Can't Live with 'em, Can't Live without 'em

   They're dead.  They're here to stay.

   They're safe.  They're breached.

   They're encrypted.  They're visible.

   They're complex.  They're too simple.

   Once again, the topic we love to hate... Passwords!  And, you know what else???  It's also that greatest of holiday celebrations... US Cyber Security Month!

   In honor of US Cyber Security Month and the recently announced breach of 500 million Yahoo! account passwords and other info  (while announced in 2016, the breach actually took place in 2014, and is not the same as the password breach they had in 2012! - yes, I know... it's hard to keep up!), I'm re-running a post I wrote in... wait for it... 2012!  Not only is everything I wrote in that post 100% relevant today, but I even commented on that 2012 Yahoo! breach.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Happy Cyber Security Month!
-----------------
   Passwords are a mess!  A "good" password has these features:

• hard to create
• hard to remember
• hard to enter
• probably has to be changed as soon as you memorize it
• plus other inconsistent, random rules depending upon the site

   Perfect!

Hospital Held Hostage

  A number of people alerted me that a recent episode of CSI:Cyber, which aired on 11/1/15, had as its theme a cyber attack on a hospital.  The episode was entitled "hack E.R." (see what they did there??? :-) )

   The episode begins with an ominous image showing up on computer screens and all systems in a fictional hospital being under the control of an online attacker.  They threaten to kill a victim every four hours if not paid a ransom.  They then kill a victim by causing an infusion pump to deliver a fatal dose of morphine while preventing the patient's heart monitor from alarming.

   We then follow the CSI:Cyber team and the hospital staff as they try to solve the mystery and track down and stop the attacker.  I won't give a full synopsis nor a review.  You can find some of that here and here (spoiler alert - these linked articles do give away the ending).

   Let's review what was potentially real and some of the deficiencies of the episode.  First the realistic.

XP End of an Era or... Deja Vu All Over Again!

   Unless you just came back from time traveling, you know that Microsoft is ending support for the XP
operating system on April 8.  To be clear... April 8 is Patch Tuesday, so that will be the last set of updates for XP.  Sort of.

   XP has been one of Microsoft's most popular desktop operating systems and many organizations are dependent upon it.  Many organizations have not yet updated to Windows 7 or 8 and the clock is ticking.  I'd like to look at what that means and share a few ideas of what we can do to protect ourselves and our organizations.

   Microsoft will be stopping all patches, hotfixes and enhancements to XP after April 8.  Anti-virus signatures will continue to be made available.  This means that any vulnerabilities that are discovered or disclosed might not be fixed.  Organizations will need to figure out if they are vulnerable to any new threats and then weigh the risks associated with their options.

   There has been some speculation that online criminal organizations may be stocking up on new vulnerabilities so these can be released after the last patch date.  We can't know if this is true, but it is possible.

   So... if you are still running XP, and need to continue to run XP, what can you do?  Let's do a high-level threat analysis:

Online Self Defense - Passwords

   Next week I'll be presenting at the Cyber Security Summit in Minneapolis.  I hope to see you there!

   It's Cyber Security Month!  And the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The key advice for online self-defense I've given in the past is just as true now.  So to help us all celebrate, I'm "re-featuring" a few articles I've run in the past.

---

   Last week I started a series on themes I covered in a talk entitled "Online Self-Defense".  In part 1 of that series, posted here, I talked about protecting your computer. This week we'll look at passwords.

   Passwords are a mess!  A "good" password has these features:

• hard to create
• hard to remember
• hard to enter
• probably has to be changed as soon as you memorize it
• plus other inconsistent, random rules depending upon the site

   Perfect!

Online Self Defense - Your Computer

   It's Cyber Security Month!  And the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The key advice for online self-defense I've given in the past is just as true now.  So to help us all celebrate, I'm "re-featuring" a few articles I've run in the past.

---

   Happy US Cyber Security Month!  This partnership between Homeland Security, NCSA and MS-ISAC is an opportunity to recognize the importance of information security.  How are you celebrating?

   Last week I ran a couple of sessions at work on awareness and security.  Over the next few posts I will be reviewing some of the 3 themes I covered in a talk entitled "Online Self-Defense". You can view the slides on my slideshare page. (actually, the talk focuses on just 2 of the themes but that's OK!). Since everything comes in threes (omne trium perfectum), I will give 3 easy tips for each theme (and some bonus tips as well).

   The first theme is protecting your computer or device.

Online Self Defense - Part 2 - Passwords

   Last week I started a series on themes I covered in a talk entitled "Online Self-Defense".  In part 1 of that series, posted here, I talked about protecting your computer. This week we'll look at passwords.

   Passwords are a mess!  A "good" password has these features:

• hard to create
• hard to remember
• hard to enter
• probably has to be changed as soon as you memorize it
• plus other inconsistent, random rules depending upon the site

   Perfect!

Online Self Defense - Part 1 - Your Computer

   Happy US Cyber Security Month!  This partnership between Homeland Security, NCSA and MS-ISAC is an opportunity to recognize the importance of information security.  How are you celebrating?

   Last week I ran a couple of sessions at work on awareness and security.  Over the next few posts I will be reviewing some of the 3 themes I covered in a talk entitled "Online Self-Defense". You can view the slides on my slideshare page. (actually, the talk focuses on just 2 of the themes but that's OK!). Since everything comes in threes (omne trium perfectum), I will give 3 easy tips for each theme (and some bonus tips as well).

   The first theme is protecting your computer or device.

Stuff I Say - KISS - Keep It Simple Security

   This is the first of a series of posts covering themes I talk about all the time.  The theme today is keeping things simple.

   Last week I spoke at the Interface conference in St. Paul.  It was a fun talk entitled #*%! My CISO Says, covering a range of security governance and management topics.  Slides are on my slideshare page.  In that talk I frequently referenced keeping our security program simple.