During AWS re:Invent 21, I had the honor of hosting Phil Weeks, Senior technical advisor at IHG for an informative session on IHG’s security modernization journey during the pandemic which started with replacing a legacy SIEM.

IT environments have always been considered the forefront when it comes to cybersecurity, and OT environments have been the forefront when it comes to physical security. As more and more cyber threats are taking place, and with an increasing number recently focused on OT environments, everyone seems to be concerned with how to upscale and secure their OT estates in terms of cybersecurity.

Due to urbanization, which involves a complex set of economic, demographic, social, cultural, technological, and environmental processes, governments are developing smart cities to address some of the challenges unique to urban areas. This development occurs through the transmission of data using wireless technology and the cloud.

Similar to a home inspection, M&A software due diligence helps organizations assess the risk of an investment. When a company buys another company, the due diligence process is analogous to a home inspection during a real estate transaction. A buyer sees only so much when they tour a home—enough to know they like it and to assess the value, but not enough identify hidden problems that might devalue the property. An in-depth assessment requires time and expertise.

The Splunk SURGe team loves to automate and simplify mundane tasks. Through rapid response blogs, we provide context and analysis on late breaking security events that affect everyone, not just Splunk customers. We are firm believers that through shared knowledge and experience we can help the masses better understand the threat landscape and how they can improve their security posture.

Subscriptions-based services are a reality we all are getting used to; most people no longer buy physical media for example, opting to use streaming services for movies and music. This has numerous advantages like letting us explore new artists and genres without additional costs and commitment. Yet, while best known for its implementation in the digital world, subscription payment models are slowly but surely being adopted by more and more industries.

A selection of this week’s more interesting vulnerability disclosures and cyber security news. For a daily selection see our twitter feed at #ionCube24. We’ve been here before right? Many times? I know many countries have or are cracking down on IoT security but would it also cover this market?

I talk to a lot of engineers every day. SREs. Systems Architects. Security Engineers. What I am hearing from them is that they are moving away from passwords — both in their personal lives, opting for more secure forms of authentication like biometrics and second factors, and at work. It just doesn’t make sense anymore to protect your personal bank with a second factor, but to share around an SSH key to access critical server infrastructure.

We are squeaking this one in under the wire as we say goodbye to the second full year in this long pandemic. It has been a busy year with lots of new features and improvements. To get the new year started right we are putting on a joint webinar with our friends at Tines. As we go into 2022 we do so with hope and optimism that we will start moving towards a brighter future for all.

The pride of Arctic Wolf is our Pack. Now more than 1,200 Wolves strong, our team’s dedication, drive, and commitment to ending cyber risk has enabled unprecedented growth and innovation for Arctic Wolf. As we close out 2021 and look to the year ahead, we wanted to take a moment and reflect on a few of the highlights from the past year.