July marked two years as the Guide of Business Security for About.com. It has been a great creative outlet and I have enjoyed writing articles, blogs and reading the feedback from users. I have made some new friends while being a guide, the folks at GFI (thanks Jes) stand out in my mind. I have been a user of GFI products before I was a guide and it was an honour to be asked to review their products. My favourite articles have been about IPCop, TrueCrypt and PasswordSafe as these are all still products I use everyday.

When I started as a guide with About.com I was involved with Business Security as my day job. Since then the security company I founded has been sold and I have moved on and co-founded a new company which is building a web destination promoting green lifestyle with some great friends. My security skills will help any endeavour I pursue but not being involved with new technology and not having my fingers on the day to day pulse of the security profession, it is time to pass the torch.

I trust you will all continue to read the various topics on About.com and continue to support the new business security guide when chosen. A special thanks to Paul Archer, as without his writing and editorial help I would never been able to be an About.com guide.

Be safe, be green and farewell,

Ryan Groom

German hackers are offering visitors to China a way to bypass the filtering of China’s firewalls. China has placed filters on the Internet access which has annoyed many visitors and journalists. The hackers group called The Chaos Computer Club said its technology will help athletes and journalists travelling to Beijing for the Olympic Games to circumvent censorship.

The United States government has laid charges against 11 people in the credit card number theft case that affected TJX Companies, BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and other companies.

"While technology has made our lives much easier it has also created new vulnerabilities," Michael J. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said in a statement announcing the indictments.

As technology changes so does the criminal use of technology. As you add new technology to your business make sure you add new security controls as well.

Employees at a small business can be the target of identity theft. Usually this is because many small businesses do not take the security precautions to protect their employees. In a recent survey as I blogged about last week (Does Size Matter?) many small businesses do not think anyone is looking at them in a nasty way. Here are four simple steps you can take to protect your business and your staff:

• Verify the Mail – Make sure what is inside the envelope is real and don’t fill out crazy forms and send them back full of personal information to destinations unknown.
• Be Wary of Social Engineering Attempts – If your Spiddy Senses go off with a telephone conversation be wary of giving out details or hand it off to a more senior person.
• Buy a Shredder – This is the best thing you can do to protect your identity from dumpster divers.
• Protect Your Sensitive Data – Make sure your filing cabinets are locked and in a safe place. Make sure your computers are secure.