Zac Amos

Third-party vendors help your organization scale by running key systems and providing specialized tools. Although they add valuable capabilities, each new integration, login, and data flow also expands your organization’s attack surface. Vendor due diligence works best when it is repeatable, evidence-based, and proportional to the access the provider will have. These seven practical steps can help you evaluate a vendor’s cyber hygiene before work begins. 1. Review Security Certifications and Compliance Certifications and compliance frameworks are useful signals because they indicate that an independent assessor has evaluated specific controls. They serve as a starting point, so confirm the scope,…

The increasing sophistication and frequency of ransomware attacks pose a significant threat to healthcare organizations, creating huge financial burdens and operational disruptions. The answer is not extravagant tooling. A consistently executed, disciplined set of fundamentals can break common kill chains, shrink the attack surface, and hasten recovery. Below are seven practical, budget-friendly moves to implement without derailing clinical operations. 1. Kill Exposed Remote Access with Quick Inventory Sweeps Attackers love unmanaged remote desk protocols, forgotten vendor portals, and legacy appliances at the edge. Run quick inventories, compare against what should be externally reachable, and gateway or shut down anything that…

Healthcare costs have been on the rise in recent years. Factors such as increased tariffs, a lack of medical professionals, and an increasingly elderly population contribute to this. Another prominent cause is the rise in ransomware attacks and subsequent costs for healthcare organizations and their consumers. Explore how these threats are adding to the already rising sector prices. Issues of Rising Healthcare Costs Rising healthcare costs prominently affect patients. A common issue is delaying care because of the expected expense of treatment. People can’t afford most procedures if adequate aid is not available. There is also the worry of unforeseen…

Across nearly every sector, organizations are connecting more machines to the internet, employing globally distributed teams, and relying on systems packed with countless applications. Managing this complexity while defending against external threats requires constant vigilance. Yet, despite cybersecurity’s critical importance, the industry continues to grapple with a talent shortage. A gap that is worsened by ineffective hiring practices. Unrealistic expectations around work-life balance, preconceptions about the ideal candidate, and inaccurate job descriptions can blind recruiters to unique talent sets. Let’s examine how assumptions still play a part in hiring and how to make a difference. 1. Unrealistic Work Expectations In…

In December 2024, PowerSchool — one of North America’s most widely used student information systems — disclosed a breach that affected millions of students and educators. Hackers gained access using a compromised password and remained undetected for nine days, exposing sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and medical histories. This wasn’t just a system failure. It was a wake-up call. The PowerSchool breach is a stark reminder that school districts don’t just need strong cybersecurity; they need strong vendor oversight. When schools outsource critical functions to edtech providers, those providers become an extension of their digital ecosystem. If a…

Although many financial institutions offer digital services, ATMs remain critical points of interaction between banks and customers and an attractive target for cybercriminals. ATM attack methods are becoming more sophisticated, from card skimming to malware injection and man-in-the-middle attacks. Ensuring strong ATM cybersecurity is essential to safeguarding customer data, protecting financial assets, and maintaining consumer trust. Penetration testing is one of the most effective tools for evaluating and strengthening ATM defenses. This proactive security measure simulates real-world attacks to uncover vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. The Importance of ATM Cybersecurity ATMs uniquely operate at the intersection of physical…

IT professionals in higher education oversee massive repositories for sensitive data, such as student records, tuition payments and faculty credentials. Cyber risks are climbing fast with more devices, remote access points and aging systems. Threat actors see colleges as easy, high-reward targets. Penetration testing is crucial in this situation. It is a hands-on, proactive way to simulate real attacks and uncover vulnerabilities before someone else does. Making pen testing part of your strategy protects your systems, reputation, and everyone who relies on your digital infrastructure. The Rising Threats in Higher Education Cyber attackers often target universities because they know how…

Penetration testing is a critical part of many organizations’ cybersecurity strategies. It’s easy to see why, given its ability to uncover previously unknown vulnerabilities, informing needed updates before cybercriminals capitalize on them. Despite this advantage, pen testing can often lull security leaders into a false sense of security. Just 17% of businesses today say they never pentest. Most companies perform these assessments several times a year. That’s good news, but breaches are still common, even with such a high frequency of inspections. Clearly, penetration testing alone is not a complete solution, but why, and could it even increase risks at…