Geoff Webb

Job title:
director, solution strategy, NetIQ

Areas of expertise:
security, compliance, security process automation, security information, event management

Biography:
Geoff Webb has over 20 years of experience in the tech industry and is director, solution strategy, at NetIQ. He is responsible for the NetIQ Information Security, Identity and Access and IT Operations Management solutions. Webb joined NetIQ from Credant Technologies, where he led marketing around their data protection and encryption management solutions. Previously, Webb also served as a senior manager of product marketing at NetIQ, and held other management positions at FutureSoft, SurfControl and JSB. Webb often provides commentary on security and compliance trends, and has written on a number of related topics for such journals and websites as: USA Today, CIO Update, Healthcare IT News, The Tech Herald, Compliance Authority, Virtual Strategy Magazine, TechBlind, Internetnews.com, e-Finance & Payments, Law & Policy, Dark Reading, BankInfoSecurity.com, and Payment News, among others. He holds a combined bachelor of science degree in computer science and prehistoric archaeology from the University of Liverpool.

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A Little too Much Access, Thank You

So now that it appears the Internet Apocalypse is over and we can all return to life as we know it, (assuming we ever left ) then our weary eyes can turn once more to the ever-fresh subject of cloud security. The recent angst and horror over in Washington (state) suggests that regardless of wh ...

Posted 29 March 2013 by Geoff Webb

tags: AWS, Securosis, Cloud, Security, Simple Storage

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APTs and Oscar Wilde

“The only thing worse than being the victim of an APT is *not* being the victim of an APT.” Or, at least, that’s probably how Oscar Wilde would have seen it, had he been following the news recently. (He rather famously said something similar when told that all of London was ...

Posted 01 March 2013 by Geoff Webb

tags: APT, Fahmida Rashid, Oscar Wilde, Hacking

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Mayan Hangover

It’s not often that having a background in both archeology and technology seems useful, but when you’re facing the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, then it’s surprising what becomes relevant. On Dec 21st, the 13th b'ak'tun in the Mayan calendar comes to an end and the following day ...

Posted 18 December 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Security, 12-21-12, Mayan Calendar

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Mobility, Cloud, and Elephants

So the common response on how to handle big problems has always been the old adage of how to eat an elephant – one bite at a time. For most problems (and I presume, pachyderm gastronomes too) this seems to work well. However, we’re facing a set of challenges for which that wisdom may no ...

Posted 16 November 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Cloud, CSA, Mobility, Security, BYOD

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Risking It All

Ray Bradbury said “Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” It’s hard to imagine a better analogy for the challenges that information security faces today. Whether we want to or not, the business drive to adopt disruptive technologies and n ...

Posted 09 October 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Security, CSO, Risk, Cloud, Mobility, George Hulme, Robert Westervelt

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Who Are You, and Who is that Woman?

A few weeks ago I found myself in the rather odd position of not being able to prove who I am. At the time I was talking to a company of which I had been a loyal customer for the better part of fifteen years. And they didn’t believe me when I said I was me. Unsurprisingly it was a c ...

Posted 09 August 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Identity, Iris

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The Weakest LinkedIn

If you missed the news (and I bet you didn’t) then here it is – LinkedIn recently had its very own digital moment of truth, when hackers stole around 6 million passwords. Well, if not actual passwords, then the SHA-1 hashes for passwords. And, to make matters worse, the thieves the ...

Posted 18 June 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: LinkedIn, Security, Password, Breach

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Betting on a Breach

In February of this year, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte issued a statement that a breach had occurred. It now seems to have been a serious one. As of the statement on May 9th (.pdf), it looks as though more than 350,000 social security numbers (along with other personal detai ...

Posted 14 May 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Data breach, UNC, FAA, Risk

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Pining for Failure in the Cloud

I missed this info-graphic first time around, so thanks to securecloudreview.com for posting a link. Like all info-graphics, it makes the process of digesting rather stodgy numbers much more enjoyable. Kind of like a good glass of wine. Or custard, with a jam roly-poly (for those with f ...

Posted 18 April 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Cloud, Security

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Horror from Beyond the Cloud (with caffeine)

Let me tell you what the work of a reclusive horror writer and a morning cup of coffee can teach us about attitudes toward cloud computing. The horror writer is Howard Phillips Lovecraft (known by his initials “H.P.”). In his short, but prolific career at the turn of the 20th century he ...

Posted 23 February 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: H.P. Lovecraft, Cloud Security, Francis Bacon, RSA, Cloud Security Alliance

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Casablanca in the Cloud

I thought this piece by Jo Maitland over at SearchCloudComputing.com was interesting, because it so closely reflects the experiences of a large number of businesses faced with the specter of uncontrolled cloud usage. Indeed, the story is an old, familiar one: Girl meets cloud. Girl ...

Posted 11 January 2012 by Geoff Webb

tags: Cloud, Security, Storage

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Looking Into The Cloud

As we roll up to the end of the year it's usually time to start making predictions about what will happen next year. But since Drew and the team already did a great job of that I'll instead take a step back and take a look at the shape of the forest, rather than discuss individual trees (import ...

Posted 21 December 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Cloud, APT, NSA, Security Predictions

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Personal Data Exodus

I came across a couple of interesting stories this week, both of which are worth passing along.This first is from geek.com and is the latest in an unfolding story regarding security researcher Trevor Eckhart and data being collected by software installed on Android phones. Lots ...

Posted 01 December 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Trevor Eckhart, Data Security, CarrierIQ, Android, Amazon

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Attacking the Human Wall

Good post here from Brandon Williams on the inherent weakness of security processes that ignores the human element. There's nothing new in saying that humans are the weakest link in the security chain (ok, in *most* people's security chain) but Brandon's right: People really are the new perimeter. ...

Posted 28 October 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Security, RSA, Cloud, Social Engineering

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Failing PCI Policy?

This is a good read if you missed it – the most recent report by the ever-interesting Verizon PCI and Risk Intelligence Teams on the state of PCI Compliance. It's the usual mix of "no surprise there" moments followed by a few "Huh, really? REALLY?" sections. Ov ...

Posted 13 October 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: PCI DSS, Verizon, Security Policy, compliance

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Insider Attack: Three Key Considerations

“Insider attack” is back in the news, getting attention again, with good reason. This particular article, “Insiders increasingly linked to data breaches in the financial sector” on infosecurity-us.com discusses the continuing problem of insiders within the financial services ...

Posted 21 September 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Insider Attack, Cloud, Phishing, Open Security Foundation

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Dropping In

Magnus Stjernstrom recently pointed out Cisco’s advice on how to detect Dropbox traffic originating in your network. It’s interesting given what it tells us about the concerns of Cisco's customers: "Dropbox network traffic may consume network resources and may be a vector f ...

Posted 22 August 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Cloud, Security, Dropbox, Cisco

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Losing Control

I saw this recently and it really drove home on the key truths about cloud computing when it comes to control over your information. Here's a great quote: "Any data which is housed, stored or processed by a company, which is a U.S. based company or is wholly owned by a U.S. parent compan ...

Posted 02 August 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Security, Cloud, Patriot Act

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Smart Thinking

Most people may not immediately recognize the name Reinhold Niebuhr, but they are probably familiar with some version of his best known prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference.&q ...

Posted 01 July 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: Smartphone, Security, Cloud, NSA, Consumerization

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Unhealthy Irritation

I have to admit, I find this sort of thing just irritating: The Register last week reported that eight million patient records were lost on a laptop. Unencrypted records. No, really. As a spokesperson for the UK's National Health Service (NHS) said: "We have set clear standards for NHS ...

Posted 20 June 2011 by Geoff Webb

tags: NHS, Laptop, Encryption, Breach

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