ISO27001 Certification Guide

What is an information security management system?

Information security management is a bundle of processes that companies implement in order to manage the way the select and deploy information security measures. There might be a number of smart security measures everybody should implement, like malware protection or patch management, but not all your applications and systems are alike. In order to understand what you might want to do and what you absolutely have to do, you should think about having a managed and systematic approach to information security: an information security management system (ISMS).

What is the ISO27001:2013 standard?

The ISO 27001:2013 standard is one of several standards within the 27000 family of standards aimed at describing information security management systems. These standards cover the different aspects of information security management systems, e.g. risk management, auditing, governance, cyber security and so on. The reason the ISO 27001:2013 is mentioned most often in conversation and is used as synonym for information security management systems is, that certifications are based on the ISO 27001:2013, since it is the document containing the requirements rather than the implementation.

That is a huge difference and an important fact to understand, if you are interested in establishing an information security management system according to the standards. The requirements in the ISO 27001:2013 need to be addressed, if you want to gain a certification. But you do not need to implement all best practice measures detailed in the other standards. Consider them guidance first and foremost. That doesn't mean that auditors will not look into these documents in order to assess the quality of your activities. They might even ask you why you did not implement a certain measure. But they cannot tell you what the best measure based on your individual needs is.

What do I need to be aware of when looking at certifications?

When you assess a service provider, you therefor have to keep the following questions in mind:

• What is the certification for? Certifications are issued for specific processes, like 'deployment of applications', 'management of customer environments' and so on. Maybe the certification isn't even for the service you want to purchase.
• How does the certified body deal with risks? The assessment of possible measures is most likely not based on your risks, but rather on the servicers assumption what they might be. They also might have identified a certain risk and have accepted it in writing, which would be compliant with the ISO standard. Are you sure, your needs are being met?

While of course there is a lot of money to be made with certifications and while there might be good reasons to gain certification, certification isn't necessarily the right thing to do for everybody. I strongly suggest that everybody looks at the certification as an investment. Think of the initial costs needed to be prepared for the certification. Think about the additional cost you need to gain the certification. Think about the ongoing costs you need to uphold the certification. Looking into international standards for security management is still a good idea, even if you do not want to be certified in the near future.

Are you interested in gaining insights into ISO27001:2013 certifications and requirements? I have been working as an auditor and a consultant for many years now and feel, that there is not a lot of information freely available on the internet. I try to change that.

Agile Training Courses and Certifications

What does your job involve? Is it centered on project management or do you mainly work on software development?

If you said a 'yes' in any one of the above questions, then you have every reason to consider going for Agile Certification. Becoming an Agile certified practitioner puts you among the top most levels in the IT field. Cruising your way up the career ladder can feel almost like you are on a fast spaceship when you hold a certification in Agile.

It is not only professionals in the IT field who may benefit from having some training on Agile methodologies. Today, Agile programs have been tailored to suit practically everyone involved in business operations of some kind be it marketing or simply product management. For instance, the Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) is a certification that is not necessarily focused on IT professionals alone.

Improving team performance and general productivity can be easily attainable by professionals who have gone for Agile training. Here are some more details to answer any questions you may have about Agile.

1. What is Agile?

Agile refers to training of unique approaches and methodologies towards effective software development and project management. Agile methods are based on creating collaborative, cross-fuctional and self-organized teams or workgroups. Agile tactics are designed to lead to greater team performance and advanced efficiency. These methodologies are focused on producing better results than those expected when using conventional techniques. More importantly, training in Agile helps organizations to most speedily respond to the changing needs of their customers, reduce business risks, mitigate uncertainty often caused by varying market forces and raise business ROI by dwelling more on customer value.

2. What are the main types of Agile Methodologies?

The methodologies taught in Agile courses vary to a great extent. Each methodology explains a different way of handling software development and general project management. When undergoing training in Agile, you will find that what one training course focuses on may be completely different from what another emphasizes. This is due to the different methodologies and approaches of Agile. There are mainly six Agile methodologies namely Scrum, DSDM, XP, Lean, TDD and Kanban. Agile certifications will always vary depending on the methodology one chooses to go for.

3. What is the Difference between ScrumMaster and PMI-ACP Certifications?

ScrumMaster will mainly test your knowledge of Scrum, which is so far the most popular framework of Agile. However, for professionals who are looking to diversify their skills and prove that they have extensive Agile knowledge and skills to prospective employers, PMI-ACP certification is the best. The good thing with PMI tests is that they test a person's knowledge on most of the other methodologies other than Scrum. So expect to be tested on Lean, Kanban, DSDM and XP among the others. PMI-ACP tests will also require you to have attained a specific number of hours (usually 2000) handling real projects. Therefore, unlike ScrumMaster, it's not only your knowledge that is tested through passing the exam but your Agile skills as well; which is why its mandatory you attain the given project experience hours.

4. What is taught in an Agile course?

Teaching of Agile methodologies is increasingly becoming important in the IT field due to the essential knowledge imparted and the crucial skills taught. One of the vital things teams are taught is how to quickly adapt to changes in the market and what to do in order to influence rapid customer adaptability. Teams are further taught effective ways to mitigate risks during the early product life-cycle stages. Also, Agile methodologies teach teams how to incorporate their customers into the software or product development process, encouraging customer feedback and constructive criticism. Eventually, teams learn how to discover the requirements and needs of their customers through the feedback system they are trained to use in every product development work.

5. What are the Eligibility Requirements for Agile PMI Certification?

To be considered eligible for the Agile PMI-ACP certification, one has to fulfill the following requirements.

• Pass an examination testing knowledge of Agile fundamentals.
• Have general project experience through working for at least 2000 hours on project teams in the last 5 years.
• Have Agile project experience by working for at least 1500 hours on Agile project teams in the last 3 years.
• Must have completed up to 21 training hours in Agile practices.

6. How to Pass Agile Exams?

Finding a good Agile exam prep book is the best way to pass your exams. As you are searching for the best Agile exam prep book, keep in mind that just going for any Q&A book is ill-advised. There is nothing wrong with knowing the type of questions you are likely to face in an Agile exam. Nonetheless, simply looking at the questions and cramming the answers will not be of any help to you in the long run. Look for a prep book that provides clear explanations of Agile ideas and concepts on top of just listing possible exam questions.

7. Which Agile course/certification is best for Me?

This is a very common question by people who are willing to learn Agile. First thing you want to do is understand the type of training that you really need. For example, do you want to learn a particular thing or are you more interested in getting an overview of Agile methodologies? Another question that could help you figure out what type of training in Agile benefits your organization is asking yourself who is supposed to receive the training in the first place? Is it major decisions makers in your company or the teams effecting operations? When you clearly have answers to these questions and pass them on to qualified Agile trainers, a good trainer will help you understand the best Agile course and training for your organization.

Logitrain is an Australian IT Institution offering many agile training courses. Logitrain is providing agile essentials and agile essentials + foundation training course.

Protect Your Computer From Being Hacked!

The thought of people being concerned that NSA is listing and monitoring their activities is a hysterically funny concept to me. Whatever you think of Edward Snowden, know that he is a day late and a dollar short. Most of these very same people that worry about the NSA, have a "Tracebook", Twitter, Instagram or a half a dozen other social media accounts that should be significantly reducing the NSA operating budget. In fact, let's just disband the NSA and hire Google! It seems that most of us have no issue publicly posting our most intimate details on Facebook including everything short of our Social Security numbers. Posting our current location and "checking in" so that the entire planet knows not only where we are, but what we are doing seems to be an absolutely essential public service and should also include pictures of the meal I am about to eat. How many of these same individuals are aware that every picture posted contains Meta Data that also memorializes the GPS co-ordinates and the camera type used to take the picture? I know you want to share picture of the family, but do you really want ISIS to know exactly where they live?

As everyone is so willing to publicly disclose these personal details, it explains why so many remain ignorant of the data mining that goes on that you do not knowingly consent to. I assume we all know that Google is in the business of selling digital user profiles to advertisers? Every type an email to a friend about planning a trip to the Italy only to find your inbox now populated with travel agency "hot deals"? If your email does not fill up with travel deals to the Italy, you can bet your internet browser will now display a travel agency advertisements, "learn to speak Italian" and top Italian Restaurants on every page you view fin! Now ask me what we think about using Google Docs! We suggest that you consider DoNotTrackme extensions to your Chrome and Firefox browsers. We also recommend that you install "self-destructing cookies" and watch how many cookies are exchanged with your browser each use. Remember, we really don't need your username and password, we need your cookies all of which are transmitted in clear text over that Starbucks wireless you have been using! All available using FireSheep!

Now if this is a vulnerability that effects individuals, what vulnerability effects enterprise level environments? Forget the notoriously leaking Windows Operating system and your hopelessly porous laptop, in the wake of the 55 Million credit card numbers stolen from Home Depot and the 45 million stolen from Target, we now have to worry about the credit card machines at the checkout counter. Actually the TJ Maxx heist was in many ways much larger! You might be considering how did the hackers get through the Firewall? As we have pointed out before, most computer network security exploitations are not executed through the firewall, they are executed by "social engineering" with the assistance of an ignorant employee or paid hit man. It is suspect that at least one of the above break ins was assisted by a third party trusted partner like the heating and air conditioning service company. Nothing like a starving janitorial night service crew to earn a few extra bucks plugging a USB device into any desktop computer releasing a new and improved malware version of BlackPOS! Most of these stolen credit card numbers can be purchase here or on the Darknet using a Tor browser to reach silk road type websites.

It seems you can't turn on an electronic device today without it alerting you that a software update is available for download. From the TV set, to the mobile phone, tablet and now even your car, all are subject to software updates. Do you even question what is being downloaded to your device when you do a software update? You just assume you are connecting with Apple, Amazon or Samsung? What if some evil doer was really just spoofing a software update and you just willingly downloaded a super basket of spy goodies that turn on your phone camera, activate your microphone and email snapshots to back to the mother ship. NSA, are you kidding? You would never know if it was your spouse, or employer would you? Yet millions of people do this without care, day after day and think nothing more about it. If you want to be tracked everywhere you go, risk having your most intimate communications published (just ask Jenifer Lawrence and the other celebrity Nude hack victims) just carry your Smartphone with you at all times!

Cyber-crime, next to the Ebola virus and violent terrorism is the single most economically destructive phenomenon to threaten the American way of life since the Cuban missile crisis. Yet the average business owner winces at the cost of engaging a computer network security audit and thinks that penetration testing is lovemaking foreplay. When the IT team asks for a Firewall upgrade or an increase in budget to cover a subscription to virus, spam and bot net filtering they somehow can't justify the added expense. Educating your employees on the safe use of the Internet over WiFi should be part of the healthcare preventive medicine program, but most business will ignore "social engineering" vulnerabilities until a major data thief publicly embarrasses them.

Finalizing a Master Disc With a CD/DVD Duplication Service

They say this is the information age and for many good reasons. As a result, you will find that your business will at one time or the other requires CD/DVD duplication services either for mass distribution or for internal uses.

Whatever the case, you cannot deny that these storage applications offer high data stability, option of countable and uncountable storage units, more space for creative marketing on the covers, easy to transport and use, affordable and they offer versatile capacity to store data among many other benefits.

Finalizing to Get the Best Out of Your Storage Devices

Duplication might sound easy, it is important to note that it is indeed a professional service that should only come from a qualified firm. It differs from burning a CD in that you get bit by bit copy of the master copy. This is through use of specialized equipment in a state-of-the art studio.

However, if you have ever recorded these discs using a non-reputable firm, it is mostly likely that you experienced a problem when playing it back. According to experts, this problem mostly occurs if the firm did not finalize the medium. This occurs because the session, which was open at time of burning, remains so although you are trying to play it back.

Before you get more puzzled, why not simplify this whole issue. In the simplest terms, finalizing a CD/DVD is the process of closing a session such that your media does not think there is still information waiting to add to it.

To appreciate this even better, consider this process of burning a disc:

• A small section of data near the center hub is created and is called a lead-in with table of contents for the media.
• Next to be recorded is the information for each track including songs, videos or any other files?

This is where the problem comes in because your disc is still open and while most players can read such information, other cannot meaning you will experience problem if your CD/DVD duplication company does not close the recording.

Finalization includes writing out support material such as table of contents, menus, and directory data in order to enable your storage device to play on all other systems. This is because some players are not able to read such media or at times, they leave out the first session of a multi-session.

The beauty of it is that when the process is through, you can play back your content on virtually any device from car stereos, laptops, and other player you might own.
The advantage of using a professional service for these services is that they will not only close your media but also carry out a verification process to ensure what your company gets at the other end is playable on any gadget the target audience own.

VCM is considered a leading facility for business-to-business CD, Blu-ray, USB, SD card and DVD duplication Toronto

How to Build the Best HTPC Media Centre at the Right Price

With DVDs phasing out and the rapid growth in online media more and more people are looking to build a HTPC media centre for their living rooms. Good systems are difficult to build and there are many considerations to make when choosing your components.There are three main considerations to make when designing your system.

Price vs Performance

To many it makes sense to buy top of the range computer components to build their media centre. They want a system that is going to last and rarely need an upgrade. Unfortunately this is not a cost efficient way to build a system and you will be paying far more than you need to. The home computing market is ever changing and as new technologies come out prices fall on the older kit. Buy the top of the range processor today and in 12 months it will be half the price. To get the cost efficient build you must first decide what it is you want your media centre to do. Is it to simply watch movies and video content or do you want high end gaming? When you have decided this, source the minimum specification hardware that will carry out the task. If your system is for gaming is an Intel I7 processor required or will the I5 suffice? With all this said you do not want to degrade performance taking the cheaper option. Yes the Intel I5 processor may run the games you want to play but can it achieve the resolutions that you want and will the gameplay be jumpy? People worry too much about future proofing their systems but prices fall so dramatically it is more often than not better to upgrade every 18 months or so and save on hardware costs.

Aesthetics & Size

When it comes to aesthetics you need to remember that your HTPC media centre will be placed in the prime spot of your living room in full view so you don't want a case that looks like a PC. With the recent boom in home media there is now a whole range of HTPC cases available that look more like games consoles or home entertainment systems and at quite reasonable prices. The important thing to remember when choosing a case is to ensure that your components will fit! It sounds simple but getting the right case is one of the toughest tasks with most HTPC builds. The more compact cases are often the most attractive but if your system is for high end gaming you will struggle to find a compact case that can house the high end graphics cards. Decide on your components first and then select a case to accommodate them.

Heat and Energy Efficiency

High end processors and gaming graphics cards more often than not produce a lot of heat. Heat is more of an issue when you select a tight compact case. When choosing your case ensure that it has the ventilation required to accommodate the heat production of all of your components. If it will not then check that you have space to install additional cooling devices. (Word of warning: cooling devices are generally noisy and may interfere with your movie enjoyment). You can also combat heat by using energy efficient components. As a rule of thumb smaller components tend to be more energy efficient. Even if your case supports ATX form factor motherboards go for mini-ITX or mini-ATX as these motherboards are far more energy efficient. The added benefit of building with energy efficiency in mind is that your system will have a lower running cost.

Getting your HTPC media centre right is a tough task and one that requires careful consideration. Following the above will get your design right and produce the entertainment system you need at the right price. These are the golden rules for building the optimum HTPC media centre.

For hints, tips and expert guides for building HTPC media centres visit us at Home Media Portal.

http://www.homemediaportal.com

We provide full reviews of the latest products and components for your media centres and show you where too find the very best prices. We also review some of the latest software out there including Kodi and Hyperspin and help you get the most out of each package.

Careers in Computer Repair

Learn about careers in Computer Repair

As technology is developing, you must have noticed individuals seeking help for installing software, upgrading hardware pieces or protecting the system from several network threats. Technology is no more a simple task and, therefore, individuals need to call tech support agents for their help. Therefore, if you have an interest in technology, then the field is offering countless opportunities. Requirements for entering this computer related industry change as per the current trends, working knowledge and training. Starting your computer repair career, you can take a step ahead in this industry.

To begin this career, there are multiple options that you can choose from. The most common areas are software related problems and hardware issues. In order to deal with these areas, you should have some background knowledge. You can take training to get into the fields of software and hardware. There are various companies and colleges providing training for brushing up your skills. Also, stay updated with latest market trends, software releases and newly introduced gadgets. Having information about your technology field, you can keep your clientele updated.

The best thing about starting your computer repair career is feasibility. You can manage things according to your schedule. If you are already doing a job, you can arrange your appointments along with managing your work schedule. In case you are not working anywhere, you can schedule your work as per the client's. Additionally, you can make your work easier by offering remote technical support. Remote technical support is the suitable way of delivering tech support to those clients that at far-off places. Just using a secure Internet connection, you can access their computer and perform troubleshooting steps for fixing the issue. There are endless opportunities for you to grab.

How to take a start?

When you are beginning your career, you must need to promote it. The internet is the best medium for it. You can use your computer to advertise your services online. Also, you can use classified advertisements, blogs, and local newspapers to spread the news about your career. For making it recognized, you have to saturate the market with your career name and number so that people can contact you at the time of any technical issue. After establishing your Careers in Computer Repair, start taking small projects. This can give you the confidence in handling complex issues further. Ask your friends and family members to bring you business. Always take feedback from your clients after resolving their problem and post it online. It can create career credibility. If any client has some issue, fix it as soon as possible. Keep your clients happy and satisfied to maintain a long-term relationship with them.

If the idea of starting a computer repair career interests you, start working on it. Before managing technical projects alone, you can work with technical support companies to learn how they interact with clients. It can give you experience and confidence. Once you are ready to attend clients on your own, you can start your career. So, gain technical knowledge and start serving clients with support end-to-end solutions.

Beverly Harris is an expert in computer/technology research and works very closely with ChoiceWrite.