Zach's IT Security Tips

12 Weeks of Reflection Over the last 12 weeks, I have been talking and discussing a lot of various topics. From physical security, to just better security habits. I think when it comes to cyber security and securing your assets, there is no one size fits all answer. There are so many different situations and needs that not one solution can protect. That is what makes IT Security such a vast and exciting field! Each case and situation is going to be different from the last. If there was just one solution, I think we would all be in danger because all it would take is one fault in the system and then it is game over! That is why over the last 12 weeks, I decided to talk about different topics that could help someone starting with cyber security, to get a good overall picture of what cyber security involves. I tried to include resources and information that I have learned over the course of the last three years while pursuing my degree, to help those out there who are more...

How much Security is too much Security? When most people think about security, they think about physical security. For example, before I started my journey in IT Security, when I first heard the word security, I thought of armed security guards, gates, cameras, towers, the whole nine yards, but in reality security is much more than that! Security today means much more than it did 30 years ago. In today's security realm, you tend to see a mixture of both physical security and information security. This art of blending these two into policies and procedures to help protect both physical and logical assets is referred to as the security function. With so many different industries needing security, the way the security function is implemented across different industries will range dramatically. For example, you may have more physical security at a bank than say at a hospital. Ata  bank you are going to have different types of vaults and heavy doors that can prevent a r...

Project Manager says "What?" In my almost four years of professional IT experience, I would say my experience with project managers has been a mixed bag. In some projects I have had great PMs. In other projects, you wonder if the PM even knows what you are doing there in the project meeting! Sometimes I feel like I had project managers that didn't even know what the project deliverable was. We spent more time explaining our solution than going over action items. Here are some things I think all project managers should do to be effective in managing projects. Learn more about the project deliverable I felt like more times than not, project managers on some of my projects didn't even know what we were working on. They didn't understand the technology or the expected outcome. I think if we spent more time up front educating everyone involved, including PMs, the project would be much smoother.  Have clear and effective communication I have ...

It's not rude, it is just Security! This week we have talked about and studied everything that deals with physical security measures. Having worked in IT for almost four years now, I have seen many forms and sorts of security measures from badge readers, key pads, and even alarms and cameras in use. One thing that I think people have had the hardest time with is properly using and following the badge reader entries. In my current facility, a lot of people want to be nice and hold the doors open for others who are also trying to enter the building, but doing this may lead to letting in the wrong individuals. In some cases, depending on your current work situation, it could lead to being let go if you let in the wrong person. The practice of following in others while not badging in is called tailgating. Tailgating may seem like common sense and kind because you are holding the door open for others, but in a high security environment, we shouldn't tailgate! This cou...

Two Steps Forward One Step Back This week while studying cipher methods and encryption technologies, I came across an interesting article about WPA2 wireless encryption. For a long time WPA2 has been the standard when it comes to encryption on wireless networks. Many home networks are using WPA2 as we speak and most people don't even really realize it! Late last year, an attack named KRACK was able to break the WPA2 encryption! "Oh, no! All of my wireless networks are going to be hacked! What do I do?!" This tends to be the reaction when it comes to hearing this news, but have no fear! Just because one layer of wireless encryption has been hacked, doesn't mean you are completely exposed. This news just reiterates that we took two steps forward and one step back when it comes to protecting wireless networks. There are other ways we can add protection when it comes to using wireless technologies. For example, by using both VPN and SSL, you can ensure that t...