World Password Day: Celebrate or sayonara?
Every year, World Password Day serves as a reminder that passwords are the first line of defense against an ever-changing threat landscape. However, over the past few years, the notion that passwords actually do little to defend against hackers, has continued to snowball.
This World Password Day, we asked a group of experts within the cyber security and wider technology field to discuss the topics of password hygiene, best practice, and the notion of a password-less future.
How SD-WAN and Public Cloud have changed the dynamics when it comes to modern connectivity and infrastructure requirements
Digital and cloud transformation has unlocked new business opportunities and operational efficiencies for organizations. But migration to the cloud also means our approach to deploying applications and services has radically changed, as enterprises move away from traditional data centers. Likewise, flexible working means users have also moved away from traditional offices and branches.
As a result, organizations that were once heavily dependent on MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) have either moved, or are moving, away and it has lost its dominance. Today, many organizations have either deployed, or are looking to deploy, SD-WAN over the internet. However, the move away from MPLS to an internet-based SD-WAN solution means that some global organizations are now struggling with the performance of their inter-region connectivity. Using the internet between regions – across longer distances and where applications are not locally hosted – can present issues.
A (personal) case for cross-border credit sharing and alternative data
Using cross-border credit and alternative data should be more normalized to give the immigrant population in the United States access to the financial services they need.
It is presently 2023 and the norm is still to use credit scores, whose evaluation methods really haven’t changed since their invention in 1989, to evaluate consumers for mortgages, rentals, credit card approvals, and more.
Companies must rebuild employee-employer loyalty to curb insider threats
The modern workplace is, to put it mildly, unsettled. The employee/employer relationship has been fractured in the wake of a chain of events that includes the COVID-19 shutdowns, the increase in remote work, the Great Resignation and the recent rash of layoffs combined with a labor market that nevertheless remains stubbornly tight.
A disconnect between employers and employees has emerged concerning work-life balance and the familiar-but-vague concept known as "organizational commitment," driven in part by social media-fueled myths such as "quiet quitting.”" A key concern for employers is that, according to workplace theory and several case studies, a lower level of "organizational commitment" among employees leads to an increase in the likelihood of insider threats. Whether they are leaving companies or staying on the job, employees who aren’t committed to their organizations are more likely to steal critical information.
Achieving SQL server high availability in a multi-platform environment
Today's organizations often manage SQL Server databases across various platforms, including physical, virtual, cloud, on-premises, hybrid cloud, and cloud-to-cloud environments. Managing individual instances of SQL Server in these diverse environments is challenging enough. How can you ensure that your key SQL Server databases are highly available -- meaning, accessible 99.99 percent of the time -- when so many platforms are involved?
High availability (HA) in a multi-platform environment depends on multiple factors. You’re going to need at least two systems running SQL Server, but where your primary and secondary systems reside -- on-prem, in the cloud, in multiple clouds, or some combination of these -- really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the data is reliably replicated among the primary and secondary environments. That requires a robust data replication system, seamless communications between the primary and secondary environments, and systems in place to monitor the health of both environments and to manage failover in the event that your primary SQL Server system becomes unavailable.
The key to developer job satisfaction: Give them a handle on observability
The developer talent gap is very real. According to IDC, there will be a global shortfall of four million developers by 2025. Other analyses are more dire, estimating the current shortage at 40 million developers worldwide and expected to reach more than 85 million by 2030.
While the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics currently indicates there are more than 1.6 million developers employed in the U.S., this number is expected to grow by 25 percent to more than two million by 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. Despite this growth, developer demand is expected to exceed skills availability for many years to come. There are numerous causes for this, including the rapid growth of digital transformation, increasing software development complexity and more. But one thing is for certain - the fight for talent is going to be fierce, and it’s going to be essential for organizations to focus on keeping their developer talent happy and right where they are.
Don't get stuck in a honeypot
Honeypots have been around for years and are a tried and tested cybersecurity mechanism. By creating a fake environment with attractive assets, organizations use honeypots to lure attackers into a trap where their actions can be studied and learned from to improve cybersecurity measures. Simultaneously, they are protecting the business’ real assets by preoccupying the attacker with the decoys.
However, honeypots have a narrow field of view as the only activity that they detect is those that target them directly. If an attacker gains access to a network, but not through the honeypot, the business would be none the wiser. It is, therefore, crucial to have more than one honeypot -- a honeynet -- to make it effective. Yet, honeypots are very time-consuming to apply as they need to be installed in networks and systems in data centers. It can take as long as an hour to install just one and it lacks any level of scalability.
Modern Attack Surface Management means going beyond the surface
Security teams today are contending with an ever-increasing attack surface and an exponentially growing volume of vulnerabilities. Yet most teams are still equipped with the cybersec equivalent of a bucket to shovel out an ocean of CVEs. Buying them another shiny new bucket pales in comparison to plugging the actual leak in your ship (or enterprise).
Vulnerabilities can’t all be patched, so prioritizing these based on business risk is the most grounded approach. While leading security teams have begun to implement more advanced vulnerability management (VM) programs, others are struggling with outdated, manually intensive and less effective ways of managing vulnerabilities without context or insights on the true risk they pose. This can only work for so long, as it requires the continuous process of monitoring, discovering, analyzing, and remediating vulnerabilities across all potential attack vectors. Even then, good old human error sneaks its way in.
Why UI/UX is significant for SaaS development in 2023
UI/UX design is crucial for SaaS products because it directly impacts the user's experience with digital technology. Today's users demand a seamless and intuitive experience when using any software or application. A confusing or cluttered user interface (UI) can quickly turn users away, causing them to search for alternative options. On the other hand, a well-designed UI/UX can make all the difference in whether a user decides to continue using a SaaS product or switch to a competitor.
Good UI/UX design can also improve the overall functionality and efficiency of a SaaS product, leveraging the power of digital technology to increase productivity and satisfaction among users, create a positive brand perception, and reduce support costs, improving customer retention. To remain competitive in the age of digital technology, SaaS companies need to prioritize UI/UX design as an ongoing process to ensure that the interface meets the changing needs of users and the industry.
Could advances in technology help banks increase their ESG potential?
Big banks once had almost unmatched dominance over the global financial sector. It allowed them to build glittering skyscrapers as their headquarters and helped transform London’s Canary Wharf from disused docks into what is probably Europe’s preeminent financial hub. In recent years, however, that dominance has come under threat from challenger and neo-banks, as well as from innovative fintech startups.
In fact, research released in 2022 shows that as many as 44 percent of UK business banking customers have already switched from a traditional bank to an online one. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) made the switch because they thought the online bank offered a better product. At the same time, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS has players across the sector scrabbling to avoid a global banking crisis.
Five ways to build sustainability into your existing IT strategy
This year, World Earth Day is challenging organizations and consumers alike to make more sustainable choices and Invest in Our Planet. With sustainability increasingly becoming a boardroom priority, IT buyers are playing a vital role in leading this investment into creating more sustainable business practices.
Intelligent technologies such as IoT and machine learning are a popular example of this. From smart light switches and thermostats to route optimization software, these investments help organizations to reduce their wasted resources and function more sustainably on a day-to-day basis.
Why talent is key for businesses who want to harness the power of data
For decades, businesses have been using data for growth. Today, the importance of utilizing data to gain insights into customer behavior, market trends and business performance continues to develop. However, harnessing the power of data requires more than just the right tools and technology -- it also requires the right talent.
Technological developments, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), have resulted in data and data analysis providing increasing opportunities for businesses to improve their competitive edge. Data is a valuable resource in all sectors, but it is only useful if it is analyzed, interpreted and applied correctly -- this is where talented individuals with an understanding of data science and analytics come in.
Why Hybrid Cloud is here to stay
Cloud has completely changed how contemporary businesses operate. It gives organizations a scalable means of managing their infrastructure, applications, and data. Between its flexibility and Pay as You Go (PAYG) options, Cloud provides substantially more configuration and design options than traditional infrastructure. As a result, businesses are adopting cloud services more and more frequently, giving them access to new tools and technologies, while also yielding efficiency improvements for their operations and procedures.
According to some projections, the worldwide cloud services industry will be worth about $600 billion by 2023, generating a rapidly expanding need for hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. Gartner expects that cloud system infrastructure services will be the second-biggest, but fastest-growing, cloud expenditure market category in 2023. As illustrated by the projected increase, hybrid and multi-cloud computing is becoming the new normal for many organizations -- providing them with the scalability benefits of public cloud -- while also delivering the flexibility and control inherent in private cloud computing and traditional server infrastructure.
As device fingerprinting becomes more challenging new risk signals emerge
At Incognia, we speak with experts in the fields of risk, trust & safety, security, and data science every day, and in almost every one of these conversations, one or all of these recurring themes are mentioned:
1) Fraudsters and scammers are innovating at an accelerated pace, 2) Fraud detection technologies that were once extremely reliable have become less effective, specifically device fingerprinting, 3) Evaluating new risk signals is critical in an effort to continuously stay ahead of the fraudsters and scammers.
Why agentless security is not real security
Many security professionals have been misled into believing in the overhyped promise of agentless security. But it looks like the long-lasting 'agentless vs. agent' debate is finally over and the result is finally in -- if you want great cloud workload security, you need an agent.
This noteworthy outcome arose when two of the leading agentless-only vendors finally gave in and announced partnerships with agent-based runtime security and CWPP (cloud workload protection platform) vendors. This is big news, because both of these companies had previously, and persistently proclaimed, that agents are 'old school' and that 'agent-based security is dead'.
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