Top IT Security Bloggers

Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
  • What to expect at the RSA Conference 2019

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    I’ve attended the RSA security conference for the past 15 years, and things have changed quite a bit. The event has gone from a few thousand to around 50,000 attendees, leading to a confluence of humanity and traffic around the Moscone Center. Hotel room prices exceed $500 per night – even at some of the “boutique” (i.e. flea bag) hotels in and around Union Square. The RSA event has become the nexus where cybersecurity meets high-end capitalism.Overpriced hotels and massive crowds are no accident – the RSA Security Conference has morphed from an industry to a global event where some of the smartest cybersecurity minds come together to share information about the latest threats and discuss what defensive countermeasures can be most effective.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Enterprises need to embrace top-down cybersecurity management

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    When I first entered the cybersecurity market in 2003, I’d already been working in the IT industry for about 16 years in storage, networking, and telecommunications previously. By the early 2000s, all three sectors had moved on from bits and bytes to focusing on how each technology could help organizations meet their business goals. Oh sure, we still talked speeds and feeds, but we led with things like business agility, productivity, and cost cutting. The technology was a means to an end rather than an end in itself.When I got to the cybersecurity industry, I was surprised by what I saw. Unlike other areas of IT, cybersecurity was still deep in the weeds, focused on things such as IP packets, application protocols, and malicious code. In other words, cybersecurity remained a “bottom-up” discipline as the cybersecurity team viewed the world from networks and devices “up the stack” to applications and the business.To read this article in full, please click here
  • IBM sets forth with a strong cybersecurity message

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    I just got back from attending IBM Think in San Francisco. Though it was a quick trip across the country, I was inundated with IBM’s vision, covering topics from A (i.e. artificial intelligence) to Z (i.e. System Z) and everything in between.Despite the wide-ranging discussion, IBM’s main focus was on three areas: 1) hybrid cloud, 2) advanced analytics, and 3) security. For example, IBM’s hybrid cloud discussion centered on digital transformation and leaned heavily on its Red Hat acquisition, while advanced analytics included artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive computing (Watson), neural networks, etc. To demonstrate its capabilities in these areas, IBM paraded out customers such as Geico, Hyundai Credit Corporation, and Santander Bank, who are betting on IBM for game-changing digital transformation projects.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Cyber risk management: There's a disconnect between business and security teams

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    A few years ago, cybersecurity professionals often lamented that executives didn’t want good security; they wanted “good enough” security. This axiom reflected that many CEOs equated cybersecurity with regulatory compliance. If the CISO could check all the right PCI, HIPAA, or SOX boxes, cybersecurity concerns would be taken care of.The “good enough” security attitude was an aversion for the cybersecurity crowd. CISOs who wanted to adequately protect corporate assets longed for a time when business executives would truly appreciate cyber risk and be willing to participate and fund cyber risk management efforts adequately.As the saying goes, “Be careful of what you wish for." In 2019, business executives are all in, and that’s created a big problem for cybersecurity teams.To read this article in full, please click here
  • The problems plaguing security point tools

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    At most enterprise organizations, cybersecurity infrastructure grew organically over time. The security team implemented each security control in response to a particular threat – antivirus software appeared on desktops, gateways were added to the network, sandboxes were deployed to detect malicious files, etc.
    [ Find out how 4 deception tools deliver truer network security. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ]To read this article in full, please click here
  • The cybersecurity skills shortage is getting worse

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    At the end of each year, ESG conducts a wide-ranging global survey of IT professionals, asking them about challenges, purchasing plans, strategies, etc. As part of this survey, respondents were asked to identify areas where their organization has a problematic shortage of skills.In 2018-2019, cybersecurity skills topped the list — 53 percent of survey respondents reported a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills at their organization. IT architecture/planning skills came in second at 38 percent.[ Read also: How to reduce security staff turnover? Focus on culture and people | Get more insight: Sign up for CSO newsletters ]
    The cybersecurity skills shortage is nothing new. Alarmingly, the cybersecurity skills deficit has held the top position in ESG’s annual survey every year. (Note: I am an employee of ESG.) Furthermore, the percentage of organizations reporting a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills continues to increase. Here are the results from the last four surveys:To read this article in full, please click here
  • 2019 will be the year of cloud-based cybersecurity analytics/operations

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    Security information and event management (SIEM) systems first appeared around 2000 from vendors such as Intellitactics, NetForensics, and eSecurity. The original functionality centered around event correlation from perimeter security devices such as IDS/IPS and firewalls.The SIEM market evolved over the past 19 years, with different vendors, functionality, and use cases. SIEM has also grown into a $2.5 billion market, dominated by vendors such as Splunk, IBM, LogRhythm, and AT&T (AlienVault).Despite the SIEM evolution, today’s products can be seen as super-sized versions of those of yesteryear. In fact, the original design of SIEM seemed like a knockoff of network and systems management tools CA Unicenter, HP OpenView, and IBM Tivoli. SIEM products were based upon a tiered architecture of distributed data collectors/indexers/processors and a central database used for data analytics, visualization, and reporting.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Security operations activities to watch in 2019

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    If you’ve read my columns over the past few years, you’ve seen a security operations effort I’ve been pushing called security operations and analytics platform architecture (SOAPA). I first conceived of SOAPA as an antidote for the existing security operations practice of relying on an army of independent and disconnected security tools.This army formed over time as organizations added different security controls and threat detection systems. And while they didn’t mean to create an unmanageable monster, that’s what they got. Each system requires its own setup and ongoing management. Each one does its own alerting and reporting. Each one demands employee training, etc. Meanwhile, security operations is based on pivoting from one tool to the next and relying on humans to make sense of the whole enchilada.To read this article in full, please click here
  • Cyber risk management continues to grow more difficult

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    Cyber risk management is significantly more difficult today than it was two years ago.That's according to new ESG research involving 340 enterprise cybersecurity, GRC, and IT professionals who were asked to compare cyber risk management today to two years ago. (Note: I am an employee of ESG.) The data indicates that 39 percent of survey respondents believe that cyber risk management is significantly more difficult today than it was two years ago, while another 34 percent say that cyber risk management is somewhat more difficult today than it was two years ago.[ Keep up with 8 hot cyber security trends (and 4 going cold). | Sign up for CSO newsletters. ]
    4 reasons why cyber risk management is more difficult
    Why do 73 percent of cybersecurity, GRC, and IT professionals believe cyber risk management is more problematic? Several issues stand out:To read this article in full, please click here
  • It's time for a new cyber risk management model

    Network World - Networking Nuggets and Security Snippets
    The cyber risk management model in its current form is broken. While cyber risk management is more important than ever for business executives, it’s more difficult for CISOs and cybersecurity teams to do thanks in part to an overwhelming attack surface, a huge number of vulnerabilities and sophisticated threats.[ Keep up with 8 hot cyber security trends (and 4 going cold). | Sign up for CSO newsletters. ]
    New ESG research, which is about to be published, shows that what has worked in the past is no longer an option. I’m an employee at ESG, and I’ve been knee-deep in the data for the past month. Here are a few of my initial impressions of the findings:To read this article in full, please click here