Today’s Internet and network security environment is very different from what it was just a few short years ago. As we’ve discussed, legacy tools, basic firewalls, and basic anti-virus/malware are no longer sufficient to keep your network safe.

Cyber Attack – Are you as protected as you think you are? (Part Three – Firewall Health)

Chaos or Teamwork?
Have you ever been part of a group where a leader has not been clearly identified? It takes twice as long to get anything done and arguing and conflict are the order of the day. Cybersecurity in your district works the same way.

Tech Tidbit – Papers Please – Our password strategy has to be updated now
In October 1993 I was sitting in a van in dusty Nmanga, Kenya. Nmanga was the only legal border crossing between Kenya and Tanzania. It is next to Amboseli National Park and just to the West of Mount Kilimanjaro. My guide instructed our group to wait in the van with the windows up and the […]

Cyber Attack – Are you as protected as you think you are? (Part Two – Patching)
Everyone knows the adage “No one is perfect”. Unfortunately for anyone with a computer network, the bad actors who want to infiltrate your system are ready to take full advantage of any mistake they can find. Cyber security is a constant competition between software/code developers and bad actors.

Cyber Attack – Are you as protected as you think you are? (Part One-Malware Protection)
Last week we talked about how one weak link can open the door to a Cyber Incident. We discussed the weak link of old, unused user IDs remaining in your network. Today we will discuss the potential weak link in Malware Protection.

Urgent – Critical Security Advisory for web browsers and other common apps that use libwebp
There is a new critical security issue that affects web browsers as well as other software that use something called libwebp. This feels a whole lot like the LOG4J vulnerability because libwebp is not an application you can see, but rather an embedded module in other applications.

Are your old userids opening the door to Cyber attackers?
We have all heard the phrase “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link”. When it comes to Cyber Security that phrase is all too true. Sometimes a Cyber Attack comes in via something that appears small (like a user clicking on an email link). Sometimes that small thing is an unused userid that […]

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit – MFA Fatigue and Other Things to Be Afraid Of…
Last weekend my youngest daughter started a new baton program on Saturday mornings. Sitting there I realized I have been taking at least one of my four daughters to baton for the last 22 years across two different teams in two different towns.

Your Weekly Tech Tidbit…Risky Business
In August of 2021, CISA added “Single Factor Authentication” to its list of practices it considers “exceptionally risky” as it exposes you to an “unnecessary risk from threat actors”. Your district auditors and the NYS Comptroller’s Office technology auditors are most likely pestering you about your multi-factor authentication (MFA) strategies and beginning to ding you […]

Does Cyber Insurance Justify Risky Behavior?
Far too often we hear people say “I don’t need to worry about security tools and training, I have Cyber Insurance”. While this doesn’t apply to everyone, we did want to take the time this week to talk about why Cyber Insurance isn’t enough to give your district the protection it needs and deserves.

Teamwork is the Best Defense Against Cyber Crime
Whether you are a sports enthusiast, a volunteer, or part of a work team, you have experienced first-hand the importance of good teamwork. We have all experienced what happens when a team works together, and when a team does not.

CSI’s Upcoming Fall Tech Talk/SYSOP Sessions…Register Today!
We live in interesting times and continue to face some very unique challenges to keep your school district safe and stable so teachers can teach, students can learn and the staff behind the scenes can do all the important tasks that make the district function well.

Business Email Compromise – Be Very Afraid
Business Email Compromise (BEC) has become a security buzzword. It simply means using email to attack and gain access to your network. *Phishing* or *Spearphishing* are other terms you will hear. It has been estimated that 70% of the attacks against most sites come from email.

Welcome Back! We Have Work To Do
Welcome back! It was a very busy summer for all of us. Summer and the start of the school year felt much more “normal” to us. Putting my parent hat on, my youngest’s third-grade teacher approached me and told me she wished she had a classroom full of my daughter.

Why Huntress Should Be Added To Your Security Stack – Recording Available
You all may have heard Scott talking about “those ex-NSA guys at Huntress” he talks to. Bob and Scott have been stressing the importance of layers of security for proper cyber defense for many years now. CSI uses Huntress on all Windows machines.

Ransomware and Incident Response: How Security Controls Help Districts Reduce Risk and Prepare for Action (and achieve Ed Law 2-d Compliance) – Recording Available
Speaker: Alan Winchester, Chief Development Officer, Caetra.io Alan Winchester is the Chief Development Officer and creator of CyMetric™. His vision is to enable customers overwhelmed with the issues surrounding legal compliance to meet their obligations intuitively and simply, reducing the need to incur the expenses of consultants and lawyers.

A discussion of MITRE ENGENUITY 2022 independent testing results – Recording Available
Mitre Engenuity has released its 2022 fully independent evaluation of 30 of the most common cybersecurity endpoint protection platforms. Why does this matter? The 2022 assessment and results are particularly interesting because the payload they used is the most common, and nefarious, ransomware and malware variants in use today.

CSI is pleased to announce that we are an approved reseller under the NCPA Cooperative Purchasing Alliance
Through our partnership with Synnex Corporation CSI is an approved vendor on the NCPA national purchasing contract which is a legal alternative for our public sector and K-12 clients to either the NYS OGS or Federal GSA IT Schedule 70 contracts.NCPA (National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance) NCPA is a leading national government purchasing cooperative working to […]