John Harrington

John Harrington

DMARC – One protocol to bind them all

DMARC tells the receiving email server what do when SPF and DKIM policy checks fail. However DMARC performs another vital step. DMARC checks that that the domain of the author, as seen by the end-user fully the domain validated by…

DKIM – Why you need it

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is an email authentication mechanism that lets a sending domain sign an email. Think of DKIM as a tamper-evident seal on an email envelope. If someone opens it and messes with the contents, the seal is broken, and the fraud…

Redirect domains explained

Redirected domains are web domains that don’t directly host services. Instead they act as aliases, and redirect users to your authoritative (a.k.a. canonical) site. Redirected domains have some security weaknesses, but we’ll get to that later. First we’ll examine the…

Protect your reputation with SPF

You’ve just receive an email from a client saying: “Thanks — we’ve paid the invoice to the new bank account as instructed.” Super. No. Wait. What? You never sent them an email. Fuck! What happened? This type of attack is known…

The dirty secret of OTP recovery codes

Have you ever wondered how those OTP recovery, or backup, codes work? I know we are told to ‘keep them safe’ but what happens if we don’t. What’s the worst that could happen? How TOTP Works Here’s a quick recap…

How TOTP (time-based OTP) works

Two factor authentication is meant to add a second method, or factor, of authentication beyond the traditional username and password combo. In this article, we’ll explore one specific type of 2FA known as Time-based One-Time Password – TOTP. In this…

What is ARP?

ARP is a technology that underpins most networking and network security operations. There are so many primer and explanations out there already. So rather than pursue the traditional route, I wanted to explore an alternative method and explain it by…

Positive Paths To Safety

Balancing threats with solutions It’s really important to discuss cybersecurity risks and threats, but we must also accompany that discussion with a clear and positive path to resolution. If we only present the negative side, the problem can seem too…

Zero Trust – Hard on the outside

I’d be lying if I said, “they don’t make networks like they used to”. Sadly, we’re still making networks exactly like we used to, and that has to change. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside Traditional networks are…

Do you carry cash?

Don’t worry, I’m not looking for a loan. I just want to know if you, right now, have any cash on your person. Or perhaps you’re just winging it, flying solo, tapping to pay, all the way. Let’s take a…