#PMP #PPM #projectmanager #Agile #cybersecurity #planning #ai #machinelearning #coronavirus #virtual #testing #remote #COVID19 - BradEgeland.com - Blog

What is Your Organization's Level of Digital Security Intelligence?

6/3/2020

How secure is your organization? Do you regularly run projects handling sensitive data? Do you consistently manage thousands or millions of sensitive identity records for your customers? Could a data or database breach cripple your daily processing, project continuance, and customer satisfaction and confidence thus creating difficult revenue and reputation situations for the company?

Let's consider a new line of thinking - what is your company's level of Digital Security Intelligence (DSI)?

Level 0, 1, 2, or 3? More to come...

The Best Remote Project Management Tool is...

6/2/2020

These COVID19 times and what is turning out to be the new normal for big companies like Google, Twitter and others is a working from home, managing projects from home and managing teams from home. And when I say "home" I really mean anywhere but the office. As we feel comfortable venturing out to Starbucks, McDonald's, etc - basically anywhere we can sit, drink coffee, eat, etc. and not be bothered all day long can be an "office."

If this is you - and for a large amount of my readers I believe it is you as you've been expressing to me - what is your favorite tool or service for managing projects, teams, customers and all of your work remotely? Zoom is great, My Jabra speakerphone is amazing for conference calls and client calls. Specific project management, task management, risk management and mind mapping software can provide amazing benefits to make virtual teams successful on projects and collaboration.

What are your favorites... and why? Tell me as a comment, or in my contact form or email me...

Cybersecurity Tip - Expectation Versus Reality in Cybersecurity

5/28/2020

Expectation no. 1: Since computers and the Internet came into our lives, we got accustomed to believing that they are secure by default.

Reality: The technical infrastructure that’s so deeply embedded into our lives (hardware + software) has become so complicated that it’s impossible to avoid errors and security holes. Security is not a default, as much as we’d like it to be.

Expectation no. 2: Only software and hardware makers are responsible for cyber security.

Reality: As much as technology makers try to secure the products they sell, they can’t possibly cover all the angles that cybercriminals might use. Also, they can’t plan ahead for every conflict and particular situation that their product may be used in. What’s more, they have no control over the human interactions that can be leveraged to be used for compromising the products or the data they protect.

As a result, we, as users, need to understand that we are also responsible for our digital security. This is a process that we’re all involved in. The more effort we put into protecting ourselves, our data and devices, the safer we make the Internet and IT infrastructure as a whole.

Expectation no. 3: I want only one security product to handle all my online safety needs.

Reality: The complexity of cyber threats is just too big for a single product to handle, no matter how well engineered. As a result, using multiple layers of security has become crucial and need-to-have.

Great tips from Heimdal Security...

Using A Vulnerability Scanner In Your Risk Management

5/28/2020

Managing your system vulnerabilities is an essential part of your IT team’s job. It ensures that you update your systems and protect your organization from security breaches. However, to manage your vulnerabilities, you need to assess your systems through thorough and frequent scans. A vulnerability scanner checks your entire system for weaknesses, unauthorized file sharing, outdated software, and any other threats. Once you identify the errors in your system, you can take appropriate mitigation measures. Managing your vulnerabilities is, therefore, an essential part of risk management for any organization.

How Does a Vulnerability Scan Work?

Identifying Vulnerabilities

Once put to work, the vulnerability scanner scans your system for all devices, users, and software for open ports. The scanner then builds an inventory which it runs against a list of vulnerabilities. It’s essential to know that the vulnerability scan can slow your system. If you choose to run an intensive scan, it’s best to do it during after-office hours to avoid affecting the company’s work. However, this could mean that some employee devices could be excluded from the vulnerability scan. You can also reduce the intensity of the scan, but this could mean overlooking some problems.

Alternatively, you can utilize endpoint agents in each device to push data to the vulnerability management system every time the device connects. You can also use adaptive scanning, which detects changes in your network. If a device connects for the first time, the vulnerability scanner jumps into action and scans immediately instead of waiting for the next arranged scan.

Evaluating Risks

Prioritizing risk is essential to avoid overwhelming the IT team and your system. The system checks the list of vulnerabilities and presents the risk associated with each problem. The IT team uses the analysis to decide:

Which vulnerabilities are critical and have the most significant impact on the organization. However, it’s essential to understand the impact of each vulnerability.
How hackers can utilize the vulnerabilities to their advantage.
Whether the existing security system can handle the vulnerabilities.
Whether to act upon the vulnerability or to ignore it. Is it a false positive, or is it a real problem? Ignorance may be the only alternative if the cost of exploiting a vulnerability if too low, and the cost of fixing it is too high.

Handling Identified Vulnerabilities

There are different ways to handle the weaknesses in a system. Patching or updating specific systems is enough to handle some vulnerabilities. However, in some instances, mitigation is the only way to manage vulnerability. Mitigation measures include:

Abandoning a vulnerable system by ceasing all usage.
Adding extra security controls to make it harder to access the system and exploit data.

Types of Vulnerability Scans

Your organization needs different vulnerability scans to confirm the status of your security and ensure compliance. These scans are internal versus external and authorized versus unauthorized.

External Vulnerability Scans

The principle of vulnerability scans is to ‘attack’ an organization’s systems from the outside. An external vulnerability scan targets a system’s firewalls for open ports. It helps your organization identify weaknesses in your security and find ways to fix them. An external scan is essential because it helps your IT security think like hackers, but instead of exploiting the vulnerabilities, they fix them.

Internal Vulnerability Scans

An internal scan happens within the organization. It exposes internal threats such as weak passwords, poor controls, inadequate security checks, or any employees that may have malicious reasons to attack your company’s security. An internal scan helps you manage data and regulate access to different systems depending on their importance to your organization. It also helps you establish policies for security inside the company and ensure that only company devices have access to your systems.

Authorized Vulnerability Scans

Authorized or credentialed scans require logging in with a particular set of credentials. They probe the operating system and software installed in devices, which may not be accessible outside the network.

Unauthorized Vulnerability Scans

Unauthorized scans probe the network to identify open ports. The scanners then try to identify the operating system, the software, and the information that is available without further authentication.

The Benefits of Vulnerability Scanning

Any gaps in your security systems, data, and employees leave you open to attacks. A vulnerability scan gives you a chance to protect your computer system from breaches.
Vulnerability scans indirectly help you remain compliant with regulations. Laws such as HIPAA, NIST, and PCI DSS require your business to take all measures to protect private data. Performing frequent scans improves your chances of detecting and patching weaknesses.
Hackers also utilize vulnerability tools for scanning your computer systems for weaknesses. Having a vulnerability scanner helps you seal any security weaknesses before hackers utilize them.

Bottom Line

Vulnerability scans expose the susceptibilities in your computer systems and help you fix weak spots and mitigate risks. They’re essential to help you establish controls and security systems that protect your data from malicious hackers.

Is Your Project Management Career Struggling Due to COVID19

5/28/2020

Unemployment is high. You may be working from home for the first time ever. Frustrated? Struggling? Suffering anxiety over whether you'll still have a job in a couple of months - or maybe you've even been laid off recently during these unprecedented times.

For project managers looking to solidify their careers or find that next great gig, there has never been a better time than now to put that Project Management Professional (PMP) certification after your name and get moving forward. And you probably have more time now than ever to get it done.

But wait. You don't need to take the next 6 months to study and prep and drive yourself crazy. What if I told you you could be prepped, ready and certified all in the same week and guaranteed to pass with no more prepping or training needed? Would you do it? Well, I'm telling you that you can do it in one week with Cheetah Learning and you are guaranteed to pass. And do it all virtually, from home.

5 Days and all from home? No way!?

Cheetah Learning - the #1 provider of Project Manager Professional (PMP) preparation and certification training - touts a 98% success rate in getting their students certified and says they can do it in 4 days of prep, you take the test on Friday of that week and you're done... fully trained and guaranteed to pass that Friday test.

Are you skeptical? You shouldn't be... it is true and I want to explain that process to you...

When you register for Cheetah, Exam Prep, they will help them complete PMI’s eligibility action and once approved, BEFORE your Cheetah class starts you schedule your PMP exam for the Friday the week of your Cheetah class.

Cheetah has been teaching the class this way since 2001 and the first week Cheetah taught it was the week of 9/11. Of course Cheetah did not know it would be the week of 911 when they started on Monday that week. Cheetah has also been teaching the exact same program as a virtual live course since 2015 which is how they are teaching it now with COVID-19.

Curious students can do Cheetah’s free webinar - 5 quick steps to become PMP certified and take a free baseline exam. If you would like to learn more about how Cheetah has helped tens of thousands of students from thousands of organizations from around the globe become PMP certified after only four days of prep over the past 20 years - the link is on the front page of Cheetah Learning’s website. Cheetah was the first to do an accelerated PMP exam prep program and has the longest running program for one simple reason - it works.

Hurry - here are the next 4 classes being offered virtually online from Cheetah. Sign up now...

Virtual, UTC -6 Timezone
Jul 20-23, 2020
REGISTER

Virtual, UTC -6 Timezone
Aug 17-20, 2020
REGISTER

Virtual, UTC -6 Timezone
Sep 21-24, 2020
REGISTER

Virtual, UTC -6 Timezone
Oct 26-29, 2020
REGISTER

And use code 'BRAD20' for a 20% discount on your virtual classroom prep..

5 Days to PMP Certification Explained

5/28/2020

Cheetah Learning - the #1 provider of Project Manager Professional (PMP) preparation and certification training - touts a 98% success rate in getting their students certified and says they can do it in 4 days of prep, you take the test on Friday of that week and you're done... fully trained and guaranteed to pass that Friday test.

Are you skeptical? You shouldn't be... it is true and I want to explain that process to you...

When you register for Cheetah, Exam Prep, they will help them complete PMI’s eligibility action and once approved, BEFORE your Cheetah class starts you schedule your PMP exam for the Friday the week of your Cheetah class.

Cheetah has been teaching the class this way since 2001 and the first week Cheetah taught it was the week of 9/11. Of course Cheetah did not know it would be the week of 911 when they started on Monday that week. Cheetah has also been teaching the exact same program as a virtual live course since 2015 which is how they are teaching it now with COVID-19.

Curious students can do Cheetah’s free webinar - 5 quick steps to become PMP certified and take a free baseline exam. If you would like to learn more about how Cheetah has helped tens of thousands of students from thousands of organizations from around the globe become PMP certified after only four days of prep over the past 20 years - the link is on the front page of Cheetah Learning’s website. Cheetah was the first to do an accelerated PMP exam prep program and has the longest running program for one simple reason - it works.

Use code BRAD20 for 20% off MindGenius now

80% for Cancer - Buy These Project Management Books and Support the Fight

5/27/2020

In March of this year - just 2 months ago - we learned that our 10 yr old son has Leukemia so our family's "normal" has dramatically changed. Thankfully he's being treated by great doctors and nurses at a foundation here in Las Vegas - Cure 4 the Kids. They are phenomenal. Right now, buy any or all of my books and I will give 80% to Cure 4 the Kids - let's all fight this together. Click on this link to purchase one or all three that are currently for sale. Or buy 100 of each for everyone in your organization! Thank you!!

The 80% is not to pay my child’s expenses. He’s covered. It’s for the clinic, the research and whatever. It all helps. For example, the medication my son needs next he can’t have - had 3 severe reactions to it last week. And that’s the chemo med that has made childhood leukemia so curable. So we are going to have to go down a different somewhat unknown road. Thanks for all your help!

5 Steps to Better Workplace Communication

5/24/2020

Good communication in your small business improves employee productivity, keeps everyone working towards the same goals, and reduces office drama and misunderstandings. Take these five steps to improve communication with your employees.

Communications in the workplace can be mind numbing... or it can mean everything. Of course the water cooler fodder can be the mind numbing part – as can be the overly comfortable and overly friendly employee who has a tendency to stop in your office several times a day to just sit down and chat. They’re good workers, so you’re not about to fire them, but they stop in at the most inopportune times bringing your current productivity level to a halt. Ugh.

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Cancer and the Real World Project Manager

5/23/2020

Cancer and the Real World Project Manager. We learned in March that our 10 yr old son has Leukemia so our family's "normal" has dramatically changed. Thankfully he's being treated by great doctors and nurses at a foundation here in Las Vegas - Cure 4 the Kids. They are phenomenal. Right now, buy any or all of my books and I will give 80% to Cure 4 the Kids - let's all fight this together. Click on this link to purchase one or all three that are currently for sale. Or buy 100 of each for everyone in your organization! Thank you!!

The 80% is not to pay my child’s expenses. He’s covered. It’s for the clinic, the research and whatever. It all helps. For example, the medication my son needs next he can’t have - had 3 severe reactions to it last week. And that’s the chemo med that has made childhood leukemia so curable. So we are going to have to go down a different somewhat unknown road. Thanks for all your help!

10 Tips for Growing Your Small Business

5/23/2020

Use code BRAD20 for 20% off

As your business grows and matures, it's easy to lose sight of the practices that worked when you started your business. Here are ten guidelines to help you stay on track while you grow your business.

As you maintain and grow your small business, it’s important to keep continued focus on some of the solid practices that helped get you to where you are today. This list is intended to help you do that because it’s easy to start to look too far ahead and forget that the way you were doing business wasn’t broken in the first place...

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