Tag: IT security
What nature teaches us about managing risk
In the last few weeks, I’ve attended more than my usual number of international cybersecurity conferences, and the perspective, scope and dimensions of the discussion have evolved quite a bit in the last few years. I’ve been speaking with people from different backgrounds on this topic at events hosted by the United Nations to discuss the counterterrorism angle, by NATO for its use of the military and warfare, by Interpol for the balance between law enforcement needs and public privacy, and even by the OECD for the asymmetries that developed countries face in protecting themselves. This has allowed me to …
It’s Time To Think Of Cybersecurity As A Business Enabler
Last year, CIO, CSO and PricewaterhouseCoopers released a new Global State of Information Security survey, which polled more than 10,000 executives from 127 countries about IT security. The results were a mixed bag, with security incidents up 38% over 2014 but corresponding budgets rising only 24%. The survey reflected broad thinking about how companies are trying to defend themselves from hackers as well as employees, the most often cited sources of security compromises. But despite the continued growth in hacks and other security incidents, there were some important signs that security threats aren’t being taken seriously enough at the executive …
Why internet security matters
Now that the Internet is an integral part of our lives, it’s easy to forget that 15 years ago it didn’t even exist, at least for most people. In fact, the Internet has been around for more than 45 years, with the original iteration functioning as a way for scientists and scholars to send messages to one another. So, how did the Internet grow from its academic origins to become the indispensable global tool we know today? Many would say its rise was due to the creation of the World Wide Web or the speed of data transmission that made …
Yahoo Hacks Highlight Cyber Flaws Japan Rushing to Thwart
Shortly after the alert sounded at 9:10 p.m., Yahoo Japan Corp.’s risk team knew it had a problem. More than 20 million usernames and passwords belonging to its customers were being dumped into a file, primed to be stolen. “What the hell are you doing?” the team asked the Yahoo employee whose account was capturing the encrypted data. The download was blocked immediately, Motonobu Koh, a risk manager, recalled in a recent interview. Then the worker replied: “I’m not doing anything. I’m at home.” The April 2013 breach of Yahoo Japan, controlled by billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Corp., was an …
How not to do a software launch or DRM implementation
So a rare “not so busy weekend” (okay, I’m procrastinating) I decided to use the computer for entertainment and bought/downloaded SimCity. This game is an old favorite of mine starting with the original version from 1989 (wow… 24 years ago!) and 1st major upgrade of the franchise in 10 years (last one was SimCity4 from 2003). Anyway, I was honestly looking forward to it and purchased/downloaded the stub/installer earlier in the week on Amazon.com. Come Thursday, I was able to download the full version on Thursday and activate it. I read some excellent reviews about the beta version of the …