Students reading about the coming of the Civil War will find the topic of religion and abolition more interesting than they imagined.

New essay by Glenda Gilmore just added to Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History, TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.

New essay by Lucinda MacKethan just added to Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History, TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.

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New essay, "How Slavery Affected African American Families," by Heather Andrea Williams, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, added to Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History, TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.

New essay, "Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition," by Gerald Early, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis, added to Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History, TeacherServe from the National Humanities Center.

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National Instrument 93-101 Derivatives: Business Conduct (the Rule) will come into force on September 28, 2024 (the Effective Date), pursuant to section 143.4 of the Securities Act (Ontario).

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The Minister of Finance has approved amendments to Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Rule 91-507 Trade Repositories and Derivatives Data Reporting and consequential amendments to OSC Rule 13-502 Fees (collectively, the Amendments) pursuant to

The Securities Advisory Committee (“SAC”) is a committee of industry experts established by the Commission to advise it and its staff on a variety of matters including policy initiatives and capital markets trends.

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This document is only available as a PDF.

This document is only available in PDF format.

This document is only available in PDF format.

Job Summary: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a qualified candidate to serve as Manager of Administration & Corporate Services for a one-year, renewable appointment in the Finance and Administration Division. The Manager of Administration & Corporate Services AFR is responsible for the overall coordination of administrative matters between IFPRI's headquarters in Washington DC and the IFPRI regional and country/project offices in Africa. The position provides management and operational support to IFPRI regional and country/project offices in Africa including related administrative aspects of current and new corporate partnerships in Africa. This position is based in Dakar, Senegal.  Essential Duties: Specific Duties include but are not limited to: Lead finance and administration functions of the Dakar office, providing operational support and oversight of day-to-day office activities.  Provide management support and oversight of the financial and administrative operations of IFPRI Regional and country/project offices in Africa, including functions such as budgeting, contracts and grants, human resources, facilities and IT management. Work closely with key administrative departments at IFPRI headquarters for accounting, human resources, computer services and facilities/office services, in the development of and roll-out of IFPRI-wide policy and procedure changes, providing guidance and training as needed to regional and country offices to ensure that the quality of operational support meets IFPRI operations standards. Regular analysis of operations capacity of IFPRI offices in Africa, identifying and making recommendations regarding opportunities for improvement in IFPRI’s administrative operations and processes, and undertaking new initiatives as agreed. Build strong relationships with Country Office Heads and Country Administrative and Finance Managers, providing advice, guidance, and support in all areas of operations and ensuring compliance with IFPRI policies and procedures. Financial reporting oversight for IFPRI regional and country offices in Africa, and supervision and management of the Hub Finance and Administration unit team, ensuring compliance with IFPRI and donor standards, policies and procedures and processes. Participation in the formulation of annual budgets and capital plans for IFPRI offices in Africa. Provide management oversight to ensure that proper financial controls are in place and processes are compliant with correct accounting procedures, providing strategic direction in developing options for addressing any weaknesses. Monitor projects in African locations on an as required basis. Facilitate decision-making on human resource (HR) matters relating to IFPRI offices in Africa (policies and procedures, labor law compliance, staffing, recruitment, conflict resolution, etc.) Work to build the capacity of finance, administrative staff members throughout IFPRI offices in Africa through regular training sessions and mentoring support. Contribute to the internal and external audit preparations for IFPRI offices in Africa and provide support on the implementation of audit recommendations and actions. Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree plus twelve years of relevant professional experience or Master’s degree plus ten years of relevant experience.  Minimum of four years management experience. Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal skills. Strong customer service skills. Ability to work effectively with all levels of organizations, including regional partners and donors. Ability to work autonomously, yet keep others informed. Ability to work in a multicultural setting. Excellent attention to details. Fluency in French is highly preferred.  ​Physical Demand & Work environment: Employee will sit in an upright position for a long period of time with little opportunity to move/stretch Employee will lift between 0-10 pounds Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing computer terminal; extensive reading. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an equal employment opportunity employer - F/M/Disability/Vet/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity.

Job Summary  The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a highly motivated Graphic Designer II to join our Communications and Public Affairs team. This position is a one-year, renewable appointment, based in its New Delhi office, India and report to the Manager for Creative Solutions, who is based in Washington, DC. The Graphic Designer will produce high-quality and professional visual communication products to promote IFPRI's research to a diverse range of target audiences and through multiple channels. The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic, creative, and team-oriented individual with experience designing and delivering compelling visual communication outputs in a dynamic environment.  Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, and a portfolio demonstrating their graphic design work. The portfolio should include a variety of projects showcasing skills in typography, layout, creativity, and use of design software (Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Canva) and include. links to digital portfolios or PDF attachments. Applications without a portfolio will not be considered. Interested applicants must have work authorization to work in India. Essential Duties:  Specific duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to: Design both print and digital visual communication products: Develop multiple design concepts and carry them through to final delivery, including but not limited to conference banners, brochures, data visualizations, flyers, posters, presentations, research reports, and websites. Layout print publications: Design and layout policy papers and reports while assisting in the creation of flexible InDesign templates. Create engaging digital content: Design visual content for the IFPRI website, interactive applications, social media, and email campaigns. Apply design principles: Utilize knowledge of layout, color theory, typography, and iconography to execute a wide variety of graphic design projects for both print and digital media. Provide branding guidance: Insure IFPRI products adhere to a consistent visual style and uphold professional standards, providing branding guidance to staff as needed. Brand design: Develop and execute creative concepts for branding, including logos, typography, color palettes, and overall visual identity. Innovate in interactive design: Lead initiatives on using innovative methods of interactive design to communicate research findings to both new and established audiences. Web Design: Develop visual design for IFPRI’s main website and microsites, ensure adherence to style guidelines. Coordinate printing: Manage the printing process of IFPRI publications and materials with local and international vendors. Collaborate effectively: Work collaboratively across the institution to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality design deliverables. Monitor and educate on digital trends: Stay updated on current digital trends, technologies, and industry standards, and educate both the team and IFPRI staff on best practices. Required Qualifications:  Bachelor's Degree in Art Design, Fine arts, Communications, Marketing or related field plus five years of relevant professional experience or Master’s plus three years in related field. Experience in graphic design, producing high-quality artwork, illustrations, and other graphics for communication purposes, including websites. Proven graphic design experience with a strong portfolio demonstrating excellent typography, layout, and creativity. Extensive experience with Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Basic knowledge/understanding of DTP software like Corel Draw.  Proficiency in using Canva for creating and managing visual content. In-depth knowledge and understanding of social media and web platforms, with demonstrated experience generating engaging content. Familiarity with designing within PowerPoint and MS Word. Ability to work quickly to meet tight deadlines and handle multiple projects simultaneously. Outstanding organizational and planning skills, with exceptional attention to detail. Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills; proven ability to be flexible in a team-oriented environment with diverse groups of people. Physical Demand & Work environment: Employee will sit in an upright position for a long period of time.  Employee will lift between 0-10 pounds.  Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as: data preparation, web-scraping, preparing, and analyzing data and figure s; dashboard; viewing computer terminal; extensive coding.  

Julia Schölermann is the organiser for this year’s SpotOn London session on, What should the scientific

Twenty five years after the launch of CVE, the Tenable Security Response Team has handpicked 25 vulnerabilities that stand out for their significance.

Background

In January 1999, David E. Mann and Steven M. Christey published the paper “Towards a Common Enumeration of Vulnerabilities” describing an effort to create interoperability between multiple vulnerability databases. To achieve a common taxonomy for vulnerabilities and exposures, they proposed Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE). In September 1999, the MITRE Corporation finalized the first CVE list, which included 321 records. CVE was revealed to the world the following month.

As of October 2024, there are over 240,000 CVEs. including many that have significantly impacted consumers, businesses and governments. The Tenable Security Response Team has chosen to highlight the following 25 significant vulnerabilities, followed by links to product coverage for Tenable customers to utilize.

25 Significant CVEs

CVE-1999-0211: SunOS Arbitrary Read/Write Vulnerability

CVE-2010-2568: Windows Shell Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2014-0160: OpenSSL Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2014-6271: GNU Bash Shellshock Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2015-5119: Adobe Flash Player Use After Free

CVE-2017-11882: Microsoft Office Equation Editor Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2017-0144: Windows SMB Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2017-5638: Apache Struts 2 Jakarta Multipart Parser Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2019-0708: Remote Desktop Services Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2020-0796: Windows SMBv3 Client/Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2019-19781: Citrix ADC and Gateway Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2019-10149: Exim Remote Command Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2020-1472: Netlogon Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CVE-2017-5753: CPU Speculative Execution Bounds Check Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2017-5754: CPU Speculative Execution Rogue Data Cache Load Vulnerability

CVE-2021-36942: Windows LSA Spoofing Vulnerability

CVE-2022-30190: Microsoft Windows Support Diagnostic Tool Remote Code Execution

CVE-2021-44228: Apache Log4j Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2021-26855: Microsoft Exchange Server Server-Side Request Forgery Vulnerability

CVE-2021-34527: Microsoft Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2021-27101: Accellion File Transfer Appliance (FTA) SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2023-34362: Progress Software MOVEit Transfer SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2023-4966: Citrix NetScaler and ADC Gateway Sensitive Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2023-2868: Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) Remote Command Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2024-3094: XZ Utils Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability

Identifying affected systems

A list of Tenable plugins for these vulnerabilities can be found on the individual CVE pages:

• CVE-1999-0211
• CVE-2010-2568
• CVE-2014-0160
• CVE-2014-6271
• CVE-2015-5119
• CVE-2017-11882
• CVE-2017-0144
• CVE-2017-5638
• CVE-2019-0708
• CVE-2020-0796
• CVE-2019-19781
• CVE-2019-10149
• CVE-2020-1472
• CVE-2017-5753
• CVE-2017-5754
• CVE-2021-36942
• CVE-2022-30190
• CVE-2021-44228
• CVE-2021-26855
• CVE-2021-34527
• CVE-2021-27101
• CVE-2023-34362
• CVE-2023-4966
• CVE-2023-2868
• CVE-2024-3094

Looking for help with shadow AI? Want to boost your software updates’ safety? New publications offer valuable tips. Plus, learn why GenAI and data security have become top drivers of cyber strategies. And get the latest on the top “no-nos” for software security; the EU’s new cyber law; and CISOs’ communications with boards.

Dive into six things that are top of mind for the week ending Oct. 25.

1 - CSA: How to prevent “shadow AI” 

As organizations scale up their AI adoption, they must closely track their AI assets to secure them and mitigate their cyber risk. This includes monitoring the usage of unapproved AI tools by employees — an issue known as “shadow AI.”

So how do you identify, manage and prevent shadow AI? You may find useful ideas in the Cloud Security Alliance’s new “AI Organizational Responsibilities: Governance, Risk Management, Compliance and Cultural Aspects” white paper.

The white paper covers shadow AI topics including:

• Creating a comprehensive inventory of AI systems
• Conducting gap analyses to spot discrepancies between approved and actual AI usage
• Implementing ways to detect unauthorized AI wares
• Establishing effective access controls
• Deploying monitoring techniques

“By focusing on these key areas, organizations can significantly reduce the risks associated with shadow AI, ensuring that all AI systems align with organizational policies, security standards, and regulatory requirements,” the white paper reads.

For example, to create an inventory that offers the required visibility into AI assets, the document explains different elements each record should have, such as:

• The asset’s description
• Information about its AI models
• Information about its data sets and data sources
• Information about the tools used for its development and deployment
• Detailed documentation about its lifecycle, regulatory compliance, ethical considerations and adherence to industry standards
• Records of its access control mechanisms

Shadow AI is one of four topics covered in the publication, which also unpacks risk management; governance and compliance; and safety culture and training.

To get more details, read:

• The full “AI Organizational Responsibilities: Governance, Risk Management, Compliance and Cultural Aspects” white paper
• A complementary slide presentation
• The CSA blog “Shadow AI Prevention: Safeguarding Your Organization’s AI Landscape”

For more information about AI security issues, including shadow AI, check out these Tenable blogs:

• “Do You Think You Have No AI Exposures? Think Again”
• “Securing the AI Attack Surface: Separating the Unknown from the Well Understood”
• “Never Trust User Inputs -- And AI Isn't an Exception: A Security-First Approach”
• “6 Best Practices for Implementing AI Securely and Ethically”
• “Compromising Microsoft's AI Healthcare Chatbot Service”

2 - Best practices for secure software updates

The security and reliability of software updates took center stage in July when an errant update caused massive and unprecedented tech outages globally.

To help prevent such episodes, U.S. and Australian cyber agencies have published “Safe Software Deployment: How Software Manufacturers Can Ensure Reliability for Customers.”

“It is critical for all software manufacturers to implement a safe software deployment program supported by verified processes, including robust testing and measurements,” reads the 12-page document.

Although the guide is aimed primarily at commercial software vendors, its recommendations can be useful for any organization with software development teams that deploy updates internally.

The guide outlines key steps for a secure software development process, including planning; development and testing; internal rollout; and controlled rollout. It also addresses errors and emergency protocols.

“A safe software deployment process should be integrated with the organization’s SDLC, quality program, risk tolerance, and understanding of the customer’s environment and operations,” reads the guide, authored by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

To get more details, read:

• The “Safe Software Deployment: How Software Manufacturers Can Ensure Reliability for Customers” guide
• The CISA alert “CISA, US, and International Partners Release Joint Guidance to Assist Software Manufacturers with Safe Software Deployment Processes”

For more information about secure software updates:

• “Tenable’s Software Update Process Protects Customers’ Business Continuity with a Safe, Do-No-Harm Design” (Tenable)
• “The critical importance of robust release processes” (Cloud Native Computing Foundation)
• “Software Deployment Security: Risks and Best Practices” (DevOps.com)
• “Software Updates, A Double-Edged Sword for Cybersecurity Professionals” (Infosecurity)
• “DevOps Best Practices for Faster and More Reliable Software Delivery” (DevOps.com)

3 - Report: GenAI, attack variety, data security drive cyber strategies

What issues act as catalysts for organizations’ cybersecurity actions today? Hint: They’re fairly recent concerns. The promise and peril of generative AI ranks first. It’s closely followed by the ever growing variety of cyberattacks; and by the intensifying urgency to protect data.

That’s according to CompTIA’s “State of Cybersecurity 2025” report, based on a survey of almost 1,200 business and IT pros in North America and in parts of Europe and Asia. 

These three key factors, along with others like the scale of attacks, play a critical role in how organizations currently outline their cybersecurity game plans.

“Understanding these drivers is essential for organizations to develop proactive and adaptive cybersecurity strategies that address the evolving threat landscape and safeguard their digital assets,” reads a CompTIA blog about the report.

Organizations are eagerly trying to understand both how generative AI can help their cybersecurity programs and how this technology is being used by malicious actors to make cyberattacks harder to detect and prevent.

Meanwhile, concern about data protection has ballooned in the past couple of years. “As organizations become more data-driven, the need to protect sensitive information has never been more crucial,” reads the blog.

Not only are organizations focused on securing data at rest, in transit and in use, but they’re also creating foundational data-management practices, according to the report.

“The rise of AI has accelerated the need for robust data practices in order to properly train AI algorithms, and the demand for data science continues to be strong as businesses seek competitive differentiation,” the report reads.

To get more details, read:

• The report’s announcement “Cybersecurity success hinges on full organizational support, new CompTIA report asserts”
• CompTIA’s blogs “Today’s top drivers for cybersecurity strategy” and “Cybersecurity’s maturity: CompTIA’s State of Cybersecurity 2025 report”
• The full “State of Cybersecurity 2025” report

For more information about data security posture management (DSPM) and preventing AI-powered attacks, check out these Tenable resources:

• “Harden Your Cloud Security Posture by Protecting Your Cloud Data and AI Resources” (blog)
• “Know Your Exposure: Is Your Cloud Data Secure in the Age of AI?” (on-demand webinar)
• “The Data-Factor: Why Integrating DSPM Is Key to Your CNAPP Strategy” (blog)
• “Mitigating AI-Related Security Risks” (on-demand webinar)
• “Securing the AI Attack Surface: Separating the Unknown from the Well Understood” (blog)

4 - CISA lists software dev practices most harmful for security

Recommended best practices abound in the cybersecurity world. However, CISA and the FBI are taking the opposite tack in their quest to improve the security of software products: They just released a list of the worst security practices that software manufacturers ought to avoid.

Titled “Product Security Bad Practices,” the document groups the “no-nos” into three main categories: product properties; security features; and organizational processes and policies.

“It’s 2024, and basic, preventable software defects continue to enable crippling attacks against hospitals, schools, and other critical infrastructure. This has to stop,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said in a statement.

“These product security bad practices pose unacceptable risks in this day and age, and yet are all too common,” she added.

Here are some of the worst practices detailed in the document, which is part of CISA’s “Secure by Design” effort:

• Using programming languages considered “memory unsafe”
• Including user-provided input in SQL query strings
• Releasing a product with default passwords
• Releasing a product with known and exploited vulnerabilities
• Not using multi-factor authentication
• Failing to disclose vulnerabilities in a timely manner

Although the guidance is aimed primarily at software makers whose products are used by critical infrastructure organizations, the recommendations apply to all software manufacturers.

If you’re interested in sharing your feedback with CISA and the FBI, you can submit comments about the document until December 16, 2024 on the Federal Register.

To get more details, check out:

• CISA’s announcement “CISA and FBI Release Product Security Bad Practices for Public Comment”
• The full document “Product Security Bad Practices”

For more information about how to develop secure software:

• “Tenable Partners with CISA to Enhance Secure By Design Practices” (Tenable)
• “Ensuring Application Security from Design to Operation with DevSecOps” (DevOps.com)
• “What is application security?” (TechTarget)
• “Guidelines for Software Development (Australian Cyber Security Centre)

5 - New EU law focuses on cybersecurity of connected digital products

Makers of digital products — both software and hardware — that directly or indirectly connect to networks and to other devices will have to comply with specific cybersecurity safeguards in the European Union.

A newly adopted law known as the “Cyber Resilience Act” outlines cybersecurity requirements for the design, development, production and lifecycle maintenance of these types of products, including IoT wares such as connected cars.

For example, it specifies a number of “essential cybersecurity requirements” for these products, including that they:

• Aren’t shipped with known exploitable vulnerabilities
• Feature a “secure by default” configuration
• Can fix their vulnerabilities via automatic software updates
• Offer access protection via control mechanisms, such as authentication and identity management
• Protect the data they store, transmit and process using, for example, at-rest and in-transit encryption

“The new regulation aims to fill the gaps, clarify the links, and make the existing cybersecurity legislative framework more coherent, ensuring that products with digital components (...) are made secure throughout the supply chain and throughout their lifecycle,” reads a statement from the EU’s European Council.

The law will “enter into force” after its publication in the EU’s official journal and will apply and be enforceable 36 months later, so most likely in October 2027 or November 2027. However, some of its provisions will be enforceable a year prior.

For more information and analysis about the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act:

• “Cyber Resilience Act Requirements Standards Mapping” (ENISA)
• “The Cyber Resilience Act, an Accidental European Alien Torts Statute?” (Lawfare)
• “EU Cybersecurity Regulation Adopted, Impacts Connected Products” (National Law Review)
• “Open source foundations unite on common standards for EU’s Cyber Resilience Act” (TechCrunch)
• “The Cyber Resilience Act: A New Era for Mobile App Developers” (DevOps.com)

VIDEO

The EU Cyber Resilience Act: A New Era for Business Engagement in Open Source Software (Linux Foundation) 

6 - UK cyber agency: CISOs must communicate better with boards

CISOs and boards of directors are struggling to understand each other, and this is increasing their organizations’ cyber risk, new research from the U.K.’s cyber agency has found.

For example, in one alarming finding, 80% of respondents, which included board members, CISOs and other cyber leaders in medium and large enterprises, confessed to being unsure of who is ultimately accountable for cybersecurity in their organizations.

“We found that in many organisations, the CISO (or equivalent role) thought that the Board was accountable, whilst the Board thought it was the CISO,” reads a blog about the research titled “How to talk to board members about cyber.”

As a result, the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has released new guidance aimed at helping CISOs better communicate with their organizations’ boards titled “Engaging with Boards to improve the management of cyber security risk.”

“Cyber security is a strategic issue, which means you must engage with Boards on their terms and in their language to ensure the cyber risk is understood, managed and mitigated,” the document reads.

Here’s a small sampling of the advice:

• Understand your audience, including who are the board’s members and their areas of expertise; and how the board works, such as its meeting formats and its committees.
• Talk about cybersecurity in terms of risks, and outline these risks concretely and precisely, presenting them in a matter-of-fact way.
• Don’t limit your communication with board members to formal board meetings. Look for opportunities to talk to them individually or in small groups outside of these board meetings.
• Elevate the discussions so that you link cybersecurity with your organization’s business challenges, goals and context.
• Aim to provide a holistic view, and avoid using technical jargon.
• Aim to advise instead of to educate.

Should critical infrastructure orgs boost OT/ICS systems’ security with zero trust? Absolutely, the CSA says. Meanwhile, the Five Eyes countries offer cyber advice to tech startups. Plus, a survey finds “shadow AI” weakening data governance. And get the latest on MFA methods, CISO trends and Uncle Sam’s AI strategy.

Dive into six things that are top of mind for the week ending Nov. 1.

1 - Securing OT/ICS in critical infrastructure with zero trust

As their operational technology (OT) computing environments become more digitized, converged with IT systems and cloud-based, critical infrastructure organizations should beef up their cybersecurity by adopting zero trust principles.

That’s the key message of the Cloud Security Alliance’s “Zero Trust Guidance for Critical Infrastructure,” which focuses on applying zero trust methods to OT and industrial control system (ICS) systems.

While OT/ICS environments were historically air gapped, that’s rarely the case anymore. “Modern systems are often interconnected via embedded wireless access, cloud and other internet-connected services, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications,” reads the 64-page white paper, which was published this week.

The CSA hopes the document will help cybersecurity teams and OT/ICS operators enhance the way they communicate and collaborate.

Among the topics covered are:

• Critical infrastructure’s unique threat vectors
• The convergence of IT/OT with digital transformation
• Architecture and technology differences between OT and IT

The guide also outlines this five-step process for implementing zero trust in OT/ICS environments:

• Define the surface to be protected
• Map operational flows
• Build a zero trust architecture
• Draft a zero trust policy
• Monitor and maintain the environment

A zero trust strategy boosts the security of critical OT/ICS systems by helping teams “keep pace with rapid technological advancements and the evolving threat landscape,” Jennifer Minella, the paper’s lead author, said in a statement.

To get more details, read:

• The report’s announcement “New Paper from Cloud Security Alliance Examines Considerations and Application of Zero Trust Principles for Critical Infrastructure”
• The full report “Zero Trust Guidance for Critical Infrastructure”
• A complementary slide presentation

For more information about OT systems cybersecurity, check out these Tenable resources: 

• “What is operational technology (OT)?” (guide)
• “Discover, Measure, and Minimize the Risk Posed by Your Interconnected IT/OT/IoT Environments” (on-demand webinar)
• “How To Secure All of Your Assets - IT, OT and IoT - With an Exposure Management Platform” (blog)
• “Blackbox to blueprint: The security leader’s guidebook to managing OT and IT risk” (white paper)
• “Tenable Cloud Risk Report 2024” (white paper)

2 - Five Eyes publish cyber guidance for tech startups

Startup tech companies can be attractive targets for hackers, especially if they have weak cybersecurity and valuable intellectual property (IP).

To help startups prevent cyberattacks, the Five Eyes countries this week published cybersecurity guides tailored for these companies and their investors.

“This guidance is designed to help tech startups protect their innovation, reputation, and growth, while also helping tech investors fortify their portfolio companies against security risks," Mike Casey, U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center Director, said in a statement.

These are the top five cybersecurity recommendations from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the U.K. for tech startups:

• Be aware of threat vectors, including malicious insiders, insecure IT and supply chain risk.
• Identify your most critical assets and conduct a risk assessment to pinpoint vulnerabilities.
• Build security into your products by managing intellectual assets and IP; monitoring who has access to sensitive information; and ensuring this information’s protection.
• Conduct due diligence when choosing partners and make sure they’re equipped to protect the data you share with them.
• Before you expand abroad, prepare and become informed about these new markets by, for example, understanding local laws in areas such as IP protection and data protection.

“Sophisticated nation-state adversaries, like China, are working hard to steal the intellectual property held by some of our countries’ most innovative and exciting startups,” Ken McCallum, Director General of the U.K.’s MI5, said in a statement.

To get more details, check out these Five Eyes’ cybersecurity resources for tech startups:

• The announcement “Five Eyes Launch Shared Security Advice Campaign for Tech Startups”
• The main guides: 
  • “Secure Innovation: Security Advice for Emerging Technology Companies”
  • “Secure Innovation: Security Advice for Emerging Technology Investors”
• These complementary documents:
  • “Secure Innovation: Scenarios and Mitigations”
  • “Secure Innovation: Travel Security Guidance”
  • “Secure Innovation: Due Diligence Guidance”
  • “Secure Innovation: Companies Summary”

3 - Survey: Unapproved AI use impacting data governance

Employees’ use of unauthorized AI tools is creating compliance issues in a majority of organizations. Specifically, it makes it harder to control data governance and compliance, according to almost 60% of organizations surveyed by market researcher Vanson Bourne.

“Amid all the investment and adoption enthusiasm, many organisations are struggling for control and visibility over its use,” reads the firm’s “AI Barometer: October 2024” publication. Vanson Bourne polls 100 IT and business executives each month about their AI investment plans.

To what extent do you think the unsanctioned use of AI tools is impacting your organisation's ability to maintain control over data governance and compliance?

^{(Source: Vanson Bourne’s “AI Barometer: October 2024”)}

Close to half of organizations surveyed (44%) believe that at least 10% of their employees are using unapproved AI tools.

On a related front, organizations are also grappling with the issue of software vendors that unilaterally and silently add AI features to their products, especially to their SaaS applications.

While surveyed organizations say they’re reaping advantages from their AI usage, “such benefits are dependent on IT teams having the tools to address the control and visibility challenges they face,” the publication reads.

For more information about the use of unapproved AI tools, an issue also known as “shadow AI,” check out:

• “Do You Think You Have No AI Exposures? Think Again” (Tenable)
• “Shadow AI poses new generation of threats to enterprise IT” (TechTarget)
• “10 ways to prevent shadow AI disaster” (CIO)
• “Never Trust User Inputs -- And AI Isn't an Exception: A Security-First Approach” (Tenable)
• “Shadow AI in the ‘dark corners’ of work is becoming a big problem for companies” (CNBC)

VIDEO

Shadow AI Risks in Your Company

4 - NCSC explains nuances of multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) comes in a variety of flavors, and understanding the differences is critical for choosing the right option for each use case in your organization.

To help cybersecurity teams better understand the different MFA types and their pluses and minuses, the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has updated its MFA guidance.

“The new guidance explains the benefits that come with strong authentication, while also minimising the friction that some users associate with MFA,” reads an NCSC blog.

In other words, what type of MFA method to use depends on people’s roles, how they work, the devices they use, the applications or services they’re accessing and so on.

Topics covered include:

• Recommended types of MFA, such as FIDO2 credentials, app-based and hardware-based code generators and message-based methods
• The importance of using strong MFA to secure users’ access to sensitive data
• The role of trusted devices in boosting and simplifying MFA
• Bad practices that weaken MFA’s effectiveness, such as:
  • Retaining weaker, password-only authentication protocols for legacy services
  • Excluding certain accounts from MFA requirements because their users, usually high-ranking officials, find MFA inconvenient

To get more details, read:

• The NCSC blog “Not all types of MFA are created equal”
• The NCSC guide “Multi-factor authentication for your corporate online services”

For more information about MFA:

• “Multifactor Authentication Cheat Sheet” (OWASP)
• “Deploying Multi Factor Authentication – The What, How, and Why” (SANS Institute)
• “How MFA gets hacked — and strategies to prevent it” (CSO)
• “How Multifactor Authentication Supports Growth for Businesses Focused on Zero Trust” (BizTech)
• “What is multi-factor authentication?” (TechTarget)

5 - U.S. gov’t outlines AI strategy, ties it to national security 

The White House has laid out its expectations for how the federal government ought to promote the development of AI in order to safeguard U.S. national security.

In the country’s first-ever National Security Memorandum (NSM) on AI, the Biden administration said the federal government must accomplish the following:

• Ensure the U.S. is the leader in the development of safe, secure and trustworthy AI
• Leverage advanced AI technologies to boost national security
• Advance global AI consensus and governance

“The NSM’s fundamental premise is that advances at the frontier of AI will have significant implications for national security and foreign policy in the near future,” reads a White House statement.

The NSM’s directives to federal agencies include:

• Help improve the security of chips and support the development of powerful supercomputers to be used by AI systems.
• Help AI developers protect their work against foreign spies by providing them with cybersecurity and counterintelligence information.
• Collaborate with international partners to create a governance framework for using AI in a way that is ethical, responsible and respects human rights. 

The White House also published a complementary document titled “Framework To Advance AI Governance and Risk Management in National Security,” which adds implementation details and guidance for the NSM.

6 - State CISOs on the frontlines of AI security

As the cybersecurity risks and benefits of AI multiply, most U.S. state CISOs find themselves at the center of their governments' efforts to craft AI security strategies and policies.

That’s according to the “2024 Deloitte-NASCIO Cybersecurity Study,” which surveyed CISOs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Specifically, 88% of state CISOs reported being involved in the development of a generative AI strategy, while 96% are involved with creating a generative AI security policy.

However, their involvement in AI cybersecurity matters isn’t necessarily making them optimistic about their states’ ability to fend off AI-boosted attacks.

None said they feel “extremely confident” that their state can prevent AI-boosted attacks, while only 10% reported feeling “very confident.” The majority (43%) said they feel “somewhat confident” while the rest said they are either “not very confident” or “not confident at all.”

Naturally, most state CISOs see AI-enabled cyberthreats as significant, with 71% categorizing them as either “very high threat” (18%) or “somewhat high threat” (53%).

At the same time, state CISOs see the potential for AI to help their cybersecurity efforts, as 41% are already using generative AI for cybersecurity, and another 43% have plans to do so by mid-2025.

Other findings from the "2024 Deloitte-NASCIO Cybersecurity Study" include:

• 4 in 10 state CISOs feel their budget is insufficient.
• Almost half of respondents rank cybersecurity staffing as one of the top challenges.
• In the past two years, 23 states have hired new CISOs, as the median tenure of a state CISO has dropped to 23 months, down from 30 months in 2022.
• More state CISOs are taking on privacy protection duties — 86% are responsible for privacy protection, up from 60% two years ago.

For more information about CISO trends:

• “What’s important to CISOs in 2024” (PwC)
• “The CISO’s Tightrope: Balancing Security, Business, and Legal Risks in 2024” (The National CIO Review)
• “State of CISO Leadership: 2024” (SC World)
• “4 Trends That Will Define the CISO's Role in 2024” (SANS Institute)

1. 4Critical
2. 82Important
3. 1Moderate
4. 0Low

Microsoft addresses 87 CVEs and one advisory (ADV240001) in its November 2024 Patch Tuesday release, with four critical vulnerabilities and four zero-day vulnerabilities, including two that were exploited in the wild.

Microsoft patched 87 CVEs in its November 2024 Patch Tuesday release, with four rated critical, 82 rated important and one rated moderate.

This month’s update includes patches for:

• .NET and Visual Studio
• Airlift.microsoft.com
• Azure CycleCloud
• Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• LightGBM
• Microsoft Exchange Server
• Microsoft Graphics Component
• Microsoft Office Excel
• Microsoft Office Word
• Microsoft PC Manager
• Microsoft Virtual Hard Drive
• Microsoft Windows DNS
• Role: Windows Hyper-V
• SQL Server
• TorchGeo
• Visual Studio
• Visual Studio Code
• Windows Active Directory Certificate Services
• Windows CSC Service
• Windows DWM Core Library
• Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC)
• Windows Kerberos
• Windows Kernel
• Windows NT OS Kernel
• Windows NTLM
• Windows Package Library Manager
• Windows Registry
• Windows SMB
• Windows SMBv3 Client/Server
• Windows Secure Kernel Mode
• Windows Task Scheduler
• Windows Telephony Service
• Windows USB Video Driver
• Windows Update Stack
• Windows VMSwitch
• Windows Win32 Kernel Subsystem

Remote code execution (RCE) vulnerabilities accounted for 58.6% of the vulnerabilities patched this month, followed by elevation of privilege (EoP) vulnerabilities at 29.9%.

Tenable Solutions

A list of all the plugins released for Microsoft’s November 2024 Patch Tuesday update can be found here. As always, we recommend patching systems as soon as possible and regularly scanning your environment to identify those systems yet to be patched.

For more specific guidance on best practices for vulnerability assessments, please refer to our blog post on How to Perform Efficient Vulnerability Assessments with Tenable.

Get more information

• Microsoft's November 2024 Security Updates
• Tenable plugins for Microsoft November 2024 Patch Tuesday Security Updates

Join Tenable's Security Response Team on the Tenable Community.
Learn more about Tenable One, the Exposure Management Platform for the modern attack surface.

This has been cross-posted from the nature.com guest blog, Soapbox Science. Liz Neeley is the

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With a month to go, we’ve been busy behind the scenes planning for this year’s

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