Ransomware v2.0 Recovery – Now, encrypted or deleted backups!
Warning!!! We have entered a new, even more malicious, era for ransomware that is hitting mid-market companies particularly hard, with deleted or encrypted backups. The two stories I share below are chilling… For the last five years or so, ransomware [...]
Moody’s Cyber-Risk Ratings & Impact for Enterprises
Written by Kevin McDonald, COO and CISO of Alvaka Networks. Originally published December 2018 on TechTarget. Kevin explores what Moody's new cyber-risk ratings could mean for enterprises and the infosec industry. Having access to credit is critical for any healthy company, [...]
Where is the American Firewall?
Written by Robert Rennie – Originally published on Medium on November 15, 2018. Note: The following blog is opinion-based. The views and opinions expressed in this blog article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the [...]
Cybersecurity is an Organized Behavior [Podcast] – with Kevin McDonald
COO and CISO of Alvaka Networks, Kevin McDonald, sits down with Brian Sherman of IoTSSA for a very candid conversation on building a successful cybersecurity offering. He offers some great advice in this episode, such as using law enforcement as [...]
A Scary Incident of a $21.5 Million Successful CEO Phishing Fraud
Phishing is a scam usually executed via email or text messaging. The perpetrator usually poses as someone you know and they induce you to send them money. The incident explained below could also be called spear phishing or whaling, in [...]
Will Patching Break My Network?
IT organizations understand the importance of applying current security updates, or "patches", to the operating systems and software applications running in their environment. However, many are reluctant to do so for fear of "breaking" their systems and causing outages. And, [...]
Smoke testing is a term used to describe the testing process for servers after patches are applied. 
Estimating an average time for patching servers and PCs can be a bit tricky. It can vary from one month to the next, depending upon the number and complexity of the patches released by your software vendors. You must consider all versions of operating systems and have a complete inventory of all your application software to do this job correctly. Our experience has shown that manual patching of systems takes on average of about 1.5 hours each.
This is a basic cost calculator for you to compute your typical monthly cost for patching your servers, PCs, laptops, tablets and associated application software. It also forms the basis for you to begin calculating your Return on Investment for software patching, or for comparison with alternatives to the manual process of patching operating systems and application software—such as Patch Management as a Service, also known as Vulnerability Management as a Service.
