vRealize Automation – Removing an IaaS Node

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
Recently in my lab, I was frustrated over an attempted upgrade to version 7.3 from version 7.2 of vRealize Automation. It had been a while since I had last used my vRA deployment, so I naturally assumed I was probably bound for some sort of issue due to neglect. However, typically I can figure these things out pretty quickly and go along my way. This time was different and the solution, was frankly disappointing. Perhaps a lack of understanding on my part, but I think it was more of a lack of documentation from VMware on vRealize Automation. When I attempted to upgrade the vRA appliance to 7.3, I received an error in the Upgrade panel stating the following: The VMware certificate was not installed on the nodes listed below. Make sure the Management Agent is up and running on them and that it has connectivity to the VA. It then displayed a single IaaS server from my lab. When I took a...
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IAS Seattle Security Conference 2017

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
Yesterday, I was honored to host one of the panelist discussions at the IAS Security Conference in Seattle. I hosted the panel on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) while my counterpart, Tim Adams, hosted the session on IoT Security. From the audience attendance and engagement, I believe the sessions were well received and educational. As usual, I'm always pleased on the number of questions that come from the audience when it comes to GDPR. Even though we're only a few months away from the go live date for GDPR, there are still customers struggling to understand how the GDPR impacts them and what can be done to be compliant. But I think there is a comfort in knowing that other organizations are also struggling with the same thing that they are. Working together, we get the answers we're looking for and get compliant. A special thanks for the panelist involved in the GDPR discussion: Keith Deighton - Hitachi Systems Security - https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-deighton-9361901/ Derek Keen...
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GDPR Webinar Series – Episode Three – Veritas

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
We held another great GDPR webinar series, this time with Veritas. Veritas has quite a few solutions that address several components of the GDPR initiative. Additionally, they are one of the few vendors we work with that also offer risk assessments on an organization's readiness with the new regulation, including risk analysis and prioritization. If you still wondering how you should approach the GDPR compliance initiative or just need help figuring out where to start, check out the webinar and reach out to IAS if you want to learn more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7stC0RAtBOA...
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GDPR Webinar Series – Episode Two – Varonis

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
Last week I held another session in IAS's ongoing series on the GDPR with our partner Varonis and guest speaker Brian Vecci. Brian is an amazing speaker and did an excellent job going through the GDPR at a high-level and demonstrating how Varonis can help organizations get compliant with certain aspects of the GDPR regulation. Even if GDPR is not a primary focus area for your business, but you are still challenged by managing security permissions and access roles in your organization, then this presentation by Varonis is a must see. Thanks again to Brian and the Varonis team for putting this together.  ...
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Introduction to the EU GDPR

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
This week I held the first webinar in a series of many that will coming to our customers over the next few months. The focus is on the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) going into effect next year. I believe this is one of the most important regulations to come out in recent years to protect the personal data of individuals. And while this regulation only protects the citizens of the EU, I believe it will also help protect those in the United States, and could be a model of future regulations on privacy. However, it does have challenges. Protecting data within an organization is important, no matter what type of data it is. How we protect the data depends on where it is and how it's used. So where do we start? Like most things, we start by learning about the rules, why they are important and how others approach the challenge. The IAS webinar series on the EU GDPR...
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Legal and IT – Working Together

by Matthew KimlerNo Comments
One of the many things that I enjoy is working with other people in business. While I’ve mostly been employed in the Information Technology team at an organization, working as project manager and business relationship manager, I’ve also been exposed to other business units and their objectives. As an IT professional, sometimes you only see the IT systems and don’t always get a true understanding of what the bigger picture is. This was never more true than when I worked for a biotech company in the Bay Area and was an IT liaison between the IT and Legal departments. When I started there, the IT and Legal team relationship could be best described as volatile. The two teams seemed to have been going out of their ways to avoid each other and provide only the minimal amount of effort to each other’s initiatives. Meetings were uncomfortable, often with blaming going on and roadblocks being established to slow momentum of the other...
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