Ethics and data loss prevention
Are we loving the attackers and prosecuting the victims? In data security – I don’t subscribe to utilitarian ethics (which attempts to balance the benefit versus the damage of an act) and can lead to the ends justifying the means. For data security and compliance – I personally implement the “Ten commandments” approach – if […]
Exploiting a wireless mesh network for utilities
I think it’s only a matter of time before someone exploits a wireless mesh network that controls and reads home utility meters to get free water and electricity. Until then, there is a problem of range and coverage. Greentech media reports that Trilliant ( a smart meter neighborhood networking startup) has bought SkyPilot for it’s […]
US Military firms recruiting hacker soldiers
It seems that the GFC is creating a movement of migratory hi-tech workers from Silicon Valley to the Beltway. I’m not sure that an unemployed IT security analyst turned hacker is the best choice for a defense contractor – the really good guys and gals are always in demand – and those DC summers are […]
Scientific New York Post
I recently saw a great piece of pseudo-science courtesy of Websense describing the cost of data loss and amazing ROI for the Websense Data Security solution. (a friend who studied physics with me used to call this sort of writing “Scientific New York Post”) See Websense white paper ROI of DLP Bruce Schneier correctly notes […]
Designing a data security system
User-Driven Design versus User-Centered design Alan Cooper, in his book The Inmates are Running the Asylum, draws a distinction between user-centered design and user-driven design. User-driven design is about collecting, prioritizing and implementing a system to the user requirements – we’ve all been seen software development projects where the requirements spiraled out of control and […]
The role of user accountability and training in data security
In this article I will show that DLP technology such as Fidelis XPS, Mcafee DLP, Verdasys Digital Guardian, Websense Data Security Suite and Symantec Data Loss Prevention 9 – is a necessary but not sufficient condition for effective data security. I submit that effective data security is a three-legged stool of: Monitoring – using DLP […]
Data at rest encryption
Two days in the same week to run into FCPA issues is strange. A prospect in Poland (ENEA) recently acquired Euro 6 million worth of disks from Hitachi and explained the purchase as a data loss prevention measure (Hitachi has data at rest encryption- i.e. the controller encrypts the data on the disk, which makes […]
Entrapment – a solution for insider threats?
Not sweet, not a solution and not for insider threats. Roger Grimes on Infoworld is trying to promote the idea that entrapment tactics with a honeypot can be a cheap, easy, and effective warning system against the trusted insider gone bad. Of course, I don’t blame Roger for trying to game the search engines with […]
Imperfect knowledge security
A few months ago I wrote about The Black Swan of Security – how major data loss events have 3 common characteristics – 1) A major data loss event appears as a complete surprise to the company . 2) Data loss has a major impact to the point of maiming or destroying the institution (note […]
Data security case study
A lot of companies do V/A (vulnerability assessments) with scanners like Beyond Security or Nessus. We took a hybrid approach for an internal security assessment using a Fidelis Security Systems network DLP appliance for detecting data loss vulnerabilities and structured human interviews to identify assets and analyze business threats such as competitors who might steal […]
