Steven Pressman

This is the second article in our 10-part series for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Look for new cybersecurity topics explained by Alpine Cyber experts every Tuesday and Thursday in October. Behold the Villain – Now in Digital Form "We have your family. We want $2,000,000 in unmarked $2 bills; in a tan duffel bag; in the Logan Square Fountain by 9:00 PM...or you'll never see them again." We've all seen this movie.  Dastardly evil-doer holds something precious over our dashing hero’s head demanding ungodly sums of money for its release. Sadly, this is no longer limited to Hollywood schlock suspense…

Welcome to the third post in our multi-part Seusstastic series on the real threats that face home networks, where we apply real-world enterprise grade protections to keep ourselves safe in the connected world. If you haven’t read part 1 or part 2, I highly recommend you take a few minutes and do so. We've covered how cyber thieves are constantly testing and scanning for vulnerabilities and what you can do to start acting like the bad guy - finding the systems on your network. We left you with the following point: devices that we previously would never have imagined to exist on a…

This is the second post in our multi-part Seusstastic series on the real threats that face home networks, where we can apply real-world enterprise grade protections to keep ourselves safe in the connected world. First off - If you haven't read part 1, I highly recommend you take 5 minutes and do so. In part 1, How The Grinch Stole... Your Information, I presented a simple construct: Cyber thieves are not only just outside your physical and digital homes, they are constantly testing and scanning for vulnerabilities. The argument is simple: Thieves will be thieves and you can't just sit back…

More times than not, people who fall victim to identity theft think about online transactions and recent credit card purchases that they made when trying to figure out how their information was compromised. Sadly, it really only takes some confidence, creativity, and a bit of luck to prey on someone and assume their identity. The computer is optional. Yes, it is important to protect your passwords. Yes, it is important to secure your network defenses. Yes, it is important to think twice before using that shady looking phone charging station. But, as we've said in the past, attackers look for the weakest penetration…

Do you think all of the bad guys are sitting in smoke-filled rooms in the Chinese war ministry?  Do you think your network is safe if you prevent people from getting to the Internet too openly?  Ah, if only that were true.  The fact of the matter is that one of your biggest vulnerabilities is sitting among you.  Some are malicious and some are accidental.  Some researchers believe that the percentage of incidents due to insider threats may be as high as 55%! Long story short -- the average user is a significant source of your IT and data security risk.…