The much maligned password has an equally dopey digital neighbor in Things on the Internet.What could possibly go wrong with hordes of technically challenged users plugging vulnerable digital cameras into the internet then retiring to their home theater to watch junior toss and turn in his sleep, and devise a seven-character pasw0rd for their financial services account?A lot, it appears, if you're running an internet infrastructure company called Dyn. Last week, the company was knocked offline by a toxic alignment of poorly configured and constructed Things, and a malware strain called Mirai.It's bad enough that individuals routinely rip holes in their own digital lives with their weak passwords, but now those same wacky technicians are empowering a fire-breathing menace that moves at 620 gigabits per second.The Internet of Things is still very much a lab experiment. Things on the Internet is a comedy-of-errors reality show. While the internet is an established and massively connected global communication network, Things have little need beyond novelty for internet connections.

If there are any questions as to the importance of proper access controls, they were answered last week. supreme backpack 33rdBut there are more questions coming.apiarist backpack Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent questions last week to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). supreme backpack ss14He is waiting for responses. backpack series pearson longmanSen. Warner has become Capitol Hill's internet question and answer man. Last month Warner asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate in the wake of Yahoo's surprise acknowledgement of a two-year-old hack that involved 500 million user accounts.

It was just another access control catastrophe. But Things on the Internet don't need an investigation, they need time, standards, engineers and innovation so they can securely play on a massively connected global communication network. (A moratorium on internet connections wouldn't hurt either.)What's missing includes a common language for devices to talk to one another, an identity and security layer for identifying and verifying "Things," standard security constructs that define upgrades to firmware or software, and methods to combat devices that are compromised and assimilated into botnets.And we haven't even begun to address data collection and privacy issues.SWISIS winners honored at ACSAC EventI had the opportunity to attend the 32nd Annual Computer Security Applications Conference in Los Angeles, California where 16 scholarships co-funded by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) were awarded to Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS).The SWSIS program, founded by the Applied Computer Security Association (ACSA), is a joint initiative between Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the ACSA and the Computer Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W) that provides scholarships and internship opportunities to women studying information security.

HPE committed a $250,000 grant to the SWSIS scholarship program, which distributes to winners over four years. The scholarships that were distributed not only provided financial aid, but also open opportunities for these women to network and identify employment opportunities. The goal of this program is to encourage and empower women to study information security and support their passion of specific security fields of interest.This year, SWSIS received over 75 submissions, of those, 16 SWSIS Scholars were selected from universities across the United States that included:California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCalifornia State University-NorthridgeCarnegie Mellon UniversityCornell UniversityDakota State UniversityEastern Michigan UniversityFerris State UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityIndiana University at BloomingtonState University of New York at AlbanyUniversity of Maryland Baltimore CountyUniversity of Maryland University CollegeUniversity of North TexasUniversity of Northwestern-St PaulUniversity of South FloridaYoungstown State University.Candidates were selected based on their academic performance

, as well as internships and extracurricular/club involvement.I had an opportunity to speak with these amazing women who were awarded at the event. Their enthusiasm for security and technology was spirited. What fascinated them most about the security space was how it was always evolving and changing at a rapid pace; For every project they worked on, they compared it to a giant puzzle for which they needed to find ways to connect the pieces to complete the design. They agreed that information security is challenging and complex, but that’s what they enjoy most about it.They want to address the problematic issues that organizations face and are intrigued by the complexity of attacks created today. Many of them participated in science, technology and other clubs that sparked their interest, but what resonated with most of them, was the amount of support they received from their classmates and universities.The scholarship winners were so grateful to have been honored at this event. The scholarships allowed many of the students to pay for additional classes so they could finish school in less time.

It helped one student coming from a low-income family, be the first to attend college. Another student was thrilled to be graduating this summer with no debt because the scholarship helped pay her tuition.During the conference, I also had the opportunity to network with attendees who were pleased to see HPE supporting women in technology, specifically supporting and encouraging them to choose information security as a career path. Many expressed the importance of having diversity in their workplace, which they believe offers different viewpoints that lead to innovation and help solve complex issues.Applications for 2017-18 will be accepted beginning in January 2017. Deadline is February 1, 2017. HPE Webinars - 2017 Software Expert Days - 2017 2/28 - Effective Application Security Testing at High Velocity: Keeping up with Agile / DevOps Vivit Events - 2017 Space Management - New Box Creation HPE Content Manager (HPE RM) Forum How to check attachment when a new defect is raised