Author Archives: admin

Building Wealth

Posted on by

Jack Ma the richest man in China said, “If you put the Banana and Money infront of a monkey. The monkey will choose Banana because the monkey don’t know that money can buy alot of Bananas.

In fact, if you offer Work and Business to most people, they will choose to Work because most people don’t know that a Business can make more money than salary.

One of the reason most people fail to build wealth is because they have not been educated or trained to recognise the entrepreneurial opportunity.

They spend alot of time in school and what they learn in school is work for a salary instead of working for themselves.

Profit is better than wages because wages can support you, but profits and owning assets can make you wealthy.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/109901988144184/posts/165519812582401/

The Great Benefits and Joy of Movement

Posted on by

“Anytime you engage in regular activity, you’re becoming this version of yourself that is more hopeful, more motivated, more energized, and better able to connect with others.” ~Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D.

Knowing only great benefits and happiness will result from movement, why are Americans so resistant to making movement a priority in their day?

While our brains and bodies reward us for moving and exertion, we also are built with an instinct to avoid overexertion, conserve energy, to rest, to avoid discomfort, and avoid failure and embarrassment, says Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., a research psychologist, a lecturer at Stanford University, and an award-winning science writer and author of The Joy of Movement.

To retrain our bodies to encourage movement, we must first start with self-compassion and the practice of gratitude. We must remove the negative connotations from movement and recognize how the practice of movement can be really rewarding on its own.

“Exercise is health-enhancing and life-extending, yet many of us feel it’s a chore.” Kelly McGonigal

Research shows, according to Dr. McGonigal, there are three motivations that keep people moving:

  • Enjoyment – doing something you actually enjoy
  • The activity provides social community or sense of identity (i.e. “I’m a runner”), … positive social connection, and
  • It’s a personal challenge and meaningful to you as you’re making progress toward a goal.

If you can find an activity that gives you all three – you’re hooked for life! Exercise is health-enhancing and life-extending, yet many of us feel it’s a chore and burden.

Movement can be a source of joy and is intertwined with some of the most basic human joys, including self-expression, social connection, and mastery–and why it is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.

Basically, bliss can be found in any sustained physical activity, whether that’s hiking, swimming, cycling, dancing, or yoga. However, the runner’s high emerges only after a significant effort. It seems to be the brain’s way of rewarding you for working hard.

McGonigal tells the stories of people who have found fulfillment and belonging through running, walking, dancing, swimming, weightlifting, and more, with examples that span the globe.

Along the way, Dr. McGonigal paints a portrait of human nature that highlights our capacity for hope, cooperation, and self-transcendence.

Movement is integral to both our happiness and our humanity. By harnessing the power of movement, you can create happiness, meaning, and connection in your life.

The latest theory about the runner’s high claims that: Our ability to experience exercise-induced euphoria is linked to our earliest ancestors’ lives as hunters, scavengers, and foragers.

As biologist Dennis Bramble and paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman write, “Today, endurance running is primarily a form of exercise and recreation, but its roots may be as ancient as the origin of the human genus.”

The neurochemical state that makes running gratifying may have originally served as a reward to keep early humans hunting and gathering. What we call the runner’s high may even have encouraged our ancestors to cooperate and share the spoils of a hunt.

In our evolutionary past, humans may have survived in part because physical activity was pleasurable. It takes about six weeks of consistent moderate movement to see structural and neurochemical changes in your brain. And, increase intensity amplifies the benefits. The harder stuff seems to payoff. Exercise gets easier and more pleasurable sooner.

The key to unlocking the runner’s high is not the physical action of running itself, but can be achieved on continuous moderate intensity exercise. And in fact scientists have documented a similar increase in endocannabinoids from cycling, walking on a treadmill at an incline, and outdoor hiking.

If you want the high, you just have to put in the time and effort. 

References:

  1. https://getmadefor.com/blogs/perspective/the-joy-of-movement-how-looking-backwards-moves-us-forward
  2. https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Movement-exercise-happiness-connection/dp/0525534105/ref=nodl

Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., is a research psychologist, a lecturer at Stanford University, and an award-winning science writer and author of The Joy of Movement.

U.S. GDP Contracted for the First Time since 2020Q2

Posted on by

A recession is typically considered two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

U.S. economic activity contracted for the first time since mid-2020, with lingering supply chain constraints, inflation at its hottest rate since the early 1980s, expected interest rate increases announced by the Fed, and disruptions amid Russia’s war in Ukraine weighing on economic growth.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its initial estimate of first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

The main metrics from the report, compared to consensus data compiled by Bloomberg, are:

  • GDP annualized, quarter-over-quarter: -1.4% vs. 1.0% expected, 6.9% in Q4
  • Personal Consumption: 2.7% vs. 3.5% expected, 2.5% in Q4
  • Core Personal Consumption Expenditures, quarter-over-quarter: 5.2% vs. 5.5% expected, 5.0% in Q4

What does the metrics all mean?

The economic metrics are important indicators of the state of the U.S. economy at the start of this calendar year — especially now as the U.S. braces for interest rate hikes to cool inflation and for the possibility of a recession in the near to medium term. A recession is typically considered two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

“It is unfortunate that this GDP rate did not meet expectations, but unsurprising as the U.S. economy remains very volatile with geopolitical turbulence from the war in Ukraine, a global supply chain crisis, increasing inflation and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Steve Rick, chief economist at CUNA Mutual Group, said in an email. “All of these factors have shrunk GDP growth rates around the globe.”

References:

  1. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q1-us-gdp-gross-domestic-product-economic-activity-190926750.html

Attitude of Gratitude Tips

Posted on by

“Gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives.” Robert Emmons, Ph.D.

How often do you feel thankful for the good things in your life? Studies suggest that making a habit of noticing what’s going well in your life and practicing gratitude could have wealth, health and emotional well-being benefits, according to the National Institute (NIH) of Health News in Health.

The author of “The Millionaire Mind”, Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, tells a terrific story of meeting with several former University of Alabama football players of the legendary Coach Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, who were all successful business owners and senior executives in companies.  Dr. Stanley asked questions of the former football players. Instead of asking the typical questions, the author asked a simple very focused question.  What is the first thing you learned from Coach Bryant.  All of the former players tell a similar story:

On the first day of football practice, Coach Bryant asked them one question. “Have you called your parents to thank them?” He then says, “None of you got here on your own.  It required your parents to sacrifice many days taking you to little league practices, school, and feeding you and ensuring that you could play football and ultimately be on this team.  None of us got here on our own and we will not win on our own.”

The message from coach Bryant was clear.  You must have an ‘attitude of gratitude’ and realize we all need each other to get where we want to go.

Consequently, the millionaires in the study discussed within the book, “The Millionaire Mind”, agreed with coach Bryant’s assertion. To be successful and to successfully build wealth, you should have an ‘attitude of gratitude’.

Gratitude has two key components, according to Robert Emmons, Ph.D., Director, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and perhaps the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude.

  • “It’s an affirmation of goodness.” Gratitude permits you “to affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits” you’ve received.
  • It “…recognizes that the sources of this goodness are outside of yourself … You acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave you many gifts, big and small, to help you achieve the goodness in your life.”

The social dimension of gratitude is especially important. It requires you to see how you’ve been “supported and affirmed by other people”. In other words, the grateful person accepts all of life as a precious gift. It does not mean that everything that occurs in life is pleasant and good…bad things and problems will continue to occur in your life. Instead, it implies that we are grateful for both life’s problems (or challenges) and life’s blessings.

Because gratitude encourages us not only to appreciate gifts but to repay them (or pay them forward), the sociologist Georg Simmel called it “the moral memory of mankind.” This is how gratitude may have evolved: by strengthening bonds between members of the same species who mutually helped each other out.

Taking the time to feel gratitude can improve your wealth, health and emotional well-being by helping you cope with stress. Research suggests that a daily practice of gratitude could affect the body, too. For example, one study found that gratitude was linked to fewer signs of chronic inflammation and heart disease.

When life gets challenging, it can be difficult to focus on all the good things we have to be thankful for. Our brains are hardwired to consider the worst possible scenario and remember negative experiences to avoid pain and stay safe.

Gratitude is one way to counteract our natural bias towards negativity and to boost happiness and overall well-being.

The first step in any gratitude practice is to reflect on and appreciate the good things that have happened or are happening in your life. These can be big or little things. It can be as simple as finding a good parking space in your workplace garage or enjoying a cup of Starbucks coffee. Or, perhaps you feel grateful for a close friend’s unexpected cellphone call or compassionate support.

Next, allow yourself a moment to enjoy and appreciate that you had the positive experience, no matter what problems may exist in your life. Focus on and embrace the positive feelings of gratitude.

“We encourage people to try practicing gratitude daily,” advises Dr. Judith T. Moskowitz, a psychologist at Northwestern University. “You can try first thing in the morning or right before you fall asleep, whatever is best for you.”

When you make gratitude a regular habit, it can help you learn to recognize good things in your life despite the bad things and problems that might be happening.

The bottomline is to create positive emotions by being thankful and practicing gratitude every day by following these tips:

  • Take a moment. Think about the positive things that happened during the day.
  • Joy it Down in a Gratitude Journal. Make a habit of writing down things you’re grateful for. Try listing 3 to 5 things for thirty days.
  • Savor and be thankful for your experiences. Try to notice positive moments as they are happening.
  • Relive the good times. Relive positive moments later by thinking about them or sharing them with others.
  • Write to someone. Write a letter to someone you feel thankful toward. You don’t have to send it.
  • Make a visit. Tell someone you’re grateful for them in person.

In short, gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives, says Emmons. Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being.

References:

  1. Stanley, Ph.D, Thomas J., (August 2, 2001), The Millionaire Mind, Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing
  2. https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2019/03/practicing-gratitude
  3. https://selfdevelopmentaddict.com/2014/12/20/the-millionaire-mind-book-summarynotes/
  4. https://healthmatters.idaho.gov/an-attitude-of-gratitude/

Social Security Telephone Scams

Posted on by

Beware of Social Security phone scams! Telephone scammers are pretending to be government employees.

People who know about scams are much less likely to fall victim to them.

Social Security Administration (SSA) continue to receive reports of scammers pretending to be government employees. Scammers may contact you by U.S. mail, telephone, text message, email, or message on social media to obtain your personal information or money.

Scammers frequently change their approach, trying new tactics and messaging to trick people. SSA encourage you to stay up to date on the latest news and advisories by following SSA OIG on Twitter and Facebook or subscribing to receive email alerts.

Social Security will never threaten, scare, or pressure you to take an immediate action.

Recognize the signs of a Social Security scam and report it.

When you report a scam, you are providing Social Security Administration (SSA) with powerful data that we can use to combat scams. The information you report helps SSA to identify trends, refine their strategies, and take legal action against the criminals behind these scam activities.

You can report scams here: http://ow.ly/QsKB50IuYVK

References:

  1. https://oig.ssa.gov/scam-awareness/scam-alert/
  2. https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/NCPW-2022-GovtImp-Infographic-v2-508.pdf

Congressional Energy Piñata

Posted on by

Politicians rarely let facts get in the way of a good sound bite and political theater.

Experience, economics and simple logic tell you that anything Congress does to “fix” a situation, like high consumer energy prices, will probably do more harm than good, writes Fisher Investment’s manager Elisabeth Dellinger, Senior Editor of MarketMinder. So it is a blessing for equity stocks and financial markets that gridlock on Capitol Hill will likely block any energy related legislation coming out of Washington.

Recently, Congress indulged in one of its favorite pastimes: a public flogging of large company chief executives…on this occasion the targets were major energy company chief executive officers. Politicians have accused the industry of price gouging, and a couple of Senators have proposed windfall profits taxes for energy companies.

The allegations at the Congressional hearings appear ‘more politics than substance’. For one, gas prices have ticked down slightly for three straight weeks. In reality, gas prices tend to follow oil at a lag, so gas’s failure to match oil’s rate of decline over the past four weeks isn’t a shock.

Moreover, the oil executives offered some simple, logical answers why gasoline prices haven’t matched the magnitude of oil’s retreat. Some cited rising costs and shortages of drilling equipment as well as transportation bottlenecks. Others pointed out that the industry is still dealing with the wild swings induced by lockdowns, which brought swift production cuts—and then a need for fast restarts when the companies didn’t have the labor or equipment to oblige.

And, there is a third reason, writes Dellinger: Oil isn’t the only major ingredient in gasoline. The ethanol mandate is still the law of the land. Gasoline sold in the US is required to have a certain amount of ethanol blended with refined petroleum—typically around 10% of every gallon. Ethanol is a “renewable” fuel derived from corn, which has jumped in price since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Corn is now up 42.2% over the past six months, and unlike crude oil, it hasn’t backed down from the post-invasion spike.[iii] Demand from all corners is keeping the price high, and that is feeding into prices at the pump.

But Congressional hearings are rarely about the truth and facts, especially when the facts put Congress’s past deeds in a bad light. True to form, politicians highlight a hot-button issue, press the blame button and advance a politically motivated policy solution, even though it isn’t likely to pass.

Senators’ have offered windfall tax proposals which are in response to claims that these taxes are necessary because energy firms are restraining supplies and production to keep prices up, tied to “financial discipline” demanded of oil firms by investors. Although these are strong emotional appeals intended for their loyal constituents, but the facts demonstrate that there isn’t much evidence of actual excessive windfall profits.

“Energy is a cyclical business, and companies won’t survive if they can’t bank on having good times to counterbalance the bad”, writes Dellinger. “If eventual profits can’t offset losses, there is no math there for shareholders or creditors. Essentially, a windfall tax implemented now would punish companies for surviving. Moreover, it would destroy the incentive to invest. What is the point in stomaching the high upfront costs it takes to drill and pump new wells if there is a risk the government will confiscate your profits retroactively? How can you plan? Retroactive taxes kill investment, and doing this in the oil and gas industry would probably whack US oil production, making prices even higher over time.”

On the bright side, the likelihood this windfall tax legislation goes anywhere stands about zero. The 50/50 Senate hasn’t managed to pass anything contentious and probably won’t start now—not with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who has effective veto power, representing a state with a big natural gas and coal industry.

Midterms currently look poised to deepen gridlock next year. Angry Congressional political tweets and sound bites might stoke fear and hit constituents’ sentiment during midterm campaigns, but financial markets should quickly view that these bills are likely to be ‘dead on arrival’.

Conversely, NYT foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman suggests that the U.S. needs to implement an ‘oil import tax’ that sets the price of oil in America at around $50 to $60 per barrel. This tax, he opines, would provide a stable, predictable price for oil companies, and eliminate the wild price swings and volatility in oil prices American have experienced over the past two decades.

“One of our learnings from past mistakes is to act promptly when we discover new information about an investment that is inconsistent with our original thesis.” Bill Ackman, Pershing Square

References:

  1. https://www.fisherinvestments.com/en-us/marketminder/dont-let-the-politicking-on-gas-prices-fool-you
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, as of 4/6/2022. US regular all formulations gas prices, 3/14/2022 – 4/4/2022. Data are weekly.
  3. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/04/08/the-us-needs-an-oil-import-tax-says-nyts-thomas-friedman.html

An Inspirational Story of Kindness

Posted on by

“It’s amazing, how one person’s act of kindness can change the course of your life. Today, follow their lead….Pay it forward.”

“I went to Kroger tonight wearing one of my husband’s sweatshirts. I got in line to check out and the man in front of me asked if the sweatshirt was mine.

I said ‘oh no, it’s my husband’s.’ It caught me pretty off guard, to say the least. He then asked if my husband was with me so he could say thank you and I just said ‘thank you, but unfortunately, he’s deployed right now.’

The man then, without hesitation started putting my groceries up on the belt with his and told me he was paying for my groceries tonight. I was speechless.

The only thing I could get out was, ‘oh my gosh, are you sure, thank you so much’ almost a dozen times. He said, ‘that place over there almost took me away from my wife and my four kids.

Promise you’ll stay true and honest to him while he’s gone and love him like you’ve never loved him before when he gets home.’ I’m still in shock over an hour later.

There’s still so much good in the world and we need to start focusing on that rather than focusing on all the bad.“

Credit: Casey Carpenter

Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey

Posted on by

Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey Shows Black Americans Continue to Trail Their White Counterparts in Building Wealth
Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey Key Findings:

  • 58% of African Americans are invested in the stock market; and, in the cohort under forty years old, that percentage jumps up to 68%.
  • 25% of Black Americans own cryptocurrency; (only 15% of white Americans own cryptocurrency)
  • 401(k) are no longer the entry point for many first-time investors.
  • Risky investments very popular among younger Black investors
  • Instead entering via cryptocurrency, individual stocks and mutual funds
  • Black investors are more likely to trust and make investment decisions based on less credible information sources, such as social media

“The results of the 2020 Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey reveal that Black Americans are not benefitting from stock market growth at the same rate as white Americans at similar income levels”, according to the results from the Ariel Investment and Charles Schwab Black Investor Survey. “The deep-rooted gap in participation between the groups persists, with 55 percent of Black Americans and 71 percent of white Americans reporting stock market investments. This disparity, compounded over time, means that middle-class Black Americans will have less money saved for retirement and less wealth to pass onto the next generation than their white peers.”

In a year like no other, however, there is also evidence of growing engagement in the stock market by younger Black Americans, with 63 percent under the age of 40 now participating in the stock market, equal to their white counterparts, according to the Survey. The closing of this gap among younger investors is being driven by new investors: three times as many Black investors as white investors (15% vs. 5%) report having invested in the market for the first time in 2020. Twenty-nine percent of Black investors under the age of 40 were new to investing in 2020 compared to 16 percent of whites.

Beyond investing, the survey finds that Black Americans are less likely than white Americans to own almost every kind of financial vehicle, with the exception of whole life insurance, which is favored in the Black community. They are also less likely than white Americans to have written wills, financial plans, or retirement plans.

For Black Americans, disparities grow every month; while they save $393 overall per month, whites are saving 76 percent more, at $693 per month. Even Black Americans who earn more than $100,000 a year consistently save or invest considerably less than their white counterparts at the same income level.

“These differences are not new. Black Americans are disadvantaged from the outset when it comes to building wealth,” says Hobson. She notes that while 51 percent of white Americans say they have inherited wealth, just 23 percent of Black Americans have.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz points out that more white Americans (44%) than Black Americans (33%) are focused on preparing for retirement as their most important financial goal.

“African American investors are getting into the markets late and taking higher risk as the markets have exploded upwards over the last few years”, says John Rogers, Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer, Ariel Investments. “As cryptocurrency has gone up, [Black investors] have been joining that chase, the same way they did during when the internet bubble occurred..getting in late and chasing the higher risk investments.”

High risk investments are growing in popularity, especially among younger Black investors. “What I worry about is when you jump in [the markets] late and get crushed when the inevitable happens, then you’re going to be gun-shy about getting back into the markets.”

People are talking about cryptocurrency and they’ve heard the people have made a lot of money and got rich quickly, so they want to jump on the bandwagon. What’s happening is that they are hearing about it through word of mouth or on the social media front. Thus, more and more people are learning how crypto works or how they think it works, and are not understanding the risk.

Investor education is extremely important, states Rogers. “We must teach young people about the investing in stock market and the value of long term investing and not speculation.”

The most important thing is financial education. From the survey, “there is a lot of evidence that both black and white Americans don’t really understand what they’re investing in”, says Kelly Johnson, Portfolio Manager, Charles Schwab Asset Management. “For example, forty percent (40%) of both cohorts [Black and White investors] came in admitting that they do not really understand their investments.” Additionally, many new investors in the markets believe cryptocurrency and NFT are federally regulated and without risk.

References:

  1. https://www.aboutschwab.com/ariel-schwab-black-investor-survey-2021
  2. John Rogers and Kelly Johnson, (April 20, 2022), Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Survey segment, CNBC Squawk Box,

I Bonds

Posted on by

The main benefit of I Bonds is that they protect your cash from inflation. I bonds currently earn 7.21% through April 2022.

U.S. Treasury issued Series I savings bonds are a low-risk savings product. They are a good hedge against inflation (the “I” in the name stands for “inflation”), because during their lifetime they earn interest and are protected from inflation.

Inflation can be a very destructive economic force that reduces the value and purchasing power of your money over time. With inflation at a 40-year high, many investors are looking for ways to protect the value of their cash, and Series I bonds could be a good solution.

These Series I bonds have two interest rates:

  • A fixed rate that never changes for as long as you hold the bond — currently 0%
  • A variable inflation adjusted rate that changes every six months based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — current annual rate is 7.12% through April 2022.

The Treasury will announce the new I bond annual interest rate based on CPI in May, which might be higher or lower than the current rate.

You may purchase:

  • Electronic I bonds via TreasuryDirect.gov
  • Paper I bonds with your IRS tax refund via IRS Form 8888

I bonds are sold at face value and earn interest from the first of the month in the issue date. Interest is earned monthly and is compounded semiannually:  the interest the bond earned in the previous six months is added to the bond’s principal value; then, interest for the next six months is calculated using this adjusted principal.

Interest accrues until the bond reaches 30 years maturity or you cash the bond. You can’t access the interest payments until you cash the bond.

I bonds do not incur state or local taxes (SALT), but the bond owner will owe federal tax on the interest earnings unless the money is used for qualified education expenses.

You can’t redeem the bond for at least 12 months, and if you redeem the bond within five years, you forfeit the last three months of interest.

There are dollar limits on the quantity of Series I bonds you can purchase each calendar year:

  • $10k maximum in electronic bonds per person (minimum $25)
  • $5k maximum in paper bonds (minimum $50)

You can also purchase bonds for children under the age of 18 and, in some instances, for trusts and estates.

The main benefit of Series I bonds is that they protect your cash from inflation. And, Series I bonds can be a good solution if you have a savings goal over the next 2 to 5 years and want to protect the value of your savings.

References:

  1. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/prod_ibonds_glance.htm
  2. https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds.htm
  3. https://facetwealth.com/article/series-i-bonds/

Cyber Threats are Clear and Present

Posted on by

Cybersecurity threats, malware and ransomware are clear and present danger threats to American businesses and way of life.

This week, Americans wake-up to dire warnings from the federal government in Washington to growing cyber threats and malware from Russia. The federal government warns American citizens, organizations and businesses to enhance their cyber vigilance and security in preparation of cyber attacks originating from Russia targeting critical information and infrastructure.

The latest cybersecurity threats are taking advantage of pandemic induced work-from-home environments, remote access tools, and new cloud services. According to CISA, these evolving cybersecurity threats include:

  • Malware — malicious software variants—such as worms, viruses, Trojans, and spyware—that provide unauthorized access or cause damage to a computer. Malware attacks are increasingly “fileless” and designed to get around familiar detection methods, such as antivirus tools, that scan for malicious file attachments.
  • Ransomware — a type of malware that locks down files, data or systems, and threatens to erase or destroy the data – or make private or sensitive data to the public – unless a ransom is paid to the cybercriminals who launched the attack. Recent ransomware attacks have targeted state and local governments, which are easier to breach than organizations and under pressure to pay ransoms in order to restore applications and web sites on which citizens rely.
  • Phishing / social engineering — a form of social engineering that tricks users into providing their own sensitive information. In phishing scams, emails or text messages appear to be from a known individual or legitimate company asking for sensitive information, such as credit card data or login information. The FBI has noted about a surge in pandemic-related phishing, tied to the growth of remote work.
  • Insider threats — Current or former employees, business partners, contractors, or anyone who has had access to systems or networks in the past can be considered an insider threat if they abuse their access permissions. Insider threats can be invisible to traditional security solutions like firewalls and intrusion detection systems, which focus on external threats.
  • Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks — attempts to crash a server, website or network by overloading it with traffic, usually from multiple coordinated systems. DDoS attacks overwhelm enterprise networks via the simple network management protocol (SNMP), used for modems, printers, switches, routers, and servers.
  • Advanced persistent threats (APTs) — an intruder or group of intruders infiltrate a system and remain undetected for an extended period. The intruder leaves networks and systems intact so that the intruder can spy on business activity and steal sensitive data while avoiding the activation of defensive countermeasures. The recent Solar Winds breach of United States government systems is an example of an APT.
  • Man-in-the-middle attacks — an eavesdropping attack, where a cybercriminal intercepts and relays messages between two parties in order to steal data. For example, on an unsecure Wi-Fi network, an attacker can intercept data being passed between guest’s device and the network.

A majority of Americans have moved their financial and daily lives online, and thus are more susceptible than ever to of cyber crime, malware and ransomware attacks.

As you might image, today’s world is more interconnected than ever before. Yet, for all its advantages, increased connectivity brings increased risk of theft, fraud, and abuse.

As Americans become more reliant on modern technology, we also become more vulnerable to cyberattacks and cybercrimes.

Every organization—large and small—must be prepared to respond to cybercrime and disruptive cyber incidents, explains the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). CISA leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to our cyber and physical infrastructure.

CISA recommends all individuals and organizations—regardless of size—adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protecting their most critical assets, like a “zero trust strategy”.

A zero trust strategy assumes compromise and sets up controls to validate every user, device and connection into the business for authenticity and purpose. To be successful executing a zero trust strategy, organizations need a way to combine security information in order to generate the context (device security, location, etc.) that informs and enforces validation controls.

References:

  1. https://www.ibm.com/topics/cybersecurity
  2. https://www.cisa.gov/shields-up