Welcome to my blog. My name is Thom Heemstra. My blogs will be of a technical nature, some may have a more philosophical or ethical ground.
I’m very interested in Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain technology, Big Data (Analysis/Processing).
Very early in life I started my own company, which was later named XSbyte, an internet service company (B2B).
Safely Using Collaboration Tools
In this digital era, working within larger groups has become easier, efficient and more productive. It is far too common for employees to use collaboration tools to encourage the communication between group and team members. These tools have allowed people to work together online to achieve a goal but at the same time, to get the work done, employees create an unintentional risk to data security.
Using collaboration tools safely has become quite an important agenda item because online data transfer is much susceptible to data leakage and unpleasant attacks. In order to use collaboration tools with great safety, first, it’s necessary to understand what collaboration tools are and how do they work? [Read more…]
How To Respond To A Security Issue
Incidents like data leakage and security breach seem to occur quite frequently in this age of digitalism. According to a recent study conducted by British government, well-establish banks and large organizations are not the only targets of security breach. (Magee, 2018) Almost all businesses, from small to large are prone to security threats. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to respond to all such security issues. Let’s have a look at top most recommended solutions for this digital problem: [Read more…]
The Importance of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
With relentless increase in digital crime and online frauds, proper safeguarding measurements have become more important than ever. Studies have shown (Solange, 2014) that big companies and celebrities have been a victim of hacking in the recent past, so what can stop the digital criminals to not target you?
Multi-factor Authentication Method Can Help!
One verified way to ensure your account and data safety is the multi-factor authentication method. Usually, passwords are used to protect the confidential data but relying on them solely is not a wise option. Multi-factor authentication (at least 2FA) method also known as multiple-factor verification is basically a mechanized double check process to verify the identity of the logger. With this method, accounts remain safe and well-protected even if the passwords have been figured out. [Read more…]
Practical Tips for Password Security
In this digital age, passwords are just like valued currency and should be set with great care to prevent an unauthorized access to confidential data. This new world is digitally connected and allows an easy transfer of data from one network to another. Where this advancement has made our lives quicker and easier, it has also increased the risk of data leakage.
To protect the sensitive information contained by online accounts, passwords are set. But the problem is that hackers are efficient enough to crack the passwords and obtain desired information. To prevent this activity, the only solution is to strengthen the password security so nobody will be able to break the lock. [Read more…]
Common Misconceptions about Encryption
Data encryption has proven to be an effective source of protecting sensitive data from being stolen or manipulated by unauthorized entities. According to latest report released by WinMagic Data Security (n.d.), there are certain myths and misconceptions that are found in peoples’ minds. (McNickle, 2012) Let’s debunk them! [Read more…]
Information Security: 6 things to keep in mind when writing data protection policies
A comprehensive definition of Information Security is: ‘Information security is a set of strategies for managing the processes, tools and policies necessary to prevent, detect, document and counter threats to digital and non-digital information’. (Rouse, 2016)
One needs to establish a set of business processes that ensures the safety of the information assets. It does not matter how information is being formatted, whether it is in transition phase or is stored at a single place. The responsibility includes every kind of information that is related to you or your company and its relations. Information Security or Infosec programs are based on CIA triad objectives: maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of IT systems and business data. (Rouse, 2016) [Read more…]
GDPR and Practical Things to Look Out For
GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is the primary law regulating the companies on how to protect the personal data of European citizens. The European Parliament and Council passed it back in April 2016 and it will be replacing Data Protection Directive 95/46/ec in spring 2018. It is mandatory for the companies that are already in compliance with the Directive to comply with the new privacy law by May 2018 to avoid stiff penalties and fines in case they fail to do so. (Lord, 2018) [Read more…]
Finally! Office 365 – OneDrive Sync can now sync # and %
It took a while, but OneDrive Sync can now sync files that contain # and %. Microsoft has decided not to roll this out to all tenants yet, but administrators can now enable this for their Sharepoint sites and OneDrive for Business users. [Read more…]
Machine Learning & Artificial Perception: Antidotes to Online Threats
Technology has changed the way we perceive things and work. It has made things possible which were inconceivable a century ago. Tedious tasks that seemed tiresome and no one wanted to be the one doing it, are now piece of cake. Huge amount of data now can be processed, stored and analyzed through the use of latest innovations. But like any new invention and innovation, the facilities do come with their own sets of problems. (Dickson, 2016) [Read more…]
DDoS Attacks: What Are Future Trends?
DDoS – Distributed Denial of Services are kinds of DOS attacks that are carried out by multiple compromised systems, infected with Trojan virus mostly, on a single system. DDoS attacks are double-edged knives as they are also adversely affecting the systems hackers are using to attack the victim system. (Beal) In DDoS, the traffic of malicious attack comes from various sources, sometimes from hundreds and thousands of origins. It is, therefore, impossible to handle such attack by just blocking a single IP address. (Beal) This makes it all the more dangerous and damaging to your online presence as an individual and as a company. [Read more…]
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