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Moving from an on-premise data center to a cloud-based data center can be a nerve-wracking experience, but I’m here to walk you through the process. A cloud-based infrastructure will save you thousands of dollars by allowing you to assign resources and scale resources back with the ebb and flow of production. A virtualized environment allows for data replication that ensures business continuity and safety for your customers. Virtualized infrastructure eliminates the need to purchase and maintain on-premise hardware, and organizations gain the ability to move their primary focus to production increasing sales and revenue. Organizations quickly predict, monitor, and measure capacity to ensure the most performant environment for the cost. While integrating legacy systems and incompatible security systems introduces valid concerns when deciding to move to a cloud environment, a hybrid approach allows organizations to easily access the benefits of the cloud while keeping their sensitive dat...

  In order to succeed in DevOps, a general knowledge of how software developers interact in a team setting greatly improves a DevOps engineer’s experience. A DevOps engineer should have knowledge of the software development life cycle, methodologies, and git.  A DevOps engineer must erect and maintain infrastructure and must possess strong operating system and networking skills. DevOps engineers benefit from a knowledge of multiple cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, software deployment, Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, Jenkins, and Terraform. A DevOps engineer requires a strong background in network security, cloud security, adherence to protocols, laws, regulations, Quality Assurance, and test. A competitive industry requires tenacity. There could be months when it is very difficult to find work, and finding the right company culture makes all the difference.

A Known File Filter (KFF) presents a list of hashes for known files to ensure file integrity in a forensic investigation. Forensic investigators compare hashes listed in a Known File Filter (KFF) to verify that a file has not been modified by a third party before or during an investigation. It allows a Forensic Investigator, judge, attorney, or jury to quickly analyze if the hashes of two files do or do not match. This process encourages trust between the Forensic investigator, the judge, and the jury. A Known File Filter (KFF) enables a Forensic investigator to verify large files in a short concise manner for presentation during legal proceedings. Without a Known File Filter (KFF), Forensic investigators would struggle to wade through large files for comparison or verify the integrity of a file used in an investigation.  Additionally, a Known File Filter (KFF) aids law enforcement in identifying illicit, inappropriate content, such as child pornography, without viewing it direct...

In today’s interconnected world, society depends on the internet to maintain normal business operations and daily functioning. Small business owners and home users often implement always-on technologies like DSL services in their remote home offices. While always-on technologies prove necessary to remain relevant in a competitive, interconnected world, always-on technologies introduce significant security risks. Always-on technologies implement backend download and upload processes through an internet connection via routers and modems that hackers often exploit to steal user data. IoT devices introduce additional security vulnerabilities with remote turn on and turn off capabilities. Botnet attacks target always on and IoT technologies with malicious malware that compromises devices that share an internet connection. Malicious spyware software monitors and captures sensitive data that allows hackers to log into personal devices and home networks. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure ...

  Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink Internet Satellite Service Overview The internet expands at an increasing rate. In today’s internet-driven world, organizations depend on the internet for communication, collaboration, customer engagement, and business continuity. Remote areas with low populations and low potential for corporate internet returns on investment for cellular tower construction or fiber optic cable installation often struggle to find advanced internet options. Elon Musk’s Starlink internet satellite service revolutionizes the internet with 5G capable, low earth orbit satellites that create a mesh global communication network providing impressive speeds of up to 300 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps for everyday consumers.  Ericsson’s Global Cellular Network Technology Overview Ericsson’s Global cellular network offers groundbreaking, immersive 5G technology that transforms cellular hardware infrastructures into software-defined networking infrastructures tha...

A software developer must always pass the size of an object or array as a separate parameter when passing a pointer to a function and the whole object or array is copied in memory to a new scope; however, it is not necessary to pass the size as a parameter with a reference, and a reference does not require the entire object or array to be copied in memory. It takes considerably less space to pass a reference to a function than it takes to pass a pointer.  References allow our programs to use quick functions instead of processing each item individually. It’s almost like using algebraic values instead of numeric values. Because pointers and references contain different structures, they are used for different purposes. A reference’s small size eliminates the size parameter making references best for functions that define and modify data structures with similar behaviors. Pointers that include a separate parameter indicating size works best for continuously changing behaviors that must...

Arrays in C++ allow a software engineer to store multiple values in a single variable. This saves time because the software engineer no longer has to manually list out repetitive code but can list types of values in a block. By looping over lists, a software engineer writes efficient complex code in a consolidated manner. Arrays are specified with the square brackets [ and ], and require that all values of the array be of the same type. Just as a char type takes up a single byte in memory, a String is an array of chars, and the compiler needs to know how much memory to set aside to save data in the string. In the same way, an array needs to know how much memory to reserve to store the values, based on their type. Using an array saves space because C++ implements two ways of storing arrays in memory: Pointers and References. When passing an array, a pointer passes the location of the array in memory and the size of the array. A reference passes only the location of the array in memory. ...

Frequent Automated Backups  Frequent Automated Backups may seem like a simple, regular process that could be postponed or overlooked; however, frequent automated backups form the backbone of data recovery because an organization can only duplicate, protect, and test the data it has in its possession. A rolling weekly backup with daily partial backups that contain the updates since the last partial or full backup protect organizations from data loss. On complex projects, even minimal data loss can cause a significant impact to business operations.  Protect Recovery Data  Encrypting backup data protects an organization’s sensitive information from being immediately visible when a malicious actor gains unauthorized access to backup storage. Data Separation Recovery data should be kept completely separate from primary data to protect an organization from malware infections across datasets, hardware failures, and natural disasters. Storing data in multiple secure locations p...

Granting and Revoking Network Access In an Active Directory  An Active Directory provides a centralized location for an organization to grant and revoke access to enterprise assets upon new hire, termination, rights grant, rights revocation, or role change of a user in a centralized location. This allows an organization to maintain audit trails that define user account access permissions for increased network security. A decision to forgo these important controls exposes a network to potential breaches by malicious hackers who exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. Regular audits should continually assess user account activity. Role and Feature-Based Active Directory Implementation for Organizations A large organization often adheres to specific, defined employee roles; however, in a smaller company, employees often serve multiple undefined roles based upon the job that needs to get done at the time. When roles are undefined, a Feature-Based A...

Previously Installed Application Overview A previously installed application often leaves a digital footprint on a device long after a user deletes the application. Forensic experts often use a combination of techniques to analyze application artifacts to uncover and present a digital footprint of a deleted application. Knowing the significance of a prefetch file, registry log, cache path, and hive file aids a forensic investigator in providing feedback on the initial installation and usage of an application on a device. Prefetch File Analysis  The Prefetch file stores a timestamp each time an application is run on a device. If an application was previously installed and deleted, there may be information about it in the Prefetch file if a user did not manually disable Prefetch. It is not uncommon to disable the Prefetch to improve performance; however, when the Prefetch is still enabled on a device it proves to be a quick and powerful tool for digital forensics investigators in unc...

  Google Chrome Incognito Mode Overview A common misconception exists in the public regarding private browsing in Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode. Many users believe their actions while in Incognito Mode are completely concealed from public view. Can You Trust Chrome’s Incognito Mode? What It Does and What It Doesn’t Do uncovers an important reality when utilizing private browsing tools (2023). While Google Chrome’s Incognito Mode prevents a local machine from storing session information, such as browser history, download history, and other common cookie information, the websites you browse still collect the same information about your activity while in Incognito Mode. While Google Chrome Incognito Mode can keep your information from showing up in the history section of your browser and your downloads folder, your activity is still viewable and tied to your IP address. A trained eye will locate your internet activity whenever you use Google Chrome. Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing ...

  As security breaches continue to increase, employee consequences for not adhering to security policy guidelines increases because of the cost associated with organizational liability for employee behavior. Employee consequences should reflect the potential impact an employee’s behavior can have on society and the organization.  As employees gain experience, they often gain access to more sensitive data. The liable organization is responsible for supervising and guiding employees to determine which employees are equipped to perform which tasks. Despite the common opinion that quickly drops the guillotine, when managing a large corporation that collects data, innocent data breaches frequently occur. A careless employee should be given employee training to learn how to properly handle and protect sensitive data. They should be given reliable tools for data collection and should be carefully walked through company processes.  A company’s consequences should be formed within...

The Danger of In-Person Transactions Making online purchases can be a stressful experience but users can implement small changes that make their systems more secure. When making purchases in store, a user’s credit card information can be scanned and stolen using a card reader that slips over a normal credit card machine. Employees and other customers can gain access to your sensitive information or pin number.  The Importance of Record Keeping.  An informed user should always keep personal records of their online purchases and should document confirmation emails, so that any discrepancies can be quickly resolved. When maintaining active records, compromised cards can quickly be canceled and a new card can be issued. Most banks provide fraud protection when a user’s credit card information is used to make an unauthorized purchase and will often reverse the charge.  Making Informed Choices Online Purchases should not be made from shared corporate Wi-Fi like a library or Sta...

When a file is deleted from a computer, it is often not completely erased immediately. Instead, the file's data is marked as deleted, allowing new data to overwrite the existing space when the user elects to store new information on the device. Digital forensic examiners utilize specialized forensic software and recovery procedures, such as file carving, to recover partial remnants of deleted files for legal cases. Forensic examiners often perform detailed searches of the unallocated space on a computer to see if some files marked as deleted still remain on the device because they have not yet been overwritten. In cases where a deleted file is already overwritten with new data, oftentimes broken fragments of the original deleted file still remain if the new data did not overwrite the entire space occupied by the original file. In other words, if there is not enough data to overwrite the entire file, there will still be pieces of the file sitting on the device, much like when you de...