6 Categories of Hackers and What They Want

Last time, I went over the three types of hackers out there.  To give you a stronger foundation from which to build your defense in this digital world, I’ve broken down the category of hacker once more into the various types underneath the hats.  In order to defend against impending subterfuge, it is important to know who may be targeting you or your company.

Password Management Best Practices: Stemming the Tide

This one is geared to all you IT professionals out there who are looking to create a strong, effective, and simple to manage password policy.  We’ve talked before about password best practices, and what not to do.  If you want some more information on that particular subject, check out some of the information provided by the security experts over at PortalGuard.  Today, however, we’re going to look at the password policy in some more detail to figure out what password management best practices are the most effective in actual use. 

Mobile Security | Slow and Steady Need to Combat Mobile Malware

Remember when mobilegeddon was all the rage throughout the net?  It was interesting on the surface, but unless you were a marketing professional, you probably just took those announcements in stride.  Why focus your efforts on understanding the details of the mobile presence for Google if you barely have to interact with it?  In a way, that sort of thinking does make sense (unless, of course, you have a business that has any sort of digital presence), but the whole mobilegeddon event threw into light a major aspect of technology that has been digging its heals into every instance of our lives: mobile security and access. 

Mobile security is on the rise; with a lot of new efforts being made to try and secure data files that get accessed and stored on mobile devices from secure data centers.  For the hacking game, this means there is an increasing focus on the security of mobile devices in general.

Top 5 SSO Security Advantages

Behold the power of one password. That's right, password. No longer are you faced with a plethora of login credentials that you know you will never remember. That vicious cycle of helpdesk calls followed by daily account lockouts has finally come to an end. It sounds like you’ve found yourself a single sign-on (SSO) solution and you’re ready to embrace the convenience. After all, convenience was your primary reason for adopting such a technology, was it not? I’ll let you get back to me on that one. In the meantime, let’s take a look at SSO security, a hot topic among the information security community and what more and more IT decision makers are referring to as their “primary motive” for deploying SSO.

Duqu Cyber Attack - Zero-Day, Predecessors and a Silver Lining

In light of Sir Christopher Lee’s passing, it seems only fitting that we make a nod in his general direction to talk about the most recent attack by our good friend: Duqu.  That’s right, HackerAttackers – There has been another Duqu cyber attack. Duqu is back, and it’s breaking out the big guns with 2.0.  Like its apparent namesake (though, personally, Dooku looks a lot more villainy), Duqu 2.0 is a master of disguise, infiltration and covering its tracks.  We’ve spoken before about the nature of cyber warfare in the digital age, and Duqu 2.0 is a prime example of the evolution of this threat.  Threats such as the Stuxnet virus, and Flame are pushing the envelope for what we consider traditional spycraft and covert war.  The Duqu cyber attack is the most recent, home-based instance of cyber warfare to point out the need for stronger security, and above all, a more penetrating awareness of the threats of our digital age. 

Importance of Password Expiration | Don’t have it – Why Not?

The importance of password expiration is an interesting topic for me.  It’s all over the place online – and rightfully so.  There are tons of questions floating around out there: what is the best duration for a password, should be the same expiration rate for each user, is password expiration beneficial.  It can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to look at.  That being said: there are also areas surrounding the importance of password expiration that are somewhat debated (much like the last question above). In that regard, I would like to take a look at an older article I found interesting and debate some of the claims therein.  Catch up after the jump!

Password Policy Best Practices | 4 Ways Being Hacked Educated Me

Here at HackerAttacker, we talk a lot about how to protect yourself from hackers of all shapes and sizes (or colors, as it were).  What we rarely talk about is what it is liked to actually be hacked.  There are countless examples of various individuals being hacked (and we’ve talked a lot about some big company hacks as well), so you know it isn’t some rare occurrence.  Today, I’m going to talk about some password policy best practices I learned from being hacked myself, and how the experience changed the way in which I approach my online security.