Science of CyberSecurity: Latest Cyber Security Threats

As part of a profile interview for Science of Cybersecurity I was asked five questions on cyber security last week, here's question 5 of 5.

Q. What keeps you up at night in the context of the cyber environment that the world finds itself in?

The growing dependence and integration of connected computers within our daily lives, means we are embarking on an era where cyber attacks will endanger our lives. Networked and complex IT systems are inherently insecure, meaning it is open season for nation-states, cyber terrorists and the curious to attack these life integrated emerging technologies, from driverless cars and countless new home IoT devices. I fear it will only be a matter time before a cyber attack causes human harm or even loss of life. The impact of the recent NHS ransomware attack serves as a warning, this cyber attack directly caused the closure of accidental and energy departments and the cancellation of operations. The future threats posed artificial intelligence and quantum computing are also growing concerns for cyber security, and well worth keeping an eye as these technologies continue to progress.

Science of CyberSecurity: What Cyber Security Blogs to Follow

As part of a profile interview for Science of Cybersecurity I was asked five questions on cyber security last week, here's question 4 of 5.

Q. Do you recommend a particular cyber security blog that our readers could follow?

Of course, my own IT Security Expert Blog, and my Twitter accounts @SecurityExpert and @SecurityToday are well worth following.  My two favourite blogs are Bruce Schneier’s blog, Bruce is a true rock star of the industry, and Krebs on Security blog is also an excellent read, Brian provides the behind the scenes details of the latest hacking techniques and data breaches, and pulls no punches with his opinions. Both these bloggers have books that are a must read for budding cyber security professionals as well.

Science of CyberSecurity: Where to get CyberSecurity Science

As part of a profile interview for Science of Cybersecurity I was asked five questions on cyber security last week, here's question 3 of 5.

Q. Where do you go to find your “science” of cybersecurity?

While cyber security controls appear simple to follow in policy statements and best practice guides, the reality is they are not always easy to implement across diverse organisations. When attempting to resolve complex security problems it can be easy for security professionals to lose sight of the goal of cyber security. To keep clarity, I think it helps to strips away the technology from the problem, and learn the security science and lessons from history.  So reading military strategy books like Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” can improve how you think about and assess the cyber adversaries facing the organisation. Delving into the science of psychology is invaluable when seeking to bring about effective and positive staff security awareness and behavioural changes in the workplace.

Science of CyberSecurity: Reasons Behind Most Security Breaches

As part of a profile interview for Science of Cybersecurity I was asked five questions on cyber security last week, here's question 2 of 5.

Q. What – in your estimation – are the reasons behind the many computer security breaches/failures that we see today?

Simply put insecure IT systems and people are behind every breach, insecure IT systems are arguably caused by people as well, whether it is poor system management, lack of security design, insecure coding techniques, and or inadequate support, it all boils down to someone not doing security right. For many years seasoned security experts have advocated that people are the weakest link in security, even hackers say ‘amateurs hack systems, professionals hack people’, yet many organisations still focus most of their resources and funds heavily on securing IT systems over providing staff with sustained security awareness. Maybe this is a result of an IT security sales industry over hyping the effectiveness of technical security solutions. I think most organisations can do more to address this balance, starting with better understanding the awareness level and risk posed by their employees. For instance, the security awareness of staff can be measured by using a fake phishing campaign to detect how many staff would click on a link within a suspicious email. While analysing the root causes of past cyber security incidents is a highly valuable barometer in understanding the risk posed by staff, all can be used as inputs into the cyber risk assessment process.

A developer's guide to complying with PCI DSS 3.2 Requirement 6 Article

My updated article on "A developer's guide to complying with PCI DSS 3.2 Requirement 6" was released on the IBM Developer Works website today.

This article provides guidance on PCI DSS requirement 6, which breaks down into 28 further individual requirements and sits squarely with software developers who are involved in the development of applications that process, store, and transmit cardholder data.

Science of CyberSecurity: Thoughts on the current state of Cyber Security

As part of a profile interview for Science of Cybersecurity I was asked five questions on cyber security last week, here's question 1 of 5.

Q. What are your thoughts on the current state of cybersecurity, both for organizations and for consumers?

Thanks to regular sensational media hacking headlines most organisational leaders are worried about their organisation’s cyber security posture, but they often lack the appropriate expert support in helping them properly understand their organisation’s cyber risk. To address the cyber security concern, an ‘off the peg’ industry best practice check box approach is often resorted to. However, this one-size-fits-all strategy is far from cost effective and only provides limited assurance in protecting against modern cyber attacks, given every organisation is unique, and cyber threat adversaries continually evolve their tactics and methodologies. In these difficult financial times of limiting cyber security budgets, it is important for the cyber security effort to be prioritised and targeted. To achieve this, the cyber security strategy should be born out of threat intelligence, threat assessing and a cyber risk assessment. This provides organisational leaders with the information to take effective cyber security strategy decisions, and to allocate funding and resources based on a subject matter they do understand well, business risk. Nothing can ever be 100% safeguarded; cyber security is and always should be a continual risk based undertaking, and requires an organisation risk tailored cyber security strategy, which is properly understood and led from the very top of the organisation. This is what it takes to stay ahead in the cyber security game.

Combating IoT Cyber Threats Article

My updated article on Combating IoT cyber threats post released on the IBM Developer Works website today.

This article outlines the best practices for secure coding techniques and security functions that will help development teams to produce resilient IoT applications that mitigate IoT security risks.