United Training BlogNews and resources on the latest trends in IT training and professional developmenthttps://www.newhorizons.com/resources/blogIf You Connect It, Protect Ithttps://www.newhorizons.com/resources/blog/postid/40/if-you-connect-it-protect-itCyberSecurity,General,News ,Security,trainingFri, 09 Oct 2020 08:00:00 GMT<body> <!--title--> <!--content with links--> <!--instead of bold use <span style="font-weight: 600;">Content</span>--> <!--hyperlink <a href="#">Link Content </a>--> <!--paragraph 1--> <p> If you connect it, protect it. The line between our online and offline lives is indistinguishable. This network of connections creates both opportunities and challenges for individuals and organizations across the globe. Internet-connected devices have impacted our lives and empower all users to own their role in security by taking steps to reduce their risks.  </p> <!--paragraph 2--> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">Multiple Connections Increase Risk </span> </p> <!--paragraph 3--> <p> To truly be CyberSmart you must start thinking more deeply about risk, because that’s what all cybersecurity is meant to protect against. </p> <!--paragraph 4--> <p> It’s easy to immediately think about the web. Everything and everyone tells you about those dangers. People are lurking online trying to steal your identity, your personal information, your data, and more. There are plenty of products out there to help protect you, from firewalls to anti-malware to multi-factor authentication and more.  </p> <!--paragraph 5--> <p> But, these days your biggest risk travels with you wherever you go…  </p> <!--paragraph 6--> <p> It’s your mobile phone.   </p> <!--insert CTA--> <!--paragraph 7--> <p> For you as a consumer this is an open door to stealing information about you- banking passwords and account numbers, home address, phone, and more. For companies it's an entryway into their entire network that could negate all the measures they take to protect it.   </p> <!--paragraph 8--> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">Each Connection Opens a Door to Security Endpoints  </span> </p> <!--paragraph 9--> <p> Whether it's your mobile phone, your tablet, your laptop, even your desktop computer or game console- each device is connected at some point at the very end of a network. It’s a doorway. It needs to be locked. Double locked. When you consider any of your endpoints the first thing you need to ask yourself is “how well do I have this locked and protected?”  </p> <!--paragraph 9--> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">A Single Connection Starts a Chain    </span> </p> <p> A firewall is an excellent device for enforcing your security policy. But a firewall is just one brick in the wall of safety. The chain starts with the user. Here are a few things to keep in mind:  </p> <p> The operators immediately begin asking for feedback from the users, documenting their problems and requests thoroughly. At first stunned, the users find themselves encouraged by how concerned the IT department is in their satisfaction. </p> <p> The operators immediately convey the feedback back to the development team which wastes no time coding changes, fixes, and additions. Still, they’re not looking for perfection, just better working software. </p> <p> The developers once again handoff the changes in record time and the operators just as rapidly deploy the updated code. Guess what they do next!! </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">It’s Iterative!!! </span> </p> <p> Yes, they immediately solicit feedback from the users, documenting it carefully. </p> <p> Yes, they then convey the new feedback back to the developers. </p> <p> Yes, the developers immediately begin coding new changes and… </p> <p> Yes, the entire cycle repeats. </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">Improvement </span> </p> <p> The DevOps cycle iteratively repeats and repeats and each time it does the software gets better. Better as defined by those who use the software. Who better? </p> <p> In other words, the continuous development being continuously deployed creates constant improvement, and that’s what CI/CD means. Continuous improvement through continuous development and deployment. Feedback from users leads to better code, and better, and better, and better. </p> <p> Instead of upgrades coming once every six months or so, companies like Amazon are releasing new upgrades at the rate of 30 or more per day. </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">Depends Upon Participation </span> </p> <p> Whenever you want something to move fast you need to remove all obstacles and anything else that might slow down the process. Assuming that the developers and the operators are all committed to DevOps principles, the only other component of the process that might engender latency is the user community. </p> <p> The user community or communities may encompass all departments of the company. This means that everyone must be successfully encouraged to enthusiastically cooperate and participate in providing their feedback rapidly. Loosely defined, that’s called a culture change. And culture is among the hardest things to change in any company. </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: 600;">It Takes a Village </span> </p> <p> From the moment a company decides to undertake a DevOps initiative those leading the process must immediately recognize that it will take a village, perhaps their entire “village”, to create the cultural change needed to willingly and enthusiastically share feedback more frequently than they ever have before. The reward will be better software than they’ve ever used before, software developed specifically to fulfill their expectations, and that continuously improves to help them be more productive and more efficient than ever before. </p> 40Why We Need NCSAM – National CyberSecurity Awareness Monthhttps://www.newhorizons.com/resources/blog/postid/36/why-we-need-ncsam-national-cybersecurity-awareness-monthCyberSecurity,General,News ,SecurityWed, 30 Sep 2020 08:00:00 GMT<p>The need for this 17th year of CISA’s National CyberSecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) has never been greater. CISA is the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the US Department of Homeland Security. Each October they focus attention to help raise awareness of what each of us can do to promote safe computing.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™</strong></p> <p>Connecting to the network should never be a casual act. The danger is far from trivial, it's serious. The most prevalent threat in CyberSpace today is ransomware, a “social engineering” threat in which you are encouraged to click a link or open an attachment by an email that looks very real from a sender you know well. When you click the link on this fake email you open the door for hackers to steal your data. The next thing you receive is a ransom note.</p> <p>One of the reasons this is the technique most used to invade networks is that it focuses on the most fallible, most difficult network segment to manage; the user. Human beings are far easier to exploit than digital systems, and hackers know it. Your awareness of the potential danger is your first, best artillery in the war against bad-actors.</p> <h3><strong>Security is Everyone’s Responsibility</strong></h3> <p>Many people think their internet service provider (ISP) is responsible for data and network security. But ask yourself who suffers most when security is compromised and data is lost. You do, or your company does. In very practical terms this means that you and your company own the greatest bottom-line responsibility. Fiduciary responsibility to your stakeholders.</p> <p>More to the point, when an intruder gets past your ISP's security and accesses your highest value data assets who stands the best chance of being fired from their job?</p> <h3><strong>Stop. Think. Connect. But What Should I Think About?</strong></h3> <p>The main theme of NCSAM this year is, ”Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart” encouraging everyone to own their role and do their part taking personal accountability for helping protect the internet and all it services. Each week in October NCSAM explores a different topic. United Training will be publishing information all month with recommendations for how you can put these themes to good use.</p> <h5>· <strong>Week of October 5 (Week 1):</strong> If You Connect It, Protect It</h5> <h5>· <strong>Week of October 12 (Week 2):</strong> Securing Devices at Home and Work</h5> <h5>· <strong>Week of October 19 (Week 3):</strong> Securing Internet-Connected Devices in Healthcare</h5> <h5>· <strong>Week of October 26 (Week 4):</strong> The Future of Connected Devices</h5> <p>United Training offers many courses on data and network practices and products. Many companies send their personnel to these courses to better assure the safety of corporate data. In these courses, you’ll learn what security layers exist along the path of data traveling across your network, from the multi-factor authentication of users to network access control (NAC), intrusion prevention systems (IPS), anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-malware, firewalls, encryption and more. There’s a lot to learn, but all easily accessible. If you think only the techies need to know all this, think again. Everybody needs to #BeCyberSmart!</p> <p><a href="https://unitedtraining.com/cybersecurity-awareness" target="_blank"><img alt="cyber security month" class="img-fluid " src="/Portals/2/blog-images/cybersecuritybanner.jpg?ver=GWbzRP4Af_3nqWsLO4yeKA%3d%3d" style="width: 700px; height: 146px;" /></a></p> 36