What cyber-security insiders discussed at Davos 2017
When global leaders met recently for the World Economic Forum’s annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, there was much talk regarding the threats to globalization from political changes in Western countries. But another kind of change that’s often closer to home is threats to our everyday lives and businesses from cyber-attacks, a hot topic in last year’s U.S. presidential election. Experts aired their concerns at the summit, and based on my observations, here’s what came up most often: Worries about increased hacking of political systems as well as enterprises and organizations. Issues of privacy, bullying and trolling as well as the …
How To Make 2017 The Year Of IoT Security
People who make Internet of Things (IoT) devices still aren’t getting the message on security. And as these devices proliferate, the danger of increased attacks is getting more real. Late last year, popular internet services such as Netflix and Twitter were temporarily taken down amid a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that involved hackers deploying malware to simple webcams that many of us use without thinking. Authorities in the U.S. and U.K. were investigating the Mirai malware used in the attack to create a botnet, an army of zombie devices commanded by hackers. In fact, the Mirai code is still …
What the communication revolution means for global leaders today
The theme of last year’s Davos, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, became the underlying force driving many of the unexpected developments we’ve seen in 2016. With the rapid and exponential growth of connectivity and networking predicted by Moore’s Law, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is disrupting many fields, but none more strikingly than democracy — and capitalism. Both institutions are based on the freedom to choose a leader, product or service based on the best available information. But only now are we realizing the significance of how this information is created, delivered, modified and consumed — how it has been skewed by the exponential growth in …
Moving beyond fear, uncertainty and doubt on cyber attacks
Too often, the conversation on cybersecurity is predicated on fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD): amplifying the latest news of how good hackers are getting, setting off alarm bells when it comes to vulnerabilities. Headlines only highlight the growing sophistication of hackers and introduce readers to terms like “botnet” and “Internet of Things” often without the proper context. The danger in this, especially with so much noise about so many well-publicized attacks, is that people become desensitized and lax about cybersecurity in general. That creates a herd mentality through which people will grow numb and feel helpless — what else can one feel …
What Godzilla Can Teach Japan About Its Cybersecurity
Sixty-two years after Japan’s most famous monster first shocked audiences, Godzilla is again packing movie theaters with its latest incarnation in Shin Godzilla (titled Godzilla: Resurgence in the U.S.). Now, I’m not a science fiction fan and I don’t watch a lot of movies. So why am I enthused about this one? Ironically, I only decided to see it after several friends in government and politics strongly urged me to go. The reason is it has a great takeaway: in my mind, the entire film can be interpreted as a parable for fighting hackers. Essentially, it’s all about threat preparedness …