People are the weakest link
This sounds like a nightmare too impossible to happen. US soldiers putting sensitive information online in non-secure third party websites. It defies belief, yet we’re reading that it happened. The story popped up on ‘Gizmodo’
It is alleged that US Soldiers were saving sensitive information on a couple of common flashcard sites, presumably of things they were trying to memorise and learn. Even worse, their settings were on ‘public’ not ‘private’
It’s a classic warning about the risk of people, however well intentioned, saving critical data online in places the organisation is unaware of, and can’t control. That’s why our new KARE for Security S2 plan helps identify use of these sites in your organisation.
US Soldiers Accidentally Leaked Nuclear Weapons Secrets: Report (gizmodo.com)
Shadow IT
Shadow IT is one of the largest threats to data privacy in organisations today.
It’s not necessarily because these sites are going to be hacked, although that’s always possible, but just because if you don’t know the tools are in use, then there is no way that you can manage them!
The first step to maintaining this data is to identify it! That’s why you need new tools that are cloud focused. If you’re still using the same old security tools that you used to use prior to the cloud, then you are not keeping up and we need to talk!
We’re going to be hearing about data privacy for a lot longer yet!
I don't know about you, but every day I open emails and articles about data security and our obligations in business. It's feeling a little overwhelming, but on closer inspection, most of the conversation is pretty sensible. The headlines have been the data breach...
Overloading in Outlook? Focussed Inbox is the answer!
Is your inbox overflowing? Once things move down the page, do they disappear, accompanied by the nagging guilt that you should have done something? You need a focussed inbox. For many people, their inbox becomes part of their filing cabinet, and that's obviously not...
Letter from Microsoft Inspire – Vegas 2018
It wasn’t just the weather that was hot. Microsoft is hot right now, and given how much we all rely on them for the tools to run our businesses, that's an exciting prospect. While there weren't specific announcements, what I found encouraging was the consistent...
The best new thing in Office that no one knows about (Shush – don’t tell)
Spoiler alert- you have to read the full article - and good news alert – the article is really short! Office 365 keeps changing. Updates and upgrades happen when you aren’t looking. While many of them are pretty trivial and only impact a few people, some updates are...
When does Windows 10 become Windows 11?
When Microsoft released Windows 10, they said it would be the last version – but that hasn’t stopped them enhancing it. The updates available in the April 2018 (Version “1803”) release continue to refine it in small but useful ways that add up to a significant...
What’s in an Antivirus? ( or, when is ‘free’ the most expensive option?)
It is not uncommon for us to be asked why a business needs to purchase antivirus when Windows 10 already includes antivirus. It's true - Windows comes with a 'free' antivirus - Windows Defender is free with Windows and has been for some time. [header2 text="It...
Sneaky devils – how insecure email led to a $150K loss
Recently I was lucky enough to spend some time with a group of my Ozzie peers. One of the things we did was share problems and solutions. During those discussions, I heard of the following hack. [header2 text="This is not a made-up story. It is true and I know of...
Keeping up with One Note
I reckon that OneNote's being used by about a third of the people I see in meetings. And that means that about two-thirds of people are missing out! I've been a big OneNote fan for ages because OneNote conquered my personal chaos of unstructured notes and paper...
South Pacific Pictures – Case Study
"Working with Kinetics has helped us align our IT systems with the businesses need for streamlined systems and business continuity, as well as the comfort of compliance and reassurance from an industry specialist." - Kelly Martin, CEO, South Pacific Pictures...
Beware (again) – The Phishermen are after you.
The deluge of clever phishing emails continues. This one caught our eye, because it looks so authentic. Given that we look after Office 365 for this customer, it left us wondering how we'd have missed 'verifying' their account. Well, only a for a moment! When we...