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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 →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

As mentioned in Part 2 of this blog series, Awareness is the first step in the 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention. Step 2 is Collecting the Dots. What does Collecting the Dots involve? Collecting the Dots is critical because without this step, there are no “dots” to assess and connect, making prevention impossible. Collecting the dots involves gathering information and reports of pre-incident indicators, warning signs and red flags, concerning behaviors, suspicious activities, social media evidence, survey data and historical information. Why else is Collecting the Dots such a critical step? Your organization’s threat assessment/risk assessment team cannot prevent things they don’t know about.Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

As mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series, the 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention are the result of over 40 years of experiences, validated by prevention failures described in detail in post-incident reports AND confirmed by real-world prevention success stories from clients. The first Step of the 6 Essential Steps to Proactive Prevention is Awareness. More specifically, Awareness includes situational awareness and updated awareness on an ongoing basis with accountability and measurability at the individual level. Some or most of you may be thinking that your organization has Awareness covered…YOU DON’T! First, wipe the sand out of your eyes and ears and thenRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

My Story My name is Rick Shaw and I am the founder and CEO of Awareity, and the originator of the proven and multi-award-winning “TIPS prevention platform”. My background includes more than 30 years of real-world business related experience, combined with several years of extensive research. My business experience includes performing numerous types of assessments (risk, threat, information security, physical security, safety, compliance and others) and prevention efforts across many different types and sizes of organizations. My research involves reviewing hundreds of post-incident reports – the facts and findings released after investigations, tragedies and lawsuits. Combined, these efforts have helped me to identify common “gaps,Read More →

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Most schools today have an online form for students to report bullying, but where do those reports go? In Awareity’s 2014 Student Safety Report, students claim only 17% of the time are reported incidents getting better. Westfield Washington Schools in Indiana is taking a more comprehensive and proactive approach by implementing the TIPS prevention platform. Last year, Westfield Washington Schools had the honor of participating in a presentation by David and Tina Long, of Everything Starts with One and featured in the “Bully” movie, in which they spoke about their son’s tragic suicide. Tina shared that she believed the TIPS platform may have helped preventRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*

A NASCAR accident on opening weekend has provided several valuable lessons learned, but only if you are listening and ONLY if you take actions to proactively prevent future incidents. Kevin Harvick gets proactive prevention: “It’s a reaction from the racetrack unfortunately,” Harvick said. “I hit the same wall a little further up last year at this particular race and kind of voiced my opinion, and unfortunately I was just a dot on the chart and there was no reaction.” “Now there’s a reaction from the racetrack. Hopefully this is a lesson learned. You don’t want to have a reaction. Racetracks have to be proactive andRead More →

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Post-incident reports and overwhelming evidence-base data validate most incidents (from data breaches to policy violations to violence) and tragedies were PREVENTABLE. However, even with all these lessons learned, the same common gaps and disconnects lead to more and more failed prevention efforts. Failure to “collect, assess and connect the dots” across multiple locations, departments, silos and individuals make it difficult for organizations to proactively and predictively prevent incidents, lawsuits and tragedies. Whether you are just starting your risk management planning process or reviewing your current capabilities, Awareity’s experienced team can provide the expertise and advice to improve your prevention efforts and protect your reputation andRead More →