Taylor Howard has become Dynasty Financial Partners' first chief digital officer, and Frank Coates is the new chief technology officer. The company announced that Howard will lead artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital architecture initiatives, while Coates will work on data integration and both will improve information access.

Vendors of compliance software should take security as seriously as you do, writes Dale Sanders of StarCompliance. Sanders outlines four areas to cover and suggests using a vendor that submits to independent audits because "it's a strong indication that they're likely committed to and prioritizing their own security as well as yours."

With more companies looking to hire chief information security officers, salaries have risen, reports search firm Heidrick & Struggles International. The median salary this year is $509,000, up from $473,000 in 2020, the company reports after surveying 354 CISOs.

About 43% of phishing attacks try to impersonate Microsoft, security solutions provider Barracuda reports after studying 12 million attacks. "Cybercriminals are getting sneakier about who they target with their attacks, often targeting employees outside the finance and executive teams, looking for a weak link in your organization," says Barracuda executive Don MacLennan.

The zero-trust architecture has been accepted by almost every one of the 1,200 decision-makers surveyed by Microsoft. "The shift to hybrid work, accelerated by COVID-19, is also driving the move towards broader adoption of Zero Trust with 81% of organizations having already begun the move toward a hybrid workplace," writes Microsoft executive Vasu Jakkal.

When it comes to recruiting cybersecurity talent, organizations must get away from assigning "focused monkeys" types of tasks, says Keith Martin, a professor at the UK's Royal Holloway University. In this video interview, Martin also explains how university doctorate programs are keeping up with the worldwide threat landscape.

The parking authority that oversees a large number of spots in Calgary, Alberta, has reportedly exposed drivers' information in the cloud by accident. The authority blames human error for the lapse, which was brought to its attention by a website.

Aligning data with a business goal doesn't decrease the importance of the IT department, writes DataStax executive Bryan Kirschner. Kirschner reveals how his company surveyed more than 500 technology specialists and executives to gain their insights into the use of data.

The Babuk ransomware group's decryption tool is riddled with major coding errors that have "led to a situation in which files could not be retrieved, even if payment was made," report McAfee and Northwave security experts. These coding flaws appear to have forced Babuk's operation to avoid encryption and turn to data exfiltration-focused extortion efforts, experts report.

The Grief ransomware operation is reportedly the latest manifestation of DoppelPaymer, with security researchers citing striking similarities between the two, including a common file format and distribution channel. "Ransomware threat groups often rebrand the name of the malware as a diversion," notes a ZScaler blog post.