Logical Security

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As we continue into 2021, it's no secret we are still reeling from the aftermath and impacts that 2020 unleashed across the globe. That's why—now more than ever—it is critical that companies prioritize their duty of care plans, or risk falling behind for good. Below, we speak to Hugh Dunleavy, Senior Vice President, U.S. Operations and Chief Security Officer of Crisis24, a GardaWorld company, about crafting a robust duty of care program.

As we embark on the long-haul journey to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to all Americans, addressing the communication challenges of this distribution has never been more vital for safety and coordination, says David Wiseman, Vice President of Secure Communications at BlackBerry. Here, we talk to Wiseman about the need for unified communications as states implement vaccine rollout strategies. 

A security team can sink an infinite amount of time and resources into strengthening your infrastructure, but it’s all for nothing if a default password is used by an exec, or someone in HR makes the mistake of responding to a clever phishing message. Cybercriminals will always find the path of least resistance and for most organizations the easiest way in is through the people.

Biometric technology, and specifically its most modern iteration, facial recognition, has found its way into security systems essential to everyone. We rely on it to safeguard some of our most prized belongings, including our smartphones, laptops and now, with Apple Pay, even our bank accounts and credit cards. Security experts applaud facial recognition as one of the most secure and efficient means of authentication available today. Why then, has the industry most hinged on security and identification – Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) – been so slow to adopt this new wave of technology?

The New England College of Optometry (NECO) formed a COVID-19 Task Force and began exploring ideas to enable in-person learning at the school in a safe, effective and well-planned manner. One of the solutions that NECO implemented is a contact-tracing tool that allows the school to respond immediately to report of an infection, accurately and effectively, without relying on a sign-in sheet or a person’s recollection of their previous contacts.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), present the first ‘Identity Management Day,’ an annual awareness event which will take place on the second Tuesday in April each year. The inaugural Identity Management Day will be held on April 13, 2021. 

Recently, an SQL database containing data of 1.3 million Clubhouse users was posted on a hacker forum for anyone to access. The data included names, user IDs, social media profile names and other details about clubhouse users.

The reality is that most institutions of higher learning have decided to open their campuses this fall regardless of the political rancor, adding the specter of a deadly pandemic to an already challenging campus security environment where campus shootings, physical violence to women and theft usually occupy the top threat metrics for college security administrators. Because college and university campuses have thousands of students and faculty traversing a wide swath of buildings all day, every day, having an access control solution that not only addresses the security aspect of this population, but now one that must also handle myriad safety and health concerns due to COVID-19 to lessen the likelihood of the virus spreading, is a top priority.

In recognition of National Supply Chain Integrity Month, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is partnering with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Defense, and other government and industry partners to promote a call to action for a unified effort by organizations across the country to strengthen global supply chains.

Many lessons were learned in enterprise IT and security teams in 2020, right down to the final weeks of the year with the SolarWinds attack. We closed out a miserable year with a devastating reminder about the danger of third party access and supply chain attacks.