The SecureMac Interview: Nancy Willard on Cyberbullying

Nancy Willard is an educator and lawyer who runs Embrace Civility in the Digital Age, an organization dedicated to creating a culture of civility and positivity online through empowering teens and the adults who care for them. She is the author of several books, including the first book ever published on the topic of cyberbullying, Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats, and Distress.

SecureMac caught up with Nancy to ask her about the state of cyberbullying today, and what parents and …

Checklist 159: What That and Tencent Will Get You

This week on the Checklist, we’ll look at a troubling connection between Apple and the Chinese government. We’ll revisit the issue of IoT security (spoiler: It’s not getting any safer out there). And we’ll round out the list with a reminder that when it comes to cybersecurity, sharing is caring!

This week’s Checklist is: 

What Website Warnings and Tencent will get youSecurity and an Internet of Things thingAnd would you please join our street team? We offer benefits! 

Apple’s silent partner

Last week MacRumors reported on a connection between Apple and Chinese tech giant …

8 Things Small Businesses can do to Prevent a Data Breach

Big companies spend millions of dollars guarding against data breaches—and sometimes they still come up short. 

So how can small businesses prevent data breaches? Can it even be done? Fortunately, the answer is yes—and there are a number of simple, cost-effective things smaller organizations can do to minimize their risk and keep their customers safe.

Several of the insights in this piece came from our conversation data breach expert Troy Hunt, creator of the “Have I Been Pwned” data breach aggregation service. If you’d like to learn even more about data breaches …

The SecureMac Interview: Troy Hunt on data breaches

Troy Hunt is a Microsoft Regional Director and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Developer Security. He is the creator of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), a free service that aggregates data breaches and lets people check if their accounts have been compromised. He is also a prolific speaker and educator, giving talks and organizing workshops around the world.

We caught up with Troy to talk about how both businesses and individuals can protect themselves from data breaches—and ask him about the future of information security and his …

Are Macs Safe for Enterprise?

Everyone loves a Mac. They’re famously easy to use. Many people find themselves more productive on Macs. And let’s face it—they definitely have a “cool” factor that PCs can’t match.

Checklist 158: Catalina Bound

On this Checklist, we’ll take a look at the latest version of macOS. We’ll revisit two-factor authentication by way of a somewhat disappointing story involving Twitter. And we’ll round out the show with news of yet another data breach.

Checkm8: The unpatchable iOS jailbreak

We’ve talked quite a bit about jailbreaks in the past couple of months, from Apple’s accidental reintroduction of an old iOS jailbreak to one developer’s attempt to create an app marketplace for unapproved iOS software.

But recently, news has surfaced of a new jailbreak for iOS devices that could be bigger than all of these: checkm8. 

Discovered by a security researcher who goes by the handle axi0mX, checkm8 (which is pronounced “checkmate”) is an unpatchable exploit for millions of devices running on iOS, including most iPhones and iPads.

In this article, we’ll tell …

The SecureMac Interview: Michael Hartl on technical sophistication

Michael Hartl is an award-winning educator and passionate advocate for technical literacy. He is the author of numerous books on programming, including the Ruby on Rails Tutorial, an introduction to web development which has helped people all around the world learn to code. Michael is also the founder of Learn Enough, an education company devoted to empowering people through the teaching of fundamental technical skills.

We recently spoke with Michael Hartl about the meaning of “technical sophistication”, the importance of technical education for cybersecurity, and more.

Thank …

Understanding macOS Catalina Security and Privacy Features

It’s official: macOS 10.15 Catalina has now been released to the public. 

The latest Mac OS has a number of new features, including several key enhancements to security and privacy. But Apple’s release notes can sometimes be a bit heavy on jargon, leading users to wonder what the latest, greatest macOS updates actually mean!

In this article, we’ll take you on a tour of Catalina’s security and privacy features, explaining their significance and letting you know how they keep you safe.

article span.backnum { font-family:”Open Sans”, sans-serif; font-size: 10rem; opacity: 0.3; line-height: 1; …

Checklist 157: Just Add S4LT

On this edition of The Checklist: The DoorDash data breach, Considering risks around AltStore, And the security side of recent Apple updates.

7 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

Identity theft can upend your life. It requires a tremendous amount of time and effort to undo the damage—and the aftereffects can be felt for months or even years.

Checklist 156: Watches and Warnings

On this edition of The Checklist: A third-party keyboard warning from Apple, How much is too much consumer protection?, and Apple Watch privacy in an always on world.

Checklist 155: iOS 13 Feature Focus

On this edition of The Checklist: iOS 13’s built-in Cycle Tracker, Privacy and security in Apple Arcade, and Facebook location follow-up.

Red team, blue team: Understanding enterprise cybersecurity roles

If you’re trying to understand how cybersecurity works in an enterprise setting, you’re bound to come across terms like “red team”, “blue team”, and “purple team”.

The terms have their origins in the war games used by militaries to assess and improve their readiness. But what do these color-coded teams mean in the context of cybersecurity? What does each of them do, and how are they different from one another? 

That’s what we’ll cover in this guide to different roles in cybersecurity testing and improvement.

Red team

Red teams, in cybersecurity, assume the role …

iOS 13 security and privacy features

It’s official: iOS 13 is here, come friday. iPhone users will be able to try out all the new features announced at the WWDC keynote in June: Dark Mode, QuickPath swipe typing, a revamped Maps, and more.

In addition to all of this, iOS 13 also offers a number of security and privacy enhancements— some of which are already making waves. We’ll take you through the most important of these in the following article.

Location, location, location

iOS 13 will allow iPhone users increased control over how they share their location data—and …

Checklist 154: Should you put a Ring on it?

On this edition of The Checklist we discuss Warnings from Facebook about warnings about Facebook, ‘Amazon, your neighbours, and the police wanna put a Ring on it’, and When smart things turn dumb.

Four ways mediocre enterprise security can cost you money—and more

Cybersecurity spending worldwide is estimated to reach well over $120 billion in 2019—and most analysts predict steady growth after that. There’s a reason why companies are investing so heavily in security…

Apple Re-Patches Bug That Led to a Public iOS Jailbreak

Over the last couple of weeks, both on the Checklist and on the news section of our site, we’ve been talking about the story of the big iOS jailbreak that was announced in August. This jailbreak was unusual in that it affected the most up-to-date version of iOS available—something we hadn’t seen in quite a while. 

Jailbreaking, as you’ll recall, is the process of removing Apple’s built-in safeguards and limitations on what users and software can do in iOS, essentially allowing them high-level administrative privileges that Apple never intended them to …

Apple announces new iPhones—and the next generation of Apple Watch

This Tuesday, Apple held its much-anticipated media event. Here are a few key takeaways from the big day.

New iPhones!

The big news on Tuesday was, as expected, the announcement of the next generation of iPhones.

Apple is rolling out three new models: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The phones are priced at $699, $999, and $1099, respectively. The new devices will be available for pre-order on Friday and for purchase in Apple Stores by 20 September.

So what’s new? 

Not all that much (with a couple of important …

5 Cybersecurity Tips for Study Abroad Students

Spending a semester or a year abroad can be a life-changing experience for college students. But while living in a strange new place is undoubtedly exciting, it can mean new safety challenges as well—and this includes cybersecurity.