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For the Love of Security: End-of-Week Link Round-Up

Amber SteelApril 19, 2013
This week we were particularly intrigued to hear of new internal security efforts by Twitter. Their head of security Bob Lord recently discussed that chief among their efforts have been the company-wide enforcement of the use of password managers.

Noting that password managers will allow employees to follow best security practices and generate strong passwords without writing them down, Twitter reported that after an initial phase of set-up and training, employees responded positively to the use of password managers and would continue to use them.

Twitter also engages in simulated phishing campaigns to see if their employees would take the bait. Lord stated that it's been a process in learning how to effectively teach employees about online security, while the employees are also learning how to stay safe.

We commend Twitter on its efforts to improve the security of its company data and educate employees, while providing a tool that allows them to achieve their goals. We hope this becomes a greater trend!

A few other articles that caught our eye: 
  • Symantec security report reveals attacks up and spam down << According to Symantec's 2013 security report, small and medium businesses are now an increasing target (which is where LastPass Enterprise can help), and threats on social media continue to climb. Spam, though, is on the decline.
  • Online security threats are shifting in 2013 << Trustwave's 2013 Security Report highlights the global effect of online security threats, and brings home how it affects each individual, even if you think you "don't have any data worth stealing." Notable is the slow detection of a breach - with businesses, the average time of detection and containment is 210 days. The report enforces the need for strong workplace policies and tools, including the use of strong passwords and an effective way to manage them.
  • Affordable brainwave sensors could make typed passwords obsolete << A team at UC Berkeley are tackling the issue of passwords with a headset with a built-in electroencephalogram (EEG), that allows users to authenticate using only their brain waves. The password isn't going anywhere just yet, but this is some fascinating tech!
And can you believe it?

We love Ellen's comments on the absurdity of this password commercial that was recently making the rounds on social networks. We think she pretty much nails it - if only LastPass was mentioned as the real solution!



What caught your attention recently? Share in the comments below!

Enjoy the weekend,
The LastPass Team