This week the United States government conducted a cybersecurity exercise known as Cyber Storm III. This is the third time they have done this, and the goal was to test the ability of US government agencies and businesses to handle a massive Internet attack. With the increases in data breaches and the sophistication of attacks, this process is important to help protect critical information and fight cybercrime. Part of the exercise was testing the National Cyber Incident Response Plan, originally released by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2009. The exercise was not an actual attack, but a series of simulations intended to gauge responses to critical situations.
Cyber Storm is not just an exercise in US preparedness and response, but ties in numerous international parties. Seven cabinet-level departments of the US government, the White House, 11 US states, 12 countries and 60 private sector companies participated. Cyber Storm III will be the first opportunity to test the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), which is the hub of US national cybersecurity coordination.
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I have homeowner’s insurance, automobile insurance, health insurance and life insurance. Businesses have insurance against errors and omissions, general liability, malpractice, loss of business, and a hundred other things. We all have insurance against losing what is most valuable or to help us pay for large unseen expenses.
Insurance companies give us an incentive to lower our premiums, which translates into them helping us help ourselves. Many health insurance plans give you an incentive to lose weight, exercise and quit smoking. Automobile insurance companies give me an incentive to drive safely and put my car in a garage. Homeowner’s insurance companies give me a discount if I have a home security system. Of course this helps the insurance company because it decreases the likelihood of paying a claim, but it also helps you and me.
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A few minutes ago concluded the longest and perhaps greatest tennis match in history. John Isner from the United States and Nicolas Mahut from France just finished an 11 hour marathon at Wimbledon. This match was played over 3 days. The final set was won by Isner 70 – 68. For those not familiar with tennis, that’s 70 games to 68 games. The match broke every record imaginable.
What stands out more than anything for me is the mental and physical commitment and perseverance of these 2 men. Either of them could have given up at anytime, but they were playing to win. I think all of us can take lessons from this in our business lives.
When you are involved in a small business, startup or any venture, things frequently look dire. Will I make the next payroll? Can I afford to subscribe to that mailing service? Will any customers buy what I’m selling? Will a competitor put me out of business? Is this really a good idea for marketing? All of us have these questions, but we need to stay the course and move ahead. If you have a good idea for a business, product or marketing campaign, stick to it and execute. That makes all the difference in the world.
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Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) is a growing and important part of securing an organization’s information. The traditional methods of using firewalls and intrusion detection systems are good at keeping the bad guys out, but not so good at keeping those on the inside (the good guys?) from leaking important documents. EDRM encrypts documents and controls access to them even after they leave the security of your firewall.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is good at filtering content by searching for things like social security numbers and preventing that information from getting out. But it’s not good at preventing sensitive documents from walking out the door on a thumb drive or other removable media. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week eDocument Sciences held our annual business planning meeting at our headquarters in Amherst, NY. We focused on business, but also had a bit of fun. Our major goals are to focus on enterprise digital rights management, IT managed services and our SaaS consulting. We will create more interesting content to help our resellers engagecustomers in conversations about solving their document related problems. Some of the items you’ll see in the coming months are: Read the rest of this entry »
This week the United States government conducted a cybersecurity exercise known as Cyber Storm III. This is the third time they have done this, and the goal was to test the ability of US government agencies and businesses to handle a massive Internet attack. With the increases in data breaches and the sophistication of attacks, this process is important to help protect critical information and fight cybercrime. Part of the exercise was testing the National Cyber Incident Response Plan, originally released by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2009. The exercise was not an actual attack, but a series of simulations intended to gauge responses to critical situations. 
