(ISC)² Blog

Breaches Increased in 2019, but the Number of Exposed Records Declined

The number of U.S. data breaches bumped up 17% in 2019 but despite the increase, the volume of sensitive consumer records that were exposed declined substantially by 65%, according to a newly published report. These statistics are a complete reversal of what happened in 2018, when the number of exposed consumer records soared by 126% and breaches declined by 23%, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) End-of-Year Data Breach Report for 2019 Data breaches tracked in 2019 in the United States jumped to 1,473, from 1,257 in the previous year, the report revealed. Meanwhile, 164,683,455 sensitive records were... Read more →

ICYMI: (ISC)2 Security Congress Call for Speakers is Open!

On February 3, (ISC)2 announced that it opened the call for speakers for its 2020 Security Congress in Orlando, FL, running from November 16-18. Speaker applicants can either submit for an individual presentation or panel presentation before the March 22 submission deadline. All submissions require a five-step process, which must be fully completed in order to be considered. Proposals must be non‐sales and non‐marketing oriented and no fees are required to submit. All applications must include a title, a proposal abstract (with a limit of 125 words) and three learning objectives to impart to attendees. As a reminder, (ISC)2 is... Read more →

Ransomware and Your Business

By Diana Contesti, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSMP, CSSLP, SSCP Ransomware is in the news lately with attacks on Norsk Hydro, multiple cities in Florida, Baltimore and Atlanta, not to mention the numerous hospitals that have been hit. These attacks have cost companies like Norsk an estimated $45 million due to lost revenues and the cost to restore and recover their IT department. The cost to the two cities in Florida is estimated to be $1.1 million and the tally continues to grow. Ransomware is short for ransom malware and has been around since the late 1980s, but is now gaining in popularity... Read more →

Register to Learn About Cybersecurity Workforce Study in CIS Webinar

This is one you won’t want to miss. (ISC)² Director of Cybersecurity Advocacy, John McCumber, will walk through the 2019 Cybersecurity Workforce Study results in a webinar hosted by the Center for Internet Security this Wednesday, February 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET. In an era of high-profile data breaches and devastating cyber attacks, cybersecurity impacts every individual and every organization. But (ISC)² research also shows that those in the field are optimistic that those challenges can be overcome if organizations take the right approach to growing the workforce and building strong cybersecurity teams. The presentation, titled “The Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage... Read more →

Open Source & Secure Software Development Are Not Mutually Exclusive

By Dr. Thomas P. Scanlon, CISSP Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University Today’s software developers are as much integrators as they are pure coders. There is an abundance of libraries, plug-ins and other third-party software components readily available to speed development. There is no sense in reinventing something when you can just download it, merge it in and move along. Using free and open source software (FOSS) components can save both time and money, so they make for attractive choices. However, including open source software into development projects often makes the cybersecurity professionals in an organization a little uneasy. But,... Read more →

(ISC)2 Expands Cybersecurity Awareness Efforts in Australia with Strategic Partnership

In yet another sign that (ISC)2 is working to increase its international efforts and alliances, today we’re excited to announce a new strategic partnership with the Australian Information Security Association to work jointly toward a safer and more secure cyber world. As the press release outlines: “. . . the Strategic Partnership Agreement . . . recognises (ISC)2 certifications as the global standard for cybersecurity certifications that AISA members can aspire to and achieve. AISA will run quarterly certification sessions to its membership for (ISC)2 certifications including the CISSP, CCSP and SSCP, among others. AISA will promote to its members... Read more →

Security Predictions for 2020 from the (ISC)² Community of Security Professionals (Part 2)

By Diana-Lynn Contesti, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSMP, CSSLP, SSCP and John Martin, CISSP-ISSAP Continued discussion from Security Predictions for 2020 from the (ISC)² Community of Security Professionals (Part 1) Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Operating Technology (OT) related to the state of digital certificates The issue is not just self-signed digital certificates or expired certificates. Many of these devices have digital certificates, which need to be managed via a Key Management System and maintained. The fallout, of course, is that without proper controls, these devices can and will be compromised. Currently, the onus is on the consumer... Read more →

Security Predictions for 2020 from the (ISC)² Community of Security Professionals (Part 1)

By Diana-Lynn Contesti, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSMP, CSSLP, SSCP and John Martin, CISSP-ISSAP Cyber-attacks will impact businesses on a larger scale in 2020 and will affect those who are unprepared, whether it is attributed to human error or other disasters. In an effort to combat some of the issues faced by corporations, it is time for CEOs to grasp the mettle and officially buy-in with their security practitioners’ advice. We have all seen various vendors make predictions for Information Security for 2020. These predictions include an increase in targeted Ransomware, threats to the 2020 Elections in the U.S. and other countries, and... Read more →

CISSP Once Again Recognized by SC Media

With RSA Conference in San Francisco fast approaching, SC Media has once again announced the finalists for its annual awards program. Winners will be announced at the SC Awards dinner and presentation on February 25 at the Intercontinental San Francisco. We’re proud to say that the CISSP has once again been recognized as one of the industry’s Best Professional Certification Programs for 2020 after receiving a Finalist designation in that category. The CISSP was also the winner at last year’s ceremony. The SC Awards are recognized throughout the cybersecurity industry as the crowning achievement for IT security, and winners are... Read more →

Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional Exam Updates

Last week, IBM’s Security Intelligence blog reported on the highly-discussed cybersecurity skills shortage – and in particular, how some areas are lacking in talent more than others. “Software development is one of the areas most starved of security attention,” wrote Irene Michlin. If you’ve set your sights on specializing in software development cybersecurity, the CSSLP certification is for you. Based on the results of the job task analysis conducted in 2019, the exam will be changing in several ways when it is published later this year. The number of items and the time allowed for the exam will be reduced... Read more →