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.

Steps You Can Take Today to Improve Your District’s Cybersecurity Posture – Recording Available

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 – About Protecting Your Macs
I remember those days when the Apple folks would scoff at having to have antivirus. Macs were superior, and Windows devices had all those problems. The technical folks knew that was marketing blather vs. sound security advice. The reality has always been that “everything can be hacked.

Do You Have the Armor you Need?
Today’s cyber landscape feels a lot like this picture. Anyone who uses a device connected to the internet is under threat. You never know when that arrow with your name will find you. Do you have the armor you need to give you the best chance of survival when the arrow finds you? Medieval warriors […]
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.
Tech Tidbit – Increased Phishing Attacks Due to the Horrible Event in Pennsylvania
During the Pandemic, Threat Actors had a field day using phishing and SEO poisoning to attack users. We are in the same climate again with the horrible events of the last few days. Threat actors who practice phishing attacks are already using this event to send bombastic emails with salacious titles mentioning the event, knowing […]