Enough about secrecy! What about the other stuff?

I’ve spent a lot of this year talking about confidentiality. That’s what most people mean when they talk about “cyber-security”: keeping secret stuff secret. Which is, of course, important. But in the security biz we talk about three aspects to security: confidentiality, integrity and availability. Fun fact: we’re told to teach this as availability, integrity … Continue reading Enough about secrecy! What about the other stuff? →

Is the internet eating itself?

Have we reached peak internet? No, you cry, more things can still go online for more people more of the time. Yup. But how much of that time will those people spend defending themselves against digital threats, or recovering from the consequences, or wading through unsolicited messages, or drowning in advertising? The slightly duller version … Continue reading Is the internet eating itself? →

What can we do about Cryptolocker?

“That’s criminal!” said my wife when I told her about Cryptolocker. Actually, all malware is criminal (Computer Misuse Act 1990, for the legal eagles), but Cryptolocker is particularly nasty, and currently running rampant. In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s malware which once running on your PC sets about encrypting your files; to get … Continue reading What can we do about Cryptolocker? →

Egalité, fraternité…liberté? Not so much.

If you thought the “snooper’s charter” went a bit far, you should see what the French have planned. You’ll recall that I pointed out in my blog post on the UK’s plans to collect browsing data that VPNs, TOR and shared WiFi would defeat it? The French response – ban them all. If you want … Continue reading Egalité, fraternité…liberté? Not so much. →

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

Do you sell to consumers? Do you collect data on your customers? Then you need to protect it, or there’ll be trouble. Protecting it properly is expensive, and you’ll be in a continuous arms race against hackers and cock-up theory (the inevitability that someone will at some time make a mistake that results in a … Continue reading Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should →

Wake up! Safe Harbour is still dead. (Where’s your data – oh no, not more of this)

The Safe Harbour problem isn’t going away. I know, I know, you’re bored now. TL;DR and all that. Well, sorry, but I find this stuff interesting, and you should too. Why? Because it looks like February 2016 is when things will get nasty. Nasty how? Expensively. It’s all still opinion, but after the Germans weighed … Continue reading Wake up! Safe Harbour is still dead. (Where’s your data – oh no, not more of this) →

Remember who’s listening this Xmas

Toys and home conveniences are in the news this week. VTech, a maker of gadgets for ankle-biters, are on the rack after being soundly hacked. The outrage took a new turn today after it became clear that the compromised data included pictures and audio recordings of kids. Nothing like a potential pedo-angle to get the … Continue reading Remember who’s listening this Xmas →