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Dependence on the cloud in the modern era is no secret. The growth in cloud applications for both professional and personal use has proved unrelenting as critical applications and services are made solely available through cloud access. In a press release, Gartner predicted a 20.4% increase in end-user spend on cloud applications in 2022, and forecasts another 20% growth in 2023. As spend increases, so does availability, creating an ongoing chicken-and-egg dynamic that will only strengthen the need for robust security measures. The Importance of Cloud Security Despite its ubiquity, cloud adoption remains a point of concern for many organizations. Moving from on prem to cloud-based applications often brings a sense of fear or lack of control, generating anxiety particularly

By: Joe Fay U.S. looks for half a million cybersecurity professionals, ransomware victims less likely to pay up, analyst warns on Chinese smart device spy threat…but RSA encryption safe from Quantum cracking for now. U.S. struggles with shortage of cybersecurity pros  New research suggests the U.S. is short over half a million cyber security workers, though demand cooled slightly in the last two months of 2022. The total number of employed cybersecurity workers held steady at 1.1 million through 2022, according to figures from Cyberseek, the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education at NIST and CompTIA-backed workforce analytics site. The supply-demand ratio currently stands at 68 workers per 100 job openings, up slightly from the previous year’s ratio of 65 to

By: Joe Fay  Simon Thompson, CEO of the U.K.’s Royal Mail, has confirmed in a session with MPs that the crippling of its ability to send parcels and letters abroad was down to a “cyberattack” and that it was “ongoing”.  Thompson said that investigations into the attack on the U.K. postal operator – one of the most high-profile attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure to date – were continuing, but so far there was no evidence that personal data of customers had been compromised. The U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have been investigating the attack, and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have all been informed.  The attack first emerged on January 11, when printers

By: Joe Fay  Data Privacy Day (known as Data Protection Day in Europe) falls this Saturday (January 28) and if you haven’t worked out how to mark the day yet, tech vendors and organizations are more than willing to help.  The international event began as Data Protection Day in Europe in 2007, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, and has since been taken up in the U.S. and other countries.  Cisco marked it by releasing its 2023 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, which found that 92% of organizations recognized they need to do more to reassure customers about how their data is used, while 94% said customers would walk if their data wasn’t protected properly.  The survey also claimed

Alerts from national cybersecurity agencies, gaming developer attacks and the Mailchimp/FanDuel breach. Here are the latest threats and advisories for the week of January 27, 2023.  Threat Advisories and Alerts  CISA Publishes Report to Help Protect Schools from Cyberthreats  The recent surge in cyberattacks against the education sector has led the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to release a report addressing the issue. The COVID-19 pandemic made educational institutions increasingly vulnerable to cyberthreats, as virtual learning became widespread and led to the rapid adoption of new and untested technologies. The report titled “Partnering to Safeguard K-12 Organizations from Cybersecurity Threats” provides insight into today’s threat landscape as well as recommendations and resources to protect schools.   Source: https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2023/01/24/cisa-releases-protecting-our-future-partnering-safeguard-k-12   Russian

(ISC)² launched a new initiative for individuals pursuing or considering a career in cybersecurity. The goal? To create new pathways to cybersecurity career success and decrease the global workforce gap. Within three months of launching this initiative, we had more than 110,000 individuals sign up to become (ISC)² Candidates. The offering provides education courses, study materials and resources to help prepare those looking to enter cybersecurity. Additionally, the aim is to encourage (ISC)² Candidates to pursue the recently launched entry-level certification (ISC)² Certified in Cybersecurity (CC). The immediate success of (ISC)² Candidates showed us there was no shortage of interest in cybersecurity; the challenge is creating new pathways for those with no experience or background to enter the field. In fact, in