In late December, a flaw in software that is ubiquitous around the world was reported, and it sent cybersecurity pros into a frenzy and turned the hairs of technology pros gray. There are countless articles about this vulnerability, so I am not going to go deep into the technology of what occurs. Here is what […]

What motivates a hacker or group of cyberattackers? The answer is typically money. For each column in this series, rAVe writer Paul Konikowski takes a deeper dive into a recent security event or data breach, shedding light on supply chain vulnerabilities, infrastructure and cyber-physical security. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in May of 2021 caused […]

Why did the pipeline get shut down if the hackers only attacked the business end?  For each column in this series, rAVe writer Paul Konikowski takes a deeper dive into a recent security event or data breach, shedding light on supply chain vulnerabilities, infrastructure and cyber-physical security. By now, most people heard about the Colonial […]

For each column in this series, rAVe writer Paul Konikowski takes a deeper dive into a recent security event or data breach, shedding light on supply chain vulnerabilities, infrastructure, and cyber-physical security. In my last SecuringAV column about the SolarWinds hack attack, I asked rAVe readers an open-ended question: If extremists think that Big Tech is […]

THIS IS A PROMOTED POST By Jason Rowley Vice President Federal, Cyviz It’s no secret that governments face more challenges than ever before. Information technology is advancing rapidly — and governments at all levels must be even quicker to protect operational networks and citizens from cybersecurity threats. Command and control centers need content visualization technologies […]

In mid-December, news broke about a massive cyber breach that occurred through SolarWinds software. There is a chance (I hope not) that many in the AV community briefly looked at this, decided it was an IT issue and moved on. If you did, I think that was a mistake — and want to tell you […]

For each column in this series, rAVe writer Paul Konikowski takes a deeper dive into a recent security event or data breach, shedding light on supply chain vulnerabilities, infrastructure, and cyber-physical security. While most Americans are still processing the recent attack on the United States Capitol building, many cybersecurity researchers and professionals believe the real […]

Welcome to my 21st annual Kayye’s Krystal Ball! I love writing this annual predictions article — it’s both humbling and rewarding. It requires me to stop and research anything new, evaluate the potential impact it will have and then articulate it in a way that matters to readers. If you’re a regular reader of my […]

On Wednesday, I watched Zoom’s 45-minute “Get The Latest Product News From Zoom” webinar. When I received the lead, I figured it would be related to Zoom 5.0, the latest upgrade to Zoom and the result of its 90-day security-enhancement plan. Quick plug: Earlier on, this same day, rAVe held a one-on-one session with Zoom’s […]

Today Zoom announced security enhancements with the upcoming general availability of Zoom 5.0, a key milestone in its 90-day plan to proactively identify, address and enhance the security and privacy capabilities of the Zoom platform. By adding support for AES 256-bit GCM encryption, Zoom will provide increased protection for meeting data and resistance against tampering. […]

P.T. Barnum is credited for saying,”There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” You may have heard other variations of this old saying, such as “There’s no such thing as bad press.” Does this apply to recent headlines about Zoom? If you have lost track, I will do my best to summarize and put it all […]

Enplug today announced successful completion of its SOC 2 Type 2 audit. This concludes an intensive six-month audit by Coalfire, an independent cybersecurity firm, to objectively measure Enplug’s adherence to key trust factors of secure data processing and storage. Many digital signage vendors talk about the importance of security, yet Enplug is among the very […]

Barco announced this week that a security vulnerability was discovered within its ClickShare product, which is fixed with an update available immediately, ClickShare update 1.9.1. This vulnerability was discovered by security consultants F-Secure through a process known as “ethical hacking.” “In October of this year, consultants from reached out and shared that they had managed […]

Management guru Peter Drucker is often quoted as saying, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” I have long believed in this philosophy and work with my teams to make sure we are setting goals and measuring our success. While I think Drucker was right, he lived and worked in a much different […]

By Paul Konikowski On June 24, 2019, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller III testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee about his team’s Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. Throughout most of the day, Mueller kept his answers brief and referenced the report. Oftentimes, he […]

Last week was an eventful one for Zoom. In less than twenty-four hours, we had: The revelation of multiple security vulnerabilities in the popular Zoom conferencing software A [now updated] defensive statement by Zoom, dismissing concerns related to same Public outcry A reversal of course and introduction of an immediate patch for one vulnerability and […]

By Paul Konikowski, CTS-D Last week was a big week for cybersecurity news pertaining to the audiovisual industry. Vulnerabilities in Zoom’s Mac desktop client were disclosed, hijacking flaws in Logitech’s Unifying USB dongles hit the mainstream and Draper, Inc. announced that its computer systems and communications networks were being held hostage by ransomware. Let’s take […]

I want you to imagine a 46″ flat panel display. This display is in a staff cafeteria on the 30th floor of an office building. Wall-mounted. It is not an extravagant display, probably 1080p… not even smart (gasp!). You’ve seen one just like it, looping special events and other corporate propaganda. Now I want you […]

Last year, Crestron was the focus of some cyber activists who found vulnerabilities in Crestron touch controllers that could theoretically allow someone to use touch screens to spy on the person in the same room. This was covered in a class at a hacktivist conference called DEFCON and subsequently was written up in WIRED Magazine. […]

Security has arisen as a significant issue over the past several years in the AV industry. Several high profile issues have made people question what they should be doing about security. I (and others) have written about it, trying to give our readers some thoughts about where to start. As I read more about security […]

On October 20th, 2018 Apple announced Group FaceTime for its iOS devices. Three weeks later, on Mon., Jan. 28th, Apple announced a major flaw in this new feature. If someone initiated a FaceTime call, and then added themselves to it, the phone of the original person would start transmitting their audio before they picked up. […]

My readers will know that I tend to focus on topics related to collaboration, user-interaction, and generally building products that help us work together. You may be surprised to learn that a significant amount of my time is spent thinking about security. As devices become increasingly attached to our enterprise networks – those same devices must be […]

R&S SpycerNode uses what Rohde & Schwarz calls High Performance Computing (HPC) file system for its media server. HPC employs redundancy using software-based “RAID” technologies called erasure coding in combination with declustering to increase overall performance and reduce rebuild times. R&S SpycerNode features Rohde & Schwarz‘s device manager web application which makes it much easier […]

Everyone, everywhere is talking about the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). And, every tech company is trying to find a way to claim their products are part of IoT, too. And, most of it is hype. Pure hype. But, some of the companies that do have IoT things are being stupid. Why? Security. The Internet […]

There are quite a few conferences that focus on AV equipment. On the consumer side, there is CES, on the broadcast side there is NAB, then for residential AV there is CEDIA Expo and for commercial AV, we have InfoComm. The latest conference to focus on AV equipment, however, happened Friday, August 10th. The conference? DEFCON. […]

By Viktor Petersson Screenly Over the last few years, we have seen many cases of digital signage players being hacked for fun, profit and even propaganda. Hardcore porn shown on hacked billboard in Malmö Cyberattack claims multiple airports in Vietnam Hacked digital signage displays porn in Union Station Hijacking the Outdoor Digital Billboard – By […]

Audiovisual systems are becoming increasingly central to global operations as they offer expanded remote management capabilities. This upward trend of AV systems operating over enterprise networks can pose a serious risk for security breaches, therefore it’s critical for AV professionals to understand and mitigate these risks. AVIXA’s new Recommended Practices for Security in Networked AV […]

A quick survey: How many IoT devices do you currently think you own? Chances are you are way off on the actual number. A main reason is that no one actually knows how many devices are currently connected to the Internet of Things and that number is even harder to predict moving forward as more […]

As the world moves further and further into a technology-enabled and -dependent world, serious questions arise about personal and institutional privacy. Recently, news headlines have revealed that a seemingly innocuous bit of data could have far reaching and deadly side effects. Over the past several years, the U.S. Army has issued fitness trackers to its […]

I’ve written time and again about the rise of software as opposed to dedicated hardware. About AV as a Service (AVaaS). About how all of those black and grey boxes we’ve come to know and love will soon disappear, to be replaced by services running on virtual machines. It isn’t just a rule about audiovisual, […]

As I’m sure many of you are aware, there were quite a few instances of digital signage hacking this year. One of the most recent incidents, the hacking at Union Station, has stirred up some concern regarding safety for digital signage. Not to worry! Our team has put together four safety check steps to ensure […]

In the original movie Ghostbusters, Rick Moranis (in his immortal role as Vince Tully, CPA) is taken over by an evil spirit from another dimension and transformed into the Keymaster, the minion who will enable Gozer the Gozerian to enter our plane of existence and destroy the world. First, if you don’t understand that reference, […]