By James Lint
Faculty Member, School of Business, American Military University
Senior Editor for In Cyber Defense and Contributor, In Homeland Security
Nevada Governor Allocates Funds for Creation of Cyber Defense Center
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval is allocating $3.5 million to the creation of a new cyber defense center. This new center is a first for Nevada; in the past, other organizations had multiple pieces of the cyber pie. This is better than many states.
In Nevada, $3.5 million is equivalent to more than one dollar per person, in a state with a population of 2,839,000 people (2014). The Reno Gazette-Journal quoted the governor as stating, “The cyberdefense center will help Nevada detect, prevent and respond to cyberattacks and stand ready to partner with local governments and the private sector to minimize cyber risks,” Sandoval said. “We must remain vigilant and stay ahead of those who seek to steal our private information and endanger our resources.” This update came from the Nevada State of the State speech.
Forgot to Update Your System? Thank You!
When you do not update your security software, you leave your system or computer open to attack. You become the target for hackers to gain access to your information or give you the “gift” of ransomware. That gift is a win for the hackers and not for you. According to The State of Security website, the author of the exploit software kit Cerber acquires nearly $1 million a year.
The RIG-E (Empire) exploit kit can install various ransomware programs on your computer when a hacker gains access to your computer due to software vulnerabilities. The exploit kit campaign starts when a malicious ad containing harmful code is displayed on a legitimate webpage.
My thank you to those administrators who thought the time to do updates were not worth their time in their busy schedule. Sadly, they are often in smaller organizations with undermanned and under-funded offices.
However, the bad decision to slack off on updating security software keeps millionaire exploit hacking authors busy with under-defended systems. Organizations that keep their systems updated will be happy to not be the target of an exploit kit from a wealthy hacker who has many other targets.
This article highlights cyber news that influences cyber defenders. Information is retrieved from aggregators and credit given to them.
Privacy Legionnaire aggregated today’s information! Join the Legion! https://paper.li/Stevens12Chris/1387375494
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