“If you talk to CSOs, they don’t worry about what they know about; they worry about what they don’t know about,” says Jon Ramsey, CTO of Dell SecureWorks, discussing threat intelligence.

The gathering of threat intelligence is all about learning what the bad guys are doing, Ramsey says – how are they making money, and how are they stealing intellectual property?

But the intelligence is useless if organizations don’t act upon it. Use properly, threat intelligence gives organizations the tools to make tactical security decisions and to elevate conversations with senior leaders and board members.

Read more @ www.govinfosecurity.com

It’s important that local government leaders become prepared to deal with emergencies. That’s the message delivered by CERT during its monthly meetings.

CERT — the Mesquite Community Emergency Response Team — met at its Airport ll location on Jan. 3 to review team strategies and to stress the importance of local government leaders receiving emergency preparedness training. A possible changeover in CERT leadership also was discussed.

Read more @ www.mesquitelocalnews.com

Earlier this year, President Obama released Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness, which is intended to strengthen the security and resilience of the nation. PPD-8 calls on all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and individual citizens to play a more active and well-defined role in strengthening the Nation’s security and resiliency.  PPD-8 sets a vision for an America that is prepared for our greatest risks, such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, or pandemics.  The directive calls for a number of actions to be taken in the near term to improve our security and resilience. (more…)