Color October with IT Security All Over

October’s here! My favorite month starts today. Autumn colors. Crisp, cool mornings. College football. Oktoberfest oom-pah-pah. Halloween. And National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Wait, what?

Well, why not? Who doesn’t want to be safe and more secure these days?

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)—an initiative of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security—is a team effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and the need for all of us to be more vigilant and secure online—at home and in the workplace.

“Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.”

The overarching message of NCSAM 2019—“Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.”—focuses on key areas such as citizen privacy, consumer devices, and e-commerce security.

As an enterprise IT software company, Ivanti provides the security controls experts agree create the highest barriers to real-world attacks. Yes, we go big on our annual Halloween festivities for employees and families—but we work all year long helping customers strengthen their IT security stance. 

This blog offers a snapshot of how Ivanti is helping create greater cybersecurity awareness through:

1. Timely blogs from product experts and thought leaders

2. Security Controls Boot Camps

3. “Patch Tuesday”

4. Cybersecurity Online Virtual Event

5. “Threat Thursday”

1. We’re “Chockablock” with Blogs

“Chockablock” in the Queen’s English is “chock full” in ‘Merican. Either way, our blogs will help you stay current on cybersecurity issues and trends throughout the month. We asked our product management experts and thought leaders to contribute blog posts spanning a range of IT security topics. Here are plenty of titles to pique your interest:

• Cybersecurity: If You Think It Doesn’t Affect You, You’re Sorely Mistaken by Sara Otremba
• Device Control: Where Does it Fit? by Fergal Moynihan
• 6 Tips to Help Curb University Cyber Attacks by Phil Richards
• Reduce the Gap Between Exposure and Remediation by Andrew Souter
• 5 Simple Cybersecurity Tips Anyone Can Follow by Mike Lloyd
• Are We Doing Better? Patch and Security in 2019 So Far by Todd Schell
• Windows Patch Management: The Best Practices You Need to Start Today by Eran Livne
• Patch Intelligence -- Reducing Time to Patch by Helen Brown
• Cutting Through the “Fog of More” to Implement a Solid Security Foundation by David Murray
• All Incidents Aren't the Same: Time for Your Security-Incident Management Plan by David Martinez
• Securing End-of-Life Windows Platforms by James Ley
• ASD/ACSC Maturity Model 2019 – Three Things you Need to Check by Shane Wescott
• Keeping Your Browser Safe is a Hard Day's Night by Kaleb Knobel
• Haunted by the Ghosts of Employees Past by Erica Azad
• Patient Access to EHRs Warrants Prescription for Data Security by Rob DeStefano
• 6 Ways to Restrict End-Users Who Have Windows Admin Privileges by Jason Everson
• IT Asset Governance Improves Security Efforts by Mareike Fondufe

2. Security Controls Boot Camps

When it comes to cybersecurity, it seems there are more questions than answers these days. Why do security programs fail? How does a company that passed a recent audit suffer a breach? Is there a silver bullet to securing my environment?

All the more reason to participate in our Security Controls Boot Camps that offer you the opportunity to bring your toughest IT security questions to share with a panel of experts who are ready to help.

The first of our series of four Security Controls Boot Camps, “How to Cut through the ‘Fog of More’ to Achieve a Solid Security Foundation” was held on September 26. Below are descriptions and registration links to the remaining three boot camps in the series held this month. Be sure to sign up!

Thursday, October 3: Privilege Management for an Unpredictable World

with security product expert David Murray

Admin accounts are the “keys to the kingdom”, but attackers use them for full access to information and systems. While a least-privilege approach is a security best practice, removing admin rights can mean disgruntled users and lost productivity. David Murray will show you how to maintain control without sacrificing user productivity and satisfaction.

Thursday, October 10: Is Application Control a Maintenance Headache or Manageable Solution?

with security product experts David Murray and Jason Everson

Industry analysts increasingly cite application control as key to protecting endpoints against attacks and persistent threats, yet many companies struggle to implement effective whitelisting. Discovery can be an exhaustive process, and once a whitelist is implemented, the need to maintain and update it is constant. In this boot camp, David and Jason share how to implement application control easily without bogging down the system or straining your already stretched IT resources.

Thursday, October 17: Plug Your Patching Holes with Ivanti Security Controls

with security product expert Sara Otremba

Is your patching full of holes? Does your IT team spend days trying to match CVEs in vulnerability reports to patches, leaving your organization exposed? Sara Otremba, Product Manager for Security, wants to take that burden off your hands by showing you how the patching capabilities of Ivanti Security Controls help IT teams and security teams work together to reduce the time to patch. Plus see how you can patch not only Windows, but Red Hat Linux and CentOS from a single interface.

3. October “Patch Tuesday”

Join us on Wednesday, October 9 as security experts Chris Goettl, Todd Schell, and Brian Secrist recap the Microsoft and third-party security patches released on Patch Tuesday. Get the latest news on recent ransomware and other malware attacks. We’ll share insights on the patches to watch for, what you’ll want to test before deploying, and which patches to prioritize for rollout. We’ll also spend 20 to 40 minutes answering your technical questions so you can be confident you’ve got the right plans in place.

4. Free Cybersecurity Virtual Event

Reserve your spot for Wednesday, October 23 to experience “Insights to Combat Today’s Evolving Threats.” It’s a live, no-cost event featuring expertise from top IT security leaders from Forrester, CrowdStrike, Morphisec, Kenna, Ivanti and others. Need more reasons to attend? Here are five:

• Advice for every level: Whether you’re an analyst in Operations, a Security Manager, or the CISO, we have content for every level.
• A holistic approach to security: Don’t worry, you won’t sit through several presentations just on patching (unless you’re into that kind of thing). Our experts are providing insights on all aspects of endpoint security.
• Six informative sessions: Hear from Forrester, Crowdstrike, Kenna, Morphisec and Ivanti. 
• Available when you are: This event is entirely online. If you can’t attend the live event, sessions will also be available for all those who register. You won’t miss a minute of the action. 
• It’s 100% free: No travel expenses, no freezing-cold conference halls, no awkward lunches. That means no cost for you to attend. 

5. “Threat Thursday”: Breaches, Attacks and Exploits

Join us on Friday, October 25 for this month’s news, expert recommendations, and a full analysis of active cyberattacks across the globe from Ivanti’s CISO Phil Richards and Chris Goettl, Director of Product Management. This isn’t a digest of cyberattacks. Phil and Chris tell you exactly what to look for and the actions you need to take to stay protected, mitigate the damage, and strengthen your defenses against the next attack.

Wow! Talk about a full menu of learning available during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Who wouldn’t love October?