Collaborate Disseminate
There’s no proof they did, but there’s no proof they didn’t. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here…. Continue reading Friday Squid Blogging: Did Super-Intelligent Giant Squid Steal an Underwater Research Station?
The French army is going to put together a team of science fiction writers to help imagine future threats. Leaving aside the question of whether science fiction writers are better or worse at envisioning nonfictional futures, this isn’t new. The US Dep… Continue reading Science Fiction Writers Helping Imagine Future Threats
The French army is going to put together a team of science fiction writers to help imagine future threats. Leaving aside the question of whether science fiction writers are better or worse at envisioning nonfictional futures, this isn’t new. The US Department of Homeland Security did the same thing over a decade ago, and I wrote about it back then:… Continue reading Science Fiction Writers Helping Imagine Future Threats
Noted conspiracy theorist John McAfee tweeted: The "Presidential alerts": they are capable of accessing the E911 chip in your phones — giving them full access to your location, microphone, camera and every function of your phone. This not a rant, this is from me, still one of the leading cybersecurity experts. Wake up people! This is, of course, ridiculous. I… Continue reading Conspiracy Theories around the "Presidential Alert"
Local residents are opposing adding an elevator to a subway station because terrorists might use it to detonate a bomb. No, really. There’s no actual threat analysis, only fear: "The idea that people can then ride in on the subway with a bomb or wh… Continue reading Subway Elevators and Movie-Plot Threats
Local residents are opposing adding an elevator to a subway station because terrorists might use it to detonate a bomb. No, really. There’s no actual threat analysis, only fear: "The idea that people can then ride in on the subway with a bomb or whatever and come straight up in an elevator is awful to me," said Claudia Ward, who… Continue reading Subway Elevators and Movie-Plot Threats
Researchers have demonstrated how a malicious piece of software in an air-gapped computer can communicate with a nearby drone using a blinking LED on the computer. I have mixed feelings about research like this. On the one hand, it’s pretty cool. On the other hand, there’s not really anything new or novel, and it’s kind of a movie-plot threat. Research… Continue reading Jumping Air Gaps with Blinking Lights and Drones
The detailed accounts of the terrorist-shooter false-alarm at Kennedy Airport in New York last week illustrate how completely and totally unprepared the airport authorities are for any real such event. I have two reactions to this. On the one hand, this is a movie-plot threat — the sort of overly specific terrorist scenario that doesn’t make sense to defend against…. Continue reading Terrorist False Alarm at JFK Airport Demonstrates How Unprepared We Really Are
Disaster stories involving the Internet of Things are all the rage. They feature cars (both driven and driverless), the power grid, dams, and tunnel ventilation systems. A particularly vivid and realistic one, near-future fiction published last month in New York Magazine, described a cyberattack on New York that involved hacking of cars, the water system, hospitals, elevators, and the power… Continue reading Real-World Security and the Internet of Things
This is a piece of near-future fiction about a cyberattack on New York, including hacking of cars, the water system, hospitals, elevators, and the power grid. Although it is definitely a movie-plot attack, all the individual pieces are plausible and will certainly happen individually and separately. Worth reading — it’s probably the best example of this sort of thing to… Continue reading Futuristic Cyberattack Scenario