DLP (Data Loss/Leakage Prevention) should be one chink of your cyber security armour

Details

Category: Cyber Security (Personal)

Published: 12 April 2023

Being that my website is called Data Security Expert and my current job is with a data security vendor… an article on the topic is definitely needed.

Anti-malware, EDR, XDR, MDR, firewalls and more are constant product words we hear; however, they do not generally focus on data protection. To many data protection is GDPR and getting a solicitor to draft a privacy policy no one ever reads and no it does not “physically” protect data. Guess what, if you are hacked or if you have insider threats, a piece of paper (policy) does not do anything to protect data.

How can data can be exfiltrated?

• CD/DVD: less likely now since most endpoints do not have an optical drive. External USB writers maybe a concern still though
• SD card: some laptops & desktops have a slot or USB adapters can be used
• USB drives or external hard drives: super common and easy to smuggle in
• Email: mostly Outlook app though webmail as below is another method
• Websites: all sorts. Chat apps, file sharing sites, webmail, personal websites etc.
• Smartphones: most people do not know that smartphones via USB are classed as MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
• Bluetooth: to phones, tablets, laptops and more
• Local apps: great, you have blocked OneDrive web but what about the app installed?
• And more sneaky ways

Read more …

Giving a baby tortoise a free-range home in Marrakech thanks to SPANA charity

Details

Category: Blog

Published: 10 January 2023

On the 6th of January whilst in Marrakech, Morocco I got an odd message from my wife; “I saw a tortoise on the way to the hotel” along with a photo. I was rather confused and replied quickly for more information. We were staying in a riad (old Arabesque house) within the medina on a small non-car accessible side street. It turns out my wife, a big animal lover who spends most of the day watching cat/dog videos on Facebook, spotted a baby tortoise on the street which had clearly escaped or been abandoned.

In traditional shopping areas, they sell baby tortoises openly. My wife asked around and no one claimed it, so she took it to the hotel room! I was a little shocked and luckily, she did not tell the reception. It was given water and, on the way, back to the hotel I bought it a lettuce which was 4-5x bigger than it! Most of the time it was not moving – sleeping which I believe is normal.

There was only one thought in my head - visit SPANA, an English charity with eight branches in Morocco, based 5kms+ away. Marrakech being a city, does not have suitable places to leave it out and outside of Marrakech is rather arid. Giving it to the men selling them is not an ethical idea. The day before (5th) we visited the excellent Jarjeer Mule & Donkey Refuge outside of Marrakech which focuses on mules, donkeys & horses.

Read more …

Should it take a newspaper article to get assistance from the (despicable, disorganised, slow and business minded) Home Office?

Details

Category: Private Thoughts

Published: 21 September 2022

This is a very rare speak my mind from me. Normally I don’t talk about locations or relations however I already “outed” myself in May to get help from the Home Office and then FCDO due to the first govt. dept. mentioned causing us a problem in Turkey.

If I had a pound for everyone who said to me as a British citizen, UK embassies will help you or since your wife married a British citizen she will automatically and instantly get a British passport, I would have a small fortune. Sadly, this is totally not true and perhaps it was true a decade plus back.

Previously I did not really care about immigration or govt services. Why? It did not affect me till the wife came along who has a non-Western weak passport which makes travel tough even in Eastern Europe.

This article is in follow up from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/10/couple-belarus-prison-surrogate-child-uk-visa-delays which covered our plight till Tuesday 10th May.

Read more …