Second, attackers will target, more than ever before, organizations who store protected health information. If you are in healthcare, or even if your company name makes it sound like you are in healthcare, ramp up security to unprecedented levels and have a plan of what to do when you are breached.

Third, more attackers will use trusted security software as a vector to infect networks. Attackers already infected the program called C-Cleaner, used by millions of people to, among other things, speed up slow Windows computers. C-Cleaner is a very useful, and trusted, security program. Unfortunately, this tool became a powerful attack tool when attackers took over the update server. What program, one that you trust, will attackers take over to use as a vector to hack your computer?

Please forward this to your friends who can be on the lookout too.

The post Three Serious Trends to Watch Out for in Cyber Security appeared first on Foster Institute.

Regular backups, including file backups, can do a great job of protecting your documents, pictures, and other files. But a full restore of a computer after an attack can take a very long time, and often requires you to reset the computer to factory defaults and spend hours reloading your programs.

If you need to restore after an attack, restoring an entire image is much faster than starting a re-installation from scratch. Disk images are a one-to-one copy of everything on your computer’s internal hard drive. Most often, you will replicate your drives to an external USB hard drive.

Image backup tools include Shadow Protect Desktop from Storage Craft, and Acronis True Image. For Macs, use Carbon Copy Cloner.

Keep using whatever backup method you already use for backup too. Image backup is an addition, not a replacement.

Please forward this to everyone you know who would like to be able to recover their computer quickly in the event of a ransomware attack.

The post Recover Quickly if Ransomware Attacks at Remote Worker and Home Computers appeared first on Foster Institute.

Delta reports that the glitch was triggered by a 22 year old power control system device that failed in their datacenter.

Back in June, Delta’s CIO Rahul Samant made a very telling statement, “Technology is like painting a bridge. Work is never done.”

That was two months before this disaster. I wonder if his statement about how “work is never done” is an excuse for not trying. It would be best if he remains focused on doing the best he possibly can.

I do not know the CIO, and give him the benefit of the doubt of doing the best possible job he can do.

As I type this blog at 35,000 feet, it is important to trust in the airlines to be very focused on safety. If only IT was afforded the same attention.

In 2008, after the bridge collapses received major media attention, the government provided resources to maintain bridges.

The government needn’t step in to force companies to keep their IT bridges painted and in great shape. But CEOs should step in when necessary.

Many IT departments are plagued by a lack of resources. But it doesn’t help to throw money at IT either. The problems can often be solved by using tools you’ve already paid for, and systems can be configured in ways to save IT Pros time.

Many organizations rely on service providers. Target learned the hard way that some service providers’ carelessness might cause big problems at the organizations that trust them.

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity plans are crucial. But keep preventative maintenance in mind too. Just ask Delta.

The post Delta Airlines Believes their Epic Technology Failure is like Painting a Bridge appeared first on Foster Institute.

Being compliant: Might help you if you get sued for a breach
Being secure: You may not have a breach

Do both, but choose which one to do first.

If your customers or prospects want you to be compliant in order to do business with you, then compliance probably needs to be top priority. Otherwise, make your systems secure first.

The post Be Secure or Be Compliant – Which Should You Do First? appeared first on Foster Institute.

Something else to be aware of is that Ted Koppel, former anchor for Nightline, released his book about the vulnerability of the country’s power grid, entitled Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. According to him, we are woefully unprepared.

Additionally, the topic of terrorists taking out the power grid is becoming a major focus point at cyber-security conferences.

Preparing your company for an extended power failure is just as important as being prepared for floods, hurricanes, or any other disasters you address as part of your disaster recovery plan.

Remember how we never imagined September 11th? Until it happened?

Educate yourself. You owe it to your family and company to prepare for Disaster Recovery from an event that some prominent people feel is no longer a possibility, but a likelihood. Could they be right?

The post Disaster Recovery Planning – Important New Threat appeared first on Foster Institute.