Well....as many of you can probably figure out, I've been remiss in my blogging as of late. Of course, there's no good excuse, except to put this in the context of "travel + content prep". Regardless.....I'm in fact back. This week is an interesting one...

I want to take a moment to correct an oversight I made earlier while discussing Windows forensics resources. That error was the failure to mention one of the foremost experts in the field: Harlan Carvey . Harlan's books have provided me a wealth of information...

Okay.....here's your daily Dilbert for the security crowd. Definitely one to print out and hang on the bulletin board. I love Mordac . You'll love what's he done for Dilbert in the past. (I really like his implementation of strong passwords).

The current buzz in the technology industry is all about this idea of Cloud Computing. It goes by many many names but we’ll just stick with this one to eliminate confusion. Sure, it’s a great idea and vendors are talking about “moving your data to the...

Well, it's done!! Special Agent Allyn Lynd and I delivered a well-attended (350+.....people were getting turned away due to fire code issues) session on Implementing the Fundamental Computer Investigation Guide for Windows, followed by an podcast interview...

Well, if you've been in the information security business for more than just a few months, you probably know who Kevin Mitnick is. In case you are just joining us, he's one of the most world renown, hacker-turned-security speaker. He even started Mitnick...

I got told today about a new phishing attack that the guys at Sophos found. This one seems to just cut through the smoke and mirrors. It tells you that a hit man (aka Tony and his crew) has been hired to kill you. However, for the mere fee of $80,000...

I'm guessing your here to see the "sexy models". Well, I'm about to start delivering a session on Threat Modeling , which is about 100x more useful than any runway modeling. I'll leave the glamour modeling to Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum . (I especially...

This is something that I’ve been attempting to do for quite awhile, but as you can imagine, traveling every week precludes a lot of testing. Now that I’ve got a few weeks to play with this stuff, do expense reports, and remember where my house is….I’m...

So I want to take a second to vent. First, I recognize that I work for Microsoft and before the whole Trustworthy Computing thing (which hit it's 5 year anniversary this week) the concept of security and Microsoft was the brunt of several jokes. Not hurting...

This is a pretty interesting podcast that I had the privilege to conduct a few weeks ago. I had the chance to go see Microsoft's Security Operations Center (SOC) and talk to Johnny Walker, CPP (Certified Protection Professional), the guy who leads the...

Well, in case you don’t subscribe, I’m now the official editor of the Microsoft Technical Audience Security Newsletter . It’s nice to actually get a security professional as the actual owner of the newsletter, and hopefully I’ll be able to weed out the...

(Info taken directly from the Windows Vista Team Site . I've saved you a click. Introducing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 In addition to regular Windows Vista updates, application compatibility improvements, and device driver improvements, Windows Vista...

For those of you who are frequent readers (or who know me personally), you know that my past is deeply-tied to my coming of age in the 75th Ranger Regiment and the Special Operations community. The man responsible for the creation of this organization...

"Buenos dias! Me llamo Senor Axford. ¿Habla usted inglés?" So far, this seems to sum up my travel adventure to Santiago, Chile (as well as the extent of my Spanish language skills). As many of you know, this is pretty much what I do: Fly to faraway places...

Another semester in the bag. I finished my last Information Assurance course in graduate school this past week. The class was on Trusted Systems and we spent a lot of time discussing the Common Criteria, the ratings, mandatory vs discretionary access...

My boss was right: You should go to Brazil in the winter and Canada in the summer. I thought I could endure. I've been to survival training, I've frozen my butt off in Dahlonega, Georgia in Mountain Phase of Ranger School . Nothing prepares you for the...

Friends, After 10 years of working for the greatest software company in the world, I will be leaving Microsoft. I strongly believe that God directs our paths and His plan for me has been confirmed by the amazing opportunities He has provided for my family...

Holy crap it's cooooold . I'm certainly no lightweight when it comes to enduring cold...I'm from Wisconsin, I love the snow and ice, I play ice hockey, and I love to snowboard. I'm the guy who is walking around in a t-shirt when everyone else is wearing...

I just wanted to post quickly the resources from our SEC312: Implementing the Fundamental Computer Investigation Guide for Windows from Tech-Ed 2007. Those of you who attended.....THANK YOU! I know a lot of speakers don't listen, heed, or are truly grateful...

So we're all technical folks...and we all like to use technical solutions to fix problems. I'm tellin ya, without the proper non-technical controls I mentioned earlier....you're dead in the water. Can't have bacon without eggs and peanut butter without...

Well it's over. In the bag. Kaput. Tech-Ed 2007 is finally finished. To be honest, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that so many of you stuck around for the last day. Considering that my session went up against Mark Russinovich's session, I'm glad we...

So yesterday I talked about the real risk that economic/corporate espionage is causing. It's huge!! This topic always ranks in the Top 3 whenever I ask the CSO "What is the biggest security risk you currently have?" Let's face it....every business has...

This wraps up the 4-part series where I discuss physical security at Microsoft with one of the guys who keeps you safe when you visit Redmond or any other of the many Microsoft campuses around the world. Thanks Johnny for making us all feel safe when...

Again, please correct me if this recent report seems to be a bit self-serving. The jist of this report is saying, " Yeah...Vista is good...but it's not perfect....what would make it perfect is the use of some 3rd party security stuff...umm...like our...