Alpine Cyber Blog

What is SIEM? SIEM (usually pronounced 'seem' or 'sihm') stands for Security Information and Event Management. It comes in several forms and various price points, including as a software product, appliance or as a service. SIEM collects log and event information from servers, security devices, network devices and applications. It's a single window into all of your network activity. If you like movie references, think of it like the eye of Sauron tirelessly watching your network landscape... But it doesn't just collect the data. It normalizes, correlates and sorts everything into useful categories like threats, failed logins, successful logins, firewall…

Sometimes it is really nice being a tech geek. I have been obsessing, recently, about something that probably 99% of homeowners don't even consider - the physical and logical design of my home network. Businesses consider network design all the time.  They consider the repercussions of cat5, coax and fiber.  They segment subnets and VLANs for various reasons. But as a tech geek, I have to bring my work home. Lately, though, I've been forcing myself to face a hard question -- "at what point do I say, 'that's good enough.'?" A few weeks ago, the Security Now podcast covered a segment called…

What Is a Vulnerability Assessment? A proper vulnerability assessment looks at the system architecture, data flows and IT processes for an organization. You need to understand security controls around the network, ensure security devices are properly configured, ensure best practices for secure configurations are in place, and much more. There are a lot of benefits to getting a thorough vulnerability assessment done, including: Comprehension of What's Actually on your Network -- You will learn whether firewall and content filters are properly configured; which vulnerabilities exist on your systems; whether your user directory is properly secured and configured; whether there are…

A week ago news broke that a major energy infrastructure company that is responsible for delivering fuel to stations from Texas to New Jersey fell victim to a ransomware attack. The attack manifested in the operator, Colonial Pipeline, shutting down all operations of the nearly 5,500 mile long distribution pipe. Media outlets have focused on the consumer impacts - potential gas shortages likely to result in a higher fuel demand which could lead to price hikes. What the main news networks haven't really discussed much is how an attack like this can occur, how often it happens, and what companies…

Alpine Cyber's Managed Firewall Services will help keep your company's network secure through 24/7 management and monitoring by seasoned security professionals. Learn more about what a firewall is, who needs one and why we’re the partner you need to help manage it. What is a Firewall?  A firewall is a network security device designed to monitor and control traffic based on defined security rules. It filters incoming and outgoing traffic to ensure there is no atypical or unauthorized use, blocks specific and potentially harmful traffic, and provides alerts for any harmful traffic identified. What are Managed Firewall Services?  Managed Firewall…