Security lessons not learned will haunt us in 2009
This is exactly what I was thinking but I can't put it any better...
Please take a look at this article called Security lessons not learned will haunt us in 2009 and learn. This article is written in layman's language so no-one has any excuse not to read it and take in the important information that is included in it.
If you haven't read my 1st prediction - read this article first and then read prediction 1. Then get busy fixing up your Information Security Plan or cower in a corner crying.
Well done Mary Landesman, ScanSafe and ZDNet.
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Prediction Number 1 for 2009
A major company will suffer losses due to stolen intellectual property.
(I've been trying to come up with all my predictions but I think I will just post them 1 at a time as I think of them. Here is the first.)
If you have been fortunate to attend any of my recent presentations, have read my blog or have gotten caught in a lift (elevator) with me then you'll know all about my Perfect Storm prediction.
I have no idea if it will happen in 2009 or 2010 but it is coming. It may have happened already and we just don't know about it. Briefly - there is a major underground economy happening right now. They are focused on payment card information (PCi) and personal information (PPI) that can be used for identity theft. There is a glut in the availability of this information and it is not worth so much. Either the underground economy will collapse in on itself or (more likely) it will start to trade intellectual property (IP).
IP is worth a lot more than either PCi and PPI but it is harder to find a buyer who can use it and the information is less standardised. But tough times call for tough measures and these are tough times.
I'd like to think that companies would reject offers of stolen information but this is very naive.
The reason that it may happen and we will not find out about it is that companies tend not to report these things to the media or anyone else. And since the information stolen does not belong to anyone else then they don't really have to report it.
The only time they'll have to report it is if it has the potential to make a massive change in their earnings. They'd still be able to fudge the numbers.
So, my prediction is that there will be a growing trend of theft of IP in amounts too small for companies to report until one company is rocked by atheft so big that it can't hide it.
This will happen - the question is whether it will happen 2009 or 2010.
(I've been trying to come up with all my predictions but I think I will just post them 1 at a time as I think of them. Here is the first.)
If you have been fortunate to attend any of my recent presentations, have read my blog or have gotten caught in a lift (elevator) with me then you'll know all about my Perfect Storm prediction.
I have no idea if it will happen in 2009 or 2010 but it is coming. It may have happened already and we just don't know about it. Briefly - there is a major underground economy happening right now. They are focused on payment card information (PCi) and personal information (PPI) that can be used for identity theft. There is a glut in the availability of this information and it is not worth so much. Either the underground economy will collapse in on itself or (more likely) it will start to trade intellectual property (IP).
IP is worth a lot more than either PCi and PPI but it is harder to find a buyer who can use it and the information is less standardised. But tough times call for tough measures and these are tough times.
I'd like to think that companies would reject offers of stolen information but this is very naive.
The reason that it may happen and we will not find out about it is that companies tend not to report these things to the media or anyone else. And since the information stolen does not belong to anyone else then they don't really have to report it.
The only time they'll have to report it is if it has the potential to make a massive change in their earnings. They'd still be able to fudge the numbers.
So, my prediction is that there will be a growing trend of theft of IP in amounts too small for companies to report until one company is rocked by atheft so big that it can't hide it.
This will happen - the question is whether it will happen 2009 or 2010.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy 2009
In what will most likely be my last posting for 2008, here is a bit of advice for all.
I read somewhere that news is never really all that useful. Its interesting. But its not useful. The stuff that you need to know about to go about your daily life is not going to make news.
To get some more perspective on this, I highly recommend that you visit The Onion online newspaper and browse a bit especially at the "Area" reports. (It is humour and is intended for 18+)
One of the interesting news stories of 2008 that I can think of the Dan Kamisky DNS issue that made headlines for all sorts of reasons. DLP made headlines. TJX made headlines.
What is more interesting is what didn't.
Here are some bits of news that you won't see:
"Company patches all servers"
"Awareness given at Company. Stronger passwords result"
"Good user management led to less options for Hackers"
"Antivirus updated led to viruses being blocked"
What did made the headlines today (thanks to Amrit and Dominic for alerting me to this... everyone will be talking about it soon) is the attack on MD5 certificates that makes trusting Web Certificates less of a good idea. The information is here, but this is a big deal so expect this to make the news.
The thing is, that this yields big rewards for the hackers but is also a lot of work. Social engineering methods such as bogus email, phishing, fake antivirus etc are so much easier to do and have big enough rewards as it is. So too do worms and the like that attack old vulnerabilities that should already be patched.
My though for the year is thus:
Hackers are mostly successful by exploiting the boring holes and really do not have to work hard at all. By using tools that are already available such as Firewalls, IPS, Antivirus and doing the boring bits such as choosing strong passwords, updating patches, updating antivirus patterns and being aware at what mails we should not open - we win 90% of the battle already.
I think next year will be very very interesting for us. I hope everyone reading this has a great 2009!
I read somewhere that news is never really all that useful. Its interesting. But its not useful. The stuff that you need to know about to go about your daily life is not going to make news.
To get some more perspective on this, I highly recommend that you visit The Onion online newspaper and browse a bit especially at the "Area" reports. (It is humour and is intended for 18+)
One of the interesting news stories of 2008 that I can think of the Dan Kamisky DNS issue that made headlines for all sorts of reasons. DLP made headlines. TJX made headlines.
What is more interesting is what didn't.
Here are some bits of news that you won't see:
"Company patches all servers"
"Awareness given at Company. Stronger passwords result"
"Good user management led to less options for Hackers"
"Antivirus updated led to viruses being blocked"
What did made the headlines today (thanks to Amrit and Dominic for alerting me to this... everyone will be talking about it soon) is the attack on MD5 certificates that makes trusting Web Certificates less of a good idea. The information is here, but this is a big deal so expect this to make the news.
The thing is, that this yields big rewards for the hackers but is also a lot of work. Social engineering methods such as bogus email, phishing, fake antivirus etc are so much easier to do and have big enough rewards as it is. So too do worms and the like that attack old vulnerabilities that should already be patched.
My though for the year is thus:
Hackers are mostly successful by exploiting the boring holes and really do not have to work hard at all. By using tools that are already available such as Firewalls, IPS, Antivirus and doing the boring bits such as choosing strong passwords, updating patches, updating antivirus patterns and being aware at what mails we should not open - we win 90% of the battle already.
I think next year will be very very interesting for us. I hope everyone reading this has a great 2009!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, etc
In typical Security Thoughts style, here is an Information Security story that relates to the holidays.
It seems that, in Germany, a company sent a Stollen, which is a traditional German Christmas cake to a newspaper via a courier company. Two subcontractors decided that they wanted the cake so they took it and replaced it with another parcel.
This parcel just happened to be confidential data with banking transaction details and it managed to find its way to the newspaper in place of the cake. Obviously, the newspaper was happy with their Christmas present and printed the story. The bank was not so happy.
I think that the theme for 2009 will be "Third Party Security" but in the mean time I wish you all a pleasant holiday and please be responsible if you decide to have a drink or two.
It seems that, in Germany, a company sent a Stollen, which is a traditional German Christmas cake to a newspaper via a courier company. Two subcontractors decided that they wanted the cake so they took it and replaced it with another parcel.
This parcel just happened to be confidential data with banking transaction details and it managed to find its way to the newspaper in place of the cake. Obviously, the newspaper was happy with their Christmas present and printed the story. The bank was not so happy.
I think that the theme for 2009 will be "Third Party Security" but in the mean time I wish you all a pleasant holiday and please be responsible if you decide to have a drink or two.
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