How can security executives prepare for natural disasters such as hurricanes during these times of the coronavirus pandemic? When coupled with the ongoing and unprecedented business disruptions we’re already experiencing, an intense hurricane season is already proving to be a very challenging crisis to plan for.
After reports of increased death rates nationwide due to drug overdoses, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill this week to allow commercial businesses, including hotels and restaurants, to be able to administer opioid antidotes to customers without fear of lawsuits.
As the pandemic continues to interrupt business as usual, companies are exploring new ways to cope with both the mandated and voluntary restrictions to their operations. One way in which business models have adapted to keep costs under control is by utilizing more lone workers for opening, closing, third shifts, curbside deliveries and other customer interactions outside of the premises. While this has helped many organizations trim costs, it has also exposed lone workers to greater risks.
Banks, like other businesses, are taking precautions to make customers feel safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Placing physical distancing markers on the floor, sanitizing ATMs, installing plexiglass partitions at teller booths and requiring scheduled appointments are just some of the ways financial institutions are mitigating risks for customers. Video surveillance can play a vitally important role right now, as banks look to ensure compliance with these new COVID-related safety measures. IP cameras with intelligent security analytics can help rapidly and accurately detect compliance issues, as well as other suspicious or atypical behavior. After all, banks must continue to monitor physical security even throughout the pandemic and today’s IP cameras with intelligent system-on-chip (SoC) technology can help lessen this burden with highly accurate notifications.
Freepik Company, a graphics resources company headquartered in Europe, recently notified approximately 8.3 million users of a security breach affecting two of its brands Freepik and Flaticon.
The year 2020 has served up some unprecedented challenges for the human race in every aspect, with wireless connectivity more important than ever. Particularly as millions continue to work and learn remotely, our connected world of devices, vehicles, homes and cities is expanding exponentially. According to a report from GSMA and ABI Research, the number of mobile subscriptions worldwide had already reached 8.1 billion by 2017 at an annual growth rate of 5.4 percent. It’s now predicted that by 2025 the number will increase to 9.8 billion, with 3G and 4G representing 51 percent of total subscriptions and 91 percent of the total traffic generated, while 5G subscriptions are expected to exceed 849 million.
Let’s face it, passwords are a pain. As we’ve been pushed towards using longer and ever more complex passwords, and told to update them with increasing frequency, password management has become something of a headache. We’ve gone from simple, easy to remember passwords to 12- or 16-character passwords that must contain a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
According to IDC, by 2025 there will be 41.6 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices, generating a massive 79 zettabytes (ZB) of data. To put that into perspective, in 2006, IDC estimated that the total amount of electronic data created and stored was a mere 0.18 ZB. This growing amount of data represents a vast and exponentially increasing attack surface, which poses a huge opportunity for cybercriminals and a seemingly insurmountable task for those responsible for protecting and securing it. This task is only made more difficult by the lack of regulation and security measures being built into IoT devices at present. As IoT looks to become a foundational aspect of our everyday lives, it’s vital we, as consumers, understand the threats posed to our devices and the data they store.
The Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) held its summer meeting virtually to discuss Election Day preparations and other areas of coordination between the federal government and state and local election officials.