Cybersecurity Expert

What is the objective of implementing cybersecurity in a business? The answer might vary depending on whether you ask a security professional or a business executive. However, in any cybersecurity implementation, it’s very important to stay focused on the big picture: cybersecurity is there to secure the business and its assets, so the business can concentrate on achieving its business objectives. For example, if we are a coffee shop, then cybersecurity should be implemented to help the restaurant sell more coffee, and cybersecurity by itself is not an end goal. To do so, security professionals and executives must align cybersecurity with business objectives, which can be quite challenging in certain cases. Below, we’ll share important strategies that can help cybersecurity teams move business and cybersecurity alignment in the right direction, starting with the first one. Know the business objectives inside out One of the key challenges in aligning security with business objectives is...

State-orchestrated cyber attacks have dominated the media headlines in October, with rogue state North Korea and its alleged 6,800 strong cyber force blamed for several cyber attacks. International intelligence scholars believe the North Korean leadership are using cyber warfare to up the political ante with their ongoing dispute with the United States. The North Koreans, as well as terrible security practices, were directly blamed by the UK National Audit Office for the recent  NHS WannaCry attack  ( despite North Korea denying it ). North Korea was also reported to be implicated in the  stealing US War Plans from South Korea , and for a spear phishing campaign against the US Power Grid . The possible Russian manipulation of the US election with cyber attacks and rogue social media campaigns is still a story not going away, while the Chinese are alleged to be behind the data theft of  Australian F-35 fighter jet, in what is described as an 'extensive' Cyberattack ....

A decade ago I was walking into Boardrooms clutching newspaper clippings of half dozen data breaches which had occurred during the previous years, in a bid to warn of future threats and to persuade executives to increase their information security budgets. Those days are long gone, as most executives I encounter tend to be already worried about the cyber threat to their business, all reinforced by the mainstream media which today reports hacks most days. "Big Data" is a recent marketing buzzword used to usher in the age of businesses utilising the vasts amount of data which they process and store for increasing efficiently and profit. The problem is much of this "Big Data" is our personal data, and there are cyber criminals also seeking to profit from it. So here we are in the era of "Big Data Hacks", which sums up 2016 quite well. I have compiled a list of media headlines of data breaches in 2016 below, the volumes involved with these data theft hacks are...

After watching the latest BBC Click technology projavascript:void(0)gramme (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/7938201.stm  and watch on BBC iPlayer ( UK Only) click here ), it is clear BBC Click not only controlled a botnet of 1,696 PCs to send Spam Emails, but actually paid criminals for the privilege! The angle for the BBC Click programme was to illustrate and highlight the internet botnet problem. Which to be fair is a good awareness objective and interesting, however botnets have been widely known about for many years now, certainly within security circles anyway. "After months of investigation and a few thousand dollars, we had managed to buy a botnet from hackers in Russia and the Ukraine ." - BBC Click I'm ALL for raising awareness of cybercriminal activities, but I think BBC Click programme crossed the ethical line on this one, in they actually used a botnet (namely thousands of PCs infected with centrally controlled malware) w...