-
What exactly IS Blockchain? Blockchain Technology Explained [VIDEO]
This video gives an interesting, easy-to-follow explanation of “blockchain” technology, including what exactly it is and it’s potential impact to the tech landscape. Below are some choice quotes that stuck out to me and quickly help convey some key concepts: “What is Blockchain? A shared trusted, secure database; se. can enable inter-organizational collaboration” “You can get from small to large by centralizing, but you get from large to infinite by distributing. And that’s what blockchain can do for this next 3d generation internet.”—Blockchain Technology Explained youtube video “The interesting part of the blockchain is really in what it enables in terms of new forms of distributed organization.” “Blockchain is an…
-
Clubhouse App…the new “Drop-In Audio Chat” App Lighting Up the Tech Community…
I was able to start a Clubhouse account over the New Year weekend. Clubhouse is a new type of social product based on voice. The app that bills itself as a “Drop-in audio chat” social network. It allows people everywhere to talk, tell stories, develop ideas, deepen friendships, and meet interesting new people around the world. It takes a uniquely different and intriguing position in the social networking atmosphere, just when you may have thought any possible routes to the saturated market were exhausted. Initial thoughts… After hearing about the Clubhouse-app pop-up with recurring frequency in various media outlets recently , I tried it out, and I instantly “get-it”! The intrigue…
-
What is Multi-Factor Authentication and Why is It Necessary?
Many people have heard the basics of account protection: Get a password manager for your online accounts, make your passwords complex and never reuse them. But what about Multi-Factor Authentication? What is Multi-Factory authentication, what’s so special about it, and why is it needed? Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), also sometimes known as Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), adds another layer of security to the sign-in process giving accounts further protection against unauthorized access. MFA requires multiple (two or more elements) to be used in order to grant full authentication. Multifactor authentication consists of 3 major things: Something you know: This can be a password, or the answer to a security question that cannot…
-
WSJ–“Companies Urged to Adjust Hiring Requirements for Cyber Jobs”…
News of the current shortage of cybersecurity professionals and the demand needed in the coming years to fill roles is seemingly ubiquitous these days. There’s an interesting article in the WSJ on the correlation between the shortage of cybersecurity capable applicants available and the job requirements being posted by hiring companies & HR departments. Despite holding a doctorate in computer science and having extensive military, federal and private-sector experience, Mr. Cunningham said he is routinely approached by companies offering entry-level positions. Job postings on social-media websites for positions usually regarded as gateway roles are rife with such requirements. For instance, one post on recruiting site Glassdoor for a security operations…
-
LinkedIn Learning Path–Comp TIA A+ and Network + Courses…
I just finished the LinkedIn Learning Path–Comp TIA Network+ course and had previously finished the Comp TIA A+ course last month. While looking at the dates it seems I’ve been doing this for the past month-and-a-half when the courses say they take about 56 hours combined to complete, I really committed to carefully following each video–stopping, starting, pausing, and rewatching them–to really understand the concepts, while taking notes of course. Both of these courses are currently being offered for free through a Microsoft/LinkedIn pandemic education relief initiative that I had previously written about. Having completed them both I can say that I do think they are very beneficial and I…
-
How to Get Into Cybersecurity with No Experience [Video]
I came across a great YouTube video titled, “How to Get Into Cybersecurity with No Experience” by Gerald “Gerry” Auger (Twitter, LinkedIn) of Simply Cyber. With Cybersecurity being in the headlines more and more, especially as companies and individuals grapple with the new Covid-economy, the demand for well-trained information security professionals continues to grow, exponentially. It is consistently listed in career/job outlook forecasts as one of the top sectors to watch in the coming years. So it comes as no surprise that the interest in this sector is growing and many are looking for ways to break into the field. Cybersecurity is especially interesting in that there seems to be…
-
5 Strategies for Reinventing Your Career in Uncertain Times…
This article from The Harvard Business Review is a great, quick read for these trepidatious times. It falls right in-line with the current trend of workers “digital-upskilling” and pivoting industries to take advantage of the on-going economic transformation. “Human beings are wired to avoid uncertainty — but no matter how hard you try, there’s no escaping it. Instead, it’s best to view uncertainty as an opportunity for growth, whether that means exploring new skills, a new job, or an entirely new career.” via Harvard Business Review Five Strategies for Reinventing Your Career in Uncertain Times:1. Explore a range of options — including the unthinkable.2. Imagine your best possible future.3. Build…
-
Integrating Security Into Networking From The Ground Up…
This industry insight article from GCN discusses how moving forward, the convergence of security and networking will be needed to work together from an integrated perspective. As more of the workforce continues remote-work, the potential for attacks/threats/malicious actors increases and heightened security will continue to be of critical importance. Secure access service edge (SASE) and software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) technologies are designed to merge security and networking into a single, integrated solution that can rapidly and easily scale and adapt to expanding environments and requirements. These forward-leaning capabilities help agencies better plan for the future while ensuring security remains a top priority even amid ongoing changes. Traditional security solutions no…
-
Covid-19 “Dramatically accelerated” e-Commerce Up to 5+ Years: Kohl’s CEO…
It has been very interesting to see the dramatic effect that the Coronavirus and the ensuing March lockdown has had on the economic sector. This was initially observed when the lockdown first happened and funnel-forced us as a society to use e-commerce in droves. I have been thinking about this phenomenon where the natural progression that would have organically occurred over the next 5-10 years, has now been forcefully squeezed into the past 7-8 months. The natural progression predicted that the change would have happened as the younger generations (Millennials, Gen Z), who grew up with and naturally embrace digital technology as a part of their everyday lives, continue to…
-
The Covid-19 Crisis Highlights the Need for “Digital Upskilling”…
The current pandemic has highlighted the need for digital tech skills as remotely working from home and virtual learning continue to move to the forefront. Every job is becoming a tech job in some way, in that moving forward, we will all need to know tech skills at some level. With the rapid change in tech advances the need to stay ahead of the curve and keep learning new skills becomes even more critical. It goes without saying that tech specific jobs obviously require a deep intimate knowledge of the machinery, but as concerns grow over cyber security, even the knowledge of basic security awareness by the end-user (i.e., regular…