Cyber Insurance is a developing market with businesses regularly purchasing cyber coverage in addition to liability, errors and omissions, fire and flood. With so many attacks and data breaches happening …
A vCISO (virtual Chief Information Security Officer), provides cybersecurity leadership to businesses virtually at a fraction of the cost if hiring them full-time. By hiring a third-party provider to manage …
A PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format designed to present documents consistently across multiple devices and platforms. Since developed by Adobe 1992, it’s become one of the most …
A Malicious URL is a link created with the purpose of promoting scams, attacks, and fraud. By clicking on an infected URL, you may download malware or a trojan that …
SSAE Compliance, also known as Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements and Compliance, is a collection of auditing standards and guidance using standards published by the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) …
SOC 3 isn’t an of upgrade over the SOC 2 report. It may have some of the components of SOC 2; still, it is entirely a different ball game. SOC …
Systems and Organizational Controls (SOC) is an auditing standard that has its roots in financial systems and auditing. SOC audits come in three (3) flavors with SOC Type 1 being …
SOC 2 is the most commonly achieved audit report of the three SOC audit types. SOC 2 audits are quite common when working with service providers. It’s common for people …
Cyber Insurance is a form of insurance for businesses and individuals against Internet-based threats. Many high profile data breaches have prompted insurance companies to offer cyber insurance policies to protect …
Digital Content Management (DCM) is the process for collection, delivery, retrieval, governance and overall management of information in any digital format. The term is generally used in reference to administration …
Nation states have taken heavily to cyberwarfare over the past 20 years. Some flex their muscles openly such as when Russia invaded Georgia a few years back and took out their critical infrastructure through Cyberwarfare before they rolled their tanks in. Others do so more stealthily with false flags and more. The only certainty is you must protect yourself, because no-one else will or can. Learn how at CyberHoot.
An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of definitions and protocols for building and integrating application software. APIs let your product communicate with other products and services without having …
The Tor Browser is a web browser designed for anonymous web browsing and protection against traffic capture, providing some level of privacy protection for individuals who us it. The Tor …
Digital Rights Management (DRM) are measures taken to protect digital media copyrights. DRM tries to prevent unauthorized redistribution of digital media and places restrictions on the ways consumers can copy …
A Data Spill, or Data Leak, is the accidental or deliberate exposure of information into an unauthorized environment. Data spillage is often the result of hackers breaking into company networks …
Quality of Service (QoS) is a technology that manages and prioritizes certain types of data traffic on a network with the goal of reducing packet loss, latency and jitters for …
Network Behavior Analysis (NBA), also known as “Behavior Monitoring” is the collection and analysis of internal network data to identify malicious or unusual activity. Behavioral monitoring tools analyze information from …
A Blended Threat is a computer network attack that seeks to maximize the severity of damage and speed of contagion by combining methods—for example, using characteristics of both viruses and …
Metadata is information that describes the characteristics of specific data file or data set. For example, photos often embed metadata within the photo file itself. Photo metadata includes things like …
Garmin, like Twitter the week before, suffered a massive breach. For Garmin it was ransomware while Twitter saw 130 of its most influential accounts taken over by hackers. Both companies suffered at the hands of hackers who used social engineering attacks to get into the companies and cause their damage. Visit CyberHoot to learn how to protect yourself and your company from these attacks.
Data Normalization is a process of reorganizing information in a database to meet two requirements: data is only stored in one place (reducing the data) and all related data items …
Catfishing is a common technique used on social media sites to attack victims through fake personalities and accounts. This technique is also used on dating sites, playing on people’s emotions, …
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have been around for more than 50 years. In that time, criminals have found many unique ways to steal the cash they contain. Physical security, network security, logical security all play roles in protecting these machines from compromise. Learn how banks are protecting the machines and what you can learn from ATM heists to protect your own business at CyberHoot.
Identity Theft is when a hacker uses your personal identifying information and pretends to be you in order to commit fraud or to gain other financial benefits. Thieves look to …
The world of big data swirls around all of us online today. Data Aggregation (DA) is how big data is analyses for meaningful relationships and then converted into actionable intelligence. Learn more at CyberHoot.
A Threat Actor is a person or group performing malicious or hostile actions which cause harm to the victims computers, devices, systems, or networks. Threat Actors are categorized into groups …
JavaScript is a programming language developed by Netscape commonly used in web development; used to add dynamic and interactive elements to web pages. The coding language is a “client-side” language …
Cyberspace is the complex environment of interdependent networks of IT infrastructures including the public Internet, various private “Internets” such as Internet2 or the US military’s Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), telecommunications …
JBOH (JavaScript-Binding-Over-HTTP) is a mobile device attack that enables an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a previously compromised device. These attacks are known to be deployed through malicious JBOH …
Situational awareness is knowledge combined with attitudes and behaviors that work to protect our IT assets. Being aware in cybersecurity means you understand what the threats you face are and …
Cryptanalysis is the decryption and analysis of codes, ciphers or encrypted text. Cryptanalysis uses mathematical formulas to search for algorithm vulnerabilities, attempting to break into a cryptographic system. The goal …
Bloatware is software that comes pre-installed with the purchase of a new computer or device. Many vendors include dozens of “utilities” and sometimes even “3rd Party software solutions” which add …
Trialware is software that can be used for a short period of time before it expires. In order to keep using the software, the user must purchase an authentication key …
Piggybacking is a form of cyber attack where a hacker(s) gain access to an unauthorized network, computing resource, or even a physical building. They do this by leveraging an insecure …
Adware makes the Internet go round. However, excessive adware and madware (mobile adware) can lead to productivity damage or worse, malware. Learn all about adware and how to avoid it at CyberHoot.
Disinformation is closely aligned to social engineering. When combined the two can have very believable and devastating consequences. Develop a healthy skepticism towards online content. To avoid being taken advantage of, seek to validate sources, facts, and authors.
A Cookie, or web cookie, is a small data file used by computers to track website communications and sessions. When you visit a website, it sends a cookie to your …
reCAPTCHA is a (presently) free security tool from Google which helps separate automated Bots from real humans wanting to interact with your website whether to purchase, query, complete a form. or register for something. Enabling reCAPTCHA can greatly reduce nuisances in your website from hackers and provide SMBs peace-of-mind.
A Patch is a software component that is installed onto a device that modifies files or device settings. Patches are typically done to fix an issue with a device or …
When -planning for risks to your small to medium sized business, you need to include data backups and recovery processes. Test that these work at least annually and be aware that some new hacking attacks cannot be addressed by simply restoring data from a strong backup strategy because of threats to your data’s confidentiality.
Eavesdropping in the cybersecurity world refers to the interception of communication between two parties by a malicious third party (hackers). Eavesdropping is similar to a sniffing attack, where software applications …
A POS Intrusion is an attack that happens at the Point-of-Sale device. The POS device in retail stores process credit card transactions at check out. Newer devices allow you to …
Cyber Espionage is a cyber attack that leads to stolen classified, sensitive, or critical data often in the form of intellectual property in order to gain a competitive advantage over …
Examining the data you collect to run your business can lead to greater efficiency, shorter periods of down-time, and better predictive models surrounding demand for your products and services. This is known as data mining.
Account Hijacking is where a hacker compromises a computer account that does not belong to them. Often these account hijackings are email accounts because they contain so much rich and …
Password Sniffing is a hacking technique that uses a special software application that allows a hacker to steal usernames and passwords simply by observing and passively recording network traffic. This …
A Cracker is an individual who breaks into a computer accounts, systems, or networks and intentionally causes harm. A cracker can be doing this for profit, for malicious reasons, for …
An Influencer is someone who creates or promotes content on the Internet to a group of social media followers (subscribers) via a variety of websites. The term Influencer is a …
Open source software (OSS), unlike proprietary software, is software that keeps the code open so IT professionals can alter, improve, and distribute it. Popular Open Source software examples include Mozilla’s …
Software development has come a long way from the days of mechanical switches, punch cards, and the potential for a moth (Bug) in your machine. Today development programs usually follow one of two methodologies: waterfall or agile development. This article provides a quick layman’s overview of Waterfall development methodology.
