Data Priacy — Opinions

A Look Back At Information Security in 2014

With the major financial card breaches at global retailers, as well as a number of SSL/TLS vulnerabilities, it’s possible you may have missed a few other under-reported security issues that provided valuable lessons to the general technology community in 2014.

Thu Pham | 10 Dec | Read more

Closing the Gap Between Security and the Cloud

The cloud is a major presence in technology news and a trending topic that seems to pop up everywhere these days. The cloud certainly has the potential to transform computing across the spectrum, from individuals to SMBs to multinational corporations, and is rapidly becoming an essential part of the way companies do business.

John Hawkins | 10 Dec | Read more

Identifying the visibility gaps in your security

‘Once more unto the breach’…When Henry V uttered those immortalised words in Shakespeare’s play; most enemy attacks were fought on the battlefield. Yet in modern times, many ambushes come in the form of cyber attacks that wreak havoc in the shadows. These data breaches affect all organisations, not just governments, and also more commonly small and mid-sized businesses.

Brett Moorgas | 10 Dec | Read more

Buyer Beware: Five Cybersecurity Consumer Tips for the Holiday Season

Last year, news that US retailer Target’s point-of-sale systems were compromised resulting in the theft of more than 40 million payment card numbers hit Australian headlines. A steady stream of breach stories throughout the year further raised awareness of the issue in this part of the world. But given there are no mandatory breach disclosure laws in this country, you may be wondering ‘If my details were stolen, how would I even know?’ Practically speaking, you’re probably thinking ‘What can I do to protect myself this festive season?’

Chris Pogue | 10 Dec | Read more

The Future of Security is in the Cloud

As we wrap up another busy year in high tech, many IT leaders have cloud technology top of mind. The cloud is profoundly transformative, standing out even in a tech landscape crowded with big ideas and disruptive developments. Despite initial hesitation, cloud adoption has grown rapidly and doesn’t show any signs of slowing.

Paul Lipman | 02 Dec | Read more

Business Applications as a Service (BAaaS)

The rise and rise of the as-a-Service (XaaS) model continues. The various models based around the XaaS approach are all forecast to continue growing rapidly as organizations go on taking advantage of the increased flexibility, lower CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) and on-demand nature of the service. Gartner predicts that Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) will grow at a CAGR (Compound annual Growth Rate of 41.3 per cent through 2016, while Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) will hit 27.7 per cent CAGR in the same period. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market will grow at 19.5 per cent CAGR in that time too, demonstrating how significant the cloud delivery of IT services has become.

Gordon Makryllos | 01 Dec | Read more

Proactive Infosec

Are our investments in ‘information security’ aligned with today’s reality? It seems that every day there is a new security incident making headlines. Dictionary.com has nominated the word ‘exposure’ as word of the year. The word exposure has been popularised by events such as Ebola, but more relevant to us in the world of ‘infosec’, data breaches and other related security incidents.

John Ellis | 01 Dec | Read more

Five predictions for IdaaS and Identity Management in 2015

Five years ago we knew changes in technology and the ways in which we do business would present enormous challenges for how IT manages identity, what we didn’t know, was just how fast these changes would take place. By 2015 Gartner forecasts Identity as a Service (IDaaS) will make up 25 per cent of the Identity and Access Management (IAM) market, up from just four per cent in 2011.

Graham Pearson | 28 Nov | Read more

SOFTWARE-DEFINED NEUTRALISATION OF CYBER RISKS

Putting a strong lock on a weak door is unlikely to deter thieves, particularly when there are valuables inside. Yet all too often in the battle against cyber attacks, businesses do just that: they attach advanced digital security systems to inherently insecure corporate network infrastructures. The net result is enterprise IT capabilities that keep those tasked with maintaining risk registers and ensuring data security awake at night, and frustration for those who want to embrace next generation mobility and cloud technologies to generate efficiencies and competitive advantage.

John Suffolk | 24 Nov | Read more

R.I.P. Email?

R.I.P. email. Well nearly. While the number of email accounts continues to grow rapidly, I'm predicting that email, as we know it today, will fade away as the world's most pervasive form of digital communications—possibly within three to five years. It’s not just that there are other ways by which people are communicating, it’s also because email is increasingly a risky way to communicate.

George Fong | 21 Nov | Read more

Pervasive technologies and its implication on security

All of us are, to some extent, slaves to technology. Judicious use of technology is mandated. Human kind has, so far, been naïve in adopting technology with the presumption that it will always be used in the right spirit, but we have seen it being used in the wrong context over and over again. This article is about the implications of malicious use of pervasive technology.

Shantanu Bhattacharya | 13 Nov | Read more

How Can Organisations Deal Intelligently with Information Security Breaches?

Data breaches are happening more frequently, compromising larger volumes of data than ever before. We seem to hear about new data breaches every day. The number of compromised records grows, while organisations are subjected to larger financial penalties, stronger legislative and regulatory scrutiny, and tangible reputational damage. For organisations that suffer a breach, responding in an intelligent and confident manner is critical.

Steve Durbin | 13 Nov | Read more

The cost of a security breach; it’s not just about the purse strings

Security breaches are rarely out of the news and with these reports come the significant costs resulting from each attack. However, the immediate thought is often associated with a dollar amount; for example how much money are we forfeiting through lost sales? Consequently, many think that private enterprises are the only ones that are prone to be at risk of attacks on their networks. The fact is public sector, educational institutions and non-profit organisations are just as much at risk and the potential costs are both great and varied.

Brett Moorgas | 08 Oct | Read more

Dispelling Common Myths Surrounding UTM

Unified Threat Management (UTM) has become popular among organisations since its emergence over five years ago. The security solution gained traction with its all-in-one approach, combining several security tools into a single device. Running UTM also saved companies, especially the smaller ones time, money and manpower. Most UTM today include a firewall, intrusion detection system (IDS), virtual private network (VPN), anti-malware, anti-spam, content and web filtering, while some vendors include other features such as advanced routing.

Wana Tun | 03 Oct | Read more