Executive Tips Archives - Mike Foster, CEH, CISA, CISSP

Mike Foster's IT Security & Best Practices Blog

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Protect Your Network Even when Attackers Trick Your Users

A business contacted our office last week because a bad actor tricked an employee to give them full access to their computer. The bad actor immediately took over the network and started performing highly illegal activities that appeared to come from the victim’s systems. User training is not enough. It is essential to take additional […]

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Protect your Company from the Imminent Threat called Eternal Blue

In 2017, the NSA made headlines after developing a hacking tool called Eternal Blue. The NSA did not notify Microsoft of the stockpiled vulnerabilities, so Microsoft didn’t know what holes to seal. The hacker group called Shadow Brokers acquired this powerful hacking tool developed by some of our nation’s best and brightest.

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Attackers are Targeting High Net Worth Individuals

An experienced high-level executive shared his concern about how attackers are investing more time targeting high net worth individuals.

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Happy Computer Security Day!

November 30th is Computer Security Day. Today is a great day to remind your team members to continue to be extra vigilant as they watch for spam email messages.

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Updated: Forward these 7 Minimum Security Requirements for Your Small Service Providers

Many organizations outsource to service providers that are not cyber-secure. It is common for companies to experience a significant security breach that originated at a third party. Just ask Target. Forward this request to your small outsourced providers asking them to do these seven things.

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The Three Biggest Cyber Security Trends Right Now

First, the attacker population is outpacing the ability to control them. Attacks are trending higher at an ever-increasing rate. Be extra security-diligent.

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Do the Basics. Do not Believe that Threat Protection Software Will Save You.

This week, someone told me about a group of CEOs who came to the conclusion that their IT security was handled since they installed an artificial intelligence (AI) based threat protection tool. They didn’t know it, but they were wrong.

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Your Software, such as CCleaner, May Have Backdoors

Can you trust programs you download? Millions of users, including outsourced computer firms, use a program called CCleaner on their own and on customers’ computers. CCleaner just announced that some of its software was compromised and has been stealing data from users’ computers.

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Straw, Sticks, or Brick: How to Tell Which Your Network Is, and How to Improve It

Just yesterday, someone told me they think they are secure because they have anti-virus, strong passwords and a firewall. Last weekend, I asked my daughter to tell me a fairy tale. She chose The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. As she told the story, it became so clear that organizations use straw, […]

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Attackers Are Using Mobile Devices as a Bridge into Your Network

A newly discovered virus, called Milky Door, permits attackers to connect to your organization’s network through apps on mobile devices. The users have no idea their mobile device is being used in this way.

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