Technically Easy

Category: Security

Security is an important topic when it comes to technology. There are many different areas of security, so this category is divided into various sub-categories to help navigate through the posts on security.

  • The Need for Cyber Security Professionals

    The Need for Cyber Security Professionals

    Many people do not realize that some of the largest cyber attacks in the history of the internet took place in 2014. There has never been a greater need for cyber professionals, especially when the security of business and government locations is on the line. Some of the statistics surrounding these attacks are terrifying to think about, and illustrate the need for properly trained professionals all the further.

    Increases in Threats

    All it takes is one well placed cyber attack to affect everyone. The Heartbleed vulnerability in most OpenSSL encryption could have affected upwards of two-thirds of all websites. Despite how widespread this news was, only forty percent of all users took steps to protect themselves. There has been a ninety-one percent increase in targeted attack campaigns, a sixty-two percent increase in the number of successful breaches, and a twenty-three percent increase in web-based attacks. Almost one in every eight websites has a critical vulnerability.

    Cyber Security Impact

    The cost to recover from a cyber attack has increased twenty-six percent between 2012 and 2013. The current recovery average is eleven and a half million per cyber crime incident. Over seventy-four percent of all cyber security professionals say that their agencies are not ready for an attack, with many other companies admitting the same faults. Over fifty-eight percent of these agencies admitted that some type of data loss would occur.

    Skill Gaps in Cyber Security

    The demand for cyber professionals has increased over three and a half times faster than the demand for most other IT jobs in the past five years. Over three hundred and thirty thousand positions had opened up out of necessity for these professionals in keeping a variety of industries safe from cyber attacks. The overall field of cyber security has increased in demand over twelve percent faster than all other types of non IT jobs. A variety of industries report a shortage of such professionals, including the healthcare sector and different manufacturing organizations.

    The Future of Cyber Security

    Currently, five thousand cyber security professionals are needed in the United States alone, while the federal government is actively seeking over ten thousand. The Department of Homeland Security itself is actively seeking six hundred such professionals to suit their needs. Studies estimate that there will be an upwards of thirty-seven percent increase in the amount of cyber security graduates in the next ten years. Norwich University’s online master of information assurance program put together a detailed visualization of this growing need in information security. Discover more in the infographic below.

    Why the US Needs More Cyber Professionals

  • 11 Ways To Avoid Your Email From Getting Hacked

    11 Ways To Avoid Your Email From Getting Hacked

    Many business owners and webmasters do not give a lot of attention to the security of emails. It is a fact that your email accounts are vulnerable and just like your website they might get hacked. In case you are not a tech savvy person or if you have created your first ever email account, then the information mentioned in this article will be helpful for you. Email accounts are used for performing various tasks like sending emails to friends, sending important emails to your bank, sending important business information to your colleagues or boss.

    Irrespective of whether you are using a private email service or a public email service, hackers have the power to break into your emails. While this might sound distressing, it is possible to take complete control of your email accounts and prevent malicious users from gaining access with the 11 ways to avoid your email from getting hacked mentioned below.

    (more…)

  • Smartphone Security: 9 Ways to Protect You and Your Phone

    Smartphone Security: 9 Ways to Protect You and Your Phone

    Your smartphone is your lifeline for connecting to the world. It’s also a computer in your pocket, with more apps and tools than a Swiss Army knife. All that functionality creates new risks, in addition to the old risks of loss and theft. Like a computer, your phone can get hacked, fatally crash due to malware or bad apps, or track your activity and send it to third parties. Here are nine ways to protect you and your phone.

    (more…)

  • How to Create a Secure Wireless Router Setup

    How to Create a Secure Wireless Router Setup

    We live at a time when the “Internet of Things” is starting to gain traction in our life.  It seems every new product sold today can easily connect to the Internet through a wireless connection, which is usually a wireless router. Of course, as with most things created, it may seem like a good idea to be able to get access to your devices remotely, it also means that malicious users may also be able to gain access to your devices.

    I have many devices in my home that connect to my wireless router, and while I am always conscious about security, I am confident in my devices being protected when connected to the Internet. While nothing is ever 100% secured, there are several steps you can take to make sure you do a proper wireless router setup. Ensuring the security of your wireless devices starts with your wireless router.

    (more…)

  • 5 Tools to Secure Your Windows Computer

    5 Tools to Secure Your Windows Computer

    Since the days of using DOS, personal computers have always had the risk of being infected with malicious software. Over the years, malware has evolved from basic viruses, to rootkits, and now ransomware that encrypts your data. With each new release of malware, it seems anti-virus software developers are always playing catch-up to make sure their software can protect a computer from the new malicious software.

    The fact that anti-virus, or anti-malware, software has always been reactive to the changing threats has made such software unreliable, at times, to protecting a computer. While I am an advocate of using anti-malware tools, my entire computer security policy isn’t based on those tools alone. Computer security today requires more protection depth than just an anti-malware tool and a firewall.

    To help with creating a more detailed security policy, I have compiled my list of 5 tools to secure your Windows computer. I use each of these tools, and feel confident in recommending them.

    (more…)

  • Is LastPass Secure?

    Is LastPass Secure?

    LastPass is a popular cloud-based password manager that has quickly become popular for those looking for an easy solution to create and keep their passwords safe. There are many software and cloud-based solutions available for managing passwords, such as RoboForm and KeePass, but for many users – myself included – LastPass is what they prefer.

    Of course, as with any software that stores personal information, the question on how secure LastPass really is has come up in many discussions online. The “Trust No One” mentality has led many to believe that unless they can see the source, they won’t trust the software. This is one reason many prefer KeePass over LastPass. KeePass is open source (can be reviewed/fixed by anyone), while LastPass is closed (can only be reviewed and modified by the developers)

    I endorse and use LastPass for all my passwords, but haven’t really looked into how LastPass manages my personal information, from the time I enter it into their browser add-in. I was curious at what is sent to LastPass, and the software does exactly what the developer says it does to secure my personal information. The good news is that there are ways of finding out, and in this post I will share my findings so you can make an informed decision, not just a decision based on what others say on the Internet. I am hoping that my tests will answer the question – is LastPass secure?

    (more…)

  • How You Can Create Stronger Passwords

    How You Can Create Stronger Passwords

    It seems that news about a breach of security that results in the stealing of usernames and passwords seems to be an everyday occurrence these days. The news, from Hold Security, that Russian hackers have created a list of 1.2 billion usernames and passwords come as a surprise because of the number of login credentials that have been stolen.

    The real danger of such a list is that many users use the same username and password for many websites, which now allows the Russian hackers to get access to more sites than they managed to steal the credentials from. In order to protect your online identity and data, here are some tips to help you create stronger passwords to help keep the hackers at bay.

    (more…)

  • Why Common Sense is Vital to Computer Security

    Why Common Sense is Vital to Computer Security

    I read an article about the how Justice Department in Canada launched a mock scam as a security exercise to determine how the employees react to a phishing e-mail. Much like a real phishing e-mail, the mock e-mail was made to look like an official government or financial institution e-mail, with a link to a fake website made to look like a real site.

    The results showed that people can still be tricked into navigating to a fake website with the intention of obtaining personal information. Unfortunately, phishing is still a popular method for malicious people to get information from others, and use that information for criminal purposes. This is a good reminder of how important it is to be vigilant about what we do while online, regardless if it is viewing a website or checking e-mail.

    (more…)