Identity is Security: What’s the Good Word?

If you could pick one word to predict the next year in identity, what would it be? That’s the question David Lee and Mike Kiser asked in this week’s episode of Mistaken Identity. Then join them for a discussion on some headlines, including newspaper printing presses stopped by ransomware, how to see your neighbors’ security camera footage, and the meltdown/spectre vulnerability one year later.

In other news, all eyes seem to be on the U.S. right now with the shutdown lingering. What many are asking this week is “how does the shutdown affect security?” Like many agencies are experiencing, the shutdown has furloughed nearly half the staff of the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The effects were also felt at the CyberCorps career fair as many tables were left empty. Still, the former undersecretary for cybersecurity and infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security shared her insights on what all is likely happening behind the doors of the DHS based on her experience during the 2013 shutdown.

There is a whole world of security happenings outside of the U.S. government shutdown though. Some people in Australia found themselves getting emergency notifications after hackers used stolen credentials to log-in and spam people via the emergency alert system many local organizations use to warn people of events like natural disasters. This is a good real-world example of why a set of user credentials can open up all sorts of consequences for consumers and enterprises alike today.

Also on the breach front, it’s always interesting to see breaches come back around in the headlines years after it occurred. That was the case this week when Neiman Marcus agreed to a $1.5 million settlement following its 2014 credit card data breach. Even almost five years later, the consequences of this one data breach are being realized. It should go without saying at this point, but a data breach has such long-lasting consequences, not just from a financial standpoint, but from a reputational standpoint, too.

What stories caught your eye this week? Let us know in the comments or over on LinkedIn and Twitter!