State of Cybercrime

We wanted you to be the first to know that next week; we will be back in this same feed with a new security podcast from Varonis. The new Security Tools podcast will keep you up to date with the most exciting and useful tools the Infosec community has to offer. Join us on the new show to hear from the researchers and hackers behind tools like Grabify, a link-based Honeypot service that unmasks sca...

Summer is approaching, and of course, that’s when we feel the most heat. However, for cybersecurity managers, they feel the heat all the time . They must be right every time because cybercriminals only have to be right once. So summer can potentially feel like it’s year-round for cybersecurity pros and it can cause job burnout . Another problem that managers face is the potential ineffectualness o...

Searching a traveler’s phone or laptop is not an extension of a search made on a piece of luggage. As former commissioner of Ontario Ann Cavoukian said , “Your smartphone and other digital devices contain the most intimate details of your life: financial and health records.” In general, it’s also dangerous to connect laws made in accordance with the physical world to the digital space. But even wi...

Lately, we’ve been hearing more from security experts who are urging IT pros to stop scapegoating users as the primary reason for not achieving security nirvana. After covering this controversy on a recent episode of the Inside Out Security Show , I thought it was worth having an in-depth conversation with an expert. So, I contacted Angela Sasse , Professor of Human-Centred Technology in the Depar...

Over the past few weeks , Kaiser Fung has given us some valuable pointers on understanding the big data stats we are assaulted with on a daily basis.  To sum up, learn the context behind the stats — sources and biases — and know that the algorithms that crunch numbers may not have the answer to your problems. In this third  segment of our podcast, Kaiser points out all the ways the stats can trick...

It’s great to be Amazon to only have one on-call security engineer and have security automated . However, for many organizations today, having security completely automated is still an aspirational goal. Those in healthcare might would love to upgrade, but what if you’re using a system that’s FDA approved, which makes upgrading a little more difficult. What if hackers were able to download persona...

In part one of our interview with Kaiser , he taught us the importance of looking at the process behind a numerical finding. We continue the conversation by discussing the accuracy of statistics and algorithms. With examples such as shoe recommendations and movie ratings, you’ll learn where algorithms fall short. Transcript Cindy Ng: In part one, Kaiser taught us the importance of looking at the p...

Recently in the security space, there’s been a spate of contradicting priorities. For instance, a recent study showed that programmers will take the easy way out and not implement proper password security. Antidotally, a security pro in a networking and security course noticed another attendee who covered his webcam, but noticeably had his bitlocker recovery code is printed on a label attached to...

In the business world, if we’re looking for actionable insights, many think it's found using an algorithm. However, statistician Kaiser Fung disagrees. With degrees in engineering, statistics, and an MBA from Harvard, Fung believes that both algorithms and humans are needed, as the sum is greater than its individual parts. Moreover, the worldview he suggests one should cultivate is numbersense . H...

Should CISOs use events or scenarios to drive security, not checklists? It also doesn’t matter how much you spend on cybersecurity if ends up becoming shelfware . Navigating one’s role as a CISO is no easy feat. Luckily, the path to becoming a seasoned CISO is now easier with practical classes and interviews . But when cybersecurity is assumed to not be not very important . Does that defeat the le...

Scott Schober wears many hats. He's an inventor, software engineer, and runs his own wireless security company. He's also written Hacked Again , which tells about his long running battle against cyber thieves. Scott has appeared on Bloomberg TV, Good Morning America, CNBC, and CNN. We continue our discussion with Scott. In this segment, he talks about the importance of layers of security to reduce...

Scott Schober wears many hats. He's an inventor, software engineer, and runs his own wireless security company. He's also written Hacked Again , which tells about his long running battle against cyber thieves. Scott has appeared on Bloomberg TV, Good Morning America, CNBC, and CNN. In the first part of the interview, Scott tells us about some of his adventures in data security. He's been a victim...

With data as the new oil, we’ve seen how different companies responded . From meeting new data privacy compliance obligations to combining multiple data anonymized points to reveal an individual’s identity – it all speaks to how companies are leveraging data as a business strategy . Consumers and companies alike are awakening to data’s possibilities and we’re only beginning to understand the psych...

By now, we’ve all seen the wildly popular internet of things devices flourish in pop culture, holding much promise and potential for improving our lives. One aspect that we haven’t seen are IoT devices that not connected to the internet. In our follow-up discussion , this was the vision  Simply Secure 's executive director Scout Brody advocates, as current IoT devices don’t have a strong foundatio...

With the spring just a few short weeks away, it’s a good time to clean the bedroom windows, dust off the ceiling fans, and discard old security notions that have been taking up valuable mind space. What do you replace those security concepts with? How about ones that say that security systems are not binary “on-off” concepts, but instead can be seen as a gentle gradient. And where user experiences...

The combination of business and technology-related challenges and the requirement to meet regulatory compliance obligations as well as managing risk is no easy feat. European officials have been disseminating information on how to prevent online scams, general tips as well as warning signs. Other attorneys have been reflecting on legislative developments to prepare for the year ahead. Meanwhile, b...

Tiffany C. Li is an attorney and Resident Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. She frequently writes and speaks on the privacy implications of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies. Our discussion is based on her recent paper on the difficulties with getting AI to forget. In this second part, we continue our discussion of GDPR and privacy, and then ex...

On the last week of the year, the Inside Out Security panelists reflected on the year’s biggest breaches , scams and fake everything . And is computer security warfare? Well, it depends on who you ask . A 7th grader trying to change her grades isn’t an enemy combatant. But keep in mind as another argues , “There's an opponent who doesn't care about you, doesn't play by the rules, and wants to scre...

Tiffany C. Li is an attorney and Resident Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project. She frequently writes and speaks on the privacy implications of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies. Our discussion is based on her recent paper on the difficulties with getting AI to forget. In this first part , we talk about the GDPR's "right to be forgotten"...

The CIO is responsible for using IT to make the business more efficient. Meanwhile, the CISO is responsible for developing and executing a security program that’s aimed to protect enterprise systems and data from both internal and external threats. At the end of the day, the CISO makes security recommendations to the CIO has the final say. Perhaps it’s time that the CISO gets a seat at the table ....

We need to do better. Exhausting. Dramatic. That’s how the Inside Out Security panelists described our 2018 security landscape. We see the drama unfold weekly on our show and this week was no different. As facial recognition software becomes more prevalent, we’re seeing it used in security to protect even the biggest stars like Taylor Swift. Her security team set up a kiosk replaying rehearsal hig...

There’s a yin and yang to technology. For instance, the exchange for convenience and ease with our data . Unfortunately Facebook is getting most of the blame, when many companies have collect many points of data as the default setting. Meanwhile, as quickly as diligent security pros are eager to adopt and advance security solutions with biometrics, cybercriminals are equally determined to thwart t...

We’ve completed almost 100 podcast panels and sometimes it feels like we’re talking in circles . Over the years, the security and privacy landscape have gotten more complex, making baseline knowledge amongst industry pros ever so more important. Old concepts are often refreshed into current foundational security concepts. Technological advancements as well as decline also bring forth new challenge...

Passwords are easy to use . Everyone knows how it works. However, many security pros point out the inherent design flaw in passwords as a safe form of authorization and authentication. The good news is that we can reflect upon what old technologies can teach new technologies as we’re creating new products and services. One vital concern to keep in mind are terms and conditions, particularly with D...

Troy Hunt, creator of “Have I been pwned”, gives a virtual keynote that explores how security threats are evolving - and what we need to be especially conscious of in the modern era. In this keynote, you’ll learn: Real world examples of both current and emerging threats How threats are evolving and where to put your focus How to stem the flow of data breaches and protect against malicious activity...