Posts

Popular Linux Distros on AWS

You can run a wide variety of operating systems on AWS. However, some have more support and documentation than others. Additionally, there are a small handful of flavors of Linux that can generally cover a wide-variety of use cases. Let’s look at those popular versions that should be fairly easy to get started with. CentOS CentOS is effectively Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) without Red Hat support. If you’re looking for a low-cost way to get familiar with Red Hat, this makes CentOS a good choice. Additionally, if you’re not looking for commercial support from RedHat, CentOS may be a viable option for production use too. Debian Debian is a popular operating system; it has served as the launchpad for many other flavors of Linux. For example, Ubuntu, Kali, and Linux Mint are based on Debian. This operating system has a reputation for stability and user control. Debian also values the concept of free (as in freedom) software. The result is a stable, customizable operating system, but not...

Mitigation Steps of an Incident Response Plan

Power Off: Make sure you segment and depower the machine in question. Don’t forget to unplug the ethernet cord. It’s important to note that some information security professionals would argue that powering off the machine is the opposite of what you should do. The truth is that it really depends on who is responding to the threat. A trained infosec professional should not power off the machine, as they have an actual grounding in threat intelligence and may be able to identify the potential incident via the short-term memory on the machine. But your front-line workers shouldn’t have to shoulder that burden of criticality. The best bet is to get them to take action to mitigate the spread and prevent further damage. Don’t Delete: This is the hardest rule to follow because it goes against your instinct. If you delete the file that you believe is malicious, you will delete the trail that allows a forensic investigator to determine the root cause of the incident. This could have massive ram...

recent years targeting enterprises

While ransomware originally targeted individuals, in recent years targeting enterprises in areas like financial services or health care emerged as a more lucrative hustle. Such businesses store sensitive data, like personal or financial information, that they absolutely need to do business. Because of that, companies are more likely to pay up – and pay big – to get their records back. Much more so than a home user with a drive full of family photos who happened to click on the wrong link. Unfortunately, during the pandemic we’re seeing the worst of both worlds. With an unprecedented number of people suddenly computing from home, stressed, and vulnerable to exploitation, the private end user is once again a target – and a convenient gateway to an employer. Amid the ongoing economic chaos and uncertainty, businesses that might normally spend time with cybersecurity consultants figuring out how to decrypt, contain or circumvent malware are already overwhelmed. The last thing any business ...

Cloud Migration Mistakes

Although moving to the Cloud sounds like the most urgent need of the hour in today’s dynamic and agile computing world, migrating existing services and applications to the Cloud is not child’s play. Before you proceed to cloud deployment, you must first analyze the need, the appropriate cloud migration technique, and then strategize the entire migration process to avoid any glitches which could affect your business adversely. The most common mistakes businesses make while migrating to the Cloud include: Having No Strategy: Migrating to the Cloud is a complex process and requires detailed analysis and effective strategy for successful deployment. Before any business proceeds to cloud migrations, all avenues to re-hosting, refactoring, or re-engineering must be explored to formulate the most effective strategy for flawless cloud deployment. Choosing the Cloud: Choosing the Cloud is one of the most common challenges. While enormous cloud platforms promise alluring services at reasonable c...

CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner

If you’re interested in assessing and managing risk, securing networks, preventing cyber attacks, and even getting inside the mind of a hacker to make sure that a company’s data is safe as possible, CompTIA Advanced Security Practitioner (CASP) could be right for you. CASP is often compared to CISSP, but that’s like comparing apples to oranges. If you’re looking for a career in IT management, CISSP might be the better choice. If not, CASP can level up your career at a fraction of the cost. That’s right, cyber security specialists are so in demand that the number of open positions has outstripped the number of qualified applicants by as much as 2 to 1 in some industries. So what’s holding applicants back? About one-third of information security jobs require a cyber security certification compared to 23 percent of all IT jobs. In the U.S. alone, some 50,000 vacant jobs require the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification. But the number of certificate hol...

Learn About CompTIA Rewards

There are many types of reward programs out there. Buy 10 pizzas and get your 11th for free comes to mind. Or, redeem credit card points for airline tickets, cash back or gift cards. But those programs all require you to purchase something first. CompTIA Rewards just asks you to spread the word. Jain said she made the decision to sign up for a bunch of reasons. “This seemed like a great way to be enterprising with a trusted source to earn passive income,” she said. “The real-time revenue and statistics tracker is very helpful, and there’s an amazing selection of gift cards and a quick payout.” The easy one-step sign-up is key as well. All you have to do is enroll with a valid email address and start sharing your unique referral link on social media or via email. Then, for every qualified purchase (which is defined as $49 or more in a single transaction) via your referral link, you will earn a gift card(s) for your efforts. More info: a+ certification salary

Prepare for the CompTIA A+ certification

CompTIA A+ certification validates basic yet necessary IT skills. That’s why it is crucial for organizations to provide training to their IT professionals for this certification—they can outpace their competitors. To get CompTIA A+ certification, your IT professionals need to pass two exams. Both of these exams are focused on different aspects of an IT job role: CompTIA A+ 220-1001 It covers the knowledge of the latest PC hardware, networking, troubleshooting, and emerging technologies. It also emphasizes system memory and storage devices, focusing on computer gaming systems and knowledge of 3D printing. CompTIA A+ 220-1002 This certification tests skills to update operating systems, such as Windows 7, 8 and 10. It also covers the knowledge needed to update limitations for older systems and it features topics such as security to test the applicant’s knowledge on cyber attacks. From January 19, 2019, two new topics have been introduced in the 220-1002 exam. The first topic is operationa...