Michelle Drolet Bad actors have taken advantage of unpatched systems, software vulnerabilities and increasingly devious forms of malware for years, but their preferred weapon is phishing. While their motives haven’t changed — luring target victims to click highly legitimate-looking emails so they can steal the keys to the castle – their attack methods have grown […]
Security Solutions
Validating Cyber Risks in the Cannabis Industry
With information gathered from assets in the underground (involved with the dark web) and conversations with federal authorities, investigations disclosed that, while there is no specific group actively targeting the cannabis industry, there are hackers focusing on three areas within the Seed to Sale lifecycle: research and extraction; growing; and consumption and retail operations. Investigations […]
Security Master Planning in the Cannabis Industry – Part 2: The Security Technology Plan
This article is the second in a series of four (4). PART 1 in this series explained that to legally operate a cannabis business, whether medical or recreational, a license or permit to operate must be obtained. Every state has its own regulations and application process in place. They all require security measures to provide […]
Security Master Planning in the Cannabis Industry
Part 1 of 4 In order to legally operate a cannabis business, whether medical or recreational, a license or permit to operate must be obtained. Every state has its own regulations and application process in place. They all require security measures to provide for the safety and security of the operation, its associates, and the […]
Learn What NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework Can Do for You
An invaluable roadmap for InfoSec management Cybercrime does not differentiate between large, small, private, or public companies. Dispensaries, growers, labs or banks, all cannabis industries need to determine their risk acceptance as they are perceived as an easy target. Many utilize the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) CSF requirements to manage security risks […]
Holiday Security for Dispensaries
Since the cannabis holiday season operates differently from the rest of the year, you need to understand exactly how your current programs handle security and safety. After you understand your current programs, you need to plan what would be an efficient way to manage these programs when there are a lot more people in your […]
Smart, Secure Environments: How Deep Learning Can Boost Safety
By Steve Birkmeier The current and projected explosive growth of the cannabis market has created a wide variety of opportunities for various stakeholders, delivering exciting benefits in a number of aspects, such as job and tax revenue creation. But it is not an industry without challenges, with one of the most important being the necessity […]
What Cannabis Companies Should Know About Data Security and Breach Response Requirements
Cannabis companies should remain mindful of the importance of creating and maintaining a comprehensive written data security program. No cannabis company should aspire to being subject to response costs, regulatory fines, and potential lawsuits that follow the theft or inadvertent disclosures of legally protected or commercially sensitive data or, even worse, harming customers by enabling […]
8 Steps to Secure Unmanaged Devices in the Enterprise
By Michelle Drolet As more and more exploitable endpoints find their way onto our networks we need to act to secure them. This article will highlight practical strategies to help you secure IoT, mobile and other devices that require attention. For many years now, enterprise networks have seen a steady stream of new devices that […]
Turn Your Video Surveillance System into a Triple Threat
By Jeff Corrall Astute cannabis business owners are improving loss prevention, operations and performance with integrated video, POS and fixed RFID data Like most business owners, cannabis operators have a thousand items on their ‘to do’ list each day, and reviewing video from their video surveillance system is probably not one of them. But expect […]
Combining Effective Security and Business Operations for Success
By Steve Birkmeier There’s no denying the tremendous evolution we’ve seen in the cannabis market over the last few years, and all signs point toward this expansion continuing from here. Spending on legal cannabis worldwide is expected to reach $57 billion by 2027, with North America’s spending projected to rise from $9.2 billion in 2017 […]
8 cybersecurity trends to watch for 2018
By Michelle Drolet As we stand on the threshold of another year, the war for our cybersecurity rages on. There have been many data breaches in 2017, most notably for Equifax, Verizon, and Kmart. But if you seek a silver lining in the cloud, perhaps you’ll be glad of the news that the global average […]
Blue Line Protection Group Partners with Hypur for Five-State Expansion to Serve the Legal Cannabis Industry
PRESS RELEASE Denver, CO, Jan. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blue Line Protection Group, Inc. (OTCPink: BLPG) is proud to announce a partnership with Hypur, a financial technology company in Scottsdale, Arizona. This agreement will allow Blue Line to expand into five additional states with marijuana-related business (MRB) and money service business (MSB) markets over […]
Four Important Things Cannabis Businesses Can Learn from the Recent Equifax Data Breach
The headline-making Equifax data breach was one of the worst ever. Equifax exposed approximately 143 million consumers, but did not notify any of them. This data breach exposed vital information, such as driver’s license, credit cards, social security numbers, addresses, and birth dates. According to the Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on privacy, data protection […]
Tips to Protect Your Business From Ransomware
Over the last few years we’ve observed the steady rise of ransomware with some trepidation. It is fast becoming a multi-million dollar business, and it’s getting surprisingly sophisticated. The ransomware industry is continually innovating, offering cybercriminals new technology, various business models, and all the support they need to conduct successful attacks on unsuspecting individuals and […]
When It Comes to Cyber Security, The Weakest Link is Still Employees
We need to make sure the highly regulated world of cannabis business knows how to protect its data, customer and otherwise, yet also control access to it without too much hassle. As an insurgent breed, hackers are savvy and will seek out the path of least resistance. When your defenses are good, the weak link […]
Pharmaceutical industry lessons for cannabis
When it comes to developing and implementing an appropriately comprehensive security plan, the pharmaceutical industry knows what it is doing. You might say that this is not their first rodeo. That is not, however, the case with many cannabis businesses newly charged with mapping out security for the purposes of licensing and daily operations. The […]
New security technology now available for the cannabis industry
As a cannabis security consultant, I have had the privilege of working with many leading security equipment vendors across the United States. Working with these vendors allows me to get first-hand knowledge of some pretty cool security technology for the cannabis industry, like the five featured here. Here are new security devices you may want to […]
