State of Cybercrime

We had a unique opportunity in talking with data privacy attorney Sheila FitzPatrick. She lives and breathes data security and is recognized expert on EU and other international data protection laws. FitzPatrick has direct experience in representing companies in front of EU data protection authorities (DPAs). She also sits on various governmental data privacy advisory boards. During this first par...

Learning about the CIA’s tips and tricks on disguising one’s identity reminded us that humans are creatures of habit and over a period of time, can illuminate predictable behavioral patterns, which are presented as biometric data. As a result, businesses can leverage and integrate these data points with their operations and sales process. For instance, businesses are buying data about one’s health...

Vulnerability after vulnerability, we’ve seen that there’s no perfect model for security. Hence, the catchphrase, “If you can’t build in security, then build in accountability.” But history has also shown that even if there was enough political will and funding, consumers aren’t interested in paying a huge premium for security when a comparable product with the features they want is available much...

Troy Hunt, creator of “Have I been pwned”, gives a virtual keynote that explores how security threats are evolving - and what we need to be especially conscious of in the modern era. In this keynote, you’ll learn: Real world examples of both current and emerging threats How threats are evolving and where to put your focus How to stem the flow of data breaches and protect against malicious activity...

Troy Hunt, creator of “Have I been pwned”, gives a virtual keynote that explores how security threats are evolving - and what we need to be especially conscious of in the modern era. In this keynote, you’ll learn: Real world examples of both current and emerging threats How threats are evolving and where to put your focus How to stem the flow of data breaches and protect against malicious activity...

After the latest Microsoft Ignite conference, the enduring dilemma of how CISOs explain security matters to the C-Suite bubbled to the surface again. How technical do you get? Also, when the latest and greatest demos are given at one of the world’s most premier technology show, it can be easy to get overwhelmed with fancy new tools. What’s more important is to remember the basics : patching, least...

Reminder: it's not "your data". It's the patients' data It's the taxpayers' data It's the funder's data ----------------- If you're in industry or self-fund the research & don't publish, then you have the right not to share your data. Otherwise, it's not your data. — Lenny Teytelman (@lteytelman) July 16, 2018 We continue our conversation with Protocols.io founder Lenny Teytelman. In part two of o...

We’re in an impermanent phase with technology where circumstances and cyberattacks are not always black or white. Here’s what we’re contending with: would you prefer a medical diagnosis from a human or machine ? In another scenario, would a cyberattack on a state’s power grid be an act of war ? Officially, it’s not considered so, yet. Or, perhaps a scenario less extreme where you buy a video and t...

Reminder: it's not "your data". It's the patients' data It's the taxpayers' data It's the funder's data ----------------- If you're in industry or self-fund the research & don't publish, then you have the right not to share your data. Otherwise, it's not your data. — Lenny Teytelman (@lteytelman) July 16, 2018 A few months ago, I came across Protocols.io founder Lenny Teytelman’s tweet on data own...

Systems engineering manager Mike McCabe understands that State, Local and Education (SLED) government agencies want to be responsible stewards of taxpayer’s funds. So it makes sense they want to use security solutions that have proven themselves effective. For the past six years, he’s brought awareness on the tried and true efficacy of how Varonis solutions can secure SLED’s sensitive unstructured...

Our community is finally discussing whether computer science researchers should be required to disclose negative societal consequences of their work to the public. Computer scientists argue that they aren’t social scientists or philosophers, but caring about the world isn’t about roles, it’s the responsibility of being a citizen of the world. At the very least, researchers ought to be effective co...

While some of our colleagues geeked out at Blackhat, some of us vicariously experienced it online by following #BHUSA . The keynote was electric . They’re great ideas and we’ve seen them implemented in certain spaces. However, the reality is, we have a lot more work to do . There was also a serious talk about burn out , stress, and coping with alcohol as a form of escape. We learned that mental he...

Over the past six years, Colleen Rafter has been educating Varonis customers on the latest and greatest data security best practices. Share or NTFS permissions ? She has an answer for that. Aware that security pros need to meet the latest GDPR requirements , she has been responsibly reading up on the latest requirements and developing course material for a future class. In our podcast, Colleen adv...

This week’s podcast was inspired by chief information security officer Wendy Nather’s article, The Security Povery Line and Junk Food . It’s 2018 and we’re still struggling to get a proper security budget . Is it a mindset? Is that why when we hire pen testers to identify vulnerabilities, they’re usually able to gain admin access ? On the bright side, a company with a bigger budget, Google recentl...

Dr. Gemma Galdon-Clavell is a leading expert on the legal, social, and ethical impact of data and data technologies. As founding partner of  Eticas Research & Consulting , she traverses in this world  every day , working with innovators, businesses, and governments who are are considering the ethical and societal ramifications of implementing new technology in our world. We continue our discus...

I wanted to better understand how to manage our moral and business dilemmas, so I enlisted data & ethics expert  Dr. Gemma Galdon-Clavell to speak about her leadership in this space. As founding partner of Eticas Research & Consulting , she traverses in this world every day , working with innovators, businesses, and governments who are are considering the ethical and societal ramifications...

When we create new technologies, we want security and privacy, economic prosperity and sustainability, accountability but insist on confidentiality. The reality is that it is difficult to embed all of these values in one pass. As technologies get built, it also elucidates some values we hold to a higher regard than others. To cope with moral overload , some have suggested that we start designing s...

For years, technologists wondered why the law can’t keep pace with technology. Instead of waiting for the government to pass a regulation, should we enlist private companies to regulate ? However, in a recent interview with privacy and cybersecurity attorney Camille Stewart , she said that laws are built in the same way a lot of technologies are built: in the form of a framework. That way, it leav...

There are many advantages to being first, especially in the business world. Securing a first place finish usually rewards the winner with monopoly-like status and securing the largest and most dominant market share. A byproduct, however, of the winner takes all mentality is sacrificing security. That’s what Thomas Dullien, Google Project Zero presenter suggested in his latest presentation on the r...

In part two of my interview with Allison F. Avery, a Senior Diversity & Inclusion Specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center, she clarified common misconceptions about Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and offered a framework and methodology to implement D&I. She reminded me, “You should not be doing diversity for diversity sake.” Transcript Cindy Ng : Should we be hiring for skill set or...

We continue our conversation with cyber and tech attorney Camille Stewart on discerning one's appetite for risk. In other words, how much information are you willing to share online in exchange for something free? It's a loaded question and Camille takes us through the lines of questioning one would take when taking a fun quiz or survey online. As always, there are no easy answers or shortcuts to...

Data breaches keep on happening , information security professionals are in demand more than ever. Did you know  that there is currently a shortage of one million infosec pros worldwide? But the solution to this “man-power” shortage may be right in front of and around us. Many believe we can find more qualified workers by investing in Diversity & Inclusion programs. According to Angela Knox ,...

While reading about our latest technological advances, such as digital license plates and self-driving cars , I wondered about our industry’s core security principles that set the foundation for all our innovation. However, what about user agreements ? We’re able to create incredible new advances, however we can’t get our user agreements right. Even though the agreements are for the users, it’s ra...

Many want the law to keep pace with technology, but what's taking so long? A simple search online and you'll find a multitude of reasons why the law is slow to catch up with technology - lawyers are risk averse, the legal world is intentionally slow and also late adopters of technology. Can this all be true? Or simply heresy? I wanted to hear from an expert who has experience in the private and pu...

In April of 2013, after a short stint as a professional baseball player, Sean Campbell started working at Varonis as a Corporate Systems Engineer. Currently a Systems Engineer for New York and New Jersey, he is responsible for uncovering and understanding the business requirements of both prospective and existing customers across a wide range of verticals. This involves many introductory presentat...