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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

On December 23, 2015 parts of Ukraine were without power and the blackout was due to black hat hackers using the sophisticated BlackEnergy trojan horse malware. (click here for full story) The BlackEnergy trojan was able to disable parts of Ukraine’s power grid leaving organizations and neighborhoods in the dark…are you, your organization and your local power grid utility paying attention? The BlackEnergy trojan also delivered a version of KillDisk that overwrites data and documents with random data and can make the Operating System unbootable…are you paying attention? And AGAIN…the way the black hat hackers are getting BlackEnergy into the power grid organization is usingRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

I have had the privilege to speak about student safety at numerous Education conferences in the USA, Canada, South Korea and Japan over the past 5 years, and no matter where I am speaking, there is one question that produces the same audience response. The question and my response would go something like this… While sharing evidence-based data on student safety and reviewing lessons learned from tragic incidents like Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck and other mass shootings and violence, I use post-event reports to reveal common grievances and concerning behaviors displayed by at-risk individuals BEFORE they executed their acts of evil. Most ofRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

San Bernardino, Paris and a growing number of terror and violent acts prove over and over again why a new and better PREVENTION strategy is needed…and it is needed right now! Would you rather PREVENT violence and terror acts or REACT to them?? Using lessons learned from San Bernardino, Paris and hundreds of other attacks and tragedies, the new PREVENTION strategy requires a change in focus and it requires the right tools. Let’s start with focus – terrorism, mass shootings and others acts of evil are committed by evil people, so the new PREVENTION strategy needs to focus on identifying people who may be planningRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

There are three things every school and every college (and other organizations open to general public) needs to pro-actively PREVENT numerous types of incidents, fears and concerns including: • Lying awake at night fearing the worst • Being overwhelmed by negative media scrutiny and social media escalations • Increasing violence, diversity, inclusion, sexual assaults, bullying and other incidents • Uncomfortable meetings with disgruntled students and parents…and attorneys • Compliance and soaring liabilities due to the lack of legal/audit-ready documentation • Constantly feeling like you are in reaction mode…over and over again • Student athlete related headlines, hazing, sexting and other related incidents • Students ruiningRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Since the tragedy at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, OR most every news anchor, parent, student, education leader and government leader has been asking the same question…is there a SOLUTION to prevent future tragedies like what happened at Umpqua Community College? The answer is YES, tragedies can be prevented and are being prevented. A real proven SOLUTION does exist and it is proven in the real world by real organizations. The SOLUTION for PREVENTION involves a real-time community-wide effort of continuously collecting, assessing and connecting the dots. The SOLUTION for prevention requires proven tools like those found in the “Community-based Threat Assessment, Incident Management andRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Data is powerful and a valuable asset for organizations. Data can make organizations leaders in their industry. Data is the best way, and arguably the only way, to prevent unwanted, embarrassing and expensive incidents, tragedies and liabilities. Simply put…you cannot prevent things you don’t know about it. Based on overwhelming data from lessons learned, evidence and extensive research; threat assessment teams (TAT) need a lot more data, more specifically community-based threat assessment teams need more community-based data, to proactively and effectively PREVENT incidents, lawsuits, tragedies and liabilities. DATA on PREVENTING Everyone agrees preventing an incident or tragedy is far better than reacting to an incidentRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

In light of the horrible tragedy in Virginia where a television reporter and cameraman from WDBJ-TV were shot and killed by a former colleague during a live report on tourism, it is time to take a deeper look at the data and what can be done to prevent workplace violence related incidents and tragedies. Of course everyone agrees PREVENTING is BETTER than REACTING…so if everyone prefers PREVENTING, why are organizations seemingly in continuous REACTION MODE? Connecting the dots… My “return on prevention” experiences go all the way back to 6th grade and my professional experiences include 30+ years doing assessments (threat, risk, cyber security, physicalRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

In case you needed more reasons to continuously improve your organization’s information security awareness, does $1 BILLION lost to hackers since October 2013 get your attention? According to the FBI, corporate account takeover and business email fraud have resulted in $1 billion dollars lost since October 2013…and some of these losses have caused organizations to go out of business. http://www.wsj.com/articles/hackers-trick-email-systems-into-wiring-them-large-sums-1438209816 Spear phishing and phishing attacks trick people into clicking on a website link or opening an attached file which plants malware inside their network. These attacks are targeting people in your organization and/or people working at your third party service providers. Once the hackers haveRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

Cyber Attacks are on the rise and they are creating big problems and big expenses for organizations of all sizes and across most sectors. Organizations being hacked include some of the most recognized in their respective sector including the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the White House, Anthem, UCLA Health, JP Morgan, Target, Staples and a long list of others. Question: Would you rather PREVENT cyber attackers from penetrating your organization or would you rather REACT to cyber attackers inside your organization? Answer: PREVENT (by the way…everyone agrees preventing is better than reacting) Yet, with all of the lessons learned from hundreds of cyberattacks…mostRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

What you don’t know about your Student Records System and FERPA…could cost you dearly! (and many others too!) CREATING MORE LIABILITIES is not exactly a “top priority” for most Administrators and Board members, but creating more liabilities is exactly what their Student Records System and their lack of awareness of FERPA could be doing. As I speak at K-12 and Higher Education conferences all across the nation, it is shocking how many Administrators, faculty and staff (TATs, BITs, counselors, SROs, nurses, coaches, etc.) are unaware of the section of FERPA that describes “law enforcement unit records and a law enforcement unit”. To understand how thisRead More →