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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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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 →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

As mentioned in Part 5 of this blog series, there are 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention, Awareness is step 1, Collecting the Dots is step 2, Assessing the Dots is step 3 and Connecting the Dots is step 4. Step 5 is Intervention & Monitoring and Step 6 is Preventing & Monitoring. What does Intervention and Prevention and Monitoring involve? Collaboration in creating an intervention plan, 100% cooperation across organizations to implement the intervention plan, continuously monitoring behaviors to see if intervention plan is working, continuously monitoring situation to determine if risk levels / individuals are escalating or de-escalating based on latest information, immediateRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

As mentioned in Part 4 of this blog series, there are 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention, Awareness is step 1, Collecting the Dots is step 2 and Assessing the Dots is step 3. Step 4 is Connecting the Dots. What does Connecting the Dots involve? Connecting the Dots involves connecting “team members” (TAT, BIT, etc.) with third-party resources (mental health, law enforcement, legal, etc.), connecting current incident reports with previous incident reports, connecting current behaviors with history of behaviors, connecting intervention efforts with previous intervention outcomes, connecting with family members, friends, co-workers, students and others to gain as much information as possible, and securelyRead More →

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As mentioned in Part 3 of this blog series, Awareness is the first step in the 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention and Collecting the Dots is the second step. Step 3 is Assessing the Dots. What does Assessing the Dots involve? Assessing the Dots involves several important steps, roles, responsibilities and processes that should be assigned to and performed by individuals on an organization’s Threat Assessment Team. The ANSI Workplace Violence Prevention & Intervention Standard defines Threat Assessment as the investigative and analytical process followed by a professional qualified by education, training, or experience to determine the nature and level of risk of violenceRead More →

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In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work. More than 70 percent of these assaults were in healthcare and social service settings. Health care and social service workers are almost four times as likely to be injured as a result of violence than the average private sector worker. To reduce the risk, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration an update in April 2015 to its Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers. The publication includes industry best practices and highlights the most effective ways to reduce the risk of violence inRead More →

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2015 Nebraska Schools of Banking – Banking Fundamentals presentation, “Security in a Technological Age“ by Awareity’s President and CEO Rick Shaw. Presentation: Examines examples of information security/privacy risks Reviews technological, procedural and people related security issues faced by financial institutions Explores the latest technologies and threats with regard to information security and privacy Understands the information security requirements as defined by numerous regulations and national standards To review presentation, click here. For questions, contact info@awareity.com.Read More →

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The 2015 DBIR expands its investigation into nine common threat patterns and sizes up the effects of all types of data breaches, from small data disclosures to events that hit the headlines. Though the number of breaches per threat actor changes rather dramatically each year, the overall proportion attributed to external, internal, and partner actors stays roughly the same. In the 2013 DBIR, phishing was associated with over 95% of incidents, and for two years running, more than two-thirds of incidents have featured phishing. The user interaction is not about eliciting information, but for attackers to establish persistence on user devices, set up camp, andRead More →

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The annual Cyber Security Intelligence Index report offers a high-level overview of the major threats trending across businesses worldwide over the past year. Report reveals that over 95 percent of all incidents investigated recognize “human error” as a contributing factor. The most commonly recorded form of human errors include system misconfiguration, poor patch management, use of default user names and passwords or easy-to-guess passwords, lost laptops or mobile devices, and disclosure of regulated information via use of an incorrect email address. The most prevalent contributing human error? “Double clicking” on an infected attachment or unsafe URL. For full report click here.Read More →

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From the American Nurses Association – an example bill for workplace violence prevention. For full example bill, please click here. To see current state requirements, click here. Nearly 60% of all nonfatal assaults and violent acts occurred in the workplace occurred in the health care and social assistance industry. The incidence of violence is likely far greater than that which is reported resulting from inadequate reporting mechanisms and victim fear of isolation, embarrassment and reprisal. Violence claims a significant toll on all. In addition to the physical, emotional and mental affects on the victim, other negative effects include: financial loss resulting from insurance claims, lostRead More →