Hacked Again by Scott N. Schober

Author:Scott N. Schober
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780996902229
Publisher: ScottSchober.com Publishing
Published: 2016-02-29T22:00:00+00:00

____________________

QUICK TIP: Look in the mirror and make sure the hat you’re wearing is the right color or you might end up behind bars.

CHAPTER 14

THE INSIDER THREAT

WITHIN ANY ORGANIZATION, even those most secretive to outsiders, open communication is essential. Everyone is connected through devices, and ultimately the Internet, so data must flow freely to and from the proper channels. No one expects unlimited transparency, so I like to pose a few questions to business owners about their employees who have access to confidential and proprietary information: Does the employee understand the importance of confidentiality, and does he/she keep the organization’s information guarded and safe? We have all heard the expression: everyone has a price. Now imagine employees who feel they should have received more compensation or were overlooked for a promotion. Would they seek revenge? Would they leak a few passwords for a fast buck?

Dishonest employees can do more damage than external hackers or would-be cyberthieves. They have access to things like passwords, banking information, credit card information, social security numbers, and dates of birth—possibly both within the organization and its customer database. Such accessibility certainly might range from a database in the human resources department to setting up employee e-mails in the IT department. Whatever the case, employees often hold the keys to a treasure trove of data—a hacker’s dream. We all want to believe everyone is above board and has the company’s best interests in mind, but the second we let our guard down we might put our company, our career, and everyone else’s at risk. If we view this as a looming possibility all the time, the chance of having an insider compromise the organization is largely diminished.

In an effort to tighten up internal security, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the obvious. I always warn people not to put passwords on sticky notes on a monitor, under a keyboard, or in a desk drawer. Now as you are reading this, many of you are probably feeling guilty already because you are doing this, and that’s understandable. Some positions require multiple passwords for multiple levels of security, and they must be accessed many times a day. The strongest passwords are the really complex ones with wacky characters that are much harder to remember, so we use little cheat sheets. It’s difficult to remember the answers to some of those stupid security challenge questions because our favorite movies do change over time and older memories eventually fade.

It sounds a bit paranoid, but a computer plastered with sticky notes full of passwords is a billboard advertising security leaks. And when you get up for a coffee or bathroom break, it only takes a few seconds for someone to walk by your desk and snap a photo with their smartphone. From there, that little one-sixtieth of a second exposure is sold to the highest bidder, who then puts it through its Photoshop paces to zoom and enhance on every single digit. You would be amazed at the amount of visual information a decent smartphone pic can capture in less than a second.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.