Topic: Cybersecurity & Your Business

From the Winter 2015 Issue

Cybersecurity and the C-Suite: 10 questions every executive should be able to answer

Author(s):

Jeff Peters, Editor, SurfWatch Labs

As cyber threats proliferate and become a bigger part of the public discourse, the management and responsibility of those threats is increasingly moving towards the highest levels of an organization – corporate executives and the board of directors. Yet many of those in the C-Suite do not have a sufficient high-level understanding of the risks … Read more

From the Winter 2015 Issue

THE TOP 12 SECURITY BREACH FACTS EVERY C-LEVEL EXECUTIVE AND BOARD MEMBER MUST KNOW

Author(s):

Eric L. Qualkenbush, Director, Office of Central Cover; Director, Training and Education, retired, Central Intelligence Agency

T. Casey Fleming, Chairman and CEO, BLACKOPS Partners Corporation

Magnitude of the Threat  Over $500B of innovation and trade secrets secretly stolen each year: this means nearly every company with trade secrets is constantly targeted and compromised. The equivalent of $5 Trillion in total economic value removed from the U.S. economy each year (USA 2013 GDP: approx. $17 Trillion)  250,000+ cyber soldiers and nearly … Read more

From the Fall 2014 Issue

Maryland – Cash Investments and Tax Credits Add Up to Business Success for Cybersecurity Companies

Author(s):

Andrew L. Bareham, CPA, MST, Principal, State and Local Tax (SALT) Chair, KatzAbosch

The Internet Age has changed the business environment in the world. For instance, Silicon Valley in California has become the home to many high-tech business giants. New businesses attracted to Silicon Valley have brought high-paying jobs and with the jobs comes tax revenue for the state. With the changeover from a manufacturing economy to a … Read more

From the Fall 2014 Issue

Why Your Business Should Use Two-Factor Authentication

Author(s):

Greg Gunther, Software Engineer, Visionist, Inc.

A 2011 study by University of Cambridge computer security researcher Joseph Bonneau uncovered a shocking reality. Bonneau compared two password databases leaked from popular websites (Gawker and rootkit.com.) He discovered that over 31% of users who had an account on both sites reused the same password1. Equally troubling is the recent news that a Russian … Read more

From the Summer 2014 Issue

Cybersecurity Operations Strategy

Author(s):

B.B. Shariati, Cybersecurity faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) UMBC, UMBC’s GPD Cybersecurity program at The Universities at Shady Grove

Don Bowers, Chief Scientist, National Security Operation, Leidos Corporation

Executive Summary  Cyber threat is pervasive, growing and real. Whether you are dealing with it professionally as a cyber-warrior or have been touched by cybercrime in your personal life. The “cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation” (Obama, 2009). Cyber-attacks such as Advanced Persistent … Read more

From the Summer 2014 Issue

Above the Noise Floor: Security Measures in Your Network

Author(s):

Marc Milligan, Cyber Threat Analyst, Visionist, Inc.

In network security, a noise floor is a baseline or an acceptable percentage of false positives (when the system cries wolf) and false negatives (when it misses an actual security event) from your security products. No monitoring solution is fool proof, so you will need to develop a method of sorting out the good, the … Read more

From the Summer 2014 Issue

It’s What’s Inside That Counts – The War From Within

Author(s):

Jim Mazotas, Founder, OnGuard Systems LLC

Larry Letow, CEO, U.S., CyberCX

“Tis not so deep as a well nor so wide as a church-door, but ‘tis enough, ‘twill suffice” — (Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Act III, Scene 1)  It is no surprise that with the continuing advancements in data mobility, increasing demands of regulatory compliance, and sharing amongst the global community, that securing our nations … Read more

From the Spring 2014 Issue

Focusing a Leader’s Lens on Cybersecurity Within a Vast Framework Landscape

Author(s):

Dr. Eric Yocam, CRISC, CISSP, Adjunct Professor, University of Fairfax

Cyber Threats Abound  When dealing with Cybersecurity, a leader must be vigilant and at a moment’s notice be able to evaluate his or her organization’s security posture in regards to cyber threats. Cyber threats are typically viewed from GRC perspectives including governance, risk and compliance but equally important perspectives include policy, value, service, program, and … Read more

From the Spring 2014 Issue

Reduce Risk, Train Your Workforce

Author(s):

Michael Volk, Cybersecurity Specialist, PSA Insurance & Financial Services

The threat landscape in the cyber domain has changed. A secure perimeter comprised of traditional network security devices, technologies and mechanisms is necessary but it is no longer sufficient to defend against the threats that exist in the current environment. The proliferation of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) executed by sophisticated adversaries has changed the cybersecurity … Read more