“And now for something completely different.” -Monty Python’s Flying Circus If you have been in the industry for a while, you have heard the warning, “Internet Explorer (IE) is dead. It is insecure. It has been retired. You must get off Internet Explorer and onto a more modern and secure browser.

“It Got Weird, Didn’t It?” -Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me I just attended the Huntress Security Event in NYC. It was at the Spy Museum on 8th Avenue (a cool place). I returned from that event to the office very afraid for all of us – myself included.

I wanted to remind you that “Hacker’s Holiday Hours” will start as you wind down for the Christmas break. Last year, I got a call from the SOC on the morning of the Saturday before Christmas. My wife made a face on that call, but we did what we needed to do.

There has never been a more important time for a comprehensive cybersecurity implementation plan. Consider this: On average, US schools lose $500K daily to downtime from ransomware attacks, and cybercrime generally keeps rising. With these more prevalent cyber threats, protecting your organization’s sensitive data and IT infrastructure is essential.

It seems like Cyber Attacks are happening everywhere these days. Whether it’s a national news report of an attack against a company that has your credit card information or local news reporting a school district like yours that’s been hit with a ransomware/data breach, these stories are plentiful.

LAPS is a powerful security tool built into Windows that you can use to secure local administrator accounts on your organization’s workstations and mitigate “pass-the-hash” attacks. In this hands-on webinar, Austin will talk about the theory behind LAPS and demonstrate live how to set it up from start to finish.

“School’s out for summer.” -Alice Cooper, 1972 School’s out for the summer. By the time you read this, I hope my son graduated and is on his way to the US Navy. Extreme “senioritis” set in starting in January, so it has been a challenge to get him to the finish line.

I spent the day today at the soccer field for the championship games of the local town soccer season. My daughter’s team came in third place, winning its first and last games. It is interesting to watch little kid “beehive soccer.

Today’s Internet and network security environment differs greatly from just a few short years ago. As we’ve discussed, legacy tools, basic firewalls, and basic anti-virus/malware are no longer sufficient to keep your network safe. Many districts have implemented next-generation firewalls.

I have a confession to make. My wife is mad at me. She insists that I have been negligent about cleaning out the hallway closet. It is small, stuffed, and a mess. She is correct. However, cleaning closets is annoying and tedious, and I always have more important things to do.