Decoding Technology

Practical perspective for businesses

Passwords get a new lease on life!

01 August 2019 by mikevarian Security

At NorthSky Technology, we’ve long been hesitant to recommend strict password expiration policies to clients. Until relatively recently our hands have been tied on this issue, as most security Read more

Simple Tips for Improving Email Security

04 March 2019 by mikevarian Security

The risk of email compromise is a constant, attackers more efficient than ever at finding ways to break in and gain access to your account. The two most common threats are: A) Attackers find Read more

Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities: What they mean for you

16 January 2018 by mikevarian Security

You may have seen a recent news headline about critical vulnerabilities being found in just about every modern CPU (computer processor) manufactured in the last decade. These fall into two Read more

Threat Alert: What the KRACK WPA2 vulnerabilities mean for most businesses

16 October 2017 by mikevarian Security

This morning, a new set of vulnerabilities in the WPA2 protocol were publicly disclosed after an embargo period which gave vendors an opportunity to work on security patches to address the problem. Read more

Threat Alert! Optionbleed Vulnerability for Apache web servers

25 September 2017 by mikevarian Security

What is it? This morning, a new vulnerability in the Apache Web Server called Optionbleed was publicly disclosed. This vulnerability allows for a remote attacker to potentially take control of an Read more

Expert tips for securing yourself online!

19 September 2017 by mikevarian Security

Check out our expert tips for securing yourself online - please spread to family and friends who might find it useful! Read more

2 Factor Authentication: What is it and how to use it

15 September 2017 by mikevarian Security

Traditionally, access to computers, websites, and systems have been dependent on two things: a username and a password. The username identifies who you are, while the password authenticates that you Read more

Why it is time to stop using Social Security Numbers for customer authentication!

12 September 2017 by mikevarian Security

Social security numbers, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers were never designed to be used as universal passwords to authenticate consumer identities. Despite this, they’ve been widely Read more

Following the Equifax data breach, what can you do to protect yourself?

08 September 2017 by mikevarian Security

You likely saw the news yesterday about the Equifax data breach compromising the personal information of as many as 143 million Americans. (If not, check out the details here: Giant Equifax data Read more

Have you been “pwned”?

26 July 2017 by mikevarian Security

While only a few make the news, organizations across the world are being breached every day with over 7 billion credentials and identities leaked in the last decade. In 2012 and 2014, breaches of Read more