impact and likelihood of failure for each test scenario. This approach is used for functional, non-functional, and regression types of testing.

A Shift Left testing approach may not always be able to deliver optimal performance and functioning in a real-world environment. In such situations, a Shift Right testing strategy may help to: · Enhance customer experience · Provide scope for implementation of test automation · Ensure better test coverage Shift Right initiates testing from the right, i.e., post-production. In this Shift Right practice, you’ll test a completely built and functioning application to ensure performance and usability traits. Reviews and feedbacks from targeted users further help in enhancing the quality of the software.

· Reduce costs: Time and resources can be quickly used up. Shift-left testing helps reduce that problem and saves you money.

· Higher quality: Find bugs early and fix them before they become a problem in production

· Higher efficiency: Increase your testing reliability by using the shift-left testing procedures and as such, deliver your product to market faster.

· Competitive advantages: Shift-left testing helps to achieve high quality software products in a short amount of time.

To shift security left means to implement security measures during the entire development lifecycle, rather than at the end of the cycle. The goal of shifting security left is to design software with security best practices built in, and to detect and fix potential security issues and vulnerabilities as early in the development process as possible, making it easier, faster, and more affordable to address security issues.

Traditionally, application testing was implemented during the last phases of development, before being sent to security teams. If an application did not meet quality standards, did not function properly, or otherwise failed to meet requirements, it would be sent back into development for additional changes. This caused significant bottlenecks in the SDLC and was not conducive to DevOps methodologies, which emphasize development velocity.

Shift left testing makes it possible to identify and fix defects much earlier in the software development lifecycle. This streamlines the development cycle, dramatically improves quality, and enables faster progression to later stages for security analysis and deployment.

The term “shift left” refers to the efforts of a DevOps team to guarantee application security at the earliest stages in the development lifecycle, as part of an organizational pattern known as DevSecOps (collaboration between development, security, and operations).

To shift left means to move a process to the left on the traditional linear depiction of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). There are two common subjects of shift left initiatives in DevOps: security and testing.

Continuous testing is the practice of applying automated tests early, gradually, and adequately in the software delivery pipeline. While shift-left testing might sound like the perfect approach to help you in the testing process before rolling out new products, the technique alone is not enough. Shift-left testing should be incorporated into continuous testing so that testers can generate more frequent, holistic, and more practical tests with the implementation of real functional data. The combination “shift-left continuous testing” adds to the automation of your application testing, ensures that it is utilized as much, as early, and as continuous as possible throughout the product development pipeline.

Shift Left is a practice intended to find and prevent defects early in the software delivery process. The idea is to improve quality by moving tasks to the left as early in the lifecycle as possible. Shift Left testing means testing earlier in the software development process.

Over the past two decades, IT has shifted left. Today development infrastructure is fully automated and operates on a self service basis:

· Developers can provision resources to public clouds such as AWS, GCP, or Azure without involving operations or IT staff

· Continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) processes automatically set up testing, staging, and production environments in the cloud or on-premises and tear them down when they are no longer needed

· Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) is widely used to deploy environments declaratively, using tools like Amazon CloudFormation and Terraform

· Kubernetes is everywhere, enabling organizations to provision containerized workloads dynamically using automated, adaptive processes

This shift has tremendously improved development productivity and velocity, but also raises serious security concerns. In this fast paced environment, there is little time for post-development security reviews of new software versions or analysis of cloud infrastructure configurations. Even when problems are discovered, there is little time for remediation before the next development sprint begins.

By performing testing earlier in the development cycle, developers can catch problems early and fix them before they reach the production environment. Because issues are discovered earlier, developers do not waste time applying workarounds to flawed implementations, and operations teams are not tasked with maintaining a faulty application in production. Developers can identify the root cause of issues and change application architecture or modify underlying components to improve application quality.

Another major advantage of shifting testing left is that testers are involved in the whole cycle, including the planning phase. Developers take on a secondary role as testers, becoming proficient in automated testing technologies and running tests as part of their day-to-day work. Testing becomes part of the “DNA” of the development organization, ensuring software is designed from the ground up with quality in mind.

CASBs work by ensuring that network traffic between on-premises devices and the cloud provider complies with an organization's security policies. CASBs use autodiscovery to identify cloud applications in use and identify high-risk applications, high-risk users, and other key risk factors. Cloud access security brokers may enforce a number of different security access controls, including encryption and device profiling. They may also provide other services such as credential mapping when single sign-on is not available.

Zero-trust network access (ZTNA), part of a zero-trust model, uses identity-based authentication to establish trust and provide access while keeping the network location -- i.e., the IP address -- hidden. ZTNA adapts access to specific applications or data at a given time, location, or device, and provides IT and security teams with centralized control and improved flexibility to secure highly distributed IT environments.

· IaaS providers. In the IaaS model, the cloud service provider delivers infrastructure components that would otherwise exist in an on-premises data center. These components could consist of servers, storage, and networking, as well as the virtualization layer, which the IaaS provider hosts in its own data center. CSPs may also complement their IaaS products with services such as monitoring, automation, security, load balancing, and storage resiliency.

· SaaS providers. SaaS vendors offer a variety of business technologies, such as productivity suites, customer relationship management (CRM) software, human resources management (HRM) software, and data management software, all of which the SaaS vendor hosts and provides over the internet. Many traditional software vendors now sell cloud-based versions of their on-premises software products. Some SaaS vendors will contract a third-party cloud provider, while some vendors -- usually, larger companies -- will host theirs on cloud services.

· PaaS providers. The third type of cloud service provider, PaaS vendors, offers cloud infrastructure and services that users can access to perform various functions. PaaS products are commonly used in software development. In comparison to an IaaS provider, PaaS providers will add more of the application stack, such as operating systems (OSes) and middleware, to the underlying infrastructure.

Ease of use. There is one management platform that controls and enforces an entire organization's security policies, offering operational simplification. This is a major improvement for IT teams, enabling them to move away from site-centric security to user-centric security.

Overall simplicity of the network. There is no need for complex and expensive Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) lines or network infrastructure. The entire network infrastructure is adapted to make it simple, maintainable, and easy to consume -- regardless of where employees, data centers, or cloud environments are located.

Offers enhanced network security. Effective implementation of SASE services can protect sensitive data and help mitigate a variety of attacks, such as man-in-the-middle interceptions, spoofing, and malicious traffic. Leading SASE services also provide secure encryption for all remote devices, and apply more rigorous inspection policies for public access networks (such as public Wi-Fi). Privacy controls can also usually be better enforced-- by routing traffic to PoPs in specific regions.

Backbone and edge unification. SASE lets a single backbone be combined with edge services -- like content delivery networks (CDNs), cloud access security brokers (CASBs), VPN replacement, and edge networking. SASE lets a provider offer cloud, internet access, data center services, networking, and security functions all through a single service -- as a joint effort across networking, security, mobile, app development, and systems administration teams.

· Cost and flexibility. The pay-as-you-go model of cloud services enables organizations to only pay for the resources they consume. Using a cloud service provider also eliminates the need for IT-related capital equipment purchases. Organizations should review the details of cloud pricing to accurately break down cloud costs.

· Scalability. Customer organizations can easily scale up or down the IT resources they use based on business demands.

· Mobility. Resources and services purchased from a cloud service provider can be accessed from any physical location that has a working network connection.

· Disaster recovery. Cloud services typically offer quick and reliable disaster recovery.

As the term SASE describes an emerging technology with variable approaches, drawbacks are nonspecific. Generally speaking, the most significant potential drawbacks are that IT teams forfeit certain benefits of multisourcing -- such as ensuring that various elements are sourced from the best possible providers for individual functions and diversifying risk in vendor operations. With SASE architecture, users risk massive single point of failure (SPOF) or exposure -- as SASE delivers all networking and security functions together as a single service, technical issues on the provider side can potentially result in entire system shutdowns for end users.

· Hidden costs. Cloud usage may incur expenses not factored into the initial return on investment (ROI) analysis. For example, unplanned data needs can force a customer to exceed contracted amounts, leading to extra charges. Companies also must factor in additional staffing needs for monitoring and managing cloud use. Terminating use of on-premises systems also has costs, such as writing off assets and data cleanup.

· Cloud migration. Moving data to and from the cloud can take time. Companies might not have access to their critical data for weeks, or even months, while large amounts of data are first transferred to the cloud.

· Cloud security. When trusting a provider with critical data, organizations risk security breaches, compromised credentials, and other substantial security risks. Also, providers may not always be transparent about security issues and practices. Companies with specific security needs may rely on open source cloud security tools, in addition to the provider's tools.

· Performance and outages. Outages, downtime, and technical issues on the provider's end can render necessary data and resources inaccessible during critical business events.

· Complicated contract terms. Organizations contracting cloud service providers must actively negotiate contracts and service-level agreements (SLAs). Failure to do so can result in the provider charging high prices for the return of data, high prices for early service terminatio,n and other penalties.

· Vendor lock-in. High data transfer costs or use of proprietary technologies that are incompatible with competitor services can make it difficult for customers to switch CSPs. To avoid vendor lock-in, companies should have a cloud exit strategy before signing any contracts.

The following is an outline of the necessary components of a cloud security policy:

· Introduction. State the fundamental reasons for having a cloud security policy.

· Purpose and scope. Provide details on the cloud policy's purpose and scope.

· Statement of policy. State the cloud security policy in clear terms.

· Policy leadership. State who is responsible for approving and implementing the policy, as well as levying penalties for noncompliance.

· Verification of policy compliance. State what is needed, such as assessments, exercises, or penetration tests, to verify cloud security activities comply with policies.

· Penalties for noncompliance. State penalties -- for example, verbal reprimand and note in personnel file for internal incidents or fines and legal action for external activities -- for failure to comply with policies and service-level agreements (SLAs) if they are part of the policy.

· Appendixes (as needed). Provide additional reference information, such as lists of contacts, SLAs, or additional details on specific cloud security policy statements.

With hybrid cloud, the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts. Security advantages of hybrid cloud infrastructure include the following:

· Best of both worlds. Hybrid cloud enterprise architectures combining the best features of public and private cloud can provide the utmost in security.

· Flexibility. Hybrid models give IT administrators the power to decide where applications and data will reside, such as in a cloud or corporate data center.

Like in the case of private cloud, the flexibility of a hybrid cloud infrastructure has its downsides. For example, decisions about where applications and data reside are a significant responsibility and require much deliberation. Organizations should consider the following potential disadvantages of the hybrid cloud model:

· Policy enforcement challenges. Cybersecurity policies can become difficult to duplicate and extend across public and private clouds, as well as on-premises data centers. In some cloud architectures, such as SaaS, it may be impossible to duplicate security policy found in other parts of a corporate infrastructure.

· Security inconsistencies. Because of the policy enforcement issues, some applications and data may not be as secure as others.

· More skills required. Security administrators must deal with differing methods and tools to monitor and act on threats depending on where vulnerable resources reside.

misconfigurations and inadequate change controls;

lack of cloud security architecture and strategy;

insufficient identity, credential, access and key management;

account hijacking; insecure interfaces and APIs;

and abuse and nefarious use of cloud services.

1. Firewalls to identify malware and prevent it from entering the enterprise network

2. Authentication to check users' credentials and ensure they only access appropriate company resources

3. Web application firewalls (WAFs) to thwart malware designed to breach security at the application level, rather than at the network level

4. Data loss prevention (DLP) to ensure that users cannot transmit sensitive information outside of the corporation

Private clouds are attractive to organizations seeking more granular control over the underlying infrastructure. This commonly includes customer configuration access to the network, OSes, and server virtualization platform. From a security perspective, private cloud advantages include the following:

· Better control. In-house administrators have more flexibility when it comes to implementing and accessing security tools.

· Complete visibility. With private cloud, the business gains full control and visibility over its cybersecurity posture and can customize it to fit its specific needs.

The flexibility of private cloud comes at a cost in two areas: pricing and management.

· Financial costs. Operating private clouds is often a more expensive endeavor than public cloud options. Businesses pay a premium for granular cloud control and visibility.

· Managerial costs. Designing and maintaining cybersecurity tools inside private clouds dramatically increase management responsibilities.

For these two reasons, it's critically important that IT decision-makers carefully weigh the cybersecurity benefits of private clouds against the added financial expenses and management overhead.

Businesses are attracted to public cloud infrastructures for a variety of reasons, including low Capex, service scalability, and easing the management workload for in-house IT staff. Public cloud infrastructure security benefits include the following:

· Lightening the load. Larger CSPs often invest heavily in top-end cybersecurity tools, as well as staff who are highly knowledgeable in their field. This makes offloading cybersecurity tools and tasks from in-house to a third party highly appealing.

· Addressing the cybersecurity skills gap. The ability to defer to a CSP's security program reduces the need to hire expensive and scarce infosec talent.

Other businesses, especially larger ones with massive IT infrastructures, may find that public cloud security is not the right fit. Potential public cloud security challenges include the following:

· CSP security is not up to par. In some situations, it may be determined that a CSP's cybersecurity tools, processes and methods are insufficient for protecting highly sensitive data.

· Inadequate visibility. Larger organizations often require the ability to obtain and analyze logs, alerts and other data down to the packet level. For many CSPs, especially those that deal with SaaS, much of this security information is not accessible to customers. This is because most of the underlying technologies have been abstracted for the purposes of simplifying management from a customer perspective.

1: Top-of-the-Line Perimeter Firewall 2: Intrusion Detection Systems with Event Logging 3: Internal Firewalls for Individual Applications, and Databases 4: Data-at-Rest Encryption 5: Tier IV Data Centers with Strong Physical Security

1: Data Breaches 2: Insufficient Identity, Credential, and Access Management 3: Insecure APIs 4: System Vulnerabilities 5: Account Hijacking 6: Malicious Insiders 7: Advanced Persistent Threats 8: Data Loss 9: Insufficient Due Diligence 10: Abuse and Nefarious Use of Cloud Services 11: Denial of Service 12: Shared Technology Vulnerabilities

A cloud access security broker (CASB) is a software tool or service that sits between an organization's on-premises infrastructure and a cloud provider's infrastructure. CASBs are available as both an on-premises or cloud-based software as well as a service.

Secure Access Service Edge, also known as SASE -- pronounced "sassy" -- is a cloud architecture model that bundles network and security-as-a-service functions together and delivers them as a single cloud service.

SASE allows organizations to unify their network and security tools in a single management console. This provides a simple security and networking tool that is independent of where employees and resources are located.

In summary, the GDPR applies to any business that processes personal data by automated or manual processing (provided the data is organized according to criteria).

Even if your business only processes data on behalf of other companies, you still need to abide by the rules.

The GDPR applies if:

"your company processes personal data and is based in the EU, regardless of where the actual data processing takes place; or

" your company is established outside the EU but offers goods or services to, or monitors the behavior of, individuals within the EU.

According to the GDPR, actions such as collecting, using, and deleting personal data all fall within the definition of processing personal data.

The Data Protection Officer is responsible for monitoring and the application of data protection rules in the European Commission. The data protection officer independently ensures the internal application of data protection rules in cooperation with the European data protection supervisor.

Some of the key concepts are:

· Being really clear about what constitutes personal data.

· Being really clear about ensuring that personal data is used only with a user’s explicit consent or some other lawful basis for processing it.

· Keeping data secure.

· Giving EU citizens a set of rights with respect to their personal data, including things like:

· the right to see what data a company has collected about them,

· the right to control how that data is shared with other companies,

· the right to have all of their data deleted.

Some of the key concepts are: · Being really clear about what constitutes personal data. · Being really clear about ensuring that personal data is used only with a user’s explicit consent or some other lawful basis for processing it. · Keeping data secure. · Giving EU citizens a set of rights with respect to their personal data, including things like: · the right to see what data a company has collected about them, · the right to control how that data is shared with other companies, · the right to have all of their data deleted.

When processing your data organizations have to provide you with clear information relating to the use of your data, this includes information such as:

• the legal basis for processing your data

• for what purposes your data will be used

• how long your data will be stored

• with whom they’ll share your data

• your basic data protection rights

• your right to lodge a complaint

• whether your data will be transferred outside the EU

• how to withdraw your consent, if you have given it

• the contact details of the organisation responsible for processing your data and their Data Protection Officer if there is one

The right to access your data. You have the right to request access to the personal data an organization has about you, free of charge, and obtain a copy in an accessible format. The right to object. If an organization is processing your personal data you may have the right to object. However, in some circumstances, public interest may prevail. For example, this could be the case for scientific or historical research. You also have the right to object at any time to receiving direct marketing.

The right to correct your data. Errors in your personal data can have a significant impact on your life, particularly when applying for loans, insurance, credit, and so on. If you believe that personal data held by an organization might be incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate you can ask for it to be corrected. This must be done without undue delay. The right to have data deleted and to be forgotten. Where your consent has been requested to process your data, you can ask the organization to stop processing it by withdrawing your consent. They must do so if they’ve not relied on any other legal grounds for processing your data. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it. If your data is no longer needed or is being processed unlawfully then you can ask for the data to be erased. Organizations must delete personal data collected from a child that is processed through an app or a website on request.

The right to have a say when decisions are automated. Some organizations, such as banks, tax offices, and hospitals, use algorithms to make decisions about you using your personal data. It’s efficient for them, but not always transparent and these decisions may affect you legally or have another significant impact on your life. Automated decisions are allowed in some circumstances, for example when a particular law allows it.

The right to move your data. If your data is used by a company after you gave your consent or signed a contract, then you can ask for it to be returned to you or transmitted to another company whose services you would like to use – this is called the right to ‘data portability. The original supplier, such as a social media company, bank, or even healthcare provider, has to transmit the data to the new supplier. Moving data should help you access other markets and suppliers more easily, and so give you more choice. The right to know who is processing what and why. When collecting your data a company must tell you what purpose your data will be used for. They must also make sure that only relevant data is processed and the data is not kept longer than necessary.

CHECK THE PERSONAL DATA YOU COLLECT AND PROCESS, THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH YOU DO IT, AND ON WHICH LEGAL BASIS

INFORM YOUR CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHEN YOU COLLECT THEIR PERSONAL DATA

KEEP THE PERSONAL DATA FOR ONLY AS LONG AS NECESSARY

SECURE THE PERSONAL DATA YOU ARE PROCESSING

KEEP DOCUMENTATION ON YOUR DATA PROCESSING ACTIVITIES

MAKE SURE YOUR SUB-CONTRACTOR RESPECTS THE RULES

CHECK IF YOU ARE CONCERNED BY THE PROVISIONS BELOW

Any information that relates to you, as an identified or identifiable, living individual, falls under the GDPR. This includes for example your name, home address, ID card number, Internet Protocol (IP) code, and information on your health.

If the personal data you collect includes information on an individual’s health, race, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, or trade union membership, it is considered sensitive.

Your company can only process this data under specific conditions and you may need to implement additional safeguards, such as encryption.

The EDPS is an independent EU body responsible for monitoring the application of data protection rules within European Institutions and for investigating complaints.

The rules apply when your data is collected, used and stored digitally or in a structured filing system on paper.

The CCPA states that it “shall not apply to protected or health information that is collected by a covered entity governed by the [California] Confidentiality of Medical Information Act [the CMIA]…or governed by the privacy, security, and breach notification rules…established pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. For purposes of [the CCPA], the definition of ‘medical information’ in the [CMIA] shall apply and the definitions of ‘protected health information’ and ‘covered entity’ from the federal privacy rule shall apply.”

This means that companies already regulated under either the CMIA or HIPAA should continue to comply with those rules when handling medical information, as defined by the CMIA, or protected health information, as defined by HIPAA. The CCPA does not supersede those laws.

However, given the breadth of information (outside of medical information and protected health information) regulated by the CCPA, for-profit healthcare companies will still be subject to the CCPA requirements to the extent they gather or process PI, such as IP address, commercial information, Internet activity, geolocation, employment-related information, education information and “inferences” drawn from any such information to create a profile reflecting consumer characteristics.

To be covered, companies must do business in California and collect and maintain personal data from California residents. If an organization isn’t doing business in California, it isn’t covered by the CCPA – even if it gathers data about Californians.

It only applies to “businesses,” which are for-profit companies. Other types of organizations, such as non-profit or government entities, are not covered.

Although some have suggested that the CCPA is similar to the GDPR, the laws are quite different.

A few key differences include:

· Both have similar definitions of personal information, but the GDPR doesn’t recognize information about a household as personal information. The GDPR uses the term “personal data” and the CCPA uses the term “personal information.”

· The GDPR recognizes certain types of data as “sensitive data,” which receive additional protections. The California Consumer Privacy Act doesn’t have a provision for sensitive data.

· The GDPR has a broader right to object to data processing than the CCPA.

· The GDPR has a broader scope and applicability than the CCPA. The GDPR covers the EU, a much larger geographic region than California. The GDPR applies to persons in the EU, even visitors who are not EU citizens whereas the CCPA applies to California residents. The GDPR applies to many different types organizations; the CCPA only applies to for-profit businesses. The GDPR applies to organizations of any size; the CCPA excludes smaller businesses or businesses that aren’t collecting personal information about many California residents.

· The GDPR has many more governance requirements than the CCPA.

· The GDPR has stricter vendor management regulations.

· The CCPA is primarily an opt-out law (except for children’s data). The GDPR requires affirmative consent – it thus is an opt-in law. · The GDPR requires a lawful basis for an organization to collect and use personal data. The CCPA doesn’t define any particular bases upon which businesses can collect and use personal data. This means that businesses can collect and use personal data for any purpose they desire.

By 2021, 80% of the negative financial impact of the CCPA will come from failure to implement a scalable subject rights workflow, according to Gartner Research. Gartner found that the majority of organizations receiving DSARs are taking a full working week to respond to each, at an average cost of over $1,400.

If you’ve already prepared for GDPR, you won’t have to start over to prepare for CCPA, but that doesn’t mean you have all the bases covered. CCPA has additional requirements and is more prescriptive than GDPR. In particular, differences in the scope of application, nature, extent of collection limitations, and rules concerning accountability present different operational challenges for compliance.

Your approach to CCPA is a critical part of the data privacy experience you create for your customers. Every privacy touchpoint should be clear and transparent, so customers understand the process and feel their needs are being addressed. Done well, CCPA compliance can become a competitive advantage that builds trust and brand equity.

Under CCPA your business can be found non-compliant and penalized. Fines are enforced by the California Attorney General and can reach up to $7,500 per violation (in the case of intentional violations). Nonintentional violations are subject to a $2,500 maximum fine.

CCPA addresses information that relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could be reasonably linked, indirectly or directly, with a consumer or household.

The law defines “personal information” as “information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.” This definition is similar to the GDPR’s definition of “personal data” in that it includes information that is identifiable — that could be linked directly or indirectly to people. But it diverges in that it excludes “publicly available information” — “information that is lawfully made available from federal, state, or local government records.”

A “sale” of personal information means “selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumer’s personal information by the business to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.”

A “service provider” is “a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, association, or other legal entity that is organized or operated for the profit or financial benefit of its shareholders or other owners, that processes information on behalf of a business and to which the business discloses a consumer’s personal information for a business purpose pursuant to a written contract, provided that the contract prohibits the entity receiving the information from retaining, using, or disclosing the personal information for any purpose other than for the specific purpose of performing the services specified in the contract for the business, or as otherwise permitted by this title, including retaining, using, or disclosing the personal information for a commercial purpose other than providing the services specified in the contract with the business.”

Mistakes in the DSAR process – even unintentional ones – can cause a data breach. For example, sending personal data to the wrong individual constitutes a data breach. A CCPA data breach opens the possibility of a private right of action under CCPA, which will exponentially increase your risk and financial liability. With damages in individual or class action lawsuits ranging between $100 and $750 per violation, costs could escalate quickly.

Since CCPA became law in early 2020, the California Attorney General has made a number of modifications to clarify how businesses should implement privacy requirements. As CCPA continues to evolve and new laws for California and other states emerge, you must continue to update and tailor your privacy operations.

CCPA includes a specific right for consumers to opt out of the sale of personal information. This is an important difference between CCPA and the European Union’s GDPR, which requires companies to prompt consumers to “accept” cookies and other tracking technologies before progressing on a website.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was passed in 2018. It provides for many consumer privacy rights and imposes many responsibilities on companies that collect and use personal data. The CCPA is one of the strongest state privacy laws in the United States. It also goes far beyond many federal laws.

The goal of CCPA is to give consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them. CCPA protects the personal data of consumers who are residents of California, including households and individuals. CCPA covers collection, processing, as well as sale of Personal Information.

Responsibilities include:

· Provide two or more ways for consumers to request information (except businesses operating exclusively online with a direct relationship to the consumer can use just email)

· Train employees about how to administer consumer rights under the CCPA.

· Can’t discriminate against consumers by denying goods or services or charging difference prices to consumers who exercise their CCPA rights.

Exception: A business may do so if that difference is reasonably related to the value provided to the businesses by the consumer’s data.

· Businesses must have a written agreement with the service providers to restrict use of personal information beyond specified purposes.

· For transfers of personal information to third parties that aren’t service providers, there are strict restrictions on use of the data by these third parties.

Businesses must disclose: · categories of personal information collected · categories of sources from which information was collected · purposes for which the information was collected · categories of third parties with whom the information is shared Consumers have the right to request the specific pieces of personal information collected about them.

CCPA requires that businesses must comply with an opt-out request within 15 business days.

When you receive a consumer’s request to access or delete, CCPA requires that you confirm receipt of their request within 10 business days.

CCPA specifies that businesses must respond to requests to access or delete within 45 calendar days.

Some of the benefits of SIEM include the following:

· shortens the time it takes to identify threats significantly, minimizing the damage from those threats;

· offers a holistic view of an organization's information security environment, making it easier to gather and analyze security information to keep systems safe -- all of an organization's data goes into a centralized repository where it is stored and easily accessible;

· can be used by companies for a variety of use cases that revolve around data or logs, including security programs, audit and compliance reporting, help desk and network troubleshooting;

· supports large amounts of data so organizations can continue to scale out and increase their data;

· provides threat detection and security alerts; and

· can perform detailed forensic analysis in the event of major security breaches.

To be certain that an alert is followed up properly and that further escalation of a cyber incident is avoided, cyber security expertise is required. An expert is needed to understand what is going on and how to respond accordingly. Hence, it is vital that a SIEM is only staffed internally when there are enough security experts available with the required knowledge, if this requirement cannot be met it is advised to outsource it to a security partner.

The following steps will be performed by the SIEM and cyber security personnel continuously: 1. Log collection: Logs and event data that is generated by applications, hosts, network devices and network traffic is collected by the SIEM. 2. Log processing: The collected data is processed so that it can be stored in a structured matter. This process is also known as parsing. 3. Log analysis: The stored data is used to provide an overview on the dashboard, report and potentially trigger an alert. On this data, real-time analysis will be performed in which detection rules can trigger an alert. This happens when certain conditions are met, that could indicate suspicious behaviour. Default detection rules might be available. However, customized detection rules can be created by a cyber security expert to meet specific security needs. 4. Alert analysis: This step needs to be performed by a cyber security expert. Alerts are cues that might be an indication of compromise. When an alert is triggered, the SIEM can notify cyber security personnel to perform further analysis in order to determine whether a legitimate cyberattack is happening.

So, when you hear a SIEM product marketer talk about “how many devices it supports”, they are talking about how many devices it can parse and normalize log files from. This takes the logs from human-understandable to machine-understandable, so the SIEM can understand and work with the logs from these many, disparate sources. Breaking down those logs from many sources into their components, or normalizing them, is what allows the SIEM to search across logs from multiple devices and to correlate events between them.

The following things needs to be kept in mind when you consider working with a SIEM: · The SIEM solution needs to be a fit for your company’s infrastructure. It is important to think about whether your company wants to install on-premise machines on which the SIEM is deployed or to use a cloud based SIEM solution. It is also important to think about what kind of log data is being generated and whether it is supported by the SIEM solution you consider. · Cost and maintenance for SIEM solutions can differ. The price, and how the cost is calculated, can differ for each SIEM solution. For instance, for cloud based SIEM solutions there can be costs based on the amount of data ingested into the cloud. Additionally, some SIEM solutions have licence-based subscriptions, or a combination of both. It is important to note that when a SIEM is deployed in the cloud, the costs for maintenance and hardware are small compared to a SIEM solution that is deployed on-premise. · The detection rules in the SIEM needs to be configured to meet your company’s security needs. The SIEM’s default detection rules can be used and usually cover a wide range of known attacks. However, each company has its own crown jewels that need protection. This could require custom-made rules to detect specific attacks. Therefore, in addition to this, it is possible to create customized detection rules. It is important that this process is done by a cyber security expert in order to meet specific security needs your company may have. · Specialised knowledge and experience are required to follow up on the alerts in the SIEM. A frequent misunderstanding is that a SIEM tool can prevent a cyberattack. This is not the case. Instead, a SIEM tool can detect cyber incidents in an early stage so that further escalation can be prevented. When suspicious behavior is detected, it needs to be analyzed swiftly by a cyber security expert in order to determine whether and which further actions are required.

A SIEM tool is used to monitor and analyze the activities that are taking place in the infrastructure of your company. By analyzing the events, suspicious behavior can be detected. Analyzing the detected suspicious behavior. swiftly and correctly plays an essential role in recognizing a (potential) cyberattack in an early stage. Detecting these early, allows your company to act fast and take the necessary measures.

A SIEM tool is a centralized system used to collect, store and analyse logs. Logs are generated in an infrastructure and originate from sources such as applications, hosts and network traffic.

Security information and event management (SIEM) is an approach to security management that combines SIM (security information management) and SEM (security event management) functions into one security management system.

Security information management (SIM) is the practice of collecting, monitoring, and analyzing security-related data from computer logs. A security information management system (SIMS) automates that practice. Security information management is sometimes called security event management (SEM) or security information and event management (SIEM).

SIEM As A Service comprises outsourcing the deployment, maintenance, and configuration of a SIEM in accordance with your company’s security needs. It is advisable that the outsourcing company has the required cyber security expertise. It is therefore important to be critical when looking for a security partner, this will ensure that the SIEM is correctly configured and your company’s security risks are covered.

There are many SIEM solutions available today. They each differ slightly with regards to the type of log sources that are supported. Additionally, SIEMs differ in the monitoring capacity, price and “location” where they are deployed. Location refers to the place in your company’s infrastructure in which a SIEM is deployed. There are two main types: · On-premise: One of the two main categories is the on-premise SIEMs. This traditional option usually requires machines on location that need to be deployed and maintained. An example of a SIEM that requires on-premise machines is the LogRhythm NextGen SIEM. · Cloud based: Nowadays there are also cloud based SIEMs available. This type of SIEM does not require on-premise hardware as it is deployed in the cloud. Azure Sentinel is an example of a cloud based SIEM by Microsoft

SIEM is important because it makes it easier for enterprises to manage security by filtering massive amounts of security data and prioritizing the security alerts the software generates. SIEM software enables organizations to detect incidents that may otherwise go undetected. The software analyzes the log entries to identify signs of malicious activity. In addition, since the system gathers events from different sources across the network, it can recreate the timeline of an attack, enabling a company to determine the nature of the attack and its impact on the business. A SIEM system can also help an organization meet compliance requirements by automatically generating reports that include all the logged security events among these sources. Without SIEM software, the company would have to gather log data and compile the reports manually. A SIEM system also enhances incident management by enabling the company's security team to uncover the route an attack takes across the network, identify the sources that were compromised and provide the automated tools to prevent the attacks in progress.

Candidates do not need a formally issued license to become a computer forensics analyst, but employers often prefer candidates who hold one or more of the following:

Global Information Assurance Certifications: GIAC certifications focus on incident response capabilities, and include seven unique programs as of 2020.
Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator: Offered by the world-renowned EC-Council, the CHFI designation appeals to professionals interested in investigating cybercrime.
Certified Forensic Computer Examiner: Delivered by the IACIS, the CFCE program includes two phases: a peer review phase and a certification phase. Candidates must recertify every three years to maintain valid standing.
Access Data Forensics Certifications: Access Data offers numerous specialized certifications for professionals who aspire to work in law enforcement settings.

Candidates do not need a formally issued license to become a computer forensics analyst, but employers often prefer candidates who hold one or more of the following:

Global Information Assurance Certifications: GIAC certifications focus on incident response capabilities, and include seven unique programs as of 2020.

Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator: Offered by the world-renowned EC-Council, the CHFI designation appeals to professionals interested in investigating cybercrime.

Certified Forensic Computer Examiner: Delivered by the IACIS, the CFCE program includes two phases: a peer review phase and a certification phase. Candidates must recertify every three years to maintain valid standing.

AccessData Forensics Certifications: AccessData offers numerous specialized certifications for professionals who aspire to work in law enforcement settings.

Forensic investigators typically follow standard procedures, which vary depending on the context of the forensic investigation, the device being investigated or the information investigators are looking for. In general, these procedures include the following three steps:

Data collection: Electronically stored information must be collected in a way that maintains its integrity. This often involves physically isolating the device under investigation to ensure it cannot be accidentally contaminated or tampered with. Examiners make a digital copy, also called a forensic image, of the device's storage media, and then they lock the original device in a safe or other secure facility to maintain its pristine condition. The investigation is conducted on the digital copy. In other cases, publicly available information may be used for forensic purposes, such as Facebook posts or public Venmo charges for purchasing illegal products or services displayed on the Vicemo website.
Analysis: Investigators analyze digital copies of storage media in a sterile environment to gather the information for a case. Various tools are used to assist in this process, including Basis Technology's Autopsy for hard drive investigations and the Wireshark network protocol analyzer. A mouse jiggler is useful when examining a computer to keep it from falling asleep and losing volatile memory data that is lost when the computer goes to sleep or loses power.
Presentation: The forensic investigators present their findings in a legal proceeding, where a judge or jury uses them to help determine the result of a lawsuit. In a data recovery situation, forensic investigators present what they were able to recover from a compromised system.

In general, these procedures include the following three steps:

Data collection: Electronically stored information must be collected in a way that maintains its integrity. This often involves physically isolating the device under investigation to ensure it cannot be accidentally contaminated or tampered with. Examiners make a digital copy, also called a forensic image, of the device's storage media, and then they lock the original device in a safe or other secure facility to maintain its pristine condition. The investigation is conducted on the digital copy. In other cases, publicly available information may be used for forensic purposes, such as Facebook posts or public Venmo charges for purchasing illegal products or services displayed on the Vicemo website.

Analysis: Investigators analyze digital copies of storage media in a sterile environment to gather the information for a case. Various tools are used to assist in this process, including Basis Technology's Autopsy for hard drive investigations and the Wireshark network protocol analyzer. A mouse jiggler is useful when examining a computer to keep it from falling asleep and losing volatile memory data that is lost when the computer goes to sleep or loses power.

Presentation: The forensic investigators present their findings in a legal proceeding, where a judge or jury uses them to help determine the result of a lawsuit. In a data recovery situation, forensic investigators present what they were able to recover from a compromised system.

Most digital forensics analysts hold at least a four-year bachelor’s degree when they land their first job. Those seeking master’s degrees and/or optional certifications usually add 1-3 years to that timeline.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS May 2019), the median salary for information security analysts was $99,730 in 2019. Those in the lowest 10 percent earned $57,810 or less, while those in the highest 10 percent earned $158,860 annually or more.

Computer forensics is an ever-evolving field. New challenges arise for computer forensics investigators as cybercrimes grow in frequency and complexity, and hardware and software advances. Computer forensics can be a stressful field, as you often need to find information quickly for a criminal investigation and criminals can be highly skilled at technology. On the other hand, a computer forensics career is in a top growing field that has many diverse employment opportunities. Some of these digital forensics jobs include becoming a forensic computer analyst or a cyber forensic investigator. If you’re someone who would like to put your technology skills toward keeping the public safe, then a rewarding career in forensic computing is for you.

Because the world increasingly uses computers, it means that the world may need to have more specialists with the knowledge and know-how to handle the crimes that follow.

As noted above, growth is expected to be quite fast in the information security analyst field.

According to the BLS, the computer system analyst field is expected to grow only 9 percent between 2018 and 2028 (BLS 2019). While not nearly as impressive as the information security analyst position, this rate is still faster than the expected rate of growth for all positions, on average, which is just 5 percent.

As with any career, the job prospects for a computer forensic examiner will depend largely on the experience and education that a person brings to the table. Those that have gained at least some experience working with computers, such as experience as a database administrator, will have better luck than those with a less technological background.

People who have an interest in the outlook for the computer forensic examiner career and who want to know more about the possibilities that it can offer will find a number of professional organizations that offer resources and information. The International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners (ISFCE), and the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) are two organizations that can offer unique insights about this growing career.

International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists: This high-profile organization offers three tiers of memberships to students, junior professionals, and law enforcement personnel. IACIS training and certification programs carry major prestige, and members enjoy priority access.

International Society of Forensic Computer Examiners: This organization administers the industry-standard Certified Computer Examiner (CCE) credential. Formal membership remains available solely to CCE-certified professionals, who enjoy discounts on professional liability insurance along with many other career-building resources and benefits.

The American Society of Digital Forensics and eDiscovery: Operating in select U.S. cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, this organization offers membership benefits that include hours of downloadable training videos and access to an exclusive career center.

High Technology Crime Investigation Association: Offering free courses, intensive online training seminars, and a packed lineup of conferences and events, this education-oriented organization remains open to active professionals who investigate technology-based crimes and students in relevant programs.

1. Develop familiarity with digital technologies, including computer operating systems and programming. Build an academic background in mathematics and sciences.

2. Enroll in a bachelor’s program in computer science or computer engineering. Qualified applicants can also consider specialized undergraduate programs in cybersecurity, depending on their availability.

3. Add a specialized master’s degree in cybersecurity or digital forensics to earn a competitive edge in the job market. Consider adding optional specialized computer forensics certifications to bolster your resume.

4. Identify a potential practice area, either specifically or by narrowing it down to public-sector and private-sector options. Research job openings that match your qualifications and desired career path criteria, then apply.

1. Develop familiarity with digital technologies, including computer operating systems and programming. Build an academic background in mathematics and sciences.

Computer forensics analysts assist in the investigation of crimes and cybersecurity incidents. In many cases, they work to recover hidden, encrypted, or deleted information related to the case. They also safeguard the integrity of data by following a chain of custody that ensures its admissibility in court.

Most people enter the field after earning a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree. Applicable majors include computer science and computer engineering, as well as specialized cybersecurity degrees that offer concentrated study paths in digital forensics.

Anti-forensics is the practice of attempting to thwart computer forensic analysis through encryption, over-writing data to make it unrecoverable, modifying files’ metadata, and file obfuscation (disguising files). As with encryption, the evidence that such methods have been used may be stored elsewhere on the computer or on another computer that the suspect can access. It’s very rare to see anti-forensics tools used correctly and frequently enough to totally obscure their presence or the presence of the evidence they were used to hide.

Digital forensic investigator
Computer expertise technician
Information security analyst
Digital forensics analyst
Digital/computer forensics engineer
Information systems security analyst
Forensic computer analyst
Cybersecurity consultant
Computer/digital forensic technician.

Digital forensic investigator Computer expertise technician Information security analyst Digital forensics analyst Digital/computer forensics engineer Information systems security analyst Forensic computer analyst Cybersecurity consultant Computer/digital forensic technician.

Technical Knowledge: Computer forensics professionals require up-to-date, advanced knowledge of digital storage methods, operating systems, programming, hacking techniques, and malware.

Strong Ethics: The ability to ethically handle retrieved and recovered data ranks among the most critical hard skills a computer forensics analyst needs.

Understand the Law: Digital forensics experts need to understand the legal aspects of criminal investigations to at least an intermediate level.

Knowledge of Best Practices: Chain of custody practices represent a crucial aspect of what digital forensics experts do. Capable professionals must display excellent mastery of best practices.

Platform familiarity: While the days of worrying about infrastructure systems and servers are over, most engineers should be familiar with infrastructure automation tools (Kubernetes) and have experience working with virtual machines (VMs) and pods.
Programming/scripting languages: Most engineers would require familiarity with at least one or two programming languages. Given the variety of languages out there, organizations tend to be very targeted in hiring for specific languages, such as Java, Go, C and Python.
Operations: These would be things like configuration management, provisioning, and deployment, which are automated and require programming skills.
Security: Some organizations and technology companies have used the term DevSecOps to emphasize the security aspects of DevOps – although security should already be baked into DevOps processes.
Integration: This involves integrating different pipelines, through which development teams deploy different features that come together in an application release, which makes release automation and continuous delivery more important than integration.
Communication and team management: communication is the most important skill for a DevOps professional.

A DevOps team is made up of skilled professionals who work closely together but carry out different roles or are cross-trained to perform multiple roles. The roles might vary from one team to the next, or they might go by different names, but they can all play an important part in the DevOps effort. Some of the more common DevOps roles include the following:

DevOps engineer: Oversees DevOps operations and the software development lifecycle, while fostering a collaborative environment and cross-team communication.
Release manager: Oversees the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline, as well as other operations associated with building and deploying applications.
Automation engineer: Responsible for planning and delivering automation solutions that eliminate manual, repetitive tasks and support the CI/CD pipeline.
Software developer: Writes and updates application code, along with unit tests and IaC instruction sets, where applicable.
Software tester: Ensures products meet defined QA standards and can be safely released to customers.
Security engineer: Focuses on application and infrastructure security, with an eye toward data integrity and compliance.
DevOps evangelist: Promotes an organization's DevOps initiatives and articulates its benefits, relying heavily on interpersonal communication.
User experience (UX) engineer: Ensures products meet UX expectations and UX goals align with test and release goals.

DevSecOps engineers typically test and monitor a company's system for vulnerabilities. Then, they will work in collaboration with program developers (often called DevOps engineers) to create new programs that patch holes in the current security program, add countermeasures to prevent new threats, or simply make the program stronger and more effective.

They also often need to present the results of their security tests — and the programs they created to respond to those results — with other professionals within the company. Ultimately, they are responsible for keeping the company's digital data safe through monitoring, programming, testing, and communication.

Becoming an effective DevSecOps engineer requires a distinct set of skills and practical experience. DevSecOps engineers should have a deep understanding of how security impacts each stage of the development pipeline and the final product or service. Just as important is their ability to be team players with good communication skills.

The ideal DevSecOps engineer has involvement in and appreciation of every stage in the software project lifecycle, from initial design and build to rollout and maintenance. In a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) environment, this entails working under pressure with critical task times.

A career in DevOps is not for the faint of heart. It's a demanding undertaking that requires skilled professionals who know how to solve problems and work in a team setting. DevOps practitioners must be able to adapt to changing circumstances, collaborate with colleagues, and empathize with customers and other stakeholders. Before deciding on a career in DevOps, candidates should have a clear sense of the DevOps job market and what it takes to be a DevOps professional.

The average DevSecOps salary in the USA is $143,294 per year or $73.48 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $121,500 per year while most experienced workers make up to $180,000 per year.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary of a cybersecurity analyst is $103,590 ($49.80 per hour) (2020). The longer you are in this field, the more you can make. However, if you have a Master's and a specialized skill set, you may be able to make more. There will be different pay rates for various titles.

Most information security analyst positions require a bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field. Employers usually prefer to hire analysts with experience in a related occupation.

Cybersecurity analysts are more entry-level roles in the cybersecurity field. In order to be qualified, you will need a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and information assurance. This type of degree program will help you learn IT fundamentals as well as critical cybersecurity foundations that will prepare you for the requirements of this job. Scripting and programming, data management, penetration testing, hacking and countermeasures, and more will all be critical elements of your cybersecurity education.

A cybersecurity analyst protects an organization from cyber threats and actively develops protocols used to respond to and quell cyberattacks. Cybersecurity analysts protect organizational infrastructure, such as computer networks and hardware devices, from cybercriminals and hackers seeking to cause damage or steal sensitive information.

A cybersecurity analyst is a trained cyber professional who specializes in network and IT infrastructure security. The cybersecurity analyst thoroughly understands cyberattacks, malware, and the behavior of cybercriminals, and actively seeks to anticipate and prevent these attacks. The analyst usually possesses at least a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity or a related field.

The job of a cybersecurity analyst is a specialized position that requires a unique skill set. Some of the required skills of a cybersecurity analyst are:

Communication: You may understand the threats to your company's network, but you need to be able to explain them in laymen's terms to others. You will have to communicate with others a lot in this job and work with a team that is responsible for security.
IT Knowledge: This job requires you to stay up-to-date on trends in the technology world. You need to be aware of the best practices, techniques, and any laws that change.
Creativity: You may not think a cybersecurity expert needs to be creative, but this is a must! You need to think of creative ways that bad guys can breach your organization's system, then think of creative solutions to prevent them.
Strong Attention to Detail: This is not something that should be overlooked. You need to be detail-oriented for this job, paying strong attention to the smallest adjustments and changes in your organization's network.
Reading Comprehension: Reading work-related information.
Critical Thinking: Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Listening: Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Complex Problem Solving: Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

Hacktivism comes in many forms, each with its own way to support a hacktivist’s intentions. That might be promoting free speech and information, crashing websites, or exposing incriminating information. Here are 10 known types of hacktivism:

Anonymous blogging
RECAP
Website defacement
Website redirects
Website mirroring
Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS)
Virtual sit-ins
Leaks
Doxing
Geo-bombing

Despite any altruistic intentions, hacktivism attacks are hacking attacks, which means they’re illegal. But they’re also difficult to prosecute because they’re mostly conducted anonymously.

Unlike traditional hacking attacks, though, hacktivism attacks rarely have true malicious intent. In some cases, you might think of them as a form of antagonism, such as the way we might see graffiti on billboards.

Still, just as this is vandalism in real life, website defacing is considered cyber vandalism. This is just one example of the types of hacktivism that exist today.

Hackers and hacktivists generally use the same tools and techniques to achieve their goals. Unlike hacktivists, hackers are not defined solely by social causes.

Hacktivists generally believe they’re acting altruistically for the public good. Similar to activism in our physical world, online activists seek to bring public attention to a cause that’s important to them in hopes they’ll invoke change. This often means exposing and correcting perceived injustices.

The nature of the perceived injustices might be political, social, or religious:

Politically motivated hacktivism seeks to promote or upheave a political agenda, sometimes to the extent of anarchy.
Socially motivated hacktivism sets out to expose social injustices, ranging from government censorship to human rights.
Religiously motivated hacktivism acts in the name of a religious ideology and may seek to discredit or encourage the belief.

Carrying out hacking attacks as a form of activism. So, you might think of hacktivism as online activism, digital activism, or cyberactivism,

People who carried out hacktivism attacks are hacktivists. They generally claim to operate with altruistic intentions, meaning not to cause malicious harm but rather to draw attention to a cause that’s important to the hacktivist group.

Hacktivists target entities that they believe violate their values or stand in the way of their agenda. Common targets may include Nation-states, Government agencies, Corporations, Religious institutions, Terrorist organizations.

Malicious insiders have a distinct advantage in that they already have authorized access to your company's network, information, and assets. They may have accounts that give them access to critical systems or data, making it easy for them to locate it, circumvent security controls and send it outside of the organization.

Insider threats are users with legitimate access to company assets who use that access, whether maliciously or unintentionally, to cause harm to the business. Insider threats aren’t necessarily current employees, they can also be former employees, contractors, or partners who have access to an organization’s systems or data.

Company unclassified networks (internal and extranets), partner and community portals, and commonly accessed websites.
Proprietary information (business strategy, financial, human resource, email, and product data).
Export-controlled technology.
Administrative and user credentials (usernames, passwords, tokens, etc.).
Foreign intelligence entities seek the aggregate of unclassified or proprietary documents which could paint a classified picture.

Inside attackers come from within your organization - they can be insiders in your company with bad intentions, or cyberspies impersonating contractors, third parties, or remote workers. They can work both autonomously or as part of nation-states, crime rings, or competing organizations. While they might also be remote third-party suppliers or contractors located all over the world, they have some level of legitimate access to your systems and data.

Detecting insider threats is no easy task for security teams. The insider already has legitimate access to the organization’s information and assets and distinguishing between a user’s normal activity and potentially malicious activity is a challenge. Insiders typically know where the sensitive data lives within the organization and often have elevated levels of access, they don’t act maliciously most of the time; that’s why it’s harder to detect their harmful activities than it is to detect external attacks. As a result, a data breach caused by an insider is significantly more costly for organizations than one caused by an external attacker.

Publicly available information helps foreign intelligence entities identify people with placement and access.
Contract information (bid, proposal, award, or strategies).
Company website with technical and program information.
Connections (partnerships, key suppliers, joint ventures, etc.) with other cleared or non-cleared companies.
Employee association with companies or technologies made public through scientific journals, academia, public speaking engagements, social networking sites, etc.

When organizations detect gaps in their security, they intuitively deploy a standalone product to fill that void. A solution filled with standalone products, however, will continue to have inherent gaps. To avoid these security gaps, organizations need to take a holistic approach. This requires a multilayered, integrated security solution. Deploying a portfolio of products that can seamlessly work together is the best way to enhance security.

An APT is a cyber-attack launched against a specific company, person, or institution. These attacks are usually deployed by well-trained attackers using advanced technology, strategic tactics, and the necessary (financial) resources. APTs are well-structured and complex.

Most APT groups are affiliated with or are agents of governments of sovereign states. An APT could also be a professional hacker working full-time for the above. These state-sponsored hacking organizations usually have the resources and ability to closely research their target and determine the best point of entry.

According to Bitkom (Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e. V.), medium-sized companies are most seriously affected by IT espionage or sabotage – over 60 percent. Most organizations are already compromised without even being aware of it.

A successful advanced persistent threat can be extremely effective and beneficial to the attacker. For nation-states, there are significant political motivations, such as military intelligence. For smaller groups, APTs can lead to significant competitive advantages or lucrative payouts.

The interesting thing is that all the services used by cybercriminals cost money, from malware development all the way through to money muling. All the individuals involved in the criminal ecosystem that supports fraud through a malware campaign require payment. This means that unless the criminals are able to access large numbers of bulk payment systems, and get high-value payouts on each occasion, each criminal is relying on small profit margins from each hack just to keep their business going. They then need to reinvest these profits into developing their botnets and campaigns further in order to have continued success.

Cyber Criminals (Organized Cybercriminals)

Cybercriminals are individuals or groups of people who use technology to commit cybercrime to steal sensitive company information or personal data and generate profits.

Hacktivists

Hacktivists are individuals or groups of hackers who carry out malicious activity to promote a political agenda, religious belief, or social ideology. Hacktivists are not like cybercriminals who hack computer networks to steal data for cash. They are individuals or groups of hackers who work together and see themselves as fighting injustice.

State-sponsored Attacker (APT Groups)

State-sponsored attackers have particular objectives aligned with either the political, commercial, or military interests of their country of origin. These types of attackers are not in a hurry. The government organizations have highly skilled hackers and specialize in detecting vulnerabilities and exploiting these before the holes are patched. It is very challenging to defeat these attackers due to the vast resources at their disposal.

Insider Threats

The insider threat is a threat to an organization's security or data that comes from within. These types of threats are usually occurred from employees or former employees, but may also arise from third parties, including contractors, temporary workers, employees, or customers.

Malicious Insider Threats

Malicious threats are attempts by an insider to access and potentially harm an organization's data, systems, or IT infrastructure. These insider threats are often attributed to dissatisfied employees or ex-employees who believe that the organization was doing something wrong with them in some way, and they feel justified in seeking revenge.

Cyber Terrorists

Terrorism, by its very nature, seeks out whatever means possible to proliferate fear, unrest, and discord across the globe. Cyber terrorists utilize an array of cyber weapons to disrupt critical services and commit harmful acts to further their cause. Generally speaking (though far from exclusively), they target the state operations, businesses, and critical services that will cause the most dramatic effect.

Anonymous blogging
RECAP
Website defacement
Website redirects
Website mirroring
Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS)
Virtual sit-ins
Leaks
Doxing
Geo-bombing

Despite any altruistic intentions, hacktivism attacks are hacking attacks, which means they’re illegal. But they’re also difficult to prosecute because they’re mostly conducted anonymously.

Still, just as this is vandalism in real life, website defacing is considered cyber vandalism. This is just one example of the types of hacktivism that exist today.

Company unclassified networks (internal and extranets), partner and community portals, and commonly accessed websites.
Proprietary information (business strategy, financial, human resource, email, and product data).
Export-controlled technology.
Administrative and user credentials (usernames, passwords, tokens, etc.).
Foreign intelligence entities seek the aggregate of unclassified or proprietary documents which could paint a classified picture.

Hackers and hacktivists generally use the same tools and techniques to achieve their goals. Unlike hacktivists, hackers are not defined solely by social causes.

The nature of the perceived injustices might be political, social, or religious:

Politically motivated hacktivism seeks to promote or upheave a political agenda, sometimes to the extent of anarchy.
Socially motivated hacktivism sets out to expose social injustices, ranging from government censorship to human rights.
Religiously motivated hacktivism acts in the name of a religious ideology and may seek to discredit or encourage the belief.

Carrying out hacking attacks as a form of activism. So, you might think of hacktivism as online activism, digital activism, or cyberactivism,

Individual users: This category focuses on individuals as victims. The threat actors steal and use stolen data, credit card numbers, online financial account information, or ss numbers.

Enterprises: This category of financial cybercrime focuses on enterprises and business org. Threat actors will attempt to steal research on a new product to sell it to another supplier which deprives the legitimate business of profits.

Governments: Governments are also the targets of threat actors. If military information can be stolen, it can be sold. Government information can also be stolen and published in front of its citizens to embarrass the government.

Publicly available information helps foreign intelligence entities identify people with placement and access.
Contract information (bid, proposal, award, or strategies).
Company website with technical and program information.
Connections (partnerships, key suppliers, joint ventures, etc.) with other cleared or non-cleared companies.
Employee association with companies or technologies made public through scientific journals, academia, public speaking engagements, social networking sites, etc.

Unsecured Wi-Fi connections: This remains one of the main causes of cyber attacks. Unsecured networks give hackers a free pass to confidential log-in details from connected computers.
Insecure passwords: Failure to secure your passwords makes them easily accessible to hackers who can gain access to your system and launch cyber attacks against you.
Human error: According to Kaspersky, human error is the second most probable cause of a serious security breach, second to malware.

As a startup owner, you should be not only worried about the financial implications of a data breach, but also the legal consequences that may follow. Government penalties, fines, and in extreme circumstances, jail time, are some of the legal ramifications of not protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

VPN. A virtual private network (VPN) creates a private network from a public internet connection ensuring online privacy and anonymity. It should be a part of your cybersecurity toolkit. Secure the network with a VPN to defend against DDoS attacks, malware, snooping, and a wide range of other online threats.

Antivirus. Use antivirus to protect your system from viruses and malware. Malware may include viruses, trojans, spyware, worms, etc. Antivirus software is essential to cybersecurity as it helps you protect your start-up’s data from hackers and other online threats.

Backup. A comprehensive backup strategy is a vital part of a start-up’s cybersecurity safety net. Backing up your mission-critical data ensures that it’s available for restore in the event of a breach or a ransomware attack. With a backup, you can always start afresh.

Risk assessment. A risk assessment is a comprehensive audit of your system. Assess risks and vulnerabilities to find possible entry points. Assessing risks and vulnerabilities helps you know where your business is most vulnerable which, in turn, helps you patch these weaknesses and protect your company data.

Ransomware- Phishing- DoS- M alware

Most start-ups don’t have robust cybersecurity infrastructure, which makes them an easy target.

The first reason is because you care about your new business, so why not protect it? A common misconception about a cyberattack is that it’ll never happen to you—until it does.

Another reason is a cyberattack cost a lot.

And the last reason is trust. If you work with customers, having any kind of data leak can absolutely destroy a company’s reputation.

Fake Invoices

Scammers create phony invoices that look like they’re for products or services your business uses — maybe office or cleaning supplies or domain name registrations. Scammers hope the person who pays your bills will assume the invoices are for things the company ordered. Scammers know that when the invoice is for something critical, like keeping your website up and running, you may pay first and ask questions later. Except it’s all fake, and if you pay, your money may be gone.

Directory Listing and Advertising Scams

Con artists try to fool you into paying for nonexistent advertising or a listing in a nonexistent directory. They often pretend to be from the Yellow Pages. They may ask you to provide contact information for a “free” listing or say the call is simply to confirm your information for an existing order. Later, you’ll get a big bill, and the scammers may use details or even a recording of the earlier call to pressure you to pay.

Utility Company Imposter Scams

Scammers pretend to call from a gas, electric, or water company saying your service is about to be interrupted. They want to scare you into believing a late bill must be paid immediately, often with a wire transfer or a reloadable card or gift card. Their timing is often carefully planned to create the greatest urgency — like just before the dinner rush in a restaurant.

Government Agency Imposter Scams

Scammers impersonate government agents, threaten to suspend business licenses, impose fines, or even take legal action if you don’t pay taxes, renew government licenses or registrations, or other fees. Some businesses have been scared into buying workplace compliance posters that are available for free from the U.S. Department of Labor. Others have been tricked into paying to receive nonexistent business grants from fake government programs. Businesses have received letters, often claiming to be from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, warning that they’ll lose their trademarks if they don’t pay a fee immediately, or saying that they owe money for additional registration services.

Tech Support Scams

Tech support scams start with a call or an alarming pop-up message pretending to be from a well-known company, telling you there is a problem with your computer security. Their goal is to get your money, access to your computer, or both. They may ask you to pay them to fix a problem you don’t really have, or enroll your business in a nonexistent or useless computer maintenance program. They may even access sensitive data like passwords, customer records, or credit card information.

Malware - Viruses - Ransomware - Phishing

Small businesses are attractive targets because they have information that cybercriminals want, and they typically lack the security infrastructure of larger businesses. Sometimes the gains to be had from attacking a small business are smaller than what the results could be if a larger enterprise were the focus of a cyber-attack. But, because of the corresponding lack of security controls, bad actors can see small businesses as “easy pickings”. Other times, however, a small business is viewed as a critical component of the attack vector into a large enterprise. Large firms of every type use small business vendors. The SBA incentivizes large companies to use small business suppliers. Cybercriminals have found that attacking a large firm through their small business partners can be a successful strategy.

Yes. Because they normally store sensitive information desirable for attacker, and also they can be seen as an easy entry to larger nonprofits or government entities.

That depends on the strength of the security of individual nonprofits’ websites and how consistently users follow strong password protocols.

Typically, the main website remains intact, but the hackers create additional content that can’t be good for your nonprofit’s reputation – or Google analytics. So, on balance, a site takeover does not create the same type of liability risks that other security breaches do, but cleaning up the mess can be time consuming and costly.

Lock Down the Digital Donation System

Using encryption and a secure website helps protect information during online financial transactions. Whether accepting donations or accepting payment through an online store, protecting customer and company data should be a top concern for nonprofit cybersecurity

Secure Your Email Communications

Using a secure server and network to collect, sort and transmit important donor information can help you keep your email communications secure. Email addresses, physical addresses, and other personal identification information can be used in a nonprofit cyberattack.

Get a Criminal Background Check

Starting the onboarding process with a criminal background check is one of the best ways to ensure your volunteers are there for good will. In addition to making sure you have the right people, be sure to train employees on cybersecurity at the beginning of their safety training to make sure there isn’t an accidental cyber breach.

Insurance policies are available to cover losses from breaches affecting a nonprofit’s own information and losses affecting third parties’ information (such as patients/clients, and donors). The types of losses/expenses that cyber insurance can cover a range from the cost of notifying all the folks whose information may have been comprised; to the cost of content repair, such as repair to a hacked website; to the cost of hiring a PR whiz to help your nonprofit recover its reputation after a severe security breach. There are even some policies that address business interruption in the event a cybersecurity breach is so severe that it forces the nonprofit to temporarily suspend operations

Risk #1: Online Donations While technology has made it much easier for nonprofits and charitable organizations to accept donations online, it has also made it that much simpler for a digital pickpocket to steal from the organization.

While payment is easy for the customer, having an unsecured website could mean leaving an open avenue for a cyberattack.

Risk #2: Phishing Scams and Ransomware

Communicating with donors, partner organizations, and clients is a simple process today. Automated emails and newsletters keep interested parties aware of what's going on in the organization. But as you're responding to emails, you could be putting the organization at risk. Clicking a bad link, downloading a seemingly safe Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, or even just opening a PDF file could put your hard-won funds at risk.

Cybercriminals use phishing emails, a type of social engineering scam, in an attempt to obtain sensitive information. They may also install ransomware, or ransom malware, on a nonprofit's computer system, blocking access until they receive a sum of money or another action has been completed.

Risk #3: Volunteers

Volunteers share their time for many reasons, from being a surviving family member to wanting to give back to the local community. And while many volunteers have good intentions, there are a few that may volunteer their time to gain access to your data stores. Training time is short, onboarding an on-the-job process, and the bad guys can sometimes slip through the cracks, leaving your organization at risk for a cyberattack.

Lock Down the Digital Donation System

Secure Your Email Communications

Get a Criminal Background Check

While payment is easy for the customer, having an unsecured website could mean leaving an open avenue for a cyberattack.

Risk #2: Phishing Scams and Ransomware

Risk #3: Volunteers

Many nonprofits collect and store sensitive personal information that is protected by law as confidential. When there is a breach of the confidentiality of those data, that poses a risk for the individuals whose data was disclosed, AND for the nonprofit that will now potentially be subject to liability for the breach.

First Step | Risk assessment: assessing your nonprofit’s data risks is to take inventory of all the data your nonprofit collects and identify where it is stored

Second Step | Are the data your nonprofit maintains "protected" or "confidential"?: Second, know whether the data your nonprofit collects and maintains is covered by federal or state regulations as “personally identifiable information.” If so, forty-seven states’ laws require nonprofits to inform persons whose “personally identifiable information” is disclosed in a security breach, and 31 states have laws that require the disposal of such data in certain ways. Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission's Disposal Rule also requires proper disposal of information in consumer reports and records to protect against “unauthorized access to or use of the information.” Protecting personally identifiable information is all about training staff on how to collect/store/dispose of and generally protect this data.

Third Step | Drill down on the actual risks: Third, consider using the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework to help your nonprofit identify risks, and make management decisions to mitigate those risks. This framework is not intended to be a one-size-fits-all approach but to allow organizations to manage cybersecurity risks in a cost-effective way, based on their own environment and needs.

It makes sense for EVERY nonprofit to - at a minimum - assess the risks of a data security breach, and protect its data from unauthorized disclosure.

(1) Understand how a breach of privacy claim could affect your nonprofit

(2) Work with a knowledgeable insurance agent or broker who not only understands how different cyber liability policies differ in their coverage, but also understands your nonprofit’s operations and activities well enough that s/he can break down your nonprofit’s exposures with you. Choosing insurance products should be a collaborative effort with your nonprofit’s broker/agent

(3) as with all insurance, take a hard look at the cost of the annual premium.

PCI compliance comes into play any time you are accepting credit cards as a form of payment. During fundraising efforts, and accepting donations on your website, you will undoubtedly be handling and processing credit card information. It is important to remain PCI compliant on your website’s donation page, and also when accepting donations via credit card at fundraisers and events.

PCI compliance is not optional, and it is a necessary component of your organization’s security plan. Not only will you avoid paying legal fees, but you will gain trust with your donors while protecting their personal information. If your nonprofit is flagged as a company that has had credit card theft in the past, it will be very difficult to bring new donors on board for fear of history repeating itself.

Becoming and remaining PCI compliant is a must for any serious nonprofit organization. On top of the possibility of bad press making it harder to attract new donors, you run the risk of having to pay substantial fines set in place by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). These fines range anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000 depending on the size of your operation.

Because many nonprofits store personally identifiable information (PII), including full names, addresses, social security numbers, medical information, driver’s license numbers, email addresses, and more, their IT systems are a target-rich environment.

Rely on Experts

The best thing small and medium-sized businesses can do to stay safe is to work with an expert. Outsource the complex, difficult-to-understand tasks to an IT expert or Managed Service Provider. A comprehensive approach to cybersecurity involves working through every little detail; if you do not feel equipped to do this, hire help.

Complete a Risk Assessment

Companies should perform a thorough Risk Assessment. A Risk Assessment evaluates all possible vulnerabilities and establishes a blueprint for the creation of Privacy and Security Policies and Procedures.

Backup Data

Backup and archive everything. We recommend following the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of your data on two different storage platforms, one of which is offsite. Hackers coerce business owners into paying large sums of money to release their data/end a ransomware attack.

Secure Email

Using a free version of email service may be tempting, but doing so puts your company at risk. Paid email services offer cybersecurity features, like filtering and warning labels that protect users from spam, malware, and phishing threats. This removes a great deal of risk. Even though employees should be trained to recognize and report these malicious email attacks, preventing them from interacting with these types of messages altogether is ideal.

Lack of Oversight

In a small business setting, each employee is responsible for a significant percentage of the company’s output. Therefore, everyone is so wrapped up in their own projects that they tend to push (what they consider) “non-urgent” matters, like cybersecurity, aside.

Additionally, small and medium-sized businesses rarely have an in-house IT department or a sizable number of employees who understand cybersecurity.

Likelihood of Personal Device Usage

Small businesses tend to have more flexible scheduling; employees may work from home or take their work out of the office. This generally less regimented approach results in more employees using personal devices at work.

Any laptops, computers, mobile phones, or tablets that employees that access the company network must be protected like all other in-office equipment. For example, failing to install adequate firewalls on a single employee’s laptop opens the company up to a myriad of possible attacks.

Lack of Time

Again, small and medium-sized businesses have limited time and resources. They tend to skimp on employee training. This may seem like it has little to do with cybersecurity, but employees play a large role in your company’s safety. Many cybersecurity attacks, especially those related to email, can be prevented by employee diligence.

First, an organization has to clean up the mess, or rather, patch the leak. The problem must be solved as quickly as possible. Therefore, a small business will likely have to hire a compliance or cybersecurity expert to help with the cleanup. They will likely pay premium prices and rush fees because this must be done immediately. Not to mention, all other business matters must be put on hold.

The business may incur legal fees or fines. The bad publicity from the incident may lead to a loss of business or trust from clients, employees, and business associates.

Covered Entities must notify individuals whose information was exposed in a breach.

Monitor and Target: Once an attacker has gained a foothold within an organization, it is vital that the security team continuously monitor abnormal behavior to detect the breadcrumbs of emerging attacks. There is always a period when the attacker has an initial foothold and is working out what move to make next; this period can be used to a business’ advantage.

Always Expect a Breach: Companies should test their existing capabilities and have a plan-of-action for when the worst happens. They should consistently monitor whether existing mechanisms give enough warning and are able to hold threats at bay long enough for the company to act.

Create a Culture of Security: Business leaders should be vocal about the importance of cyber security across the organization, and all departments should know that cyber security is relevant to them. The Board should be briefed regularly on cyber security and security providers should be involved in this process.

Scrutinize Your Supply Chain: Attackers are turning to suppliers or smaller third-party vendors to find vulnerabilities and get into the heart of critical systems. Suppliers’ vulnerabilities are everyone’s vulnerabilities.

We need better technology that delivers more effective security to protect data, combined with ease of use. Such technology needs to be transparent to users while removing them from security decisions. The principle that everything – 100% – should be encrypted all of the time, in storage, in transit, and in use, is the goal. This means that when a file on a running system is copied from one location to another, it remains encrypted.

Furthermore, strong authentication should be built into the encrypted file so that only authorized individuals can decrypt the data. With this transparent, 100% file encryption, all data will be protected no matter where it gets copied because security is part of the file rather than a feature of its storage location. And by continuing the 100% encrypted principle, IT security experts no longer need to spend hours tweaking data classification rules so that ’important’ data gets more strongly protected.

The principle that everything – 100% – should be encrypted all of time, in storage, in transit and in use, is the goal.

This means that when a file on a running system is copied from one location to another, it remains encrypted. Furthermore, strong authentication should be built into the encrypted file so that only authorised individuals can decrypt the data.

With this transparent, 100% file encryption, all data will be protected no matter where it gets copied because security is part of the file rather than a feature of its storage location.

And by continuing the 100% encrypted principle, IT security experts no longer need to spend hours tweaking data classification rules so that ’important’ data gets more strongly protected.

The government is now using four new strategies to secure its sensitive information and protect its vital infrastructure:

Proactive cyber threat hunting. The federal government is turning to cyber threat hunting as a proactive means of identifying dormant threats because traditional prevention and response measures are often ineffective against determined adversaries. The ability to actively search endpoints and identify sophisticated threats is an ongoing process that requires advanced tools, technology, and people to discover both the external origins of breaches and internal compromises of systems and data. Obtaining and maintaining full visibility of threat actors targeting a specific environment is important to enabling cyber threat hunting operations in complex settings.
Increased use and sharing of cyber intelligence data. intelligence gleaned from information sharing is now proactively incorporated into indicators of compromise (IOCs) to search for other signs of malicious activity, such as nefarious users who may be harvesting data and performing privilege escalation. Such activity likely stems from threats that have not been appropriately categorized or that include previously unknown malware. This gives analysts the ability to examine various system artifacts for IOCs linked to nation-state threat actors. New hunting techniques include the use of advanced detection technology to search for specific IOCs and perform sweeps specifically associated with advanced threat actors targeting federal agencies. This technology allows analysts to examine various system artifacts for IOCs linked to nation-state, criminal, and other sophisticated threat actors. In addition to the automated IOC sweeps, analysts collect and analyze data using frequency of occurrence analysis to better discover anomalies that might have gone undetected with previous measures. This technique enables analysts to focus on finding deviations in the environment that IOCs did not detect.
Continuous security monitoring, with an emphasis on boundary protection and security event lifecycle management. The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program (CDM) enables government departments and agencies to expand their continuous monitoring and diagnostic capabilities by increasing their sensor capacity, automating data collection, and prioritizing risks. The program was designed to integrate commercial technology with government networks and systems.
Automation and orchestration of security operations. Agencies that must defend the federal government’s critical infrastructure with existing tools and capabilities face four major limitations: Lack of skilled staff to analyze the growing number of incidents, Slow incident remediation time, Error-prone and inconsistent manual remediation processes, Inexperienced staff spending less time hunting for new threats and more time remediating false alerts. Security orchestration can help combat these limitations through the process of connecting security tools and integrating disparate security systems to drive automation and reduce human analysis and interactions. It requires that the organization have a mature security environment and appropriately classify actionable incidents.

Companies should no longer be asking why cybersecurity is important, but how can I ensure my organization's cybersecurity practices are sufficient to comply with GDPR and other regulations and to protect my business against sophisticated cyber-attacks. There are three simple steps you can take to increase security and reduce the risk of cybercrime.
Educate all levels of your organization about the risks of social engineering and common social engineering scams like phishing emails and typosquatting.
Invest in tools that limit information loss, monitor your third-party risk and fourth-party vendor risk, and continuously scan for data exposure and leak credentials.
Use technology to reduce costs like automatically sending out vendor assessment questionnaires as part of an overall cyber security risk assessment strategy.

nation-state attackers, corporate spies, criminal groups, malicious insiders, hackers, hacktivists, terrorist groups.

Malware, phishing, spear phishing, MIM, DoS, SQL injection, Zero day exploit, APT, ransomware, DNS attack

Malware, phishing, Spear phishing, DoS, SQL injection, Zero-day exploit, APT, ransomware, DNS attack

Cybersecurity compliance involves a set of guidelines and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information stored, processed, or transferred.

Pandemic-related Attacks. The cybercriminals will continue to leverage the coronavirus pandemic and related topics as themes for their phishing and social engineering campaigns. Their attacks often coincide with significant events, such as a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases or the announcement of a new vaccine. The threat actors lure users into clicking a malicious link or attachment disguised as legitimate COVID-19 related topics.

Ransomware Attacks. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, businesses will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 11 seconds in 2021, down from every 14 seconds in 2019. The estimated cost of ransomware, including the cost to restore and mitigate following an attack, will cross USD 20 billion in 2021.

Cloud Breaches. As more companies migrate to the cloud to facilitate remote working and ensure business continuity, cybercriminals are following the same trend and targeting the cloud more frequently. Cloud-based security risks, including cloud misconfigurations, incomplete data deletion, and vulnerable cloud-apps, will be the common sources of cyberattacks.

Mobile Security Threats. In a bid to ensure business continuity amid the pandemic, almost all businesses initiated work from home facility. Employees working remotely use devices such as smartphones and tablets that are not properly secured, patched, and managed by the IT security department. Unfortunately, they bring some unique IT security threats and vulnerabilities, putting the organization at the risk of a cyberattack.

IoT Attacks. Global organizations are increasingly deploying IoT devices and applications to accelerate operations, capture more data, remotely manage infrastructure, improve customer service, and more.

Companies should no longer be asking why is cybersecurity important, but how can I ensure my organization's cybersecurity practices are sufficient to comply with GDPR and other regulation and to protect my business against sophisticated cyber attacks. There are three simple steps you can take you increase security and reduce risk of cybercrime

Educate all levels of your organization about the risks of social engineering and common social engineering scams like phishing emails and typosquatting

Invest in tools that limit information loss, monitor your third-party risk and fourth-party vendor risk , and continuously scan for data exposure and leak credentials

Use technology to reduce costs like automatically sending out vendor assessment questionnaires as part of an overall cyber security risk assessment strategy

Beyond causing severe financial damage, cyberattacks can lead to regulatory penalties, lawsuits, reputational damage, and business continuity disruptions.

As organizations continue to migrate to the digital realm, they face a multitude of challenges related to privacy and protection of customer, employee, and shareholder data.

Make your posts 'friends only' so that only people you know get to see them.
Don't let social networks post your address or phone number publicly. (You might even want to have a separate email address for social media)
If you need to share your phone number or other private information with a friend, do so in a private message - not in a public post
Use a gender-neutral screen name or pseudonym for your social media accounts — not your real name.
Leave optional fields in social media profiles, like your date of birth, blank.
Only accept friend requests from people you have actually met in person. Set your social networks to accept friend requests only from friends of friends.
Disable geolocation settings. You may want to also disable GPS on your phone.

Catfishing is a form of fraud or abuse where someone creates a fake online identity to target a particular victim. Catfishers may lure their victims into providing intimate photos or videos, then blackmail them, or may develop a relationship and then ask for money for a sudden emergency

Cyberharassment involves the use of ICT to intentionally humiliate, annoy, attack, threaten, alarm, offend, and/or verbally abuse individuals. Only one incident is needed for cyberharassment to occur; however, it can involve more than one incident.

Cyberharassment may also involve targeted harassment, where one or more persons work together to repeatedly harass their target online over a finite period (often a brief period) to cause distress, humiliation, and/or to silence the target. The perpetrators of cyberharassment can hack into the victim's account and steal the victim's personal information, images, and videos.

Cyberharassment can also involve the posting or other distribution of false information or rumors about an individual to damage the victim's social standing, interpersonal relationships, and/or reputation (i.e., a form of cybersmearing). This false information is posted on websites, chat rooms, discussion forums, social media, and other online sites to damage the reputations of people and businesses. Offenders can also impersonate victims by creating accounts with similar names and, by making use of existing images of the victims, use these accounts to send friend and/or follower requests to victims' friends and family members to deceive them into accepting these requests (a form of online impersonation).

It is a form of cyber extortion. It occurs when individuals demand their victims provide them with sexual images, sexual favors, or other things of value. There is no specific federal sextortion offense, but it falls under the federal cyberstalking law.

Cyberstalking involves the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to perpetrate more than one incident intended to repeatedly harass, annoy, attack, threaten, frighten, and/or verbally abuse individuals.

Perpetrators can engage in cyberstalking directly by emailing, instant messaging, calling, texting, or utilizing other forms of electronic communications to communicate obscene, vulgar, and/or defamatory comments and/or threats to the victim and/or the victim's family, partner, and friends, and use technologies to monitor, survey and follow the victim's movements.

Perpetrators can also engage in cyberstalking indirectly by causing damage to the victim's digital device (by, for example, infecting the victim's computer with malware and using this malware to surreptitiously monitor the victim and/or steal information about the victim) or by posting false, malicious, and offensive information about the victim online or setting up a fake account in the victim's name to post material online (social media, chat rooms, discussion forums, websites, etc.).

Submit an Internet crime complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center - IC3. Complaints filed via the IC3 website are processed and may be referred to federal, state, local or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for possible investigation.

Cybersecurity should not be limited to the home, office, or classroom. It is important to practice safe online behavior and secure our Internet-enabled mobile devices whenever we travel, as well. The more we travel and access the Internet on the go, the more cyber risks we face. No one is exempt from the threat of cyber crime, at home or on the go, but you can follow these simple tips to stay safe online when traveling.

Traveling overseas with high tech equipment, confidential, unpublished, or proprietary information or data - Traveling with certain types of high tech equipment including but not limited to advanced GPS units, scientific equipment, or with controlled, proprietary, or unpublished data in any format may require an export license depending on your travel destination. Federal export and sanctions regulations prohibit the unlicensed export of specific commodities, software, technology, and payments to or from certain countries, entities, and individuals for reasons of national security, foreign policy, or protection of trade. University employees are required to comply with United States export and sanctions regulations when traveling abroad with commodities, software, and technology. ECAS can assist with export and sanction determinations related to your international travel. Helpful information may be found below concerning international travel procedures and best practices to ensure compliance with these federal regulations.

- Log out of your social media accounts - Remove your email accounts - Enable full-disk encryption - Disable biometrics -- like a fingerprint or eye scan (if you're crossing broders) - Disable voice activation access like Siri from your lockscreen - Enable alpha-numeric login instead of 4 or 6-digit passcode

- Look at the address bar (URL) to see if there is an “s” in the URL Click on the padlock icon to verify the details of the website (e.g., the type of encryption used) - Review the options for contacting the company - Review the Company’s Social Media Presence - Double check the address bar to see if you have been redirected to a website that is not legitimate - Use the Whois Lookup domain tracker (https://whois.domaintools.com/) to get information on the domain - Watch for Poor Grammar and Spelling - Verify the Website Privacy Policy - Run a Virus Scan

- Validate the Site with Google Safe Browser Transparency Report

https://transparencyreport.google.com/

- Use the Better Business Bureau to research the reputation of a company

https://bbb.org

- https://www.osac.gov/ - https://travel.state.gov - https://step.state.gov/step/

Traveling can be an exciting time for many people, whether it be for work or vacation. Much like medical immunizations for travel, cybersecurity preparedness is essential if you want to prevent the loss of devices, property or digital data. Here are some useful tips for travelers:

Before you depart:

❏ Ensure you have updated all device software (phones, tablets and laptops) with the latest software updates and patches.

❏ Change your passwords to use something completely different than your “usual” at home passwords for all services (email, banking, social media, etc.).

❏ Ensure you have a strong (i.e. long and complex, or biometric) password on all devices.

❏ Disable the auto-connect feature so your devices do not automatically try to join wi-fi hotspots (as they may be rogue). Optionally “forget” all your networks so your devices do not broadcast this information.

❏ Disable Bluetooth before you leave. This can be hacked.

❏ Do not announce your pending departure date or location on social media.

❏ Ensure your anti-virus software is installed, running and up to date on all devices.

❏ Subscribe to a VPN service (e.g. Nord VPN) to use to connect to any untrusted network (which can be almost all networks).

❏ ALWAYS back up (to the cloud, to a portable device left at home) anything sensitive, critical or irreplaceable. Assume that your devices WILL be lost, stolen, broken or hacked. If you don’t want to lose it and can’t back it up, don’t bring it with you.

❏ Consider bringing loaner devices while traveling. Access your information via a VPN and use unique passwords that were created just for travel. Depending on your destination, your phone and/or mobile device may be confiscated and searched. Do not assume that something legal in your home country is legal in your destination.

❏ Assume that someone is watching, listening and trying to get to your information at all times.

While you are away:

❏ If the price is not prohibitive for you, use your cellular data connection (e.g. LTE on your phone) or a portable mobile hotspot for connecting to the internet when away.

❏ If using cellular data for internet connectivity is not practical ALWAYS use your VPN service to connect to untrusted wi-fi (e.g. airports, hotels, coffee shops, etc.).

❏ NEVER use hotel business computers or internet cafe computers. They are likely heavily infected with malware and keyloggers.

❏ Do not directly use a USB port from “free” charging stations. USB cables can transmit power AND data. If you need to charge your phone, bring your cord AND charging block (the electrical connector).

❏ Do not leave your used boarding pass or luggage tags in the plane or in the garbage without shredding them. These pieces of information are frequently being targeted by criminals looking to steal your frequent flyer points and buy tickets.

❏ Do not use your bank PIN or your “everyday PIN” in the hotel safe. These PINs might be illegally skimmed and if your wallet or devices are stolen they can be used for authentication.

❏ Never broadcast on social media that you are “away on vacation enjoying the sun for 7 days” when your home is empty. This creates a target for a home break-in.

❏ Never broadcast on social media that you are “heading out on an excursion” or “going to dinner” as that indicates your hotel room is empty and can be another target.

❏ Never take your eyes off your devices (e.g. leaving a phone on the restaurant table while you go to the buffet).

❏ Do not download apps from local restaurants, bars, hotels, resorts, etc. You have no idea what is in them.

When you return: ❏ Change your passwords again. Do not use any passwords that you used while traveling. ❏ Scan your computer and mobile devices for malware. Use multiple virus scanning engines if possible.

Theft of devices and physical copies of documents Social engineering Man in the middle Ransomware Hidden Cameras Shoulder surfing Juice jacking Keylogging ATM and Web Skimming Using public WiFi, printers and shared computers Data protection laws and security restrictions in some countries Fake flights and hotel websites

- Data (digital and physical copies of documents and personal information) - Devices (laptop, phones, tablets) - Money (bills, credit cards) - Reputation

Before You Go:

Update your mobile software. Treat your mobile device like your home or work computer. Keep your operating system software and apps updated, which will improve your device’s ability to defend against malware.

Back up your information. Back up your contacts, photos, videos, and other mobile device data with another device or cloud service.

Keep it locked. Get into the habit of locking your device when you are not using it. Even if you only step away for a few minutes, that is enough time for someone to steal or destroy your information. Use strong PINs and passwords.

While You Are There

Stop auto-connecting. Disable remote connectivity and Bluetooth. Some devices will automatically seek and connect to available wireless networks. And Bluetooth enables your device to connect wirelessly with other devices, such as headphones or automobile infotainment systems. Disable these features so that you only connect to wireless and Bluetooth networks when you want to.

Think before you connect. Before you connect to any public wireless hotspot – like on an airplane or in an airport, hotel, train/bus station, or café – be sure to confirm the name of the network and exact login procedures with appropriate staff to ensure that the network is legitimate. Do not conduct sensitive activities, such as online shopping, banking, or sensitive work, using a public wireless network. Only use sites that begin with https:// when online shopping or banking. Using your mobile network connection is generally more secure than using a public wireless network.

Think before you click. Use caution when downloading or clicking on any unknown links. Delete emails that are suspicious or are from unknown sources. Review and understand the details of an application before installing.

Guard your mobile device. To prevent theft and unauthorized access or loss of sensitive information, never leave your mobile devices–including any USB or external storage devices–unattended in a public place. Keep your devices secured in taxis, at airports, on airplanes, and in your hotel room.

There are several signs to be aware of (although a lot of them are quite common among teens). Generally, parents should look out for increased instances of:

Being secretive about who they’ve been talking to online and what sites they visit.
A move from expressing moderate views to following more extreme views.
A sudden conviction that their religion, culture, or beliefs are under threat and treated unjustly.
A conviction that the only solution to this threat is violence or war.
Lack of feeling of belonging or a desperate need to find acceptance within a group.
Displaying intolerant views to people of other races, religions, or political beliefs.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) helps parents protect their children’s privacy by giving them specific rights. COPPA requires websites to get parental consent before collecting or sharing information from children under 13. The law covers sites designed for kids under 13 and general audience sites that know certain users are under 13. COPPA protects information that websites collect upfront and information that kids give out or post later.

Protecting Children’s Privacy Under COPPA - Cybermaterial

Cyberbullying is bullying or harassment that happens online to Kids and Teens. It can happen in an email, a text message, an online game, or comments on a social networking site. It might involve rumors or images posted on someone’s profile or passed around for others to see, or creating a group or page to make a person feel left out.

The signs are similar to other types of grooming but what’s slightly different is the script talking. Within other types of grooming, it is less likely to see the same sense of political judgment or entitlement, the same anger or resentment towards a particular group. That’s fairly unique to radicalization.

Child grooming (a.k.a. enticement of children or solicitation of children for sexual purposes) "can be described as a practice by means of which an adult 'befriends' a child (often online, but offline grooming also exists and should not be neglected) with the intention of sexually abusing her/him".

Start early. After all, even toddlers see their parents use all kinds of devices. As soon as your child is using a computer, a cell phone, or any mobile device, it’s time to talk to them about online behavior, safety, and security. As a parent, you have the opportunity to talk to your kid about what’s important before anyone else does.

Your child may actively search for content that is considered radical, or they could be persuaded to do so by others. Social media sites, like Facebook, Ask FM, and Twitter, can be used by extremists looking to identify, target, and contact young people. It’s easy to pretend to be someone else on the internet, so children can sometimes end up having conversations with people whose real identities they may not know, and who may encourage them to embrace extreme views and beliefs.
Often children will be asked to continue discussions, not via mainstream social media, but via platforms, such as Omegle. Moving the conversation to less mainstream platforms can give users a greater degree of anonymity and can be less easy to monitor.
People who encourage young people to do this are not always strangers. In many situations, they may already have met them, through their family or social activities, and then use the internet to build rapport with them. Sometimes children don’t realize that their beliefs have been shaped by others, and think that the person is their friend, mentor, boyfriend, or girlfriend and has their best interests at heart.

Medical advice
- Be sure to find out who is providing the information, know where you’re going online
- Many pharmaceutical companies create websites with information to sell products.
- Look for sites ending in .edu (for education) or .gov (for government)
Banking
- Avoid accessing your personal or bank accounts from a public computer or kiosk, such as the public library.
- Don’t reveal personally identifiable information such as your bank account number, social security number or date of birth to unknown sources.
- When paying a bill online or making an online donation, be sure that you type the website URL into your browser instead of clicking on a link or cutting and pasting it from the email
Shopping
- Make sure the website address starts with “https,” s stands for secure
- Look for the padlock icon at the bottom of your browser, which indicates that the site uses encryption.
- Type new website URLs directly into the address bar instead of clicking on links or cutting and pasting from the email.

- Choose a password that means something to you and you only; use strong passwords with eight characters or more that use a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols. Keep your mobile devices in your possession at all times and always be aware of your surroundings.
- If you use social networking sites such as Facebook, be sure to limit the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
- Most businesses or organizations don’t ask for your personal information over email. Beware of any requests to update or confirm your personal information.
- Avoid opening attachments, clicking on links, or responding to email messages from unknown senders or companies that ask for your personal information. Install and regularly update the security programs on your computer, such as antivirus, and anti-spyware.
- These programs can help to protect the information on your computer, and can easily be purchased from software companies on the web or at your local office supply store. Beware of “free” gifts or prizes.
- If something is too good to be true, then it probably is. It is important to add only people you know on social media sites and programs like Skype; adding strangers could expose you and your personal information to scammers.

When writing your report, it’s important to think like a detective and relay financial information and tactical details about the perpetrator. If possible be ready to share: *Dates and times of activity, *Perpetrator’s financial information (bank names, account numbers), *Perpetrator’s IP addresses, *Perpetrator’s email and account names (even if it was a fake one).

Medical advice: Be sure to find out who is providing the information, know where you’re going online Many pharmaceutical companies create websites with information to sell products. Look for sites ending in .edu (for education) or .gov (for government).

Banking Avoid: accessing your personal or bank accounts from a public computer or kiosk, such as the public library Don’t reveal personally identifiable information such as your bank account number, social security number, or date of birth to unknown sources. When paying a bill online or making an online donation, be sure that you type the website URL into your browser instead of clicking on a link or cutting and pasting it from the email.

Shopping: Make sure the website address starts with “HTTPS,” s stands for secure Look for the padlock icon at the bottom of your browser, which indicates that the site uses encryption Type new website URLs directly into the address bar instead of clicking on links or cutting and pasting from the email.

If you believe you or someone you know may have been a victim of elder fraud, contact your local FBI field office or submit a tip online. You can also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (https://www.ic3.gov/). When reporting a scam—regardless of dollar amount—include as many of the following details as possible:

- Names of the scammer and/or company
- Dates of contact
- Methods of communication
- Methods of payment Phone numbers, email addresses, mailing addresses, and websites used by the perpetrator
- Descriptions of your interactions with the scammer and the instructions you were given
- Where you sent funds, including wire transfers and prepaid cards (provide financial institution names, account names, and account numbers)

Identity theft is the illegal use of someone else's personal information in order to obtain money or credit.

Don’t use the same password twice.

Choose a password that means something to you and you only; use strong passwords with eight characters or more that use a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.

Do not reveal personally identifiable information online such as your full name, telephone number, address, social security number, insurance policy number, credit card information, or doctor’s name.

Avoid opening attachments, clicking on links, or responding to email messages from unknown senders or companies that ask for your personal information.

When making online donations, make sure any charity you donate to is a legitimate non-profit organization and that you type in the web address instead of following a link.

Be sure to shred bank and credit card statements before throwing them in the trash; talk to your bank about using passwords and photo identification on credit cards and bank accounts.

Check your bank and credit card statements monthly for unusual charges.

Medical Identity Theft. Has someone stolen or gained access to your Medicare/Medicaid or private health insurance ID or card or records? Cybercriminals will use this information to get medical services, prescriptions, or other benefits, or they may send fake bills to your health insurer to receive money/reimbursements.

Social Security Identity Theft. Is someone using your Social Security number for fraudulent purposes? Social Security fraud and identity theft refers to a fraudster or scammer gaining access to your Social Security number and using it to receive your tax refund, secure employment, obtain a driver’s license, and/or receive unemployment benefits or any other state/federal aid.

Deceased Identity Theft. Is someone using your deceased loved one’s personal information fraudulently? Deceased identity theft, or “ghosting,” is when a deceased individual’s personal information is used to commit fraudulent acts such as tax refund fraud, medical identity theft, driver’s license identity theft, credit card fraud, and more.

Financial Identity Theft. Financial identity theft happens when a scammer gains access to your bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, or personal information for their financial gain.

Identity theft is the illegal use of someone else's personal information in order to obtain money or credit.

- Don’t use the same password twice Choose a password that means something to you and you only; use strong passwords with eight characters or more that uses a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.
- Do not reveal personally identifiable information online such as your full name, telephone number, address, social security number, insurance policy number, credit card information, or doctor’s name.
- Avoid opening attachments, clicking on links, or responding to email messages from unknown senders or companies that ask for your personal information.
- When making online donations, make sure any charity you donate to is a legitimate non-profit organization and that you type in the web address instead of following a link.
- Be sure to shred bank and credit card statements before throwing them in the trash; talk to your bank about using passwords and photo identification on credit cards and bank accounts. Check your bank and credit card statements monthly for unusual charges.

- Medical Identity Theft.
- Has someone stolen or gained access to your Medicare/Medicaid or private health insurance ID or card or records? Cybercriminals will use this information to get medical services, prescriptions, or other benefits, or they may send fake bills to your health insurer to receive money/reimbursements
- Social Security Identity Theft.
- Is someone using your Social Security number for fraudulent purposes? Social Security fraud and identity theft refers to a fraudster or scammer gaining access to your Social Security number and using it to receive your tax refund, secure employment, obtain a driver’s license, and/or receive unemployment benefits or any other state/federal aid.
- Deceased Identity Theft.
- Is someone using your deceased loved one’s personal information in a fraudulent manner?
- Deceased identity theft, or “ghosting,” is when a deceased individual’s personal information to is used to commit fraudulent acts such as tax refund fraud, medical identity theft, driver’s license identity theft, credit card fraud, and more.
- Financial Identity Theft.
- Financial identity theft happens when a scammer gains access to your bank accounts, credit cards, retirement accounts, or personal information for their financial gain.

- Slow it down — Scammers often create a sense of urgency so that they can bypass your better instincts. Take your time and ask questions to avoid being rushed into a bad situation.
- Spot check — Do your research to double check the details you’re getting. If you get an unexpected phone call, hang up. Then look up the bank, agency or organization that’s supposedly calling and get in touch directly
- Stop! Don't send — No reputable person or agency will ever demand payment on the spot. Often, scammers tell you to go buy gift cards—which are meant only to be given as a gift, not as payment under threat. So if you think the payment feels fishy, it probably is

Each year, millions of elderly Americans fall victim to some type of financial fraud or confidence scheme, including romance, lottery, and sweepstakes scams, to name a few. Criminals will gain their targets’ trust and may communicate with them directly via computer, phone, and the mail; or indirectly through the TV and radio. Once successful, scammers are likely to keep a scheme going because of the prospect of significant financial gain. Seniors are often targeted because they tend to be trusting and polite. They also usually have financial savings, own a home, and have good credit—all of which make them attractive to scammers. Additionally, seniors may be less inclined to report fraud because they don’t know how, or they may be too ashamed at having been scammed. They might also be concerned that their relatives will lose confidence in their abilities to manage their own financial affairs. And when an elderly victim does report a crime, they may be unable to supply detailed information to investigators.

Phishing is a scam by which an email user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information that the scammer can use illicitly or fraudulently

- Most organizations – banks, universities, companies, etc. - don’t ask for your personal information over email.
- Beware of requests to update or confirm your personal information.
-Do not open attachments, click links, or respond to email messages from unknown senders or companies.
- Don’t access your personal or banking accounts online from a public computer or kiosk. Beware of “free” prizes; if you think an offer is too good to be true, then it probably is.
- Make sure you change your passwords often and avoid using the same password for multiple accounts.
- Install and regularly update software firewall, antivirus, and anti-spyware programs.
- These software programs can help to protect the data on your computer, and can easily be purchased on the web or at your local office supply store.

- Reporting within 72 hours increases chances that banks are able to reverse a money transfer. A police report serves as proof that a crime has occurred, and can help file appeals with insurance, creditors, and the IRS
- Your report can help other people (like your neighbors) avoid getting ripped off. The FBI and other agencies look at patterns in reported data when prioritizing investigations.
- Your report can make you eligible for services. Some police departments offer services to scam victims, including home visits, safety training, identity theft intervention, etc. A report can help you recover your losses if the criminal is caught.
- This is most likely if the arrest is made in the U.S. and a federal or state/county criminal conviction is obtained. Reports help ensure that more government resources and attention are allocated toward fighting scams and hacks in the future

Inappropriate conduct: The online world can feel anonymous. Kids sometimes forget that they are still accountable for their actions.

Inappropriate contact: Some people online have bad intentions, including bullies, predators, hackers, and scammers.

Inappropriate content: You may be concerned that your kids could find pornography, violence, or hate speech online.

Protecting Children’s Privacy Under COPPA - Cybermaterial

Nation States undermine the integrity of another nation’s financial services sector through cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorism propagates harm in the same way as any other crime: physical or digital, economic, psychological, reputational, and social or societal. Cyberwarfare is characteristically a “persistent form of engagement”. Effective risk mitigation depends on strategic investment into effective controls and continuous alignment with international standards and continually adapting to regulatory obligations.

Hacktivists, aggrieved about the perceived lack of engagement into environmental, social, or ethical activities, or perceived unethical or immoral activities undertaken by a PE Firm or by stakeholders.

Organized criminals intend to use personal data or materially non-public data for nefarious purposes.

Failure to identify due diligence responsibilities. During the diligence stage of the investment, there may be confusion around which party is responsible for surfacing and mitigating potential security issues. Let’s be clear – the responsibility lies with the investor, who must conduct robust diligence to validate and verify the potential investment’s claims. What’s also clear is that the investment target should be an active participant in this phase of the process, providing supporting information about the organization’s security performance over time. By doing so, the target can showcase the organization’s commitment to managing enterprise risk, which should increase enterprise value.

Not asking the right questions. For years, cyber diligence consisted of one question: “Have you ever experienced a breach?” For most targets, the answer to that question is a resounding “no,” regardless of the veracity of that statement. Investors need to go beyond this simple question, exploring, for example, the target’s data protection strategy, the types of technologies it has in place to mitigate risk, executive leadership, and employee training, in order to gain a broader understanding.

Untapped data. While asking more questions is important, investors must also seek out quantitative, objective security performance information. Historically, the due diligence process has largely relied on qualitative data based on written or in-person interviews with executives and board members, which frequently produces subjective, emotionally-driven results. When evaluating the potential risk an organization may inherit through an investment, it’s best to avoid gut feelings and focus on the facts. While there is value to hearing directly from executives, qualitative analysis should be supplemented with objective, straightforward measurements of security successes and challenges throughout the period. Security ratings provide significant, relevant insight here.

Security monitoring. Cybersecurity is dynamic and things can change quickly. Investors often assess the status of an investment’s cybersecurity environment at the beginning of the relationship and fail to monitor the environment throughout the investment period. Failing to continuously monitor the security environment leads to a lack of visibility into risk and potential threats. Just as sales teams report on leads and revenue quarterly, cybersecurity teams should monitor and report on the state of the organization’s security strategy to interested parties on an ongoing basis.

Lack of business context. More often than not, those driving the due diligence processes are not cybersecurity professionals, which means that they need cybersecurity metrics to be contextualized against potential business impact. For example, it is not enough to share that one million records were exposed in a data breach; investors also need to know the losses the business incurred as a result. Investors should be sure to ask questions that frame these metrics within the context of business impact, such as, “How will this impact stock price, revenue, and our brand’s reputation?”

Advanced persistent threats: This method employs a combination of the other methods (discussed below) to evade discovery, whilst gathering information surreptitiously over time. Through this coordinated and subvert approach threat actors are able to precisely target the weakest target personnel in a PE anyone connected to a PE Firm.

Social Engineering: This method requires gaining the trust of individuals who are the least cybersecurity proficient persons in a PE Firm. Thereby, exploiting a PE Firm’s vulnerabilities by riding on weaknesses in the “human perimeter’s” awareness to cyber risk.

Phishing: This method, like social engineering, exploits vulnerabilities through weaknesses in the human perimeter. PE Firms forget that their human perimeter also encompasses their service providers, such as third-party custodians or fund administrators. Many PE Firms still depend far too much on email as a form of communication with these providers. The sophistication and quality of these fake notices have greatly improved, making them almost indistinguishable from legitimate sources. Phishing also succeeds by targeting overworked personnel at these service providers, who typically deal with a high volume of emails. This high-stress scenario increases the likelihood of phishing emails being mistaken as legitimate. It is important to invest in penetration testing, multi-factor authentication, and effective workflow design together with service providers

Cyber risk is a broad term. For most people, it represents the risk of loss or harm from breaches or attacks on information systems. That loss can take many forms, including direct financial costs, reputational damage, or operational continuity. Data privacy is commonly associated with cyber risk and is a centerpiece of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulation, which came into force in May 2018. That law has become a de facto global standard; it clarifies and expands upon what sensitive data entails, who has the usage rights and assigns the responsibility to companies to keep customer data safe, with high fines if they fail to do so.

Contact your investment firm and other financial institutions immediately. If you think your personal financial information has been stolen, contact your broker-dealer, investment adviser, or other financial professionals immediately to report the problem. You should also contact any other financial institutions where you have accounts that may be impacted by the loss of your personal financial information. These may include banks, credit card companies, or insurance companies. Please remember to document any conversations with your investment or financial firms in writing.

Change your online account passwords. Immediately change the password for any investment or financial accounts associated with the compromised personal financial information. Always remember to use strong passwords that are not easy to guess, consisting of at least eight or more characters that include symbols, numbers, and both capital and lowercase letters.

Consider closing compromised accounts. If you notice any unauthorized access to your investment account, you may want to ask your investment firm to close the account and move the assets to a new account. You should consult your investment firm about the best way to handle closing an account if you choose to do so.

Activate two-step verification, if available. Your brokerage firm or investment adviser may offer a two-step verification process for gaining access to your online accounts. With a two-step verification process, each time anyone attempts to log into your account through an unrecognized device (i.e., a device you have not previously authorized on the account), your investment firm sends a unique code to either your e-mail or cell phone. Before anyone can gain access to your account, they must enter this code and your password. Activating this added layer of security may help reduce the risk of unauthorized access to your accounts by identity thieves.

Monitor your investment accounts for suspicious activity. Closely monitor your investment accounts for any suspicious activity. Look out for any changes to your account information that you do not recognize (e.g., a change to your address, phone number, e-mail address, account number, or external banking information). You should also confirm that you authorized all of the transactions that appear in your account statements and trade confirmations. If you find any suspicious activity, immediately report it to your investment firm. Please remember to document any conversations with your investment firm in writing and provide a copy to your investment firm.

Place a fraud alert on your credit file. Placing an initial fraud alert in your credit file provides notice to potential creditors (e.g., banks and credit card companies) that you may have been a victim of fraud or identity theft and will help reduce the risk that an identity thief can use your personal financial information to open new accounts.

Monitor your credit reports. After you place an initial fraud alert in your credit file, you are entitled to obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the credit bureaus. Check each of your reports for signs of fraud, such as an unknown account, a credit check or inquiry to your credit file that you do not know about, an employer you have never worked for, or unfamiliar personal information.

Consider creating an identity theft report. If a breach in your personal financial information results in identity theft, you may want to consider creating an identity theft report. An Identity Theft Report helps you deal with credit reporting companies, debt collectors, and businesses that opened accounts in your name. Creating an Identity Theft Report involves three steps: 1. Report the identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by completing the FTC’s online complaint form at www.identitytheft.gov 2. Contact your local police department about the identity theft 3. Attach your FTC Identity Theft Affidavit to your police report to make an Identity Theft Report.

Document all communications in writing. Remember to document, in writing, and keep copies of any communications you have related to your identity theft.

Organized criminals intend to use personal data or materially non-public data for nefarious purposes.

A PE Firms’ most critical asset is information. Vulnerabilities exist in the nature and movement of data, and threat actors seek out weaknesses whilst data is static, in transition, or in motion through interconnected entities.

Unsecured wireless networks. While public wireless networks provide great convenience, allowing people to connect to the Internet from almost anywhere, they are unsecure and can allow cybercriminals access to your Internet-enabled devices. Beyond the typical public wireless networks found at airports, restaurants, hotels, and cafes, they are increasingly available in other places, such as on airplanes and in public parks.

Publicly accessible computers. Hotel business centers, libraries, and cyber cafes provide computers that anyone can use. However, travelers cannot trust that these computers are secure. They may not be running the latest operating systems or have updated anti_x0002_virus software. Cybercriminals may have infected these machines with malicious viruses or installed malicious software.

Physical theft of devices. Thieves often target travelers. Meal times are optimum times for thieves to check hotel rooms for unattended laptops. If you are attending a conference or trade show, be especially wary — these venues offer thieves a wider selection of devices that are likely to contain sensitive information, and the conference sessions offer more opportunities for thieves to access guest rooms.

Executive vulnerability assessments. Quantifying executives’ cyber risk vulnerability across the entire network – including their families – is essential. Assessments should cover not only the potential for corporate compromise but also individual and family compromises. Assessments can involve one-on-one discussions and data gathering, including examinations of both the open and dark web to evaluate an executive’s cyber security risk. Organizations can take steps to secure the executive and their family members with individualized cyber security solutions to bolster resilience in this particularly vulnerable threat vector.

Awareness campaigns. Mitigating executives’ cyber risk can include information governance, training on phishing and social engineering attacks, instruction on reducing exposure, and sharing knowledge of emerging fraud schemes. Resilience begins with executives’ awareness of the problem and guidance on how they can address their own risk. As with any culture change, building organizational cyber resilience works best when executives lead by example: modeling a culture in which every employee believes it is their responsibility to build and maintain a level of cyber vigilance. Implementation of cross-functional governance programs as well as comprehensive cyber awareness training programs – collaborating with learning and development experts in HR – can accelerate cyber risk maturity. Setting cyber maturity goals and expanding accountability for cyber resilience to leaders beyond the chief information security officer are also important.

Risk transfer. Risk-transfer mechanisms such as cyber insurance can help executives address the impact of identity theft, business email compromise losses, and ransomware attacks. Beyond cover that protects the organization from cyber attack losses, executives might consider adding a layer of personal identity theft protection. Many companies offer such coverage as an employee benefit and, while the market for personal cyber insurance is evolving, companies could consider offering it to board members, executives, and employees.

Non-technical executives often tend to think of cyber risk in terms of technological threats. This is a problem for several reasons. For one thing, when company leaders — who are often nontechnical — believe that cybersecurity is a technology problem, it makes the cyber risk even more frightening than it already is because they don’t understand it. Rather than attempting to manage cyber risk, those executives will outsource it, either relying on their IT or security organization to manage cybersecurity for the entire company or by trying to buy their way out of a breach, investing in solutions that will protect their data and networks.

Harvard Business Review recently wrote about the pitfalls of cybersecurity efforts that focus only on technology. HBR paints a bleak picture of meetings filled with tech jargon that CEOs and boards accept but don't understand, and threats unaddressed in favor of long mitigation lists.

Mobile security. Executives and high-ranking officials are often called upon for domestic and international business travel. Their extensive use of mobile platforms while on the road and during their commutes increases the odds of a mobile security threat. Like viruses and spyware that can infect computers, there are security threats specific to devices such as smartphones, tablets, and connected IoT devices. Mobile threats can be divided into four basic categories: application-based threats, web-based threats, network-based threats, and physical threats. Biggest mobile security threats: *Data leakage, *Social engineering, *Wi-fi interference, *Out-of-date devices, *Cryptojacking, *Poor password hygiene, *Physical device breaches

Increased Likelihood of Cyber Crimes against Businesses. No matter the size of the organization, one of the most prominent challenges executives face is the risk of their business becoming a cyber crime target. Common motives for attacking a principal are financial, revenge, or activist related. Now more than ever, executive digital protection has become a business necessity. And with cyber crimes against businesses on the rise, it’s only a matter of time before executives are face to face with a cybersecurity threat

Social media. An executive’s social media habits and preferences can be leveraged by a threat actor to gain access to their data, and in turn, damage their organization’s brand. When considering any form of executive digital protection, analyzing the social media usage of the executive and their family should be a key part of the conversation. Hackers can use public information on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and other sites to build profiles of targets. This profile can be used to tailor a phishing attack or coerce the target. An attack on an executive can cause a significant amount of brand damage. And being able to protect them on the cyber front is very important.

Business Email Compromise Scams (BEC). When targeting high level executives, hackers might rely on a combination of attacks: whaling phishing attacks, executive impersonation, and business email compromise. Business email compromise (BEC) scams can combine spear phishing, email spoofing, social engineering, and occasionally malware. BEC scams are an increasing problem for businesses of all sizes, resulting in massive losses to organizations. What makes these messages more devious is that they can usually avoid the spam filter since they’re not a part of a mass-mailing campaign. BEC scams are more targeted in nature, and typically avoid the usual spam indicators that get flagged by most email servers. Insider threats. What can executives do to protect themselves and their company against insider threats?

To reduce the chances of a breach caused by current employees, former employees, contractors, or business associates, cybersecurity professionals recommend auditing, securing, and regularly patching software as the first step. Applications to secure: *Legacy systems, *Communication and collaboration apps, *Cloud storage and file sharing tools, *Finance and accounting tools, *Social media and intranets

Be much more vigilant and obtain better security/usability training to avoid falling prey to scams in the first place Use enterprise-grade VPNs to avoid getting snooped on while traveling.

Enterprises can adopt more fine-grained security postures (e.g., stricter access controls when traveling) and track the behavior of these high-profile C-level executives’ IT assets (e.g., laptop, tablet) to check for signs of compromise as soon as possible to minimize the damage Use two-factor authentication where possible.

Don't install the software you weren't expecting to install (for example, if you receive an email to install a software update) Verify unusual requests for sensitive information Have strong, unique passwords for important accounts, such as email, banking, etc. Have a PIN or passcode on your smartphone, in case you lose it

Whether you plan to throw away, resell, recycle, or trade in your old computer or phone, you must take steps to ensure your data is permanently erased, overwritten, and inaccessible.

Avoid taking or storing private photos on your devices. No matter how secure you think your files are, someone may still gain access to them.

Before ditching your old computer, consider downloading antitheft apps or software to help overwrite your data. On a Mac, the built-in Disk Utility app can wipe and overwrite a drive.

Whether you plan to throw away, resell, recycle, or trade in your old computer or phone, you must take steps to ensure your data is permanently erased, overwritten, and inaccessible.

Avoid taking or storing private photos on your devices. No matter how secure you think your files are, someone may still gain access to them.

Before ditching your old computer, consider downloading antitheft apps or software to help overwrite your data. On a Mac, the built-in Disk Utility app can wipe and overwrite a drive.

When you follow a false link or reply to a fake email: Phishing emails are a tried-and-true method for hackers to obtain personal, private information. In 2017, thousands of Dartmouth University students received a phishing email claiming to be from the university’s president. An embedded link asked recipients to enter their university NetID. This year, college students have been the target of similar COVID-19 phishing scams. These messages claim to be from university financial departments and link to portals requiring students to enter their login credentials. Phishing emails typically appear to come from trusted senders and request that you verify banking details, login credentials, or credit card information. These emails may feature the same layout, color scheme, and language of the real entity, and may link to a site specifically designed to spoof the real thing.

When you open an infected attachment: Common phishing scams seen on the Bowling Green State University campus include fake fraternity recruitment emails and senders posting as professors in search of student employees. Students may receive several such emails a week, often with suspicious attachments that they are careful not to open. According to one expert analysis, 85% of all malicious emails carry common attachment formats like .DOC, .XLS, .PDF, and .ZIP. In some cases, these attachments may be perfectly harmless, but many contain malware and other nasty features, activated with just a click. Using these tools, phishers can steal sensitive information, demand a ransom for the safe return of your data, or even remotely take over your device.

When you answer a suspicious phone call: College students love texting and social media, but sometimes we still need to pick up the phone for an old-fashioned call. Phone scams are a popular tactic of phishers looking for financial information, largely because they are proven to work. Nearly 1 in 6 Americans lost money to a phone scam in 2019. In the last few years, major mobile carriers including T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint introduced scam protection features to help fight phishing calls. You can see this in action when your caller ID labels an incoming number as “scam likely” or “potential fraud.” This screening feature works by checking callers against a database of reported scam numbers. Unfortunately, some phishing calls still slip through. The most common phone scams targeted at college students relate to financial aid, tuition, and taxes.

When you follow a malware link in a text: Many phishing attempts depend on tricking the recipient into providing sensitive information, but more malicious phishing texts can contain links to malware that spy on your activity, data, and files without your knowledge. In recent years, hackers have targeted both Apple and Android devices. Once discovered, manufacturers quickly develop software patches that address vulnerabilities and close security loopholes, but for infected users, these patches may be too little, too late.

· Limit sharing your social security number—whether in a doctor’s office, at school, or online.

· Use strong and unique passwords on each of your online accounts.

· Make sure you’re on a secure network or using a VPN, a virtual private network, when banking, shopping, or making other online transactions.

· Don’t share your login credentials with others.

· Shred documents containing personal information before discarding.

· Secure your home Wi-Fi network with a strong password.

· Limit sharing your social security number—whether in a doctor’s office, at school, or online.

· Use strong and unique passwords on each of your online accounts.

· Make sure you’re on a secure network or using a VPN, a virtual private network, when banking, shopping, or making other online transactions.

· Don’t share your login credentials with others.

· Shred documents containing personal information before discarding.

· Secure your home Wi-Fi network with a strong password.

A successful cybercriminal might be able to delete valuable documents, access financial accounts, steal and sell personal information or demand a ransom to unlock a compromised computer.

Phishing is a hacking method in which fraudulent emails, websites, and other forms of electronic communication are used to obtain sensitive information like usernames, passwords, and credit card details. Young people often start seriously handling their own finances for the first time in college, taking on the responsibilities of credit cards, loans, and bank accounts. This abundance of sensitive data, combined with inexperience, makes college students an ideal target for phishing attacks. Cybersecurity awareness is the best way to keep yourself safe.

Whether you plan to throw away, resell, recycle, or trade in your old computer or phone, you must take steps to ensure your data is permanently erased, overwritten, and inaccessible.

Avoid taking or storing private photos on your devices. No matter how secure you think your files are, someone may still gain access to them.

Before ditching your old computer, consider downloading antitheft apps or software to help overwrite your data. On a Mac, the built-in Disk Utility app can wipe and overwrite a drive.

Most of the time, celebrities get hacked the same way anyone else does. They use weak passwords, fall for social engineering tricks, or suffer from data leaks when larger organizations holding their data are breached. Here’s a closer look at the most common techniques hackers use to hack the stars — techniques we can all fall victim to if we’re not careful.

Social engineering: Social engineering attacks manipulate victims into disclosing sensitive personal information or access to confidential assets. Many hackers will scour a victim’s social media profiles for data they can leverage in an attack.

Phishing: Phishing attacks use fraudulent emails, text messages, and other communications to deceive victims into disclosing sensitive information.

Data breaches: By breaching the data vaults of large organizations, hackers can capture usernames, passwords, and all sorts of other valuable personal data. After a data breach, the stolen data is often made available on the dark web, where others can buy it to commit identity theft and fraud.

Ransomware: One of today’s most dangerous and fastest-growing online threats, ransomware infects your device, hijacks your data, encrypts it, then holds it hostage while demanding a ransom payment. Many victims choose to pay the ransom, which drives up ransom rates while incentivizing the development of more sophisticated ransomware attacks.

Password cracking: Even celebrities sometimes get lazy with their passwords. After a 2012 LinkedIn breach, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was caught reusing his passwords, as hackers were able to access several more of his accounts using the same password. Other hackers have successfully guessed or cracked the passwords of their victims, often by using personal information obtained via phishing.

The answer is usually no: doxing tends not to be illegal if the information exposed lies within the public domain, and it was obtained using legal methods. That said, depending on your jurisdiction, doxing may fall foul of laws designed to fight stalking, harassment, and threats.

Doxing is the act of revealing identifying information about someone online, such as their real name, home address, workplace, phone, financial, and other personal information. That information is then circulated to the public — without the victim's permission.

Report it. Report the attack to the platforms on which your personal information has been posted. Search the relevant platform's terms of service or community guidelines to determine their reporting process for this type of attack and follow it. While filling a form out once, save it for the future (so you do not have to repeat yourself). This is the first step to stop the spread of your personal information.

Involve law enforcement. If a doxer makes personal threats against you, contact your local police department. Any information pointing to your home address or financial information should be treated as a top priority, especially if there are credible threats attached.

Document it. Take screenshots or download pages on which your information has been posted. Try to ensure that the date and URL are visible. This evidence is essential for your own reference and can help law enforcement or other agencies involved.

Protect your financial accounts. If doxers have published your bank account or credit card numbers, report this immediately to your financial institutions(s). Your credit card provider will likely cancel your card and send you a new one. You will also need to change the passwords for your online bank and credit card accounts.