Data security – Akku Blog

In Data security

Password Spray Attacks: What Are They & How To Avoid Them?

January 21, 2020 5 Mins Read

Ever wondered why organizations emphasize the importance of setting a complicated password as opposed to something convenient like ‘password123’? In today’s world, hackers are getting creative with their cybersecurity attacks. One type of attack that has gained a lot of traction in the past year is ‘password spraying’ – a type of brute force attack in the cybersecurity realm that goes beyond the traditional forms of hacking into an account.

Picture this – in the past, hackers would attempt to gain unauthorized access to a single account by constantly guessing the password in a short period of time. But with organizations bringing measures such as locking an account when three or more attempts have been made, the user gets notified about any attempted security breach.

In Data security

Cybersecurity Trends 2020: What’s in Store

January 6, 2020 4 Mins Read

The year 2019 has been a significant one in the technology world, with several high profile cases grabbing headlines. In fact, according to a recent article by DataQuest India, there were at least four areas of interest which were highlighted this year – Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) threats, showstopper vulnerabilities like in the case of URGENT/11, speculative execution vulnerabilities such as Meltdown and Spectre, and finally the many ransomware attacks.

As we move on to a whole new decade, it’s important to take stock of what the past decade has taught us and what the future has in store. In the cybersecurity world, experts bear past experiences in mind and routinely predict a number of innovative techniques that could be used to infiltrate security systems. Each year, different methods and new approaches are introduced or discussed, touching upon all those concerns about data protection and the challenges ahead.

In Data security

Understanding Offensive Security

December 31, 2019 4 Mins Read

Approximately two billion records were stolen between July and October 2019. That’s just in one quarter of a year! This is several times more than what was stolen last year – half a billion records. Even as organizations continue to invent new technology and pump in more and more funds (an estimated $124 billion in 2019) to secure data, the number of breaches also continues to rise – at an alarming rate!

It’s becoming evident that cybersecurity software solutions alone are not enough anymore. There is an urgent need to train employees and bring in experts who can close the loopholes left by software solutions. Therein arises the concept of offensive security.

In Data security

Why an IAM solution is a Crucial Investment for Financial Services Organizations

November 25, 2019 3 Mins Read

Today, migrating to the cloud is a crucial stage in a financial enterprise’s growth and development. It is, quite simply, the most efficient way of running operations. With this in mind, financial services organizations are investing significant resources in cloud-based technologies, including infrastructure, platform, and software as a service.

In Data security

Begin Here to Build a Trusted Business

November 8, 2019 2 Mins Read

According to the PwC 21st Annual Global Survey, reliability, congruence, consistency, and transparency are the four pillars for building trust among customers and other stakeholders. The same survey also found that 65% of CEOs are concerned about declining trust in business. If you have the same concern, here are some useful suggestions!

In Data security

Security or Functionality? Security Risks with Digital Transformation

October 16, 2019 2 Mins Read

Digital transformation has been adopted by most companies from around the world, resulting in a more connected and innovative business environment. Today, digital transformation essentially involves an organization’s adoption of IoT, cloud computing, machine learning, and AI.

In Data security

How Technology Can Simplify IT Security

October 9, 2019 5 Mins Read

Just last year, the popular Q&A site Quora suffered a data breach, as reported by Techworld in their article on UK’s most infamous data breaches. This just goes to show that even the best of businesses are finding it a challenge to secure their data and vital business information in this age of digital advancements.

IT security is, no doubt, an overwhelming, daunting, and expensive task. With cybercriminals getting more advanced and sophisticated, organizations are struggling to find security solutions that will effectively counter them.

In Data security

Data Protection & Data Privacy – A difference that matters

July 5, 2019 3 Mins Read

Data protection and data privacy are so closely linked that people (and sometimes even organizations) tend to think of them as synonyms. However, understanding the difference between the two is crucial to ensuring that both protection and privacy are maintained.

In Data security

The Key to Data Security: WebAuthn

May 28, 2019 3 Mins Read

What is WebAuthn?

WebAuthn (Web Authentication API) is a global standard specification for secure authentication on the Web, formulated in 2018 by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

This browser-based API allows user authentication on web applications through the creation of strong “credentials” and user-agent-mediated access to authenticators. This could be either in the form of hardware tokens (like U2F security keys) or in-built modules (biometric readers like Google Hello, Apple Touch ID) in the platform. Web Authn has garnered the support of all leading browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and is compatible with all leading platforms.

In Data security

What is Zero Trust Security?

April 19, 2019 2 Mins Read

As organizations increasingly place their data and applications across multiple locations on the cloud, zero trust security is rapidly gaining ground as the network security model of choice among enterprises.

Zero Trust Security is a security model in which a user, irrespective of whether he/she is within or outside the network perimeter, requires an additional verification to get access into a network. There is no particular technology or software product associated with this security model. It simply requires an additional security layer to verify users. This could be anything from biometric verification like thumb-print scanning, or a digital signature verification. Of the two, biometric verification is preferable as it can neither be recreated nor hacked.