According to the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study, a recent data security study conducted by Ponemon Institute and funded by IBM, about 25 percent of all U.S. data breaches were attributed to negligence, which includes failing to properly erase data from devices. In fact, the study reports negligent breaches are about half as…
Last week, Intel disclosed another set of processor flaws that could let attackers steal information stored on computers or third party clouds. Discovered by a number of researchers and reported to Intel in January, the vulnerability includes three varieties: L1 Terminal Fault-SGX, L1 Terminal Fault-OS/SMM and L1 Terminal Fault-VMM. The company said in a blog…
The following is a recap of the HOBI blog during the week 1/22-1/26. Investors Urge Apple to Upgrade Parental Controls In an open letter, two major Apple investors, JANA Partners, LLC and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, urged the company to strengthen and broaden parental control features. The investors believe Apple has a social responsibility…
Late Jan. 2, tech publisher, The Register, reported two security flaws that they say could let hackers steal sensitive information from nearly every modern computing device containing chips from Intel corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and ARM Holdings. One of the bugs will put laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, tablets and internet servers alike at…
Samsung recently released the official cause of multiple battery failures that led to an eventual recall of all Galaxy Note 7 devices. The company cited manufacturing and design flaws in batteries from two different suppliers as the cause of the device malfunctions. The Galaxy Note 7 recall costed Samsung an estimated amount of $5.3 billion,…
A report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and CyberScout indicates the amount of data breaches reached an all-time high during 2016. According to the report’s findings, 1,093 data breaches were reported in the U.S. last year, a 40 percent increase from 780 during 2015. Last year, the business sector was the most targeted,…
Each year, Tenable Network Security releases a cybersecurity report card grading global enterprise cybersecurity confidence. The Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card interviews IT professionals about their respective companies’ cybersecurity practices, then grades the enterprise on preparedness. The average score on this year’s report card was 70 percent (C-), a six percent decrease from 2016. The…
Here is a recap of the HOBI blog for the week of 11/14-11/18 Study shows researchers can identify smartphone user qualities through screen residue A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego analyzed the residue left behind on smartphone screens from previous users. How leasing companies can benefit from Mobility…
This morning, USA Today’s Tech section published an article detailing five ways the tech industry has changed since 2008. The five changes they listed included smartphones, social media, transportation, dating and streaming. Within the past eight years, tech has become more efficient and convenient. People now rely on their smartphones, tablets and laptop computers to…
Local, state and federal officials nationwide are prepared for any potential cyber threat U.S. voters may encounter this Election Day. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI, as well as local and state authorities, have teams ready to respond to small and large scale voting threats. This level of preparedness is comforting, but hopefully these…
Data center maintenance is commonly thought of as an internal process. While a large number of a data center’s success happens indoors, there are certain external events that can deter a data center’s operation. Here are two environmental threats to data centers: Temperature changes During the summer months or other unusually hot times of the…
Mobile data security and privacy awareness is growing at a rapid pace. With the ongoing conversation about individual data privacy between the FBI and Apple and rising numbers of mobile malware reports, enterprises are focusing on mobile security more than ever. Focusing on security during a device’s use is becoming most enterprise’s top IT priority,…
A survey conducted by SureCloud revealed more than half of its participants are cutting down on compliance and risk management budgets, despite being aware of the importance of compliance accountability and growing need for high-end data security practices. The survey showed 72 percent of the 130 IT professionals interviewed agreed regulatory compliance is a high…
Cyren, a security firm, reported mobile malware distribution was highest on Fridays during last quarter. The firm reported the average amount of malware attachments circulated on Fridays during Q3 was 2.25 billion. This amount of malicious attachments being circulated on Fridays may be seen as an effort to catch device users off-guard. This survey also…
The ‘Snappening.’ The hacking of two commonly used apps, SnapChat and Yik Yak, targeted to Millennials and Gen Z-ers did not significantly lessen the use of either app. In fact, there seemed to be a tolerance for it, a “what happens, happens” mentality. This event sparked a debate on the issue of the Millennial’s reaction…