Tag Archive for: talk

Why We Need to Talk IoT Security Right Now

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What you’ll learn:

  • Why IoT security is critical across consumer and enterprise markets.
  • How to ensure security within your fleet of devices.

 

MWRF: So, why do we need to be having the conversation about IoT security right now?

Drew: The Internet of Things is reaching human life at so many different touch points, from smartphones, to appliances, even to healthcare tools such as pacemakers. I suspect that the prevalence of recent hacking will only continue. IoT security will become more than a technology problem, and become a cultural one.

%{[ data-embed-type=”image” data-embed-id=”60f9d667323355d2078b4786″ data-embed-element=”span” data-embed-size=”640w” data-embed-alt=”Ian Drew, Chairman, Foundries.io” data-embed-src=”https://img.mwrf.com/files/base/ebm/mwrf/image/2021/07/Ian_Drew_Headshot_2021_web.60f9d666cff35.png?auto=format&fit=max&w=1440″ data-embed-caption=”Ian Drew, Chairman, Foundries.io” ]}%

Many people would not know unless they sat back and really thought about it, but they likely have somewhere in the vicinity of 10 to 20 connected devices with IP addresses in their homes alone. The same extends to the enterprise, except we are talking in the thousands.

According to Gartner, over 20 billion IoT devices were in use in 2020 alone, and a lack of security means there are far too many vulnerabilities for cybercriminals to pinpoint and exploit our data. Not to mention the recent movement from a legislative level in both the U.K. and U.S. All to say, I think the conversation is validated.

Who is securing these devices?

That is a problem in and of itself. Top line—security is hard. This is an incredibly challenging problem to solve, and right now, we are finding that not enough people are available to do the job or to understand the job from the ground up. There is a growing movement to secure platforms that help with the development, deployment, and maintenance of connected devices in a way that is more standardized—and promotes learning from shared experiences.

New proposed laws have also identified gaps in transparency and frequency when it comes to OTA [over the air] and software support for the lifecycle of connected devices, so this is an…

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Russia is ready to talk with EU despite political hostility – Prensa Latina

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On Friday, in a telephone conversation, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that Moscow is willing to resume negotiations with the community bloc, provided it shows a genuine interest in doing so.

Both leaders agreed on the importance of establishing constructive relations, as well as the return to normal dialogue based on trust.

They stated that the improvement of relations will facilitate the solution of problems related to computer security, the fight against international terrorism, healthcare challenges, the environment and the response to regional conflicts.

During the EU summit on June 24, the French president and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed to establish dialogue with Russia, considering that there there are issues on which Moscow cannot be dispensed with, such as those related to Syria, Libya, continental security and climate change.

The French-German initiative to hold a meeting between the parties failed to win consensus, especially due to strong opposition from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

EU foreign ministers this week approved an extension for another six months of a package of economic restrictions against Russia.

jg/iff/msm/mml

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The changing face of warfare: why Nato needs to talk about unmanned combat drones

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The advancement of unmanned combat drones in several leading nations must be addressed by Nato, senior academics and defence analysts have said.

Alliance chiefs meet on Monday when the growing menace of armed drones programmed with artificial intelligence may not feature high on the agenda, but cannot be ignored for much longer.

Countries such as Turkey, Russia, Britain, China and the US are developing advanced unmanned aircraft that can select humans or fixed military targets and launch missiles without a living being’s command. That creates moral, legal and strategic questions.

Although the communique is likely to welcome Washington’s re-engagement and condemn Nato’s adversaries, defence experts told The National the drone issue needs to be discussed.

Joe Biden, while serving as US vice president, speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Getty Images
Joe Biden, while serving as US vice president, speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Getty Images

“Autonomous armed drones are absolutely something that Nato can’t ignore any more,” Dr Julie Norman of University College London said. “From what we’ve heard it’s something that’s going to be a part of the conversation. Leaders are looking at the Nato 2030 initiative with a view to the new technological changes and threats.”

Putin will very much want to see what’s going on behind Biden’s eyes

Dr Alan Mendoza

The ease with which Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aircraft took out Syrian tanks and Armenian armour last year was an “eye-popping” evolution on the battlefield, defence expert Prof Michael Clarke told The National. “Armed drones are a serious issue and their success has done Turkey’s military reputation no end of good. But it has also started to change the balance of thinking about ground forces in Europe.”

One problem is that not all Nato partners favour the autonomous killing machines and Germany in particular has taken a hard line. Jack Watling, of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said the Germans were “locking themselves out” of a system that could take out enemy radars and missiles.

“But for how long the Germans can hold their…

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Ghostwriter update. Quds Day warning. Drivetime talk radio comes to the cyber battlespace? Secrecy as friction. Inadvertent tweets.

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At a glance.

  • Update on Ghostwriter.
  • Jerusalem Day alert.
  • Zoom prankers and deepfake goofs.
  • Secrecy as friction.
  • Inadvertent tweets.

Ghostwriter, and signs of a broader campaign.

FireEye’s Mandiant unit this morning updated its research into Ghostwriter, an influence-operator that came to attention last year as it sought to affect public opinion in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. Its messaging then was anti-NATO. The campaigns of 2020 relied upon artlessly crude forgeries and implausible rumor-mongering, but of course disinformation doesn’t need to be art, as long as it can get the right amplification, which Ghostwriter worked to accomplish. 

It was easy for officials to quickly debunk such hogwash as the claim that Canadian soldiers were spreading COVID-19, or that an internal memo circulating in the Polish Ministry of Defense called for resistance against an American “army of occupation” (forged memo helpfully provided, hijacked social media accounts used to lend plausibility to a very implausible narrative). CyberScoop offered a useful account of these efforts at the end of last July. But of course lies can have a bit of a run if they’re provided with a headstart.

In any case, Ghostwriter has now expanded its thematic content to include disruption of domestic Polish politics and also (according to Tagesschau) credential theft attacks on German political figures. FireEye believes the threat actor it tracks as UNC1151 operates some portions of Ghostwriter. The firm characterizes UNC1151 as “a suspected state-sponsored cyber espionage actor that engages in credential harvesting and malware campaigns.”

Taggeschau calls the attackers “chaos troops,” which is apt enough for an operation that aims at disruption. At least seven members of Germany’s Bundestag have received phishing emails, as have some thirty members of the Länder assemblies, that is, the state-level legislatures. German authorities are taking activity seriously. The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (the BfV, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) und the Bundesamt für die Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (the BSI, the Federal Officer for Information Security) are investigating, and have…

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