Its difficult to focus on anything other than the novel coronavirus outbreak right now, and thats certainly understandable. Its the most important thing happening in the world and it will continue to be for months and months to come. The United States now has more confirmed COVID-19 cases than any other country in the world and thats in spite of the fact that only a fraction of people exhibiting symptoms can get tested since theres still such a shortage on coronavirus tests. Its bad and getting worse, but we also have to remember that life goes on and we have more than just the coronavirus to protect ourselves and our families from.

Amazon has two great deals right now on home security cameras that are just as good as a $200 Nest Cam for a tiny fraction of the price. The first is the Wyze Cam, which has all main features you might want as well as 14 days of free cloud storage for just $24 and change per camera. The second one is on the Yi Home Camera 3, which costs about the same amount but has some more advanced features as well as a 6-month free trial of YIs cloud service. On top of that, you can get the first Yi camera for just $19.50 by using the coupon code GAXSJC8C at checkout.

So why would anyone choose the Wyze Cam over YIs rival? The answer is simple: Amazon is shipping Wyze Cams right away, while new YI Home Camera 3 deliveries are now delayed until mid-April.

If you can wait that long, you should definitely go for the YI model. On top of all the main features youd get with the Wyze Cam, the YI Home Camera 3 also includes advanced AI features like person detection and even sound analytics. The downside is that you only get free 7-day cloud storage for 6 months, and after that youll have to subscribe to YIs cloud service if you want to keep using the cloud. $24.29 for all those features is still a crazy price though, and its great that you can get one for under $20 with the coupon.

As for the Wyze Cam 1080p HD smart home camera, its always a great value and it comes with 14 days of free cloud storage for free. Thats not a limited-time trial, mind you youll enjoy free cloud storage for as long as you own your cameras. As we also mentioned, Wyze cameras are still shipping out right away on Amazon despite the retailers shift in focus away from nonessentials. Youll pay $25.98 for one camera or $24.46 if you by them in 2-packs, and theyll be on your doorstep in just a few days.

Follow @BGRDeals on Twitter to keep up with the latest and greatest deals we find around the web. Prices subject to change without notice and any coupons mentioned above may be available in limited supply. BGR may receive a commission on orders placed through this article, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

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Youll be shocked at how good these $24 home security cameras are on Amazon - BGR

See, hear, watch and speak with this award winning, connected, smart home security solution.

Imou has announced the availability of its award winning, world first Artificial Internet of Things (AIoT) home security camera, Ranger IQ. It combines the latest AI and motion tracking technology with a hypermobile camera system and easy-to-use app, delivering premium security at an affordable price.

Looking sharp, day or night

Its sleek, spherical design allows the Ranger IQ to rotate 355 degrees and tilt 90 degrees, ensuring every corner of the room is covered, leaving zero blind spots. Android and iOS-compatibility means users can watch, store, and re-watch footage in Full HD, 1080p resolution using Imous Cloud service, wherever they have internet access.

The Ranger IQ also offers clear images in low light conditions thanks to the embedded Sony Starlight sensor. This advanced imaging technology offers vivid full-colour streaming even in low-light conditions, without sacrificing image quality when the sun goes down.

Follows and recognises

The Ranger IQs advanced AI human detection software automatically focuses on and quickly identifies and recognises human targets. Additionally, the Ranger IQ can track a target while live streaming and recording simultaneously - logging their movement around your home. It can even distinguish between humans and animals, saving pet owners in particular from false alarms or unnecessary worry.

Using Airfly technology, the Ranger IQ can be connected to Imous range of motion detectors, sirens and door sensors. This means it can get to know your home habits, alerting you when it detects unusual activity. It can even be set to deter unwelcome strangers with a built in siren, and the Two-Way Talk feature is perfect for interacting with pets or visitors who unexpectedly drop by.

In addition to being packed with convenient features, the Ranger IQ also detects abnormal sounds via its built-in siren. This sends users an alert to their smartphone if it hears anything out of the ordinary within the home, such as a baby crying or breaking glass, keeping you aware of whats going on, even if youre not there.

Alexa, show me my camera

Compatible with smart home assistants including Amazons Alexa and Google Assistant, the Ranger IQ allows users to operate the camera without having to lift a finger.

But if a homeowner wants some privacy for themselves and their guests, Ranger IQs convenient Privacy Mode means one tap automatically lowers the cameras lens, protecting personal privacy while youre at home.

Available to buy on Amazon for the affordable price of 85.99 RRP, the Ranger IQ sets to revolutionise affordable security, offering homeowners customisable and connected peace of mind, protecting whats inside your home, wherever you are: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Imou-Security-Surveillance-Detection-Starlight/dp/B081VB77QW/

About Imou

Imou, whose parent company is Dahua Technology, is a world-leading video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider. With 19 years of expertise in the industry, the company serves global IoT users with a 3-in-1 business system encompassing Imou Cloud, smart devices and intelligent technologies.

Designed for home and small and medium-sized business (SMB) users, Imou provides comprehensive smart IoT solutions for different scenarios. The open cloud platform that allows third-party integration makes Imou perfect for building smart IoT ecosystems, creating greater value for partners and users.

Dahua Technology also has been ranked 2nd for five years in a row in the global CCTV & video surveillance equipment market - https://cdn.ihs.com/www/pdf/1218/IHSMarkit-Security-Technologies-Trends-2019.pdf

Originally posted here:
Ranger IQ is the world's first AIoT home security camera - HEXUS

With COVID-19 concerns canceling face-to-face meetings, be aware of the security risks of videoconferencing and how to easily overcome them

At the time of writing one-third of the worlds population is enduring restricted movement to stem the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown has driven huge swaths of the working population to become remote workers, many for the first time. The sudden surge in employees, students, teachers, and many other professionals working from home is driving a huge increase in demand for videoconferencing, online collaboration tools and chat systems.

On March 11th, Kentik (a network operator based in San Francisco) reported a 200% increase in video traffic during working hours in North America and Asia, and this was before the official lockdown in California or other locations took effect.

Last week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson shared a picture of himself chairing a cabinet meeting via the Zoom app, demonstrating social distancing even in the highest levels of Government.

The decision was a wise one as he has since tested positive for the coronavirus. However, a meeting at this level over a public conferencing system raised questions about security and the UKs National Cyber Security Centre confirmed there was no security reason why conversations below a certain classification could not take place this way.

If a UK Government meeting is authorized to be held online using a freely available videoconferencing tool, then companies forced to quickly adapt to employees working from home can probably do so with some confidence. However, that does not alleviate the need to understand the built-in security and the need to control how videoconferencing is conducted by using the features available.

Below we outline some key considerations.

Check your environment to ensure that the video stream you are sharing does not contain sensitive information. A whiteboard behind you may have the remnants of a previous meeting, make sure all confidential or sensitive material is removed from the cameras scrutiny. And while weve probably all laughed at cute viral videos of pets or toddlers entering a streaming video interview or meeting, consider the effects such interruptions could have on your meetings and ensure suitable mitigations are in place before starting your meeting.

Most videoconferencing platforms allow for the creation of groups of users or the ability to restrict access by internet domain so only users with an email address from your company would be able to join the call. Alternatively, only allow attendees that are invited by adding their email addresses to the invite when scheduling the call.

Set a meeting password, typically an option when creating the meeting, which adds a randomly generated password that invitees will need to input. A numerical password can be used to authenticate users who connect by phone. Do not embed the password in the meeting link.

Holding participants in a waiting room and approving the connection of each one gives the host ultimate control over who is in the meeting. To handle this for larger meetings you may be able to promote other trusted attendees to an organizer or moderator role.

Enforce encrypted traffic. Do not take it for granted that systems have this option enabled by default for video communications. Some services encrypt chat by default but not video unless specifically requested.

If third-party endpoint client software is permitted, then ensure it complies with the requirements for end-to-end encryption.

If file transfers are needed, then consider limiting the types of files that can be sent; for example, dont allow executable files (such as .exe files).

Its easy to get distracted on conference calls, email and other notification pop-ups and migrate your attention to the content rather than the call in-hand. The host, depending on the platform, may have the ability to request notification when the conferencing client is not the primary (active) window. If youre a teacher, then this feature may be extremely useful if you want to ensure the attention of all your students.

Monitor who joined the call, either by enforcing a registration process to connect or by downloading an attendee list after the call. This is also likely to include the connect and disconnect time, showing whether the user was engaged for the whole call.

Limit the ability for screen sharing to the host, or to a person the host selects. This removes the possibility of someone sharing content by mistake.

When screen sharing, only share the application needed, as opposed to the whole desktop. Even an icon or name of a file on a desktop can give away sensitive company information.

Apples iOS takes screen snapshots used when task switching between apps. To protect against this inadvertently including the capture of sensitive information, check to see if the conference system can blur this image.

Take the time to step through all the options in the settings of the videoconferencing system you may already have or are thinking of using. As you can see from the snapshot of considerations above, there are many settings and finding the right configuration for your environment is an important task to undertake to ensure company communications remain secure.

Lastly, check the privacy policy of the service you are using. The adage that if its free, youre probably the product should be enough motivation for you to check whether the company is collecting, selling or sharing your data to fund the provision of its free service.

If you want to learn more about the increased cybersecurity risks associated with teleworking, as well as about ways to counter them, you may want to read these articles:

COVID-19 and the shift to remote workWork from home: How to set up a VPNWork from home: Improve your security with MFA

Read more here:
Work from home: Videoconferencing with security in mind - We Live Security

Image: Epic Games

Houseparty, a video conferencing desktop and mobile application, said it would pay a $1 million bounty to anyone who could unmask the entity behind what the company described as "a paid commercial smear campaign."

The company's apparent anger comes after Houseparty has been at the center of media reports published yesterday by three British tabloids.

The Sun, the Express, and Mirror Online reported on Monday on a large number of Houseparty users claiming they had social media accounts hacked and taken over after installing the video conferencing app on their smartphones.

Users reported having Netflix, eBay, Instagram, Snapchat, and Spotify accounts taken over; however, very few were able to provide details about what really happened.

Houseparty denied any hacking rumors right from the get-go via a firm statement posted on its Twitter account, claiming that the app "doesn't collect passwords for other sites," and, hence, wouldn't be able to allow anyone to extract this data and pivot to other online services.

However, despite the explanation, the app is now at the center of a public relations disaster. Many of its users appear to believe the reports and are encouraging others to uninstall and delete the app from their devices.

Houseparty officials feel they're now being defamed unjustly in a game of dirty politics.

"We are investigating indications that the recent hacking rumors were spread by a paid commercial smear campaign to harm Houseparty," the app maker said in a tweet today.

"We are offering a $1,000,000 bounty for the first individual to provide proof of such a campaign to bounty@houseparty.com."

A Houseparty spokesperson could not be reached for additional details.

The app rose in popularity during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak when social distancing and quarantine measures were imposed around the globe.

Just like employees are using Zoom and Google Hangouts Meet to have video conferences with their work colleagues, Houseparty has emerged as the video conference app of choice for teens stuck in their homes.

The Houseparty app was launched in 2016 and has been acquired by Fortnite game maker Epic Games in June 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

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Houseparty app offers $1m reward to unmask entity behind hacking smear campaign - ZDNet

The novel coronavirus pandemic and the actions taken by governments around the world to slow the spread of the virus are taking a huge toll on a wide variety of businesses. Few companies will escape completely unscathed. The U.S. economy will likely suffer a historically large contraction during the second quarter, with some analysts calling for a 25% decline in gross domestic product.

Some stocks have surged throughout this crisis as an increasing number of people are forced to work from home. Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) is a popular one, with investors getting behind the stock due to rising demand for video conferencing software.

The problem with Zoom, though, is that the valuation is about as nonsensical as they come. The company is now valued at nearly $44 billion, despite the entire video conferencing market being worth just a small fraction of that total. Shares trade for more than 60 times sales, an eye-watering ratio.

Whether soaring demand for various work-from-home products like video conferencing software sticks around after the pandemic is over remains to be seen. A pricey stock like Zoom could very well collapse if newer customers turn out to be transient, even if the company itself continues to perform well. Zoom is a classic case of a good company, but a bad stock.

How can you invest in the work-from-home trend without taking huge risks? Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) is your best bet.

Image source: Getty Images.

Like Zoom, Cisco provides video conferencing technology through its WebEx business. WebEx isn't a household name, while Zoom appears to be becoming one, but Cisco is seeing a surge in demand, nonetheless.

Earlier this month, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins disclosed in an interview that WebEx had powered 5.5 billion meeting minutes in the first 11 business days of March. Robbins also said that the platform is doing four to five times the volume it was built for a month ago. At peak times, volume is 24 times higher than normal.

Cisco is also a big name in cybersecurity. While spending on cybersecurity hardware, software, and services has been growing steadily in recent years, the sudden explosion in remote workers raises new security challenges for companies and organizations.

Cisco expanded some of its free security offerings in March, a move that could lead to more business down the road as the company converts users to paying customers. In the first 24 hours after launching its free security offers and its free WebEx offers, around 240,000 new users had signed up for at least one of them.

Beyond video conferencing and security, Cisco is the market leader in enterprise networking hardware. The company's switches and routers are key Internet infrastructure, and Internet usage is rising in places subject to stay-at-home orders. Increased demand for streaming, online gaming, video conferencing, and other applications could eventually lead service providers to increase capacity, boosting hardware sales in the process.

Cisco is well positioned, in multiple ways, for an increase in people working from home. However, a global recession will almost certainty hurt the company's results as some customers delay or pull back on orders where they can. Cisco is sensitive to global economic uncertainty, and its core business is prone to cycles.

It's impossible to say how Cisco will perform this year, given the high level of uncertainty. The best-case scenario: Increased demand related to work-from-home is enough to offset any other sources of weakness. The worst-case scenario: It's not enough, and revenue slumps, possibly by a lot.

Cisco stock is down more than 30% from its 52-week high. It trades for less than 13 times fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings per share. Earnings could take a hit this year, depending on how things go. But for long-term investors, paying such a low price for a rock-solid tech company is unlikely to turn out badly if your time horizon is measured in years.

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The Top Work-From-Home Stock to Buy Now - Motley Fool

As IT professionals work diligently to provide remote workers with communications and collaboration tools during the coronavirus crisis, one issue has come into full focus security. This topic was touched on in a Zoom webinar last week, during which a panel of company executives and customer CIOs from different industries and Zoom representatives discussed the challenges of enabling remote working.

Getting the Gear, VPN Connections to Employees

"One of the things that companies have always had a problem with is sending people home to work remotely full time," said Gary Sorrentino, a consultant for Zoom, kicking off the conversation on security. When it comes to remote working, many security concerns come from the reliance on a virtual private network (VPN), which might not have enough capacity to support the users, Sorrentino went on to explain.

Another part of the security puzzle is the devices themselves. Ideally, remote workers will be using corporate-owned devices installed with appropriate security software. Thats key, Phanda said. However, unless your company already had outfitted employees with laptops for working at home, getting everybody situated with corporate devices could be logistically challenging, he added. One possible solution comes in the form of recommissioning devices that would have been normally phased out with a refresh program, Phanda recommended.

Executing, Adjusting Security Strategies

While the volume of remote workers might be unprecedented, leveraging an existing security strategy will help alleviate many issues that might arise, said Bryan Ackerman, managing partner and former CIO with the management consulting firm Korn Ferry. "If this is the first time you're exploring a defense in depth strategy.... you've got a different problem to solve," he noted.

By this point in time, for example, every enterprise should have a strategy in place for preventing email phishing, Ackerman said. But, as Sorrentino noted, email filters are having a hard time identifying legitimate and scam emails related to coronavirus. In this case, Ackerman suggested a two-pronged attack: preventing these emails from reaching employees and, when that fails, reminding employees about and retraining them on phishing and security.

The need for vigilance is high, with more security challenges undoubtedly on the way, panelists agreed. As Ackerman said: We're two weeks, three weeks in, in some cases, and we're going to learn as we go. There will undoubtedly be new and different attack patterns that emerge.

Originally posted here:
WFH Watchpoints: Remote Working in Times of Crisis - No Jitter

It often seems that 5G garners most of the headlines, but what can get lost in the shuffle is the newest and fastest version of Wi-Fi, which is called Wi-Fi 6.

Verizon is a leader in this new technology, and through its Fios Wi-Fi 6 Router, it hopes to reach the masses and enable them to fully enjoy 5G and faster and broader coverage.

If youre only looking for speed, youre definitely in luck. Wi-Fi 6 has been shown to achieve wireless transfer speeds as high as 1,500 Mbps, or 1.5 Gbps, which is about 60 percent faster than Wi-Fi 5. Its indeed a huge boost even from Verizons own previous routers, as the top speeds are now about 60 percent faster and boast 63 percent wider coverage.

Speed and coverage are surely important, but what the Fios Wi-Fi 6 really excels in is its ability to handle multiple devices. Today, with the constant use of smartphones and tablets to laptops and home security systems, many of the older routers have a hard time keeping up.

As more and more people adopt smart home technology and connect more devices, the need for a reliable router that provides more coverage throughout the home has become a necessity, Heather McDavitt, vice president of Verizon Consumer Products, said in a press release. Verizons new Fios Home Router and companion Fios Home Wi-Fi Extender are the perfect solutions for Fios customers who want to blanket their home with powerful and secure Wi-Fi.

The Fios Wi-Fi 6 features a 2.4GHz network and two separate 5GHz networks, which have become the standard for most Wi-Fi users as they are indeed faster, although they do have a shorter range and have a harder time going through certain walls. One of the 5GHz networks can be used for a dedicated Wi-Fi 6 backhaul connection between the router and Fios Home Wi-Fi Extenders. Those extenders build a mesh network that can provide stronger Wi-Fi signals all throughout a home.

Make sure to keep in mind that the Fios Wi-Fi 6 can only transmit data as fast as your internet plan allows, so you may have to upgrade to a more expensive plan if you really want to see a difference. Moreover, although these routers are compatible with older Wi-Fi devices, the faster speeds will only benefit devices that support the new Wi-Fi standard.

As for the price, you can rent the new Fios Wi-Fi 6 Router for $15 a month or buy it outright for $299. The Fios Home Wi-Fi Extender will cost $10 to rent or $199.99 to buy.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV.

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Verizon Fios Has a New Wi-Fi 6 Router (And You Might Just Love It) - The National Interest

SYDNEY, March 31, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic, the situation has been seen as an opportunity for threat actors, who've taken advantage of the opportunity to target victims with scams or malware campaigns.

Now, according to analysis by SECTARA, hackers are exploiting coronavirus fears to spread their own infections, creating or taking over coronavirus information sites. Some of these appear to include state sponsored actors seeking to compromise corporate data systems. Others are opportunists, exploiting public demand for breaking information to launch payloads of ransomware and malware.

These sorts of activities include registering malicious Coronavirus-related domains and selling discounted off-the-shelf malware in the dark web.

Many victims of these exploits are individuals, looking for updates on coronavirus or seeking information about how to protect themselves and loved ones. Even more concerning is that organizations such government agencies, supply chains, hospitals, and pathology centers are also falling victim to this sort of attack. An attack which is coming on top of a global financial crisis when resources, finances, and supply chains are already compromised. These new attacks are on top of phishing campaigns that distribute malware such as APT36, AZORuIt, Emotet, and Nanocore RAT via malicious emails and links.

One of these, APT36, is a Pakistani state-sponsored threat actor which mainly performs cyber-espionage to collect sensitive information from India, has been using a decoy health advisory that taps into global panic around the coronavirus pandemic to spread the Crimson RAT. Crimson RAT is designed to steal credentials from victims' browsers, capture screenshots, and list the processes, drives and directories from victim computers [1].

According to security risk management expert Julian Talbot, author of the Security Risk Management Aide-Mmoire, "There are a wide range of groups who are executing malware and ransomware attacks to profit from the global health pandemic. These attacks are only likely to grow as the pandemic continues."

"Despite China's success with the lockdown, there is really no exit strategy until we have a vaccine, which is unlikely to be this year. Hackers and state-sponsored actors will continue to build ever more sophisticated attacks if we are not vigilant," said Julian Talbot. "We can't simply have a 30-day lockdown and then expect to be able to open all the cafes and venues immediately afterward like it was 2019. My assessment is that we are looking at a series of rolling lockdowns and travel bans until there is a vaccine.

"Our models indicate that we are exposed to a ripple effect in the event of any additional shock. With the markets already witnessing the fastest 30% drop in history, what would happen if we had another 9/11 event? "In combining the models we have published in the Security Risk Management Aide-Mmoire (http://www.srmam.com) with our software in SECTARA (http://www.sectara.com), results indicate that risks such as a major attack, nuclear reactor problem, utilities failure, or a reduction in supply of oil & gas to Western Europe, could create a cascading environment of security risk management crises."

"At SECTARA, we are taking the models from the Security Risk Management Body of Knowledge (SRMBOK) and applying them to the current coronavirus situation. We have made this model and even the software available for free as a public service," said Konrad Buczynski, CEO of SECTARA.

Staying Secure

"Our modelling indicates that businesses and individuals need to take a layered approach to protecting their computer infrastructure and personal safety," said Julian Talbot. "We have been publishing this information and key protective measures on several websites now including https://resourcesforcoronavirus.com, https://sectara.com, https://srmam.com, and http://www.juliantalbot.com."

It's clear that bad actors are prepared to use people's coronavirus fears and thirst for information against them. Given the impact we are already facing at a global level, organizations and individuals, need to apply, not just social distancing, but also sound security, and in particular, cybersecurity practices.

Some strategies to stay safe include:

In conjunction with SECTARA, Julian Talbot has also made the Security Risk Management Aide-Memoire (SRMAM) and all the models available for free. SRMAM provides a contemporary account of methods and principles detailed within the Security Risk Management Body of Knowledge (SRMBOK) as well as free high-resolution models and images, new research and updates advice linked to 2018 revision of the ISO 31000 - Risk Management standard.

"Cybersecurity, terrorism, the internet of things, and convergence of technologies are putting CEOs and Boards under pressure to maintain robust security solutions" according to Jason Brown, Chair of Technical Committee ISO/TC 262 responsible for development of the ISO31000:2018 Risk Management Standard. "It has never been more critical to maintain sound security practices."

The Danish hearing aid manufacturer Demant recently incurred what is estimated to be a $95M bill associated with a cyber incident that struck the company in early September and a Chicago-based futures brokerage will pay a total of $1.5 million for letting cyber criminals breach the firm's email systems and withdraw $1 million from a customer's account. Few organizations have reserve capital for these sorts of expenses, even in the best of times. The middle of a pandemic is not such a time.

The SRMAM is available now on Amazon and is provided at no charge for all SECTARA free and paid plan subscribers.

Join SECTARA on social media:

https://twitter.com/SECTARA1 https://www.linkedin.com/company/sectara https://www.facebook.com/Sectara-109150723888234 https://vimeo.com/366868175 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCncolyiA80EE18-NDXJ04rA/

About Julian Talbot:

Julian Talbot has written and co-authored several books including the Security Risk Management Body of Knowledge (SRMBoK). He is a Fellow of the Risk Management Institute of Australasia, recipient of The Australian Security Medal, and holds a Master of Risk Management. His experience includes Manager of Property and Security for the Australian government's most extensive international network (the Australian Trade Commission), Manager of Security for Australia's largest natural resources project (Woodside's $24 billion NW Shelf Venture), Operations Manager for IMX Resources' East African Exploration operations, Senior Risk Adviser for the $30 billion Australian Department of Health & Ageing, and Head of Security and Risk for Malaysian Smelting Corporation's Indonesian operations. Julian has also held several roles as Company Director, Risk Management Practice Leader and later CEO of the $30 million Jakeman Business Solutions, and Divisional Manager (People & Advisory Division) of the $240 million ASX listed Citadel Group Limited.

About SECTARA:

SECTARA (Security Threat And Risk Assessor) was created for security consultants and corporate security managers frustrated with the lack of advanced security risk assessment (specific) software and tools. Performing risk assessments using MS Office products, in particular, can be a tedious process, plagued by styling / formatting problems, layout selection and the routine need for reverse engineering to assure logic throughout.

Such methods are not particularly collaborative, present data security concerns and often drift beyond the bounds of recommended security standards and their assessment methodologies (because we are all human). Moreover, enterprise risk systems are necessarily generic and security risk consultant's needs are very specific. It's also difficult to get IT and expenditure approval for internally hosted systems, especially ones that are not part of 'core' business.

SECTARA was developed in response to those problems, providing a security risk assessment and security management environment in which best practices for the security industry are within easy reach and available at an affordable cost.

Importantly, risk assessment methodologies detailed within leading global security standards have been accounted for within the system, in a way that addresses the needs of the most advanced security practitioners, but also keeps it simple for those new to the industry.

Julian co-designed SECTARA (Security Threat and Risk Assessor) to align with SRMAM philosophies; the SaaS software platform was recently recognised as the #1 Risk Management Product by GoodFirms. He sits on its Expert Advisory Board along with Jason Brown, Geoffrey D. Askew AM and Konrad Buczynski, each a formally recognised expert responsible for design and implementation of some of the more advanced security risk and resilience programs within industry.

SECTARA enables anyone who is responsible for performing security risk assessments to create and complete them quickly, simply and with methodological rigour. Inbuilt data libraries assure productivity gains, and the software is suitable for any scope and industry.

SECTARA has a premium cybersecurity pedigree courtesy of David Begg (CISM, IRAP Assessor and Head of Cybersecurity), and field-level encryption means that nobody, including developers, administrators or anyone else, can view unencrypted sensitive data.

[1] https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/cybercrime/foreign-apt-groups-use-coronavirus-phishing-lures-to-drop-rat-malware/

SOURCE SECTARA Pty Limited

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SECTARA and SRMAM link in the fight against Coronavirus cyber threats - Benzinga

Comcasts reputation has never been the greatest, but in its foray into the Wi-Fi 6 universe, it should be applauded for setting the bar high with the xFi Advanced Gateway.

This particular Gateway, now in pristine white (previous generation was black), can support Wi-Fi 6 (synonymous with 802.11ax), which has been shown to achieve wider coverage and eye-opening wireless transfer speeds as high as 1,500 Mbps, or 1.5 Gbps -- about 60 percent faster than Wi-Fi 5.

But what Wi-Fi 6 really excels in is its ability to handle multiple devices. Today, with the constant use of an array of smartphones and tablets to laptops and home security systems, many of the older routers have a hard time keeping up.

Enter the xFi Advanced Gateway. This new router features four dual-band antennas that can fully support 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (faster than 2.4 but shorter range) bands, one 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, three 1 Gbps Ethernet ports and Bluetooth LE and Zigbee radios that can connect to all-important IoT devices.

Moreover, if you choose to utilize xFi Pods, this setup can build a mesh network that provides stronger Wi-Fi signals all throughout a home.

It hasnt, however, been all smooth sailing for Comcasts new router. Such as in this particular review(from our very own Executive Editor), some customers have complained that they have lost all semblance of consistency when it comes to download speeds. Even on a gigabit plan with Xfinity, you can get 800 Mbps on some days and 300 to 500 Mbps on others. Interestingly, some pointed out that the older routers did not suffer from such issues.

In addition, wireless connectivity took a big hit, especially if you live in a multi-floor home. Smart TVs and cell phones would take seconds to connect and streaming in high-end quality was nearly impossible. Even toggling between 2.4 and 5 GHz bands did little to assuage the problem.

Yes, hiccups are expected in newer generations of devices, and what matters now is how to smooth out these hiccups. If that can successfully happen, there is no reason why the xFi Advanced Gateway cant compete with other Wi-Fi 6 routers out there.

On a more positive note, if you lease a Gateway, youll also receive at no extra charge Comcasts xFi Advanced Cybersecurity, which offers additional security protections for your network. Its indeed a nice perk because as we all know, you can never be too careful when accessing the internet via Wi-Fi.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek and Arirang TV.

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Don't Sleep on Comcast's New Wi-Fi 6 Router - The National Interest

At one major US agency, some officials have resorted to holding meetings on iPhone group calls because the regular conference bridges haven't always been working, according to one federal employee. But the workaround has its limits: The group calls support only five participants at a time, the employee noted.

"Things have worked better than I anticipated, but there are lots of hiccups still," said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the record.

As they increasingly log on from home, Americans are having to meld their personal technology with professional tools at unprecedented scale. For employers, the concern isn't just about capacity, but also about workers introducing new potential vulnerabilities into their routine whether that's weak passwords on personal computers, poorly secured home WiFi routers, or a family member's device passing along a computer virus.

"All it takes is one of their kids to get [electronically] infected and it spreads inside the house," said Marcus Sachs, a former vice president for national security policy at Verizon.

From there, experts say, malware could easily jump from a compromised employee's machine into a connected office network.

A big test for government computer systems

This year, those numbers may shift dramatically.

"I'm sure every agency right now is scrambling to load-test their VPNs and access points to make sure not just 10 or 20 percent of their workforce can log on, but 70 or 80 or 90 percent," said the former chief information officer of a major US agency. "That will be a challenge, for sure."

Not all government agencies use VPNs exclusively anymore. As online storage and computing platforms have taken hold in corporate America, so too have they spread in government IT systems. Now, it's more common to see civil servants logging into cloud-based applications and services from wherever they are.

Others may not have access to office computing devices that they can take home with them either because they were never expected to work remotely, or perhaps because their work may be extremely sensitive.

How the intelligence community is adapting

Among the federal workers most hamstrung by efforts to reduce their presence in the workplace are members of the intelligence community. Working on topics and systems that are classified makes it difficult at best to work from home, if not impossible.

"There are some very senior military and government officials who have the capability to do up to Secret [work] from their house, but we're talking about four-star generals and admirals and things like that," said Jamie Barnett, a retired US Navy rear admiral and senior vice president of government services for the secure communications firm RigNet.

"For other classified work, there's going to be limited facilities to be able to do that," Barnett added, "so that's going to take some grappling."

Agencies have already enacted safety measures and made leave policies more flexible. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence -- which oversees 16 different intelligence agencies -- says it is "reducing staff contact88 through a variety of options including staggered shifts, flexible schedules, and social distancing practices."

In a business that demands 24/7 attention, the agencies "are also developing and implementing appropriate response plans" an ODNI spokesperson added.

Dealing with COVID-19, however, "is a contingency for which the IC never prepared," said former National Intelligence Council chairman Greg Treverton.

Some who work in intelligence are contractors who, due to contract provisions, must physically report to a government facility and do their jobs under direct oversight, said the former CIO. It's possible those contracts may be reinterpreted in light of the coronavirus crisis, he said.

Intelligence officials certainly have technology and practices that would make them among the most digitally secure to work outside the office, but they're still exposed. In the best of times, for example, intelligence officials can't even bring their mobile phones into the workplace, recognizing the security risk that they are.

Working at home, "you get more vulnerable and you get much less efficient because you're being careful," adds Treverton, who said that for the country at large, the security issues associated with teleworking are an "enormous vulnerability."

Still, the rise of cloud computing means many workplaces are in a much better position for telework than they were even a few years ago.

"If this had happened five years ago, I would guess that a very, very large percentage of government employees would not be able to remotely access their systems or do anything from home," said Gordon Bitko, a former FBI chief information officer. "Today, that's definitely not true. I can't speak to every agency, but it's far, far greater than it was."

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Millions of Americans are suddenly working from home. That's a huge security risk - CNN