Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world today and list out ways to explore these trends. This week, we’ll discuss a few hacks to keep your instant messaging secure. We all exchange texts everyday. It has easily become the most used mode of communication in the last decade. But, very few of us think about the security aspects of instant messaging. It’s time to change our mindsets.

Are you aware of the increasing threat of SQL injection vulnerabilities?In Q4 2022, AppTrana stopped 1,111,548 of these attacks. With over a million SQL injection attacks blocked in just three months, it’s clear that web applications are under siege. How to stay ahead of the game and protect your business now? Here is a guide to understanding this OWASP top 10 vulnerability and how to prevent SQL injection attacks.

SecOps teams face more challenges than ever, including an expanded attack surface, an increased number of vulnerabilities, and a non-stop barrage of cyberattacks – all of which have materially increased organizational risk. According to Splunk’s State of Security Report 2023, security operations centers (SOCs) have become so overwhelmed that 23% of SOC analysts say they struggle with a high volume of security alerts. There are so many to process that 41% of those alerts are being ignored.

Read also: TrickBot dev faces up to 35 years in prison, Platypus hackers walk free in France, and more.

2024 is almost here, and that means PCI DSS 4.0 will soon go into effect. The newest version will have some mandatory controls on March 31, 2024, for those who store, process, or transmit card payment data. While its predecessor weighed in at 190 pages, PCI DSS 4.0 is 486 pages and includes 63 new security controls.

A common theme we hear from organizations utilizing a cloud delivered web proxy, either standalone or part of an SSE or SASE platform, is the frustration caused by website localization issues, a common trade-off when using services hosted in different geographies to the user. This is more acute the larger the customer is and the wider the distribution of employees beyond their home country or smaller organizations located in countries with no large scale data center (DC) infrastructure.

Ever since the invention of internet browsers for personal computers came about in the 1990s, cybercrime has been on the rise. Almost 30 years after the invention of the Worldwide Web, cybercriminals have a variety of different methodologies and toolkits that they use on a daily basis to leverage vulnerabilities and commit crime. One of the most popular types of attacks that is used by threat actors is a ransomware attack.

We are well aware of the devastating effect insiders can have when using their legitimate access and knowledge to target their own organization. These incidents can result in significant monetary and reputational damages. Entities small and large, across all sectors, can fall victim to insider threats.

A few CCTV cameras and a lock on the door. These used to be the only security measures an organization had to take to keep their business safe. Alas, those days are long gone. Now, having a Cyber Security Incident Response System (CSIRS) in place is critical. The internet is playing a bigger and bigger role in business. This means organizations become more and more vulnerable to cyber threats.