CISO Archives - The Silicon Underground

Cyber security podcasts I listen to

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 11:00:39 +0000

Yesterday, after reading a post in which I cautioned about a popular security podcast, someone asked me what cyber security podcasts I do listen to. I wrote this up a long time ago and never posted it for some reason,

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How do you conduct yourself as a security professional?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 11:00:56 +0000

At a recent job interview, the CISO asked me a really good question that I wish more people would ask. He asked me how I conduct myself as a security professional when dealing with the rest of IT. He liked

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Three things to remember from Verizon’s Data Brach Investigations Report

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 11:00:22 +0000

Every year around this time, Verizon releases its Data Breach Investigations Report, referred to in the trade as simply the “DBIR.” Verizon is one of two companies you call if you’ve been breached and you really want to get to

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Lenovo’s preinstalled Superfish spyware: A post-mortem

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 11:00:02 +0000

So, if you haven’t heard by now, last year Lenovo experimented with preloading its cheapest laptops with spyware that subverts HTTPS, allowing a third party to inject ads on any web page, and providing a convenient place for an attacker to

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How to become an Info Assurance Analyst

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 11:00:14 +0000

So, CNN/Money ran a story on the best 100 jobs in the United States, based on pay, projected job growth over the next 10 years, and quality of life ratings. And there was my job title, at #9. I think

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IT jobs shortage? Slide over to security

Dave Farquhar — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 11:00:19 +0000

IT jobs are getting scarce again, and I believe it. I don’t have a cure but I have a suggestion: Specialize. Specifically, specialize in security. Why? Turnover. Turnover in my department is rampant, because other companies offer my coworkers more

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How to measure the effectiveness of a security program

Dave Farquhar — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 11:00:46 +0000

On a recent episode of Down the Rabbit Hole, Rafal Los and James Jardine asked CISO-turned-CIO Joe Riesberg how he measures the effectiveness of a security program. He came up with five things, which are pretty much how we measure our effectiveness

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Chasing dreams

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 11:00:29 +0000

Lifehacker says to follow your skills rather than chasing your dreams. There’s something to this. Two years ago I had a job writing security documentation. The CISO where I work now didn’t want to hire me because he was sure

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IT security vs. the construction industry

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 11:00:17 +0000

On the Risky Business podcast last week, Andrew Wilson, the CEO of Australian cryptography gear maker Senetas, stated that many businesses see the bad things that happen from poor IT security as just a cost of doing business. Nothing revolutionary

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Why it’s a good idea to schedule your router to reboot

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 11:00:01 +0000

Many routers, notably Belkins, have a feature in them to schedule an automatic reboot periodically, usually once a week. Frequently this “feature” is there as a workaround, because something about the router’s software gets unreliable if it’s been running longer

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