Great News!! The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the opening of the Cybersecurity Pilot Program application window for K-12 schools and libraries.

Overview of the Cybersecurity Pilot Program – Recording Available

The Advantages of Embracing Digital Transformation
Exploring the Benefits of Digitalization Digital transformation is no longer an option. It’s a necessity for school districts aiming to thrive in the modern landscape. Yet many districts find themselves grappling with the complexities of digital transformation.
Tech Tidbit – Free PDF Tools Often Have Free Gifts Inside That You’d Rather Not Receive
I stare at the Paladin Sentinel Monitoring Console every morning and see what happened with our monitored servers and networks overnight. I see many patterns and similar events happening between your networks. Here is one of my pet peeves of what I often see with a free suggestion to help keep me calm in my […]

Steps You Can Take Today to Improve Your District’s Cybersecurity Posture – Recording Available
At 5:30 am one morning, I was awoken by the sound of fire trucks. My neighbor’s house diagonally behind my house was on fire. The fire department promptly arrived within 15 minutes of the 911 call. Sadly, my neighbor died in the fire.

Tech Tidbit – Is your multi-factor authentication (MFA) as secure as you need it to be?
A few years ago, there was a very public cyber insurance denial case. As I understand it, the business contracted with Travelers for cyber insurance. They filled out their questionnaire and stated that they had multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere.

Tech Tidbit – While you were sleeping
It is Tuesday at 12:29 a.m., at the end of Labor Day weekend. I am driving back from Westchester County Airport, having just flown in from Charlotte, NC. A message comes through. It is our friends at the Blackpoint Cyber SOC. One of our client’s legitimate users detected initiated a first-time VPN connection to M365 […]

Tech Tidbit – Hacker’s Bag of Magic Tricks – Clean IPs
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” -Albert Einstein “You live in a world of illusion Where everything’s peaches and cream. We all face a scarlet conclusion, But we spend our time in a dream.” -Jungle Love, Steve Miller Band Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to network security.
Tech Tidbit – Welcome Back!
Welcome back! This summer flew by, and my summer vacation seems like a distant memory. In my 44 years of helping schools open for the new school year, this one was different. Several districts suspended all major work the last week of August. This was a summer of busy projects.
Tech Tidbit – Thoughts About The AT&T Breach
You have probably heard of the AT&T breach by now. Reports describe it as the largest breach in history with serious national security consequences. AT&T has reported that threat actors stole all client call and text records for six months. I have not read anything indicating that the threat actors know the contents of any […]
Tech Tidbit – Who Do You Trust?
“Trust but verify.” -President Ronald Reagan, December 8th, 1987, at the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty Signing I watched a presentation the other day by the head of Threat Operations for a major Security Operations Center (SOC) that provides 24/7 security oversight over networks like yours.