Policy Archives

OEM Software Leaves New Windows PCs Vulnerable

June 2, 2016 Paul Roberts

(credit: Duo Security)

The next time you’re in the market for a new Windows computer, consider this: if it comes from one of the top five manufacturers, it’s vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks that allow hackers to install malware.
That’s the take-away from a report published Tuesday by researchers from two-factor authentication service Duo Security. It found third-party updating tools installed by default threatened customers of Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Asus. The updaters frequently expose their programming …read more

White House Issues Security Guidelines for Precision Medicine

May 31, 2016 Paul Roberts

In-brief: The White House released new guidelines to help healthcare organizations secure data used in its s0-called “Precision Medicine Initiative” (or PMI), advising healthcare providers to take a risk-based approach to securing data, while being careful not to poison the well of patient trust.

Report: Fear of Govt. has Valley Kicking Data Addiction

May 30, 2016 Paul Roberts

In-brief: Fear of government surveillance and data theft is forcing Silicon Valley firms to rethink their taste for data acquisition, The Washington Post reports.

GAO Warns On Cost, Danger of Prehistoric Tech

May 26, 2016 Paul Roberts

In-brief: The U.S. Government spends the lion’s share of its IT budget maintaining legacy technology, some of it 30 and 40 years old. That trend is getting worse and depressing investment in newer technology, a report by the Government Accountability Office warns.

Thing Ghetto? IT Pros Envision Separate Networks for Devices

May 23, 2016 Paul Roberts

In-brief: Could security, privacy and availability concerns created by Internet of Things devices end up encouraging separate “thing-only” networks? A survey of IT pros suggests that it could.