Cybersecurity Update: Dangerous Technological Dependencies

UPDATE: CYBER THREATS AND CYBERSECURITY

“Into the breach we must go!” - Douglas Castle

“This ain’t no party/ This ain’t no disco…” - from Life During Wartime by The Talking Heads

In terms of data breaches, identity theft, computer-originated financial fraud, ransomware, viruses, trojan horses and backdoor invasions (and commandeering of systems), I believe that no one and no organization is truly safe or exempt. No matter how much we, as the public, hear about breaches and their purported impact, there is a whole alternate universe of companies who have experienced breaches that they are not forthcoming enough to disclose.

The more dependent we as a society become on computers, devices, the cloud and other dangerous dependencies (I’m a bit of a Luddite and a technophobe myself), the more we are at risk of loss. It seems that there is a definite tradeoff here: convenience versus security. And more and more, the default choice is convenience as technology becomes further ingrained into our collective psyche and into our day-to-day operations in virtually every aspect of our existence.

Short of eliminating the use of these magical methodologies, we should take steps to temper our activities with a modicum of caution. Here are a few suggestions, coming from my alternate life as a Global Futurist . Some are practical, while others involve an element of behavior modification and wishful thinking:

1. Print out and store documents and critical information in hard copy form to the greatest extent possible. If your drive becomes wiped or the information becomes infected or compromised, you’ll have your important records secure;

2. Increase your percentage of Human-To-Human communications and transactions. Personalize, Recognize and Humanize;

3. For computer and data security, use the most effective anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-hacker attempt (yep. That’s a real feature) software, downloaded or otherwise obtained from a highly-trusted source;

4. Don’t share your screen or documents (i.e., Google Docs, etc.) with anyone, if you can avoid it;

5. Keep passcodes and other access information off of your computer, and on a separate manual record. Keep that record well-hidden, but accessible to you. Keep it under lock and key, but don’t bother using a computer-activated lock -- that would defeat the whole purpose;

I’m also a big fan of multiple biometric device security in combination with ever-changing, encrypted passwords or “sayings of the day”-type passwords to make direct access to your machine or device extremely difficult in a full frontal attempt to breach your system security. As you’d guess, I’m highly paranoid with respect to the cloud -- I believe that what goes up, will come down -- but it might come down to someone else’s system. I have sweating, shaking nightmares about the cloud being hacked, or satellites being hacked, or public utilities being hacked…

The problem of vulnerability grows as we enter, head first, into the Era Of Complacent And Complete CyberDomination, where the inventions which were supposed to make our lives simpler and safer are now rapidly and quietly becoming our lives' masters. Laziness makes for a lack of vigilance. 

 

Let’s truly make November “Computer Security Month”. Now let’s look at what the pundits have to say, for a full-blown Halloween scare-a-thon.

Oh, and thank you, as always, for reading me. - Douglas

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Let’s start with some frightening statistics and projections from 2017 to up to five years hence. This information was excerpted from CSO Online...

“These top level numbers summarize the cybersecurity industry over the past year and indicate what's in store for the next five years.

1. Cyber crime damage costs to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. It all begins and ends with cyber crime. Without it, there's nothing to cyber-defend. The cybersecurity community and major media have largely concurred on the prediction that cyber crime damages will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion just a year ago. This represents the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risks the incentives for innovation and investment, and will be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined.

2. Cybersecurity spending to exceed $1 trillion from 2017 to 2021. The rising tide of cyber crime has pushed information security (a subset of cybersecurity) spending to more than $86.4 billion in 2017, according to Gartner. That doesn't include an accounting of Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT, and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) security, automotive security, and other cybersecurity categories. Global spending on cybersecurity products and services are predicted to exceed $1 trillion over the next five years, from 2017 to 2021.

3. Cyber crime will more than triple the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs, which is predicted to reach 3.5 million by 2021. Every IT position is also a cybersecurity position now. Every IT worker, every technology worker, needs to be involved with protecting and defending apps, data, devices, infrastructure and people. The cybersecurity workforce shortage is even worse than what the jobs numbers suggest. As a result, the cybersecurity unemployment rate has dropped to zero percent.

4. Human attack surface to reach 6 billion people by 2022. As the world goes digital, humans have moved ahead of machines as the top target for cyber criminals. There are 3.8 billion internet users in 2017 (51 percent of the world’s population of 7 billion), up from 2 billion in 2015. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts there will be 6 billion internet users by 2022 (75 percent of the projected world population of 8 billion) — and more than 7.5 billion internet users by 2030 (90 percent of the projected world population of 8.5 million, 6 years of age and older). The hackers smell blood now, not silicon.

5. Global ransomware damage costs are predicted to exceed $5 billion in 2017. That's up from $325 million in 2015—a 15X increase in two years, and expected to worsen. Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations—the No. 1 cyber-attacked industry—will quadruple by 2020. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that a business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds by 2019.

What does it all mean? In 2015, Ginni Rometty, IBM's chairman, president and CEO, said, "Cyber crime is the greatest threat to every company in the world."

And she was right. During the next five years, cybercrime might become the greatest threat to every person, place and thing in the world.”

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October 13, 2017 - Excerpted From American Express OPEN FORUM

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

While the annual campaign is designed to raise awareness about cybersecurity breaches, as a business owner you're probably well aware of the growing threat.

The mounting number of company computer and data system breaches illustrates that it's no longer a question of if your company's sensitive data will be hacked, but when. Data analytics researcher Juniper Research predicts that data breach costs will reach $2.1 trillion throughout the world by 2019.

“It's important to realize that your company is at risk, which makes vigilance critical," says Gary S. Miliefsky, executive producer of Cyber Defense Magazine. “Many owners of small to medium-sized businesses don't think they're targets of hackers or cyber crime, but the fact is that most breaches are smaller now. To stay under the radar of the FBI and Secret Service, cyber criminals steal a small number of records, monetize those records and then hit again."

“This 'Wild West' phase of learning to anticipate and work against cyber threats goes deeper than surviving a breach and picking up the pieces afterwards," says Rob Arnold, founder and CEO of the cyber risk management company Threat Sketch and author of Cybersecurity: A Business Solution

.

“History is repeating itself," Arnold continues. “The future will play out just like it has with the advent of the internet. Businesses that embraced technology at a strategic level left their brick-and-mortar peers in the dust. In the same respect, those companies that learn to effectively manage cybersecurity threats will be the ones that are still in business 25 years from now."

New Cybersecurity Features

In order to thrive amidst the perpetual threat of cyberattacks, it helps to familiarize yourself with the latest arsenal of cybersecurity prevention tools available. Consider possibly incorporating the following new innovations into your company:

Automatic Classification of Cybersecurity Threats

“The problem in cybersecurity today is not a lack of tools," says Avi Chesla, CEO of the cybersecurity company empow

. “The question is how to 'read' the huge amount of data these tools generate and to understand the potential impact, such as a malicious attacker's intent."

   

A hack often starts with a spear-phishing attack where an employee clicks a link or opens an attachment in an email that appears to come from someone they trust.

—Gary S. Miliefsky, executive producer, Cyber Defense Magazine

           

According to Chesla, there are new cybersecurity capabilities that use Natural Language Processing algorithms. These collect and interpret system information and classify that information by intent. Knowing intent helps companies proactively respond to advanced threats.

Intelligent Cyber Threat Hunting

“With system breaches becoming more common, it's more important than ever for cybersecurity systems to have the capability to hunt and locate compromised hosts within systems," says Chesla.

                               

“New intelligent hunters include a technology that can identify host-related anomaly behavior, collect and analyze evidence," he continues, "such as unexpected processes and applications that run on the host, and create new IOC  [indicator of compromise] signatures accordingly." Detected IOC signatures indicate the presence of a security breach, such as malware. They are used to create new IOC signature files that are uploaded to scan systems in order to detect additional threats.

New Methods of Handling Vulnerable Data

“One of the biggest revolutions in cybersecurity is the idea that companies can attain the verified data they need without having to hold or manage personally identifiable information (PII) in one place," says David Thomas, CEO of Evident, a company that offers an Application Programming Interface that eliminates the need to collect, hold and protect personal data.

“Traditionally, any data that a business receives from a customer or employee is held in one potentially vulnerable database," says Thomas. “This means that if/when a breach occurs, hackers can get everything they want in one fell swoop. Companies are getting smarter about not only clarifying the data they need to ensure safety and security, but also how they need to handle that data to mitigate risk and liability."

The Use of Behavioral Biometrics

Ensuring identity is a common practice in cybersecurity protocol. Behavioral biometrics is the newest addition to this practice.

“Behavioral biometrics identifies people by how they do what they do, rather than by what they are (e.g., fingerprint, face), what they know (e.g. secret question, password) or what they have (e.g. token, SMS one-time code)," says Frances Zelazny, Vice President of BioCatch, a cybersecurity company offering behavioral biometrics to banks and other businesses.

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Labels, Tags And Keywords For This Article: cybersecurity, data, breach, biometric, security, hacking, malware, viruses, computers, dependencies, planning, systems, passwords, safety, humanizing, personalizing, cloud, protection, Equifax, Douglas Castle  

Purchase Order Financing - Fuel For Business Growth

PURCHASE ORDER FINANCING – AN OVERVIEW

Summary: Purchase Order Financing ("PO Financing") is frequently used when more complex financial instruments, like letters or credit, are unavailable, or prove too complex. It is a method of trade financing where your company has a supplier willing to sell you a product for, say $50,000.00, and you have a buyer who has given you a firm committed purchase order to buy that same product for $100,000.00. The issues are that 1) the supplier won’t give you credit, and 2) the buyer does not wish to pay in advance for a product which has not yet been delivered. PO Financing is a means of getting sufficient capital or guarantees (in lieu of capital) to pay the supplier the $50,000 so that you may complete the trade and make a profit.

All businesses should understand the basics of purchase order financing, its potential benefits and pitfalls, and who might use it. Simply put, it’s a way to purchase finished goods or raw materials that will be turned into products that are resold and shipped, usually within a relatively short time frame. It is based on having a verifiable purchase order. Typically, the financing is issued, completed and repaid in less than two months.

What kinds of companies use PO financing?

PO financing is appropriate for many businesses: from smaller start-ups with sales orders coming in but without necessary capital to fulfill; to larger, more established businesses with unusually large orders or for a big new customer. Wholesalers, drop shippers and resellers frequently avail themselves of this option. PO financing provides the capital needed so supplies can be bought, product produced, and finished goods shipped.

It’s a great way to put your company on the map, or launch to the next level. More to the point, you can avoid turning down a deal for lack of access to funding.

What is the biggest potential negative to purchase order financing?

The single biggest stumbling point is also the reason purchase order funding is possible in the first place: approval is based on the credit, track record and trustworthiness of your customer. The financiers are in essence gambling on you, your suppliers, and your buyer holding up their end of the bargain - if anything falls through, they take the hit. So be sure that your trust in your customer is well placed.

Finally, partnering with a purchase order finance company needs to make good business sense for your organization. Consider: 

             Fees and interest rates; the purchase order finance company takes a cut of your profits - not much, but you need to decide that it’s equitable;

•   Underwriting requirements, including minimum loan amount (it may be more than you actually need);
  
  
•   Delivery time, billing schedule and other timeline demands (international transit times can be particularly troublesome here). 
  
  
   A BRIEF NOTE ABOUT CREDIT INSURANCE
  
  
  If your customer's credit is weak or questionable, it may be wise to purchase a credit insurance policy from a specialized broker. This insurance provides payment in the event that your customer or client fails to pay when the subject invoice comes due. These specialized policies can substantially increase the likelihood of your company being able to obtain purchase order financing (and often at better rates and terms).
  
  
  Thank you, as always, for reading me. - Douglas
   
  

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Regulatory Updates For Exporters And International Investors

REGULATORY UPDATES FOR EXPORTERS AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS

EXIM, CFIUS, FATCA, and FCPA

EXIM Bank recently published its updated Country Limitation Schedule; if you’re an exporter, trading company, or a multinational (on a small scale), this information is of critical importance, so I would suggest you review it, together with its attachments, very carefully and thoroughly -- especially in light of the current federal administration.

Also, for those of you involved in international investing and transnational projects, this might just be a good time to refresh your understanding of some key regulations which will affect your every major move. The most important of these regulations are synopsized in the paragraphs which follow prior to the EXIM Bulletin. For your review:

CFIUS (or occasionally CFUS) - DEFINITION of 'Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States - CFIUS' An interagency committee of the United States government that reviews financial transactions to determine if they will result in a foreign person controlling a U.S. business. CFIUS specifically focuses on transactions where foreign control will result in a threat to national security.  It is chaired by the U.S. Treasury Department, and draws members from notable agencies such as the Department of State and Department of Defense.

Read more: Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States - CFIUS Definition | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/committee-foreign-investment-united-states-cfius.asp#ixzz4vzYWKcks

FATCA - FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. • FATCA is a United States (“US”) legislation that primarily aims to prevent tax evasion by US taxpayers by using non-US financial institutions and offshore investment instruments. FATCA is a tax law that compels US citizens at home and abroad to file annual reports on any foreign account holdings. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was endorsed in 2010 as part of the HIRE Act in order to promote transparency in the global financial services sector.

Read more: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Definition | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-fatca.asp#ixzz4vzcAJAxT

FCPA - DEFINITION of 'Foreign Corrupt Practices Act' A United States law passed in 1977 which prohibits U.S. firms and individuals from paying bribes to foreign officials in furtherance of a business deal and against the foreign official's duties. The FCPA places no minimum amount for a punishment of a bribery payment. While the act requires corrupt intent, it is better to err on the side of caution when dealing with a foreign official for business matters. Punishments allowable under the act include fines of up to double the amount of the benefit expected to be received from the bribery. In addition, the individuals involved can face imprisonment for up to five years

Read more: Foreign Corrupt Practices Act http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/foreign-corrupt-practices-act.asp#ixzz4vzd7SlrF

Dear Readers: The bottom line is to BE DILIGENT!

And now, back to EXIM…

Thank you, as always, for reading me. - Douglas

Country Limitation Schedule Update

Export-Import Bank of the United States sent this bulletin at 10/19/2017 04:41 PM EDT

You are subscribed to Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) for Export-Import Bank of the United States. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Country Limitation Schedule (CLS) issued by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) has been updated. The new CLS is effective October 25, 2017.

The new CLS may be accessed on-line on October 25, 2017 at: http://www.exim.gov/tools-for-exporters/country-limitation-schedule. The CLS and Cover Letter are also attached as PDF files below.

The CLS indicates where EXIM Bank is "open for cover" and where EXIM Bank is "off-cover." The "open for cover" designation refers to the possibility, rather than the certainty of EXIM Bank support in particular cases. Where the CLS presents an X mark, EXIM Bank is "off-cover," and is therefore not willing to consider approval of routine transactions. These "off-cover" determinations are due to economic and/or political risks associated with the country.

Where the CLS indicates support is not available, EXIM Bank can still consider financing arrangements that eliminate or externalize country risks. Potentially acceptable transactions include structured transactions that earn revenues offshore in a country with no CLS restrictions and are held in a bank or trust account acceptable to EXIM Bank; third-party support from creditworthy entities in countries with no CLS restriction; and asset-backed lease and financing structures involving equipment such as aircraft.

It should be noted that these exceptions do not apply in countries where EXIM Bank is legally prohibited from operating.

For more information on the EXIM Bank, please visit our website at http://www.exim.gov.

• CLSOct2017.pdf
• CLSCOVERLTROct2017.pdf

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IS YOUR PROJECT OR BUSINESS UNFUNDABLE?

Why Your “Project” May Be Unfundable

Generally Speaking, Nobody Wants To “Put You Into Business”.

Funds Are Won By Businesses And Not By “Exciting Possibilities”.

Do You Have A Dedicated Management Team In Place To Operate Your Business Or Project?

Would You Like To Know What It Takes To Make Your Business Or Project FUNDABLE?

Were You Aware That Putting Words Into Quotes Implies A Kind Of “Sarcasm,” And Does Not Add Emphasis?

...Taking Steps To Make It Fundable

By: Douglas Castle

Most projects and nascent enterprises are inventions without sponsorship, dream careers which no company has yet been formed to provide, or are segregated outgrowths of existing businesses which are laden with bills (liabilities ) from the failed operation that ventured out a bit too far – and would like to have a third party (read: “patsy”) reimburse or otherwise cover those expenses to keep them from being acknowledged as sunk costs or losses.

In short, the majority of projects and startup companies are not structured and assembled as true businesses in search of capital; they are more like hobbies, options, dreams or gambles. And true project finance sources and venture capital investors are hesitant to deploy capital into hobbies, options, dreams or gambles – they prefer to invest in an organized business or project with a clear plan, a committed sponsorship, a management team in place (or in contract to be hired), and some progress already made toward meeting its objectives.

Here's a checklist of informational items which will serve you well if you are in search of project funding or venture capital. It is fairly safe to assume (and for me to say) that the more of these items which you address and the better that you handle them, the more likely it is that will succeed in winning that ever-elusive infusion of capital. The items on this checklist are in no particular order of importance or priority, and the list itself is geared toward either startup entrepreneurial enterprises or early-stage (but having great growth potential) companies.

Some of the items may not be applicable to your specific business, so use your best judgment. Also - a number of the items are redundant or will contain redundant pieces of information - don’t be a minimalist - be redundant (and repetitious, if necessary) with any of the items on the list which apply to your company or project are applicable.

There are numerous ways to get your point across, and it’s best to utilize all of them. Yes, overkill is advised, And before you issue the Plan to anyone for his or her consideration, have them execute a Non-Disclosure, Non-Circumvention And Confidentiality Agreement - this will let them know that you are serious, and that you have something of value to protect. Here’s the list:

1. Comprehensive Business Plan¹;
2. Executive Summary;
3. “Deck” Or Short Video About The Company [Virtually Everybody Loves The Movies];
4. Amount Of Investment (Capital) In The Business By Principal Officers And/Or Members Of The Management Team
5. Biographies (Resumes) And Responsibilities Of Principal Officers Or Management Team And Any Letters Of Intent Regarding Employment Or Engagement;
6. Proper Name Of Business, Domicile, Office Address, Registered Agent Address;
7. Analysis Of The Competitive Landscape;
8. Recital Of The Features And Benefits Which Will Make Your Company’s Product Or Service Different From (And Superior To) That Of The Competition, Whom You Intend To Disrupt And Displace;
9. Federal Taxpayer EIN [Employer Tax Identification Number];
10. Certificate And Articles Of Incorporation, Articles Of Formation, Or Articles Of Organization, As Appropriate;
11. Company By-Laws, As Appropriate;
12. Shareholder Agreement, Or Operating Agreement, Or Partnership Agreement, As Applicable;
13. DUNS # Of Business [Register Your Business With Dun & Bradstreet And Other Similar Business Information And Listing Services];
14. Most Recent Balance Sheet;
15. Most Recent Income Statement;
16. Pro Forma Balance Sheet;
17. Copy Of Most Recent Bank Statement;
18. Income and Cash Flow Forecast (First Quarter Shown Month-By-Month -- Second, Third And Fourth Quarters Shown Quarter-By-Quarter -- Second, Third, Fourth And Fifth Year Shown Year-By-Year);
19. Information About Key Vendors And Suppliers;
20. Information About Key Distributors, Dealers, Agents, Representatives, Etc.;
21. Sample Of Purchase Order From Vendor;
22. Website/Blog Coordinates For Company [You MUST Have A Website (Even If It Is Merely A PDF Document) Or Blog;
23. Anticipated Timing (Demand) And Application Of Proceeds Required;
24. Copies Of All Licenses, Permits And Insurance Policies Necessary To Conducting Your Business Or Undertaking And Executing Your Project;
25. Copies Of All Other Pertinent Agreements, Research Studies (Validating Your Concept) And Other Documents.

NOTE 1: The Comprehensive Business Plan should generally include all of the popular and commonly written chapters (http://bit.ly/TheBPLAN), plus, you should incorporate the following features and special touches to make it more powerful, serious and urgent:

1. A SWOT Analysis;
2. A LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER (A Sample Follows For Purposes Of Illustration. Sadly, It’s Best To Craft One And To Then Have Your Lawyer Review And Edit It Before You Put It On The Cover Of Your Business Plan). It Makes Your Plan Look More Like A Serious Offering Document, Even If No Offering Is Involved;
3. A Detailed TABLE OF CONTENTS (Replete With Page Numbers And Roman Numerals For Each Section);
4. A GLOSSARY Of Technical Terms And Acronyms [Never Use An Acronym Without Defining It In Words];
5. An EXIT STRATEGY Section, Even If You Intend To Stay And Build The Business Forever - Always Show A Prospective Investor The (Ahem) Door To Capital Recoupment And A Heady Gain;
6. A VALUATION Model Section - How Valuable Is Your Business Now, And How Valuable Will It Become? How Is This Valuation Justified?
7. An INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Section.

NOTE 1A: Here’s a sample of the LEGAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER, as promised earlier:

NOTE: THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION WHICH IS HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY TO DOUGLAS CASTLE, COPYRIGHT© 2017, WITH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CONTAINING LEGAL, FINANCIAL, TAX, INVESTMENT, ACCOUNTING, SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL OR ECONOMIC ADVICE. THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN AN OFFER FOR THE SALE OF SECURITIES OF ANY TYPE IN ANY ENTITY, NOR DOES IT CONTAIN A SOLICITATION OF INVESTOR INTEREST IN THE PURCHASE OR SALE OF SECURITIES OF ANY TYPE IN ANY ENTITY. THIS DOCUMENT MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OR DISTRIBUTED IN WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF DOUGLAS CASTLE; ANY OTHER REPRODUCTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT, IN WHOLE OR PART, IS UNAUTHORIZED AND MAY BE UNLAWFUL. FINANCIAL INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS DOCUMENT IS FORWARD-LOOKING, UNAUDITED, FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY AND IS BASED UPON ASSUMPTIONS AND ESTIMATES DEEMED REASONABLE BY DOUGLAS CASTLE. THERE CAN, HOWEVER,  BE NO GUARANTEE THAT ANY PROJECTED FINANCIAL OR OTHER OBJECTIVES OR RESULTS CAN OR WILL BE ATTAINED RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER HEREOF, AND ACCORDINGLY, NO GUARANTEE OF THE ATTAINMENT OF ANY PROJECTED FINANCIAL OR OTHER OBJECTIVES OR RESULTS IS GIVEN OR MADE HEREBY.

There it is. Build your own Legal Notice And Disclaimer, and have your attorney review and edit it before you use it. Hoohah!

Incidentally, never just send a business plan or any other information or files to a prospective benefactor or financier. Any information sent to anybody important to your future warrants a well-written (also edited and carefully proofread) letter of transmittal and a phone call in advance of any emails or snail mail submissions.

But enough of this! It’s time to get to work on making your business or project fundable.

I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you, as always, for reading me. - Douglas

p.s. If you have any questions or comments regarding this article, you may reach me directly at douglas.castle@yahoo.com. Please be certain to place the words “Question Or Comment About An Article” in the subject line of your email. While I try to answer most of my email, I cannot guarantee a response, and I cannot guarantee timeliness.