Ransomware is not new, and neither is using alternative payment systems to fund criminal activity. Cryptocurrency has certainly made ransomware much more prolific, and thanks to persistent access to computing technology and ubiquitous connectivity, its impact has been much more significant than in the past. Recently a task force was
There are myriad factors at play that reduce, diminish, and outright subvert cybersecurity efforts, but none is more insidious or successful than how the very industries that defenders are trying to protect treat both their customers and their workforce. Wait, you said “those we’re defending” and not “adversaries” or
A more secure cyberspace will only come about if technologists impact the tech, business, and policy stacks.
Let’s get something straight right from the get-go: from the perspective of the manufacturer there is no incentive to build secure things.
But we have norms or we don’t. They’re only norms if they apply to everyone, equally, all the time.
An imagined future... I am a Cybersecurity Capabilities Manager. What’s that? Well, the “cybersecurity” part should be self-evident. “Capabilities” is code for the AI that does all the actual work. “Manager” is code for “guy who creates prompts, tunes bots, and talks to customers if they ask to talk
The problem with trying to make someone a scapegoat is that they can very easily become a ram if you’re not careful.
Daisy, daisy, give me your answer do...
If the necessary institutions, relationships, and capabilities are not in place, and follow-on work does not clearly define success in quantifiable terms, this has been another exercise in “doing what we know how to do” versus something that might make a difference.
Another year, another set of folks who think they’ve cracked the nut on how to address the government’s cybersecurity staffing woes. It’s not that leveraging the whole of society to address these issues isn’t a good idea, but the road to hell is paved with realities
It was the cyberwar we were promised; it was the cyberwar nobody expected…
News about ransomware gang takedowns and ransom recoveries make for great headlines, and the way some people talk you’d think we had this ransomware thing licked. But while these are certainly “wins,” they’re not really having a noticeable impact, and if we keep going at these issues in
Cybersecurity
They’re not cybersecurity experts, but they did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Cybersecurity
It was revealed this week that Google had detected an online counterterrorism operation being carried out by a U.S.-allied government, and made the unilateral decision to shut it down. This is certainly not the first time Google, AWS, or another platform has detected such activity, but it is
Cybersecurity
If everyone agrees on what we should do, why do we seem incapable of doing it?
Cybersecurity
Applauding the appointment of seasoned cybersecurity policy experts is a premature celebration. Those who follow, and the nature of their agenda, will be a better indicator of how successful the incoming administration will be with regards to safety and security in cyberspace. By now you’ve heard the names of
Cybersecurity
In the government, the use of the term “grave” means something very specific. That meaning should be obvious to you, but on the off chance that you haven’t had your first cup of coffee yet, it means that whatever the issue is, messing it up could cost someone (or
Cybersecurity
omeone and forgotten the source (steal from me and you’re stealing twice). It’s a phrase that is particularly apropos this week during the RSA conference and it goes like this: Nobody is in the security business, not even security companies, they’re just in business. The point being:
Cybersecurity
There are places on this planet where good, civilized people simply do not voluntarily go, or willingly stay. What elected governments do in safer and more developed parts of the world are carried out in these areas by despots and militias, often at terrible cost to those who have nowhere
cyberwar
For all the benefits IT in general and the Internet specifically have given us, it has also introduced significant risks to our well-being and way of life. Yet cybersecurity is still not a priority for a majority of people and organizations. No amount of warnings about the risks associated with
Cybersecurity
It was that time of year again. The day I lie and promise to be good the rest of the year: dental check-up day. During this most recent visit I was struck at how similarly people treat the security of their computers and accounts and their oral health. You know
Cybersecurity
The computer security industry is not stopping breaches. Not for lack of trying, but if you’re familiar with the myth of Sisyphus, such efforts are the definition of pointless. If this sounds strange coming from a computer security person, it shouldn’t. I’m not here to blow smoke
Cybersecurity
The hue and cry over the Equifax hack has subsided to a dull roar. We’ve passed the stage of ‘initial reports,’ which are usually wrong, and are firmly in armchair cybersecurity pundit mode. ‘What did Equifax executives know and when did they know it?’ inquiring minds want to know,
Cybersecurity
You probably don't remember but in the spring of 2015 I wrote: What if ransomware is only the beginning? What about exposé-ware? I’ve copied your files. Pay me a minimal amount of money in a given time-frame or I’ll publish your data online for everyone to