The Certifiable Technologist.
Welcome to the home of the Certifiable Technologist - Jason Appel. This is an area dedicated to thoughts, comments, discussions, and musing on network/computer security, privacy, and technology. or anything else that looks interesting. The idea is to provide analysis, commentary and geekspeak translations of news, events, and happenings in the security and technology arenas. You can read new posts on this blog via the…
| User: | Jason Appel |
|---|---|
| Tags: | blog, business, computer, humor, security, consulting, network, email, admin, recovery, commentary, disaster, privacy, password, spoof, continuity, ndr |
Recent user posts
Some Un-jolly Tidings.
With the holidays here, there are many not-so-jolly “traditions” that are percolating through the internet. Specifically, we are focusing on the social engineering attacks frequently referred to as a confidence trick or as a con. A con is the basis for a number of online or computer threats. A social… Read more
Defensive Depths
With the new year, it's time to get back to basics and review some key concepts in the security field. One term we often bandy about is "defense in depth" as a means to secure your information and it has nothing to do with deep sea warfare. The term is taken from military parlance and can… Read more
Musings & Rants
Welcome! My new blog has been launched today. This is intended to be a compilation of musings and thoughts with a rough focus on security and privacy. The idea is to provide analysis, commentary and geekspeak translations of news, events, and happenings in the security and technology arenas. Feel free… Read more
Security Breach: the human factor
A few weeks ago, it was reported that one of our local school districts was the victim of a security breach. This breach resulted in wire transfers totaling almost $3 million from their bank accounts to various foreign banks; reportedly 20% of the school's annual budget. While the school district has… Read more
Scareware - Not a just a fashion statement anymore
Scareware is the latest type of malware (MALicious softWARE) labeled by the media, not my poor sense of style. These are nasty little messages try to frighten you into browsing infected websites, installing infected software, and even giving up your credit card numbers. We have discussed this type of… Read more
Recommended
Recommended In the course of my life, I occasionally come across products, services, or utilities that exceed my expectations. I feel this type of service should be encouraged, so below is a list of companies and organizations I would personally recommend. Also included is stuff that's just plain cool… Read more
Spoofed NDR issues
We've seen a rash of NDR (non-Delivery Response) floods happening to our clients. In all cases, it appears that the spam being NDRed is spoofed, but we are receiving reports from these users that they are being black listed on spam filters. Is anyone else seeing this problem? Thanks, -J… Read more
Who?
Who is the Certifiable Technologist? 4/2/08 The name Certifiable Technologist stems from the inordinate number of technical certifications I seem to have acquired over the years, my keen interest in Psychology and the social sciences, and my ironic sense of humor. I have been in the industry as some… Read more
Boom! April fools!?
As the warm weather begins to set in, something besides April showers may be approaching. A malicious program called Conficker (a.k.a. Worm_DownAD.AD, Trojan.Win32.Pakes.lxf, W32.Downadup) has been propagating throughout the internet and making headlines. This malware (malicious software) has garnered… Read more
Security News
Security News… Read more
Survival of the Adminless
Just how dependent is your organization on your computer/network/systems administrator(s)? I like to think that all administrators are a Nietzschesque breed of super-humans who never get sick, hit by busses, retire, win the lottery, take other jobs, or quit. Unfortunately, statistics show that… Read more
Budgeting for Disaster
As the year winds to a close, thoughts are turning to the coming holidays: turkey, pies, snow shoveling, and perhaps a new budget. So how exactly does one plan for the unexpected, or budget for disasters? By definition disasters are very bad: bad enough that we should be insured against them. Assuming… Read more
Hunting the Elusive Email.
Litigation is an unpleasant fact of life for many businesses and it now has serious Information Systems implications. E-Discovery (Electronic Discovery) rules shine a very bright spotlight on your Information Systems policies and procedures, and how well they are implemented. The policies, procedures… Read more
In whom do we trust?
It’s one thing when private and personal information is breached through accident, theft, or the occasional cracker hacking the systems. While damaging, these occurrences can be defended against and the risk can be mitigated and managed through various means. That being said, it is quite another matter… Read more
IFRAME attack underway
IFRAME attack There is a major attack underway that has compromised a slew of well known U.S. websites including (but not limited to) USAToday.com, ABCNews.com, News.com, Target.com, Walmart.com, Bloomingdales.com, WebShots.com, Sears.com, Forbes.com, Circuitcity.com, Epinions.com, JCPenney.com, and… Read more
Backing up is hard to do.
Have you ever experienced the nauseating sensation of data loss? If so, you are most likely a firm believer in backing up your information. Whether it was a deleted proposal that could have save you hours of work, or a presentation that someone wrote over, or a hard drive that died, there is no teacher… Read more
Day 1
OK, so it's a wysiwyg. Sorry, but my HTML and site design experience is about 9 years old at this point, and frankly I'd rather worry about the content of the site than debugging my cruddy attempts at coding. "A man's got to know his limitations." This site is geared towards security. however… Read more
Untethered fun in the sun.
As summer approaches, the dream of working while sitting on the beach comes to the fore. While I doubt many of us will be that lucky, the technology to enable this has been with us for some time and most of us use it every day: WiFi. WiFi (or Wireless Fidelity) is any of the widely deployed wireless… Read more
Lock up your servers!
One aspect often overlooked when securing our information is physical security. The goal of physical security is to control who can walk up to the information and touch it. The idea is to prevent unwanted information disclosure, loss, or corruption, the same as when securing the information across… Read more
Security insecurity: How concerned should you be?
Information Security cannot be achieved with just a device or program, but must be embraced as a foundation for building your organization. These days, it’s not only giant multi-national conglomerates that are experiencing security issues with hackers, viruses or breaches. Increasingly, it’s small and… Read more
Seen the spammer, and he is us
Ever wonder where that spam comes from? It could be coming from you… Many computers that become compromised with malicious software (also called malware: viruses, worms, spyware, etc.) are not being infected in a way that most people would think. Their hard drives remain intact, they aren’t plagued… Read more
Invasion of Privacy?
Invasion of Privacy? Google Inc. is apparently being sued over their semi-new “Street View” feature of Google maps (click here for source article on Forbes.com). For those of you that aren’t up to the second with Google’s features, they are having people drive all over the place with digital cameras… Read more
Virtual security in a real world
Virtualization has become a force to be reckoned with for organizations of all sizes and shapes. The flexibility and consolidation options available in virtualized environments give this technology an unusual distinction: it appeals to both the engineers and the accountants. But as with any new technology… Read more
Internet pain reliever…
One of the primary goals of Information Security is to maintain the availability of information, and this month we will be discussing the availability of your internet connection. With lower costs and increased throughput, the internet is more of a vital business tool than ever. So just how painful… Read more
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