Entries by Garin Livingstone

Can Machine Learning Save Us from Us?

March 17, 2020 in , /by

Among the top headlines in Google News’s Technology section today was criminal hackers use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its subset, ML (Machine Learning)1. Opening the article, I found a synopsis of a Tech Republic report, “Cybersecurity: Let’s Get Tactical,” in which the authors give ten ways cybercriminals are attacking with AI2 including

  • phishing attacks, in which, upon gaining credentialed access, automatic scripts can wreak havoc, including draining bank accounts
  • credential stuffing and brute force attacks, in which AI systems try passwords — and password possibilities — on many websites
  • bulletproof hosting services that use automation to hide the tracks of malicious websites, so they can’t be stopped by law-enforcement, or often flagged by network scanning tools

The fact is, it’s an arms race. Both malware and criminal sites would be pretty quickly and easily identified on a network by the nature of their activity. So the criminals try to disguise their malware in benign code and their sites in bulletproof hosting schemes. The way they keep the ruse going is through machine learning adapting to changing circumstances.

Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Becoming a Must for Investors

February 25, 2020 in , /by

In July the World Economic Forum (WEF) delivered a paper1 that argued for putting the muscle of investment into shifting the cybersecurity landscape. WEF/Marsh & McLennan reports2 that among weapons of mass destruction and natural disasters, cyberattacks are seventh in likelihood and eighth in impact as the greatest threats to global prosperity.

So Long, Old Friend

February 18, 2020 in , /by

January 14, 2020. The day Win7 died. Really it’s the day Microsoft stopped issuing free security updates and support for the nearly 11-year-old OS. No more patches. No more tech support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008/2008 R2.

And gathered among us are some who are denying the inevitable: migrating to Windows 10. A world without patches is no place to secure your business’s data. Windows desktop OS vulnerabilities have almost doubled the past six years. 1 And one-in-three breaches 2 caused globally is due to an unpatched vulnerability. A breach could mean curtains for your business: the average cost of a data breach in 2018 was $3.86 million (each lost or stolen record averaged out to $148). Consider the risks in remaining without security updates.

Talking with Office 365 and G-Suite Back-Up Expert, Alex Courson

January 21, 2020 in , /by

Bryley backs-up your office suite data in the cloud for Office 365, Google’s G-Suite and SalesForce in partnership with Kaseya Powered Services. To better understand what happens in the cloud I spoke with Alex Courson, an authority on Kaseya’s Office 365, G-Suite and SalesForce back-up products.

Don’t Microsoft and Google Back-Up Everything Already?

Q: Do cloud-based office suites assume liability for your data? Is that something that has changed, or do you foresee changing over the years?

Bryley: Your Enterprise-Grade Networking System

January 14, 2020 in /by

“We are all cyborgs,” says Amber Case1, as we allow technology to expand our mental capacities. How much more is this true of our businesses? Having continuous access to information allows a business to thrive. Break that access and employee’s productivity is broken, too. Unbroken access to data is what Bryley delivers to its clients.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

December 17, 2019 in /by

I’m feeling pretty good about making the switch away from shoveling and snow-blowing the driveway at my house to hiring a plowing service. Today the truck arrived early and in minutes cleared the snow, so that a little while ago I was able to just back out onto my road.

It’s a nice place to live, but the road is narrow and winds around a stream at a good grade. The town has put up steel guard rails at spots, and cars make use of them. Two Winters back…

Bryley’s Backup Guy

December 1, 2019 in /by

Frank Walek runs all the backups for every Bryley client. Changes at Bryley, including a retirement, created a new opportunity for Frank: the timing coincided with Bryley’s broader deployment of new backup technology. Frank said, “that was exciting. I got to take on and really oversee the backup project, including the transition from older technology …” [4 min. read]

Retired Bryley employees celebrate 65th anniversary

June 18, 2019 in , /by

On June 12, 1954, James K. Livingstone married Shirley M. Byerly*; both former employees of Bryley Systems, with Jim’s tenure extending from 1988 through his retirement in 2013. (Shirley’s was employed at Bryley Systems in the late 1980s.)

The wedding ceremony was conducted at a local church, after which the group congregated at 6pm at Shirley’s parent’s home in Pansy, PA. (Pansy is 17 miles north of Punxsutawney, PA; it is farm and (was) coal country where the local population remains sparse, but slightly larger than when Shirley went to the area’s one-room schoolhouse where grades K through 12 sat together; upon entering school, Shirley was immediately promoted from first grade to second grade due to her being the only first grader in the room.)

GDPR and You

March 19, 2019 in , , /by

Surprised that in the last month, between two small marketing list brokers, more than a billion personal records were found to have been leaked on the internet?1

That data then gets leaked and sold to potentially hold users’ computers or reputation for ransom. Or as in a 2018 hack, of DNA tester, MyHeritage, there is the ability to sell the data to the insurance and mortgage industries, revealing DNA disease susceptibilities, thereby making the user ineligible for coverage or a loan.2

GDPR to the Rescue!