Data Security

A recent report by cybersecurity management firm Venafi showing that a vast majority of the world’s largest companies remain vulnerable to attacks stemming from the Heartbleed flaw suggests that many have not grasped the full nature of the threat nor do they think the risk justifies the cost of remediating it. It’s been exactly one year since details of the...

One of the most popular sessions at the RSA Conference was the Cryptographers’ Panel, during which some of the founding fathers of modern cryptography discussed trends in research and cybersecurity in general. This year the panel consisted of Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, Whit Diffie and Ed Georgio (former chief codemaker and chief codebreaker at NSA). During the session Shamir referred to his three laws of computer security,...

Pick a subject, any subject, and there are myths and pure nonsense that someone will buy into. Birds will die if they eat the uncooked rice flung at newlyweds. (Nope) If you eat Mentos and drink Diet Coke simultaneously your stomach will explode. (Hardly) You only have one credit score. (Wrong) Napoleon was short. (At 5’ 6”, his height...

Enterprises, SMBs must gird for new rules and protect sensitive data - or pay hefty price British telecom giant TalkTalk actually may have gotten off lightly when privacy regulators hit the British telecom giant with a £400,000 ($496,910) fine last week for failing to prevent a major data breach. The fine, issued by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office is, indeed, for...

Social media is embedded in our lives—Facebook alone had 1.79 billion daily users as of September 2016—which means cyber criminals are not far behind. As companies increasingly rely on this digital channel for marketing, recruiting, customer service and other business functions, social media also has become a highly effective vehicle for cyber attacks. Outside of the corporate network perimeter and...

As the weather gets warmer, mosquitos and ticks re-enter our lives, and along with them comes their larger cousin, the scam artist. There are ways to prepare for those seasonal meal stealers. The same goes for scams, as foreknowledge is the best repellent. Ticks and mosquitos aren’t harmless — they are well-known vectors for serious illnesses. Scam artists are also...

The internet stirred earlier this week about the meaning of the word “Covfefe”—generated, one could guess, when the president fell asleep mid-tweet, phone in hand. But a more important Trump cell phone issue got far less attention. The Associated Press reported that Trump is giving out his cell phone number to world leaders so they can call him directly. Not only is...

You can't change your physical traits very easily, so if a hacker steals your biometric data--look out. Scanning a fingerprint or even an eyeball to authenticate your identity is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Biometric identification has been in practical use for a while now, and the technology gets more sophisticated every day. It should come as no surprise that security and privacy concerns have...

“These apps are brutal,” Ondrej Krehel told me during a conversation about spyware, or “spouseware” as the software is sometimes called. “It doesn’t matter what ‘intended use’ these app developers claim in their sales pitches. They are increasingly being used by teens to spy on their love interests,” Krehel said. “It’s quite prevalent.” Krehel is CEO and founder of LIFARS, a...

With Venmo being one of the most popular ways to send money, it makes sense to wonder what’s keeping your personal data and digital wallet safe. Venmo has made strides to improve its security in the past two years, but here’s the short answer to how safe Venmo is—protecting yourself comes almost entirely down to you. How to Keep Your...