Christopher Burgess

I read and heard the news that Global Payments, a credit card payment processing company, was breached and approximately 1.5 million accounts were compromised. I thought nothing of it, beyond, those folks whose accounts just got compromised just had their day ruined.

Should have been a bit...

The headline I read said, "Foxconn Hacked," and it shouted out and off the page, the underlying implication being that there might some downstream issues if Foxconn Technology group (part of the Hon Hai Precision Industry of Taipei and one of the largest contract manufacturers on the planet)...

This week the EU celebrates another Safer Internet Day 201 (SID2012). I've personally supported this effort over the years as I think the organizers do a fine job of bringing to the forefront good advice on how to stay safe online for parents, schools, communities and our youth....

As we draw Data Privacy Month 2012 to a close and celebrate Data Privacy Day on 28 January, we bear witness to a number of new privacy policies which are being presented, dare one say thrust, upon user populations for major online social networks.

Let's look at Google,...

Last week I read a disturbing headline, "Patients put off treatment due to NHS data breaches," and was rendered slack-jawed. The UK's National Health Service, has according to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office suffered regular data breaches resulting in the loss or mishandling of millions of patient records in 2011....

Those who have followed my writing on the subject of Wi-Fi security know my passion for taking seemingly basic steps to keep one's wireless activity safe and secure. In a recent survey conducted by the Wi-Fi Alliance 86% of all respondents had taken the appropriate steps to secure...

We all are recipients of spam and phish. Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. By and large, our filters sort out the array of incoming missives and allow...

A year ago in honor of Data Privacy Day, I wrote "How to Keep Your Privacy Private: Data Privacy Day 2010," and called out the need to protect our personal and families' privacy, with emphasis on investing the necessary time to protect your privacy. One year later, that advice continues...

Are you like me when it comes to your data? I like to save interesting pieces and read them later. In fact, I block time each morning to read the pieces I earmarked from the prior day and to consume the daily news from around the globe, including The Huffington...

Do you work for an enterprise or a small-to-medium-size business? If so, odds are you have an information technology department supporting you. If you work for yourself, you may leverage the knowledge of others in cobbling together an information technology infrastructure to support your daily work. I work for a...

Have you ever opened your email inbox and seen a request to assist a fledgling company with their accounts receivable or remittances in exchange for a percentage of each transaction? You aren't alone. At this period of global economic stress with increasing percentages of societies unemployed, these offers may be...

Do you have an office to which you commute each and every day? Do you need one? Personally, I haven't had a desk in an office building for more than five years, and have been able to work from any place on the globe where I am able to plug...

Will all the grandparents present please raise their hand if they have a digital picture of their grandchild?

My recollections of my grandparents revolve around the harshness of their early years, their faith that if you had family memories and mementos of life and those of your children and...

It's that time of the year again. Summer vacations wind to a close and a return to school moves once again to the forefront. For many families, schools are identified; students enrolled; and supplies purchased. In 2010, those preparations no doubt will include a technology component, often times more than...

It sure seems to me that everywhere I turn of late, I am being greeted with either a new service offering to enhance my life by providing my precise geo-location to a retailer or inserting my data into one of the many location-based services* available to collate my...

Do you have a wireless router? Is it appropriately configured to be secure? Why bother? I've three reasons.

• War Driving - The recent revelation by Google of its inadvertent collection of publicly broadcasted SSID (the Wi-Fi network name) and MAC addresses (device identifier) while conducting their Street View data...

As millions of Americans gather this weekend to spend time with or send gifts and flowers to that special person on Mother's Day, why not shower Mom with some useful suggestions about how to protect the family online. These are tips that will help your family stay safe from cyber...

You arrive at work or home. You unload your laptop or go to your desktop and power up the system by pressing the "ON/OFF" button. Lights flicker; nothing happens. If you're like me your mind races; you sigh and think, "I don't need this today." You repeat. You inspect. You...

Privacy. Is it important to you and your family? I've given the topic a bit of thought, but if you haven't, you're not alone.

I believe that you are the most important person to protect your own privacy. To accomplish this goal, it's important to know how you are...

As the year comes to a close, I see many compiling lists of tips and ideas on how you and yours can stay safe online. Earlier this month Cisco held a Security Education Event, "Protecting You, Protecting Cisco," for its global employee base. The event followed-the-sun, so as to reach...