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Beware – There is a New Ransomware Variant Running Loose
I just read on BleepingComputer.com a new post about a variation of the CoinVault ransomware. This one is called BitCryptor and unless you have a good backup it sounds like you will be paying the ransom if you are hit.
Here are some key characteristics:
Disk Encryption and Software Patching Provide Safe Harbor and Good Security Practices
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times says, “A new analysis of government records, published Tuesday in the journal JAMA, found that close to a thousand large data breaches affected 29 million medical records [...]
Software Patching Best Practices – 18 Must Do Tips
There are many other benefits to applying software patches including in some cases adding features, fixing bugs that make the software run slow or not work right. All software needs to be patched. Whether the software sits on a disk and runs on a server, resides on a chip within a firewall, or is an app that is in your tablet devices, it all needs to periodically be updated and patched in order to be secure.
The following list of 18 software patching best practices is what we follow at Alvaka Networks when delivering on our Patchworx(SM) Patch Management Service. It is important to note that all these steps are important, but not always are all them utilized or they can be utilized in different ways depending upon the needs of the client. Like us, you will need to decide what your patch management plan needs to look like to best suit your needs.
18 recommended best practices for patching your software:
Some Good Q&A on Backup and Disaster Recovery
1. Where should small businesses start with disaster recovery, whether or not they already have a DR plan in place? What is the first question the small business owner needs to ask?
I recommend starting with determining RTO and RPO. If the small business owner starts here he or she will be off to a good start with the DR plan. What are RTO and RPO?
• RTO – Recovery Time Objective, the time between the disaster and when the system has been made operational again. Why is this important? Different businesses have different costs associated with...
Why are Patch Management and Change Management Important?
Alvaka Networks has arguably the best and most sophisticated patch management process in the Orange County, Los Angeles County and possibly the US. Not many firms can deploy vast quantities of patches to valuable high availability servers and PCs with smoke testing qualify control while following the sun globally during selected narrow service windows.
Change Management
Change management is vital to every stage of the patch management process. As with all system modifications, patches and updates must be performed and tracked through the change management system. It is highly unlikely that an enterprise-scale patch management program can be successful without proper integration with the change management system and organization.
Like any environmental changes, patch application plans submitted through change management must have associated contingency and backout plans. What are the recovery plans if something goes wrong during or as a result of the application of a patch or update? Also, information on risk mitigation should be included in the change management solution. For example, how are desktop patches going to be phased and scheduled to prevent mass outages and support desk overload? Monitoring and acceptance plans should also be included in the change management process. How will updates be certified as successful? There should be specific milestones and acceptance criteria to guide the verification of the patches' success and to allow for the closure of the update in the change management system....
40% of Hospitals Self-Declared as Struggling Financially Due to IT Problems
“94% of the surveyed hospital CFOs self-identified as “struggling”, report that delayed or failed implementations in other IT systems, particularly EHR, have drastically impacted the organization’s financial position.”
That is what is says in the third sentence of a fascinating press release I just read from healthcare market research firm Black Book Market Research. The press release goes on to cite a number of other statistics from their research including stats that many healthcare CFOs are expecting to lose their jobs by 2016 and that there will be a trend to start hiring CEOs from outside healthcare.
I have witnessed some of the reasons for the IT troubles at healthcare companies:
· Healthcare companies on the whole have been laggards in adoption of fresh information technologies.
· IT personnel at most healthcare organizations themselves are behind the curve on...
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