Archive for January 27, 2021

YouTube Has Extended Trump’s Suspension From The Platform….. Twice

Posted in Commentary with tags , on January 27, 2021 by itnerd

YouTube on Tuesday said it is extending its suspension of former President Donald Trump, who’s been banned from posting videos to his channel since Jan. 12. Comments on Trump’s videos will also remain disabled indefinitely. Apparently, this is the second time that they have extended his ban:

“In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J. Trump channel will remain suspended,” a YouTube spokesperson confirmed to CNET. “Our teams are staying vigilant and closely monitoring for any new developments.” YouTube first extended Trump’s suspension last week, saying it would reevaluate the situation in a week. The company gave no indication on Tuesday of how long the latest extension would last. 

YouTube has a three-strikes policy when it comes to policing its platform. Three infractions within a 90-day period results in being permanently kicked off the platform. The first strike typically comes with a one-week ban that prohibits the posting of new content. A second strike comes with a two-week ban.

To me, this sounds like Google who owns YouTube are trying to walk some sort of line. Clearly they think that Trump is a bad actor, but they don’t want to punt him from YouTube. So they extend this ban rather than Thanos snapping him out of existence. A bit of a weak response if you ask me. But I guess someone who makes a lot of money thought that this was the correct course of action.

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Digital Defense Announces Technology Integration With LogRhythm

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 27, 2021 by itnerd

Digital Defense, Inc., a leader in vulnerability management and threat assessment solutions, today announced the integration of its Frontline Vulnerability Manager™ (Frontline VM™) proprietary scanning technology, part of its Frontline.Cloud™ cloud-native software as a service (SaaS) platform, with the LogRhythm NextGen SIEM Platform. The combined solution improves threat detection and response through risk-based prioritization and remediation that can be leveraged by any size organization or as part of a comprehensive managed services offering for managed security providers (MSPs) and managed service security providers (MSSPs).

As security information and event management (SIEM) becomes the basis for security operations center (SOC) platforms, integrating vulnerability management and risk posture information helps security teams understand which systems are most severely impacted by threats and provide needed context for security teams to remediate systems. As a member of the LogRhythm Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) Program, Digital Defense enables clients, MSPs and MSSPs to leverage vulnerability and threat assessment data from Frontline.Cloud that is ingested and correlated by the LogRhythm Platform to assess the risk posture of systems and leverage that data to prioritize threat investigations and remediation efforts.

The integration supports on-premises, hybrid-cloud and multi-tenant environments to provide the following benefits:

  • Frontline.Cloud feeds real-time asset information and context into the LogRhythm NextGen SIEM Platform, including deduplication of assets such as virtual, cloud and mobile infrastructures that are dynamic in nature.
  • In a dedicated dashboard within the LogRhythm Platform, Frontline.Cloud provides customized vulnerability risk and threat posture and prioritization based on business criticality for each asset.
  • The LogRhythm Platform can provide better prioritization, real-time asset context and risk posture customized for client environments with the goal of empowering security teams to accelerate attack remediation efforts.

The Frontline.Cloud and LogRhythm integration is currently in use by Avertium, a managed security and consulting provider that delivers secure, comprehensive digital solutions, including extended detection and response (XDR).

For more information about the Digital Defense Frontline Vulnerability Manager and LogRhythm SIEM integration, visit: https://www.digitaldefense.com/technology/frontline-vm-integration-logrhythm-siem/.

For a complete list of Digital Defense’s technology integrations, visit: https://www.digitaldefense.com/partners/technology/.

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McAfee Canada Data Shows That The Profound Shift In Everyday Tech Highlights The New Landscape Of Personal Security

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 27, 2021 by itnerd

McAfee Corp. today announced findings from its 2021 Consumer Security Mindset Report revealing that while the shift to a digital-first life was brought on by the global pandemic, Canadian consumers plan to keep it up – with online banking (78%), personal shopping (63%), and social engagements (59%) at the top of the list. With the increase in activities online, consumers are potentially exposed to more cyber threats. Notably, 3 out of 5 of people in Canada (60%) say they’re concerned about today’s cyber risks, with nearly half (45%) of respondents admitting that they are not confident in their ability to prevent a cyber-attack.

As consumers continue to adapt to and embrace their new digital worlds, cyber criminals are taking note and looking to take advantage. The more time consumers spend online interacting with various applications and services, the greater their exposure is potential risks (such as third-party breaches) and threats (such as phishing attacks or fraud). Further proof this is a big concern for consumers: McAfee found 67% of Canadian respondents admitted to being most concerned about their financial data being stolen and 65% were concerned that their personal information, such as birthday or address, could get hacked.

Consumer Digital-First Mindset Influenced by Shopping Habits

Consumers buying habits indicate how they are going about their new digital-first lives, with 66% of respondents saying they’ve purchased at least one connected device in 2020. However, only 42% took action by purchasing security software, and 1 in 4 admitted that they do not actually check if their security software is up to date.

Consumers are also becoming more comfortable with sharing information online which is a big risk – especially as services often ask for multiple contact points. Notably, McAfee’s report found that 70% of respondents indicated to have started using features designed for convenience in 2020, such as paperless transaction records (40%), text and email notifications (35%), and downloading web/mobile applications vs. using desktop sites (31%)

Besides not always taking the necessary security precautions, Canadian consumers admitted that they haven’t really thought about why hackers might want their data. Notably, nearly 2 in 3 Canadian respondents (61%) admitted that they never considered how much their data that is stored and available online is worth. Hackers are always looking for ways to exploit others for money, and a person’s identity is valuable and can be resold for quite a bit of money. However, 8 in 10 consumers say they would be proactive about protecting it, if that data could be traded as a currency.

Some ways consumers can protect themselves and their loved ones include:

  • Use multi-factor authentication to double check the authenticity of digital users andadd an additional layer of security to protect personal data and information.
  • Connect with caution. If you have to conduct transactions on a public Wi-Fi connectionuse a virtual private network (VPN) like McAfee® Safe Connect to help keep you safewhile you’re online.
  • Browse with added security using a tool like McAfee WebAdvisor to block malware andphishing sites if you click on a malicious link.
  • Protect your identity and important personal information by using McAfee IdentityTheft Protection, which also helps you recover your information if your identity is compromised.

McAfee’s 2021 Consumer Security Mindset Report Methodology: McAfee commissioned MSI-ACI to conduct an online questionnaire to 1,000 adults over the age of 18 in Canada between December 11-23, 2020.

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