Making Passwords Secure: Fixing the Weakest Link in Cybersecurity - Softcover

Bonnett, Dovell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1530164486 ISBN 13: 9781530164486

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016

Synopsis

ENTERPRISE CYBERSECURITY's most ignored risk is...

User Authentication

When end users are allowed to generate, know, remember, type and manage their own passwords, IT has inadvertently surrendered the job title Network Security Manager to employees - the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain.

Passwords are not the problem. The management of passwords is the real security nightmare.

Dovell Bonnett reveals the truth about the elephant in the room that no one wants to mention: Expensive backend security is worthless when the virtual front door has a lousy lock!

Dovell proves that making passwords secure is not only possible, passwords can actually become an effective, cost efficient and user friendly feature of robust cybersecurity. After examining how encryption keys are secured, this book introduces a new strategy called Password Authentication Infrastructure (PAI) that rivals digital certificates.

Passwords are not going away. What needs to be fixed is how passwords are managed.

About this title

About the Author

Dovell Bonnett has been creating computer security solutions for over 20 years. His passionate belief that technology should work for humans, and not the other way around, has lead him to create innovative solutions that protect businesses from cyber-attacks, free individual computer users from cumbersome security policies, and put IT administrators back in control of their networks. He has spent most of his career solving business security needs, incorporating multiple applications onto single credentials using both contact and contactless smartcards. The most famous example of his work is the ID badge currently carried by all Microsoft employees. Back in 2000, Dovell was contacted by Indala (a division of Motorola) as a consultant to help them solve a security problem for one of their largest customers. The customer had just experienced a major cyber breach and the hacker had stolen important source code. The requirement was to create a single employee ID badge that would allow the employee secure authorized access into buildings and secure authorized access into computer networks. After he explained to Indala how simple that would be, they immediately made Dovell their director of smartcard development. The customer turned out to be Microsoft and the project was the first time physical and logical access had been combined on a single corporate ID badge. In 2005, he founded Access Smart LLC to provide logical access control solutions to businesses. His premiere product, Power LogOn, is a multi-factor authentication, enterprise password manager used by corporations, hospitals, educational institutions, police departments, government agencies, and more. Dovell is a frequent speaker and sought-after consultant on the topic of passwords, cybersecurity, and building secure, affordable and appropriate computer authentication infrastructures. His most recent book is Making Passwords Secure: How to Fix the Weakest Link in Cybersecurity.

Review

Understanding the weak points in cybersecurity allows IT to fill them, but not without a budget. CEOs need to understand what their CISOs are facing. No one points this out better than Dovell. Logging on to your computer network will have a new meaning after reading this book. --Sherman Crancer, Microsoft PCDM

I most highly recommend reading the timely and informative book by Dovell Bonnett, "Making Passwords Secure: Fixing the Weakest Link in Cybersecurity". As companies, individuals are increasingly being subjected to breaches and ransomware attacks, the need for cybersecurity awareness and safeguards have become paramount. Thankfully, Dovell, who has been creating computer security solutions for over 20 years, offers a one-stop guide book on how to mitigate cyber threats by explaining the basis and tactics of authentication security. The book is written in a concise style that provides useful information for both laymen and serious techies. It is a book that should be on everyone's reading list! --Chuck Brooks, Vice President, Sutherland Government Solutions

In this thought-provoking work, Dovell Bonnett digs into the nuts-and-bolts of the authentication challenge and talks about why username-and-password isn t going away anytime soon but can be made secure for many applications. As The Password Guy, Dovell debunks many of the myths of infallibility surrounding multi-factor authentication and other high-technology solutions, in favor of a pragmatic approach to password management that is a 99% solution to this often vexing enterprise challenge. --Chris Williams, co-author of Enterprise Cybersecurity: How to Build a Successful Cybersecurity Program Against Advanced Threats

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1530164486
• ISBN 13: 9781530164486
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 170