WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Surveillance is part of the web browsing experience mostly due to ads and social beacons. Trying to block them off not only degrades the user experience but may not provide the expected benefits as it may provide a different type of surveillance. Ad blocking does not appear to be the solution after all. So what can provide more privacy when surfing the web? The question remains open.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Author is a leader in the security and privacy world, and it is always important to know what leading minds believe is happening or may happen in the future. He painted a fairly bleak picture of the security and privacy in his book - which I recommend strongly. Here he suggests that security and privacy will suffer in a Trump presidency. I would argue this would be the same under Clinton but agree that we must remain vigilant. The large number of comments also provide very interesting insight: anyone that raises concerns about large scale surveillance will get raided by many.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Amazing short 12min video because of the level of understanding that the President of the USA has of the threats that come from AI and other digital means. He has been briefed of course but his discourse and examples shows that these are very important topics on top of mind for him and his administration. Moreover, it raises some concerns on our ability to fight against those threats and the impact they can have on countries and businesses alike. Must listen video IMHO.

This year's DEFCON24 report is full of information about social engineering, the event and methods to protect your organization. This is IMHO a must read for every executive to see how easy it is to breach security of their organization which can potentially result in theft, both physical and digital.

http://www.social-engineer.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Social-Engineer-Capture-The-Flag-DEFCON24-SECTF-2016.pdf 

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Often we think that our digital lives or digital transformations must be protected with strong passwords, encryption and other digital security methods. However, time and again the "social engineers" have demonstrated that the weakest link in the chain often are the individuals, employees and partners that voluntarily divulge sensitive information. And this, no technology can prevent and companies must invest in training their employees to detect the social engineering methods and respond with appropriate actions when such techniques are being tested on them.

Google is warning individuals that their Google accounts are being hacked - even if they turned on 2-factor authentication.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

This news stories highlights some very important security and privacy elements:

1- Google is actively protecting security and privacy of high profile individuals which is reassuring because only they have the size and scope to fight state-funded hacking

2- I always believed 2-factor authentication was a good way to protect your digital self: looks like I was wrong. More on this later...

3- Google has been doing this since 2012, so the whole thing is not new but recent DDoS attacks using Internet of Things devices (cameras, etc.) demonstrates that hackers now have new, very effective hacking tools and they are using it.

A vulnerability in always on devices that listen to our every words can be turned into a spy tool.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

We are surrounded by "always on" devices - from Apple Siri and Airpods to Google NOW to Amazon echo. They listen to your every word looking for keywords such as "siri" or "OK google". Using those features one should assume the device is listening all the time and potentially recording to the cloud our conversations, which has a number of people quite scared including this Guardian article named "Goodbye privacy".

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/21/amazon-echo-alexa-home-robot-privacy-cloud 

Here we are faced with an exploit that enables speakers - which everyone thinks of as an output device - to become listening devices. Any engineer knows that speakers and microphones work based on the same electromagnetic principle. However this exploit is special because it transforms the output port on the computer into an input port, allowing speakers to become microphones. And then record everything, compress it and send it to the cloud where it can be used for spying or other purpose.

The end of privacy is closer than it has ever been...

Describes recent DDoS attacks and provides links to Akamai State of the Internet report, a very useful reference.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Going digital often means relying on the Internet for critical business operations. This article is a stark reminder of the need to put security on the top of priority list.

A very good review of the limitations of passwords and the multiple new methods we will have to enhance our digital security.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

To go digital, being secure is very high on the list of priorities. Maslow had put security as the second layer in the pyramid of needs - and I believe this is also true in the new pyramid of digital needs!

Brian Krebs exposes the attack his security blog has recently suffered, along with clear explanation of the attack and ways to prevent it.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

It is by sharing stories like this one that we can all learn of potential danger that any website faces when a properly motivated opponent targets you.

A very good introduction to the dangers of phishing email attacks, with good examples and humour that make it a good guide to share with employees as part of an information session of staying vigilant about those attacks.

Essential reading to understand the sophistication that ransomware has become today.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Malicious programs that encrypt computer files in exchange for money have become popular and they mark a new threat where end users are the weakest link. Companies should make sure that their users, employees and partners are train to detect and react appropriately when such an attack is detected. Noone is protected and we are all vulnerable. You have been warned!

Whichever you select, use a password manager. Do it now.

Describes how a hacker youTube channel with 90K subscribers and 5M views describes how to hack everything from credit card readers to garage door openers.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Hacking has become a past time for many and there is an industry forming around this new trend to help users with their hacking projects and solutions. Any digital expert would be well informed to follow such hacking gurus to understand what is possible, how it is done and - possibly - how to prevent it in their strategies and roadmaps.

Krebs explains how cybercrime organizations profit from the sale of companies they hack and gain access to usernames and systems. It also provides guidance on how to improve security in large organizations.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

I find that too often we focus on individual hacks or threats but rarely consider security at a strategic level - assigning real cost to security breaches and thus looking for funding to address the biggest risks. Moreover, as is stated here, awareness training of resources may actually be a very effective - and relatively low cost? - way to improve security and protect an organization.

3 simple steps that doctors - and everyone else - should use to secure their information and keep them private.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Is there anything more personal than your medical information? I assume not and thus would expect my medical professional to be aware of these 3 basic security principles and respect them strictly. However, it may not be the case and I would recommend this sort of information to be built into the standard medical practice curriculum because I would not want my doctor's laptop to be the weak link in my medical record transmission chain.

For other articles on this field: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/topic/cybersecurity

An 8 minute video that will make you rethink your hunt for free wifi in public spaces...

Face recognition, gender detection, and age estimation are all now possible with this open source suite of software code. This should pave the way for wide adoption in all kind of applications, from retail store security cameras to hand held camera devices such as the narrative camera or others. I can think of so many use cases - both good and bad - where this technology can be deployed. Just a question of time...

http://getnarrative.com/

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/parashoot-smart-wearable-video-mini-hd-camera 

http://www.getperfectmemory.com/