System Hardening 101

“Hardening” is a term used by IT professionals to describe various processes used to make computer systems more secure against different kinds of attacks.

A Brief History of Stuxnet

In 2009 something happened that had never been done before in the history of computer malware. A digital weapon was released with the express purpose of attacking specific machines and causing them to fail, sometimes spectacularly.

The Rise and Fall of RC4

RC4 is a stream cipher and variable length key algorithm, and it was once the go-to cipher suite for web encryption. Then someone figured out how to break it.

The Future of Retail Business in an Online World

Some people think shopping online means retail stores will become a thing of the past. I have a dissenting opinion.

Global Use of Various Operating Systems

In 2019, the operating system market is valued at around $36B USD. That includes desktop, mobile, and enterprise OSs.

URL Hacking (or “How to Sanitize Your URLs”)

Most people don’t think twice about copy/pasting a ginormous web link into an email or social media post.
But they should!

Tips, Tricks, and Traps When Prepping for a GIAC Certification Exam

As a SANS Subject Matter Expert, I often get asked for tips on how to pass GIAC certification exams. Here are some tips and tricks I have learned.

Peeves

Cybersecurity folks claim to be better about their online hygiene than “normal” people… Ha!