Heartbleed is About to Get Worse - How Do Companies Handle the Internet Disruptions?

ProjectNews - April Edition: Heartbleed is About to Get Worse - How do companies handle the Internet disruptions?

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Challenge:
How do we tackle the major Internet disruptions as companies scramble to repair encryption systems on hundreds of thousands of websites?

Stakeholders:
500,000 affected sites - from mom-and-pop retailers to big conglomerates

Overview:
Efforts to fix the evil Heartbleed bug threaten to cause major disruptions to the Internet over the next several weeks as companies scramble to repair encryption systems on hundreds of thousands of websites at the same time.

In fact, estimates of the severity of the bug's damage have drastically increased almost daily since researchers unveiled the discovery of Heartbleed. What first seemed like an inconvenient matter of changing passwords for protection now appears more serious. New findings suggest that hackers can use the bug to create fake websites that mimic legitimate ones to trick consumers into handing over valuable information. The scale of the work required to fix this aspect of the bug, which makes it possible to steal the "security certificates" that verify that a website is authentic could overwhelm the systems designed to keep the Internet trustworthy.

Heartbleed has put many consumers' user names and passwords at risk as it was undetected for two years. The bug quietly undermined the basic security of the Internet by leaving a gap in OpenSSL, an encryption technology used widely by businesses to protect sensitive data. Reportedly, it has affected as much as two-thirds of the Internet; the flaw prompted Web users to change their passwords on Google, Yahoo, Facebook and other major services.

Finding an effective way to manage cybersecurity chaos is daunting; however, the effects of not properly managing this can be more so.

Join the Conversation!
Share your thoughts on how companies can manage the disruptions Heartbleed is causing.

What do you think companies can do to retroactively handle this disruption?

How can companies implement a solid plan of protection for future attacks?  

Have you been affected by Heartbleed? What have you done to protect yourself or plan for future cybersecurity attacks?

Conclusions based on the April 14 article, "Heartbleed is about to get worse, and it will slow the Internet to a crawl" on Washingtonpost.com.

Want to have discussions about topics like this that affect the project management and business analysis industries today? Join us at ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 in Seattle this fall! Learn more about the event here: http://bit.ly/1nVF08l

Related articles

• What Heartbleed Can Teach The OSS Community About Marketing
• Why you should expect your favorite websites to crash over the next few weeks
• Heartbleed: What you should do (and not do) to protect your data

Keep Calm and Manage the Project: Tips on PM Stress Relief

Everything that comes with a career in project management - the lack of predictability, the creation of brand new solutions, working within a strict system - is a source of stress and frustration. Recently, economic models of production and delivery have contributed drastically increase the stress in the project management.

According to Flannes & Associates, here are five key skills that will help you reduce stress when it comes to managing your projects.

Detach yourself - To use detachment or dissociation, allow yourself to mentally “check out” of the meeting as much as is appropriate, letting your mind wander to a more pleasant image.

Monitor “what if?” thinking - In the middle of a stressful event, it is natural to engage in “what if thinking,” which involves a focus that is not present oriented. An alternative to this form of thinking is to focus in the present, such as posing this question to yourself.  For instance, “It’s Thursday at 3:17 PM, I’ve just received bad news about the project. What can I do in the next hour to take a small step towards improving the situation?”

Image via www.prince2training-uk.org

Develop conflict resolution skills - We add stress to our work lives by under reacting or over reacting to the stressful situation. Both approaches increase our stress.  So, take some time to really develop balanced conflict resolution skills that are manageable for day-to-day issues.

Know when enough is enough - A natural, yet unproductive approach to resolve a stressful situation is to debate another person about your point of view. This does not mean you should not assert your belief, but you should know when to stop once you’ve gotten your point across.

Look for a paradox - In the midst of a stressful situation, we often take the situation too seriously. Psychologists would say that we are engaging in “catastrophizing” behavior, in which we take a negative event cognitively “run with it,” and then find ourselves believing, for example, that the entire project is probably doomed because of this one problem. So, find a paradoxical thought that you can hold onto, something that will put your stress in perspective.  

Related articles

• How Project Managers Keep Calm and Stay Efficient
• Stress Management
• 10 Things Super Successful People Do To Stay Calm
• 5 Ways to Calm Down

How to Earn a Free Pass to PW&WCBA 2014: Become a Guest Blogger

Earn a complimentary all-access pass to ProjectWorld & World Congress for Business Analysts 2014 by serving as a Guest Blogger at the event. As a Guest Blogger, you’ll have access to PW&WCBA's comprehensive agenda attracting the best in insights from around the world, right in Seattle, Washington this fall.

You'll get a free pass to the annual PW&WCBA event plus exclusive access to a networking community and on-demand webinars, to help you grow and learn throughout the year.

Guest Blogger responsibilities will include submitting one post per week to the PW&WCBA blog between now and the conference and attending specifically assigned sessions at the event and blogging live or same day.

By participating as a Guest Blogger leading up to and at the event, you’ll receive an all-access pass for the entire event, taking place September 22-24^th at the W Hotel in Seattle, WA. In addition, Guest Bloggers are responsible for their own travel and lodging. Learn more about the event by visiting our website: http://bit.ly/1eqcUl3

Apply today by sending your name, title, company, short biography and links to your blog or writing samples, along with a few sentences about why we should choose you to be our 2014 Guest Blogger to Amanda Ciccatelli at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. We will review your submission and contact the chosen Guest Bloggers directly with more details.

All readers of our blog receive an exclusive 15% discount off the standard registration rate with code PW14BL. Register here:  http://bit.ly/1eqcUl3

We hope to have you join us in Seattle!

Cheers,

The PW&WBCA Team

#PW14

pwwbcablog.iirusa.com

4 Key Characteristics of a Great Leader

As Shakespeare said, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.”

There is no simple answer to leadership: it takes devotion, hard work, time and patience. But, most importantly, it takes a great deal of knowledge and practice. Here is a list of traits that sales and marketing headhunters look for in leaders, according to Entrepeneur.com:

Strength - People are drawn to confidence and shy away from nervousness, lack of authenticity and insecurity. How you feel about yourself will dictate your ability to lead. Essentially, if you don’t feel you’re important and deserving, don’t expect your co-workers to.

Image via roseburgphoenix.com

Positive Energy - Leaders show positive energy and optimism, showering their people with a can-do attitude. This outlook draws co-workers to them and paves the way for influence, respect and admiration from others. When you’re positive, you think in terms of solutions, not problems, you inspire risk taking, tend to be more resilient and think more clearly.

Passion - Being passionate about your job means possessing a heartfelt and authentic excitement about work. This excitement is infectious and will draw others to your way of thinking. People follow positivity, effectiveness, intelligence and resiliency. Until you learn to love work, you can’t hope to display the necessary positive energy leadership requires.

Selflessness - Leaders are more interested in group achievements as opposed to their own goals. By pouring out encouragement, caring and recognition, your co-workers will be more drawn to you.

Ultimately, leadership is all about the idea that the most significant things at work and in life require work, and most importantly, practice. 

Related articles

• Becoming a Leader at Work
• High Performance Teams