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October 29, 2024

How Risk Management Can Fail: Identifying Critical Assets for Business Preparedness

How Risk Management Can Fail: Identifying Critical Assets for Business Preparedness

One might wonder why it is crucial to identify the right standard when there are so many to choose from.  Let me illustrate with a past client's experience. They wanted to build a program based on NIST 800-53  security and privacy controls. However, our initial assessment revealed that this standard was not suitable for their assets and threats. Despite our advice, they chose to work with another company that was willing to use this standard. The consequences of this decision were significant, leading to a severe financial impact and a loss of reputation. When they lost power and the refrigeration...

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October 23, 2024

The New Stranger Danger: Outsmarting a Digital Predator

The New Stranger Danger: Outsmarting a Digital Predator

Mike's world halted in an instant as the seething voice on his phone spat out words that turned his blood to ice. "I have your daughter." Mikes heart stopped, and his heart pounded as the caller demanded a large sum of money. "Call the police, and she'll disappear forever, and not in a good way." Mike collapsed into his chair, his free hand shaking uncontrollably. Then, he heard it – his little girl's voice, a sound that usually sounded happy, now filled with terror. "Daddy, please help me, they are hurting me!" The fear in her trembling words was unbearable.  ...

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October 15, 2024

Beware the Second Wave: After the Storm, Scammers Surge

Beware the Second Wave: After the Storm, Scammers Surge

It was only a couple days after the hurricane when Kathleen received a phone call. The storm’s destruction was severe, and it was hard to imagine anything being normal again.  Everyone was still in shock and trying to start to piece their lives back together. The friendly person on the line was a welcomed voice claiming to be from a well-known disaster relief organization. They were offering to help immediately with aid if she provided her bank information for "verification purposes to get things started quickly." Feeling overwhelmed and desperate for help, Kathleen almost took advantage of this easy and...

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October 09, 2024

Avoid Travel Nightmares: Strategies for Safety

Avoid Travel Nightmares: Strategies for Safety

The Wilson family's excitement for their New York City adventure quickly turned to dread as they realized 12-year-old Tyler was nowhere to be found. One moment he was admiring a street performer in Times Square, and the next he had vanished into the crowd. Parents Sarah and Michael frantically searched the crowded streets, their hearts racing. Emma clutched her mother's hand, fighting back tears as she was being pulled in frantic directions. Tyler's phone went straight to voicemail its battery likely dead, not uncommon for a 12-year-old boy. As panic set in, the Wilsons realized they had no predetermined meeting...

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October 01, 2024

Business Blindspots: Facing the Disaster You Never Saw Coming.

Business Blindspots: Facing the Disaster You Never Saw Coming.

One very large company, RSA, experienced a breach in 2011 that cost the company upward of $66.3 million and caused untold reputation damage. It forced multiple companies to move to other security platforms for user authentication, and they thought it could never happen to them. In my many years of building business continuity and disaster recovery programs, I have continually heard, “It can never happen to me.” While this remains true until it does, it is at that point when a business’s viability is tested. One might think that the size of a business makes the difference, but in my...

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