As 2018 draws to a close, it’s been a fascinating year in the IT security community. From record-breaking data breaches, new regulations and the Meltdown and Spectre debacle, we can certainly say it’s been eventful. To round the year off, we thought it would be interesting to ask some of our regular contributors (and followers on Twitter) what their standout moments were.

When evaluating enterprise security tools for their effectiveness, it can be challenging to find the right model for best calculating your Return on Security Investment (ROSI). Just a few years ago, the potential cost attributed to a security breach was likely to be primarily related in the assessed financial cost into a business’ reputation, with only a relatively small number of cases ever reaching significant legal or sustained loss of service-related costs.

As a business owner, you’re no stranger to the myriad moving parts that keep the day-to-day business going. In all the bustle, it can be easy to overlook important tasks such as creating a privacy policy because you’re unsure where to start or which elements to include.

Recently, I had the privilege to be part of a four-person discussion panel at a security event in London where the topic was about incident response. The panel was hosted by another security professional, and over 50 professionals from the industry were present in the audience.

Cybersecurity is a manpower constrained market – therefore, the opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) automation are vast. Frequently, AI is used to make certain defensive aspects of cyber security more wide-reaching and effective. Combating spam and detecting malware are prime examples.

I’m a red teamer. I do work similar to pentesting and use many of the same tools. This year, I’ve added several tools to my toolbox. I’ll introduce them to you below and hope you find them valuable, as well.

On Thursday 6th December, 2018, I realized how dependent I was on my mobile phone having an internet connection. That particular day, I was out and about away from Wi-Fi networks. The first time I noticed I had no connectivity was when I used my phone to check if my train was on time. As I got close to London, I realized I was not the only person who did not have data services on their devices, as I overheard a few people commenting on no connectivity.

Penetration testing is becoming increasingly popular as organizations are beginning to embrace the need for stronger cybersecurity. But there are still too many businesses that don’t fully understand the benefits of regular security testing. Pen testing is vital for any kind of organization with an IT system or website. A recent survey of penetration testers revealed that 88 percent of those questioned said they could infiltrate organizations and steal data within 12 hours.

Whoever said “crime doesn’t pay” hasn’t been following the growth of cybercrime across the globe. A thriving underground economy has evolved over the past decade to become a massive industry. Estimates in the Web of Profit research paper show cybercriminal revenues worldwide of at least $1.5 trillion – equal to the GDP of Russia. If cybercrime was a country, it would have the 13th highest GDP in the world…

Here at The State of Security, we cover everything from breaking stories about new cyberthreats to step-by-step guides on passing your next compliance audit. But today, we’d like to offer a straight-forward roundup of the Tripwire product suite. Get to know the basics of Tripwire’s core solutions for FIM, SCM, VM and more. Without further ado…