The concept of enterprise-wide ad blocking always provokes a powerful response. Whenever I suggest, even casually, that the next step organizations should take to improve cybersecurity posture is implementing enterprise-wide ad blocking, I can hear the collective screams of sysadmins and help desk personnel everywhere — Websites could have compatibility issues! How will we manage it? Users won’t understand! It could be a help desk nightmare! And you know what? They are absolutely right.

In a recent episode, 60 Minutes brought national attention to the growing threat of ransomware attacks, considered by many to be the greatest current threat to the United States and global economies. More than just informative, the narrative was a chilling glimpse into the depths of the cyber underworld. Forget the stereotype of a hacker, surrounded by energy drinks and empty pizza boxes, tinkering alone in the basement.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released version 2.0 of the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) on February 26, 2024. The original version was released in 2014, one year after Executive Order 13636 was signed on February 12, 2013. This executive order was written to improve critical infrastructure cybersecurity, streamline the sharing of threat information, and to drive action towards developing a cybersecurity framework.

Yep, it’s that time of year again. The moment when that dreaded questionnaire from your Cyber Insurer lands on your desk like a ton of digital bricks. Suddenly, panic mode kicks in, and you’re transported back to those school days, facing an exam that seemed more daunting than Mount Everest. Remember how you used to play the skipping game with exam questions, hoping for a miracle to help you conjure up some brilliant answers? Yeah, it’s like déjà vu all over again.