Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Securing virtual identities and entry points has become a critical priority as cyber threats grow more sophisticated. A Single Sign-On (SSO) system offers ease and allows multi-functionality with a single set of identity verification, but they are enticing targets for cyber attackers. Organizations need Zero Trust Architecture to alleviate this risk. Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) is a protection framework that is designed on the principle of never trust and always verify.

To allay dependence on oil revenue and expand the private sector, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has committed, in recent years, to establishing a knowledge-based economy. Consequently, they have become a formidable competitor in Information Communication Technology (ICT). As the ICT industry has grown, so have government agencies to regulate it, namely the Signals Intelligence Agency, formerly known as (and often still referred to as) the National Electronic Security Authority (NESA).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) has revealed that computer misuse cases rose 37% in the year ending March 2024, bucking a general trend of decline. The CSEW first started tracking computer misuse in the year ending (YE) March 2017, which saw roughly 1.8 million incidents. By March 2023, this number had fallen to 745,000. In March 2024, however, computer misuse incidents rose dramatically to 1 million.

The CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls) are a set of best practices designed to help organizations protect themselves from the most common cyber attacks. First developed in 2008, the controls define the minimum level of cybersecurity any organization that collects or maintains personal information should meet. CIS released version 8.1 of the CIS Critical Security Controls on June 25th, 2024.

Misconfigurations (when cloud computing assets are set up incorrectly, leaving them vulnerable to unauthorized access, data breaches, and operational disruptions) and inadequate change control top the list of cloud security threats in 2024, rising from third place the year before. It's clear that the transition to cloud computing has amplified the challenges of configuration management, making it critical for entities to adopt cloud-specific configurations.

Security Operations Teams (SOCs) today are under attack by the very mechanisms meant to help them. A recent industry study revealed a few startling facts: And unsurprisingly, the vast majority (80%) say that manual processes are slowing them down. These stats lay out both the problem with and solution to alert fatigue today: too many alerts, too many bad ones, and not enough streamlined processes helping SOCs get ahead of the problem.

Developers of plugins and themes for WordPress.org have been told they are required to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) from October 1st. The move is intended to enhance security, helping prevent hackers from gaining access to accounts through which malicious code could be injected into code used by millions of websites running the self-hosted version of WordPress.

Achieving Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act compliance is becoming more difficult. While the Act is primarily a financial reporting regulation, it requires all publicly traded companies operating in the United States to maintain the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of financial reporting, which those organizations can only achieve through robust cybersecurity measures. As such, an effective cybersecurity strategy is crucial for achieving SOX compliance.

Traditional cybersecurity solutions are constantly being supplemented and enhanced by new technology and practices. Industry leaders know that keeping up with digital security advancements is the best way to ensure the success of every company and that customers rely on them. Understanding how experts merge cybersecurity and automation in different industries is an excellent way to embrace this expanding movement.

I worry that a lot of my blog posts reveal that I’m getting older and older as the days go by, but I wanted to talk about teasmades and security automation. For those of you outside of the UK, and even those born in the UK within the past 30 years, there’s a distinct possibility you may read this and consider it to be a made-up word, but there is indeed such a thing as a teasmade – effectively a small machine for making tea that has a timer on it.