Business

"The U.S. intelligence community must invest in understanding its own business model to make data-driven decisions for the future," argue authors Katrina Mulligan, Cipher Brief Expert Matt Olsen and Alexandra Schmitt from the Center for American Progress. Katrina Mulligan, Managing Director, Center for American Progress Katrina Mulligan is the managing ...

Leaders: Myth and Reality, was a bestseller, even before it hit the bookstores.  According to Amazon, the book being released today by General Stanley McChrystal (Ret.), former U.S. Navy SEAL Jeff Eggers and former Marine Jason Mangone is already topping the bestseller list for business and organizational learning.  The Cipher ...

Twitter is releasing a trove of known accounts and posts that it says were used to meddle in U.S. elections dating back to 2016.  According to the company, the data includes more than 4,600 accounts and more than 10 million tweets, photos, GIFs and broadcasts linked to Russia and Iran.  ...

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hack raised the threat of Chinese cyber-espionage in a way that the American people had never seen before. American businesses, on the other hand, should have been extremely familiar with it. The Chinese government has a history of engaging in economic espionage – the ...

After years of the U.S. suffering losses valued in the billions of dollars due to economically-motivated cyber espionage from China, there are some signs that China has begun to reduce its intrusions into U.S. private sector firms’ computer networks. What led to this unexpected change in Chinese behavior? Is it ...

Many metaphors have been applied to the Internet—information superhighway, World Wide Web, cyberspace, etc.—each evoking its different aspects. A more comprehensive view is that the Internet – overlapping global networks of people, technology, and ideas – shares key features with a rainforest or a coral reef; a community of living ...

Bring-your-own-device culture is very convenient, but with a growing amount of malware targeting mobile devices, it is also creating new vulnerabilities. The Cipher Brief spoke to Daniel Ford, a forensic analyst at Rook Security, about the growing threat of mobile phone malware as it relates to businesses. His recommendation: limit ...

With the proliferation of many advanced security tools, enterprise and C-Suite managers have recently turned to deploying the most fashionable, powerful, and popular tools on the market, bolstering their defense capabilities and impressing shareholders. The story is typical: A CIO or CISO is lured by clever marketing gimmicks or a ...

Large businesses in the United States are putting substantial resources into protecting their information from cybersecurity threats. As a result, they are tougher targets for malicious attacks, so hackers and cyber criminals are now focusing their unwanted attention on smaller, less secure businesses. Small businesses have money and information of ...

Justin Zeefe is a co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for the Nisos Group.  Zeefe spoke with The Cipher Brief about the evolving cyber-threat and how smaller businesses can best protect themselves. His main advice?  Make cybersecurity a priority and be proactive about protecting your assets. The Cipher Brief: It seems ...

Few businesses today would think of operating without liability, property, or workers’ compensation insurance and yet, according to a recent survey by CSO magazine, only 59 percent of organizations have some form of cybersecurity insurance. Part of the problem is that cybersecurity insurance continues to be a maturing market that ...

Professor Ming Sing of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology discussed with The Cipher Brief Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement and its impact on the former British colony’s relationship with Mainland China. Sing determines the success of Beijing’s economic reforms will play a crucial role in its relationship with Hong ...

The democracy movement in Hong Kong is still alive, but the energy that brought almost one hundred thousand people to the streets last year has fizzled dramatically. At last week’s anniversary of the 79-day protest only about one thousand activists were present, armed with the yellow umbrellas that defined their ...

On September 28, protesters marked the anniversary of the start of last year’s Umbrella Revolution, in which 200,000 Hong Kongers took to the streets to demand genuine democracy for their city. The demonstrations ended after over two months of occupation, with the protesters failing to achieve their ends. Although the ...

Just one year ago, in the midst of the “Umbrella Protest Movement,” it seemed that Hong Kong’s position as the most business-friendly place in Asia might be threatened.  But, for the moment at least, the “Pearl of the Orient” seems still on track. Since China began its opening to the ...

Heroes in war movies rally the troops by pronouncing: failure is not an option. Heroes at the forefront of cybersecurity know better: failure is practically unavoidable.   To protect businesses, the new name of the game is visibility. Monitor your computing environment, recover from attacks quickly, and learn from breaches so ...

The ability of a business to respond with speed and agility after the discovery of a significant cyberattack is critical to its overall recovery and resilience. While the seriousness of cyber threats is becoming better understood, including at the Board of Directors and C-Suite levels, there is still a perception ...

Josh Lefkowitz is the CEO of Flashpoint, a cyber threat intelligence firm that specializes in providing insights from the Deep and Dark Webs. Josh spoke with The Cipher Brief to discuss how the cyber threat environment is changing, and how companies can leverage threat intelligence to improve their overall security. ...

Heroes in war movies rally the troops by pronouncing: failure is not an option. Heroes at the forefront of cybersecurity know better: failure is practically unavoidable.   To protect businesses, the new name of the game is visibility. Monitor your computing environment, recover from attacks quickly, and learn from breaches so ...

The old saying goes that there are only two guarantees in life: death and taxes.  But if you’re a Chief Security Officer, you may as well add fast-paced, emerging security threats to the list. Whether it’s the corporate damage caused by economic espionage, (a topic of conversation that inevitably surrounded ...

The Cipher Brief spoke with Michael Howard, Microsoft’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), to get his thoughts on how the job of CSO has changed over the years. Prior to joining the private sector, Mike spent 22 years at the Central Intelligence Agency. The Cipher Brief: What are the biggest changes ...

The Cipher Brief spoke with Peter Piazza, Vice President for Strategic Operations at ASIS, who discussed changes in the security industry, ASIS’ role in educating its members, and strengthening the partnership between government and the private sector. The Cipher Brief: What are the biggest changes you’ve seen to the security ...

Chip Burrus is the Vice President for Corporate Security for Penske. Previously, he worked as an FBI agent for 25 years and retired as the Bureau’s assistant director. Mr. Burrus sat down with the Cipher Brief to discuss the challenges of working as a Chief Security Officer. The Cipher Brief: ...

President Obama’s visit earlier this month to Alaska focused attention on the Arctic region’s growing geopolitical and geo-economic importance, not to mention its ecological significance during a period of climate change. Although Obama’s visit and the sail-by of Chinese naval ships drew lots of immediate attention, the significance of the ...

As President and CEO of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) I have interacted with some of America’s most innovative and entrepreneurial business leaders. These are individuals with diverse skillsets and experiences who are united in their belief that the private sector can play a meaningful role in ensuring our ...

Violent crime is rising in Brazil and, if past trends hold true, that could be bad for the business community during a time when the Brazilian economy is already suffering. Last Thursday night, Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, saw the deadliest of six massacres this year.  At least ...