Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Central Coast: The Podcast

This is the final podcast episode in the Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Central Coast series. So, we'll bring together some of what we have learnt over the last 12 months and talk about the "perfectly secure small medium business". It's a slightly shorter but still an information rich episode.

This month's topic in the Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Central Coast initiative is application control. We will talk about Application Control and introduce SentinelOne which helps control the applications on your system and is key to your defence in depth strategy. We'll also pick apart the last podcast "Eugene's Instagram hack" by talking cookies and social engineering, we don't get too technical but by the end we will have a good understanding of how the hack worked. We'll then wrap up with what happened in the real world. Let's go!

In this episode, I chat with Eugene Aw who is a world traveller and photographer. On Instagram, Eugene has built a following of almost 6000 followers, which made him a target for hackers. Eugene recounts what happened in this social engineering attack that anyone could fall victim to. This episode is for anyone who has an Instagram or any online account (including email), because you may become a target. And, if you are hacked, how do you recover? The answer may not be as straightforward as you may think.

Here is Eugene's hacked Instagram account if you would like to see some of his photos DO NOT FOLLOW THIS ACCOUNT: https://www.instagram.com/geneaw_mochilero_

Follow Eugene's new Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/geneaw5

This month in the Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Central Coast initiative is User Application Hardening month. We'll talk about last month's topic which was restricting administrative privileges and why that's important, I'll talk about an exciting security device called a Yubikey, I tell you how you can strengthen your web browser security and we'll wrap up with what's happened in the real world in the last two months which includes the word that had had not only the security industry scrambling, but we've had a number of queries about it too from Loyal I.T. clients... the Log4j vulnerability. What is it, why it is hard to detect and why your I.T. MSP can't do a thing about it!

This month is macro security month. We'll talk about how to secure yourself from malicious macros. If you don't use macros, turn the ability to use them off. We'll talk about how this is done. As we are so close to Christmas, we'll talk about what you need to do to protect yourself from what is the busiest time of year for hackers. Why do hackers target Christmas? We'll find out. And we check back in on REvil, the ransomware group that won't go away, but this time it is good news. All these topics, and more!

Quick link:

Darknet Diaries Bangladesh Bank Heist: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/72/

This month is update month on the Cyber Security Business Connect and Protect Central Coast initiative. We talk about the Annual Cyber Security Threat Report released by the Australian Federal Government, updates to Windows, Apple and Android, what caused the mass exodus from Facebook's WhatsApp app? And we get another update on the ransomware group REvil.

Quick link: how to tell if you need to report a privacy breach:

Add this link: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-for-organisations/small-business

In this special episode, I speak with Richard Cotter from Softgen Australia. Richard has done a deep dive into cyber insurance, and he shares his findings and thoughts with us. We talk about cyber insurance from a business and insurers point of view and, what cyber insurance includes and excludes. Richard shares his thoughts on the future of cyber insurance (and cyberattacks generally) and he suggests some tactics on how to decrease your cyber insurance premium. This is a must listen episode if you run a business and have an Internet connection.

Download the fact flier: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wh1.thewebconsole.com/wh/6522/images/CyberInsuranceFlyer.pdf

For penetration testing or in-depth security assessments, contact Richard on (02) 9416 0416 or email [email protected]

For more information about SoftGen Australia and the services SoftGen provide, visit https://sgen.com.au

In this episode, I interview Anna Cruckshank, the managing director of Aubrey Brown Lawyers. Anna has been a practicing lawyer for over 30 years and she will talk about her experience with, and her ongoing issues relating to, her identity being stolen. As we'll find out, this was of no fault of her own, in fact it was probably just bad timing. This is a fascinating interview.

October is "international cyber security awareness month" or as I've dubbed it, Hacktoberfest. In this episode we talk about the Equifax breach of 2017 and how this aided hackers steal identities. We look at the Epik hack and why Loyal I.T.'s Managing Director (Michael Goodwin) had his data leaked in the breach. We talk briefly about the excellent haveibeenpwned.com website. We look at a new type of attack that is now denying services and asking for a ransom. We look at the Mirai botnet and how you could be unknowingly contributing to it. REvil is back and I look at their "Happy Blog". We also talk a little about a brand new technology secuiring Microsoft online services that you really should be implementing on your accounts. We talk Windows Updates and I talk about my top 10 hacking tools.

In this episode, we'll discuss the topic of the month - Daily Backups. We'll look into what makes someone a cyber security expert, we'll talk about what the Essential Eight mandates for daily backups and I'll recommend a robust backup framework I have used ever since I started in I.T. back in 1998. What are the threats to your data? It's not only hackers that can cause data loss. How well do you know your staff? Would they sell you out for a quick buck? We'll talk about Initial Access Brokers, a new form of malicious insider who sells remote access to your network, and hackers are rewarding them with cash payouts. In the real world, you'll be updated with the ongoing PrintNightmare and the increase in Smishing attacks. Is REvil still gone and has the DarkSide hacking group re-emerged? And, have you seen the ransomware special on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver? I'll tell you where you can find this must watch episode.