November 28, 2023

Good morning, everyone!

This week’s critical vulnerabilities: Apple released another set of security patches for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and macOS, including iOS 15.8 for older devices (including the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 7, the original iPhone SE, the iPad Air 2, and the last iPod Touch) Did your "automatic" updates get installed? Patch All the Things!

I can't tell you how often I see things I shouldn't, when people are sharing their screens: emails, spreadsheets, financial statements, employee evaluations, and more, but this latest story makes all my stories pale by comparison:

Nvidia is in hot water after one of its software engineers accidentally let a rival company—and his former employer—in on a secret: that he stole its top-secret research and took it to the trillion-dollar tech giant.

During a video call with automotive tech firm Valeo last year, the engineer, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, made a blunder when he shared his screen and showed his ex-colleagues some source code that they immediately recognized as their own.

Yikes!! Justice, perhaps. Definitely food for thought, if you ever share your screen during video conference calls. Make sure you close all applications except the conference app you need to make the call, or whatever you actually plan to share.

It's important to be mindful of ALL the ways you may be inadvertently sharing data during a video conference call, not just screenshares. Are you wearing a shirt with a logo or saying? Does it accurately represent who you want to be during that call? What's on the wall or bookcase behind you? Are all those things you want to reveal about yourself? Fake and blurred backgrounds don't always work, especially with movement. I've often seen things visible behind a quickly-moving hand.

In my security awareness training I often ask people "What's hiding in your selfie?" Every time that camera comes out, look around you. What is going to show in this photo? Your car tag? The street numbers on your house? The keypad by the back door, with four dirty keys showing which four numbers make up your alarm code?

Practice Video Camera Savvy and Selfie Awareness this week!

Remember, you can read past editions of this newsletter on our website, along with tons more information under the Resources tab.

Have a great week!

Glenda R. Snodgrass
grs@theneteffect.com
(251) 433-0196 x107
https://www.theneteffect.com
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