Byron Acohido

The frequency of air disasters has been publicly acceptable for a long time, but the safety margin of “smart” jet transports needs attention.

Although just about everyone is aware of cyber threats, all too many people fail to take simple steps to stay safer online.

Employees’ most common security mistake is falling for an email phishing scam, so companies simulate attacks to keep people on their toes.

IT systems have never been more powerful or accessible to businesses. However, cyber crimes continue to outpace tech innovation.

Traditionally, the insurance market has shied away from covering events like theft of trade secrets or damage to intellectual property.

When companies move toward understanding why humans cause breaches, whether intentionally or by accident, mitigation is more effective.

As prices come down, virtual private networks (VPNs) are becoming a must-have tool for many small- and medium-size business owners.

A study found that the average cost of a data breach was still high, at $3.6 million, but had declined 10% since 2016.

Some 40% of manufacturers and 45% of healthcare organizations take no steps to prevent medical-device attacks.

As infrastructure like the electric grid is connected to the internet, it becomes easier to manage and maintain -- but also vulnerable.

Beating the drum continuously about serious cyber defense tactics doesn’t seem to do the trick,. The problem will keep getting worse.

It’s imperative to ensure that no matter where your content travels or what device you use, at any point it is protected from getting into the wrong hands.

Start by getting cozy with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s risk management framework from its NIST 800 series.

Cyber attacks aren’t changing every five years — it’s more like every five months. Firms can’t afford to fall behind on security training.

This haste to complete implementation of electronic health records has led to a deficiency in data protection and security measures.

Mitigation of ransomware (and similar) attacks is accomplished with good governance and risk management, not expensive security solutions.

The pendulum appears to be swinging back toward complacency for all too many companies, especially SMBs, after the WannaCry attack.

As more records are kept online and more breaches occur, federal authorities are stepping up enforcement for violations of privacy rules.

WannaCry signifies two developments of profound consequence to company decision-makers monitoring the cybersecurity threat landscape.

Machines can assemble detailed profiles of how employees, partners and third-party vendors access and use data, and flag anomalies.

Managed security services providers, or MSSPs, give firms a cost-effective alternative to having to dedicate in-house staff to network defense.

Citing a lack of historical data, insurers are being cautious about writing cyber policies--just as technology is opening a huge opportunity.

Companies can use new tools to simulate scenarios time and again and ensure they make the right decisions in the heat of the moment.

It’s show-me time for startups battling for the dwindling pool of venture capital funds for cybersecurity startups.

The possibility of hacking medical devices -- science fiction as recently as two years ago -- is now becoming a major problem.

Professional cyber criminals avoid large companies' massive security systems and target the small provider, with its minimal controls.

Passwords are cheap to deploy and users understand them, but three key factors are converging that will replace them before too long.

Because SMBs often lag behind larger companies in defensive measures, they’re more susceptible to litigation on charges of negligence.

Insurance carriers are beginning to offer value-added services focused on prevention to make their cyber offerings stand out.

BitSight monitors which companies regularly update encryption certificates, patch system vulnerabilities in a timely manner, etc.

Despite heightened awareness, most companies say they don’t have a clearly defined cyber risk strategy.

Facebook was the top mechanism last year for delivering malware to gain access to organizational networks.

One misconception among buyers is exposure. For example, who bears the liability if a third party, such as a payroll service, causes the breach?

Machine learning can shift the focus from recovery, after a cyber incident, to intelligence that can head off threats.

Technology that companies have spent billions to install is being subverted by cyber criminals’ use of HTTPS to hide their malware.

Zeroing in on technical countermeasures first is looking at the problem upside-down. Culture is the place to start.

Technology is used to hide data traffic from would-be hackers, but it also hides data from the latest, hot-selling security tools.

Ransomware has been targeting IoT devices for consumers. Hackers want to encrypt access to thermostats, TVs, etc.

Connected cars may implicitly trust anything that communicates with them and fall victim to transmissions with no authentication.

The good news is that cyber criminals can get lazy and consistently use addresses like Superman, 111 Anywhere Lane, Anytown USA 11111.

Employers looking to retain valued employees are increasingly including identity theft protection services as a perk.

The technology that’s available for hacktivism is easier and cheaper than ever, lowering the barrier of entry even for those with little experience.

"When cool technology emerges, adoption tends to be a lot faster than the arrival of the technology to secure it."

Something new to worry about: Malicious software targeting smartphones and demanding ransoms quadrupled, in one year.

Many cybersecurity practitioners lack the jargon-free communication skills to present a clear picture of rising cyber exposures.

The traditional security perimeter has to be pushed out into the cloud to cover everything an employee might use.

A sea change in awareness is underway, driven by intensifying cyber exposures. But organizational change won’t happen overnight.

In a nod to reality, Vectra Networks helps cybersecurity teams stop attackers once they’re inside the network — not before they get there.

Start-ups Authentic8 and Ntrepid have clever ways to keep thieves from hacking into a computer, then corporate systems, through a browser.

How can an organization become less secure by attempting to be more secure, such as through two-factor authentication? Let me tell you.

Thieves are hacking personal email to pose as an authority figure and dupe a subordinate into doing something quickly, without questions.

Here are there three tech security start-ups that are tackling vulnerabilities and trying to bring rationality to the cyber insurance market.

But attempts at fraud are on the rise: The IRS reported a 400% increase in phishing and malware attacks related to the 2016 tax season.

Chief information security officers are fatigued. They have to eliminate clutter to find time to get on top of the more determined adversaries.

The new chip cards will cut crime, at least for big retailers, but the U.K. and Canada show that online credit card fraud will increase.

Even trained employees remain susceptible to sophisticated trickery -- 16% of staff members fail spear-phishing tests.

Do-it-yourself kits now let anyone conduct a ransomware attack, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are a ripe target.

As cyber security continues to move to center stage, look for a new focus on the threats raised by insiders -- and for a political candidate to be hacked.

As rough as 2015 was for cyber security, 2016 will be worse. Small and medium-size businesses are especially vulnerable.

As data breaches continue, security companies have begun to collaborate more on sharing and analyzing threat intelligence.

Gmail and Google Drive are wonderful for communicating and collaborating. They’re also ideal tools for hacking into your computing device.

To get out of reactive mode and actually preempt cyber attacks, we need to focus less on the "bullets" and more on the humans firing them.

Third parties, no matter how trivial they may seem to your everyday operations, need to be thoroughly vetted for cyber weaknesses.

Security officers use the equivalent of batting averages for cyber risk but can now move toward a Moneyball level of sophistication.

Especially at small and medium-sized businesses, everyone must adopt a new mindset to increase data security.

Malware continues to produce data breaches on an unprecedented scale. There is a solution, related to browsers, but it's a bit tricky.

If you think the NFL had no business demanding his phone -- and that yours is private, too -- you're probably wrong.

Bad technology and sloppy use of passwords make it trivial to hack surveillance cameras and see what's happening in offices and homes.

ApplePay introduces important elements into the security of mobile payments but also creates opportunities that hackers are already probing.

Manufacturers are rushing products to market to connect to the Internet of Things (IoT) but are paying very little attention to data security.

A dispute between the Ponemon Institute and Verizon over how to estimate the value of a data breach may complicate the calculations.

There isn't enough attention being paid to cyber security in "smart cities," leaving them vulnerable to orchestrated power outages -- and worse.

An astounding number of employees are still uploading highly sensitive data to the cloud and sharing files on unsecured platforms.

Criminals are moving up the hacking food chain: Why use financial data to spend someone's money for a time when you can be him for life?

Counterintelligence in the Dark Net finds that China is getting a bad rap on hacking but that lots of unexpected, dangerous alliances are forming.

Are China and other nations conducting hacking campaigns to steal intellectual property and jump start domestic healthcare systems?

Public WiFi can be hacked with ease -- and the potential exposure is huge both for individuals and for businesses.