Ryan Francis
Computerworld
Worcester, MA, United States
Contact Ryan
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Past articles by Ryan:
Buying Slack could give Amazon another enterprise toehold
Amazon is apparently interested in buying Slack Technologies, a move analysts say could allow Amazon to push further into the enterprise. → Read More
MDM morphs into mobile apps management
While managing mobile devices is critical to any modern business strategy, keeping track of company-owned phones or tablets -- or turning to mobile device management (MDM) software to keep them secure -- is harder than it looks. Most employees prefer owning their own mobile devices, and companies have to keep those smartphones and tablets secure. So companies spend money on enterprise mobility… → Read More
6 lesser-known browsers: Free, lightweight and low-maintenance
Popular browsers such as Edge, Firefox and Chrome have lots of features -- and can take up lots of memory. We look at 5 lesser-known browsers for simpler surfing. → Read More
Free Windows tools, ready for the taking
This collection of stories offers a wealth of free tools and apps that can help you better use Windows -- whether it's the latest version, Windows 10, or earlier iterations. → Read More
Ultimate guide to Office apps: Microsoft cheat sheets
This guide covers Excel, SharePoint, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Windows 8. Use this as a reference whenever you get stuck. → Read More
The top 5 mobile security threats
When mixing personal and professional tasks on your smartphone, it's inevitable that someone is going to accidentally stumble onto malware. The SANS Institute's Chris Crowley has some advice on how to avoid trouble. → Read More
Why can’t security have SLAs?
You always hear about the five-nines. The typical amount of time laid out in a service-level agreement that a network should be online. Can that same premise pertain to security? Vendors said no. → Read More
‘Sometimes it is necessary to bend the rules a bit’
A recent survey asked employees why they didn’t follow the rules and much of the response sounded a bit like a child answering their parent. They might have been bored or there were too many rules to deal with. → Read More
How to conduct an IoT pen test
Penetration testing was much like taking a battering ram to the door of the fortress. Keep pounding away and maybe find a secret backdoor to enter through. But what happens if pieces of the network are outside of the fortress? With the flurry of Internet of Things devices, is it harder to conduct a pen test with that many devices and end points? → Read More
Does third-party security awareness training work?
Rapid7 security analyst describes the company’s direction with in-house vs. outsourcing training. → Read More
Kentucky workers comp carrier survives ransomware
An overzealous Web surfer brings employee training to the forefront. See how they have tightened up the network. → Read More
Should you study security in college?
Two experts in the field debate whether it is a waste of time or it prepares you for the job force. → Read More
Connecting with work from the road? Here's how to stay safe
As more companies move to ban the use of public Wi-Fi networks by employees, here's a rundown of how to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks when traveling. → Read More
Cisco security exec: ‘Connected devices are creating 277 times more data than people are’
CSO Managing Editor Ryan Francis recently spoke with Anthony Grieco, senior director and trust strategy officer at Cisco’s Security and Trust Organization, about how organizations can securely incorporate new technologies as they embrace digitally-enabled business model. → Read More
For enterprise protection, antivirus software is no longer enough
Security experts see antivirus software as part of a security setup that includes behavior analytics and artificial intelligence. But it can't catch everything. → Read More
A day in the life of a threat researcher
After leaving Exabeam at the end of the workday, Ryan Benson’s mind doesn’t shut off when it comes to thinking about designing new defenses against Black Hats. See what his day looks like. → Read More
Outsourcing security: Would you turn over the keys to a third party?
Years ago it would have been unthinkable to give up control to securing your most valuable assets. But for some companies the risk of handing the security keys to a third party is less than the idea of facing the daily barrage of attacks. → Read More
Ransomware makes healthcare wannacry
The NHS ordeal is a wakeup call to healthcare administrators as to what needs to be done to make sure patients and their data are safe. Find out what advice vendors provide. → Read More
How CISOs can answer difficult questions from CEOs
A hypothetical conversation can become all too real, and hopefully you are prepared with the answers. Here is a script to help get you started. → Read More
Q&A Citrix CSO: How to deal with security across multiple generations of employees
Citrix’s CSO Stan Black has been in the cybersecurity field for 20 years. He talks about how security has changed among employees in each generation. → Read More