Immobilising the immobiliser – how researchers cracked 'weak' anti-car theft systems
The work of three security researchers, detailing how to hack car immobiliser systems, has finally been published, two years after a UK High Court judge ruled in favour of French defence group Thales and German auto maker Volkswagen, both of which had claimed the information could be used by criminals. Now, however, Roel Verdult, Flavio Garcia, […]
180,000 reasons why you shouldn't forget about physical security
Payday lenders have had an awful lot of bad press recently – all of it justified in my opinion – over their arguably extortionate interest rates. And today we have some news that may put a smile on the faces of some of those customers who’ve been compelled to rely on such short-term, high-cost loans: The […]
Wrongful Arrest Underscores How Humans = Risk
I’m sure (hope) you don’t need me to tell you how computers can pose a risk to both yourself and your organisation, be that through local malware or internet attacks. The number of cases where organisations have been disrupted, crippled or simply inconvenienced by ransomware, viruses, etc. are significant. So too are the number of […]
The Impact Of Digital Amnesia And The Google Effect On Security
‘The Google Effect’ – the thought that our reliance on the internet is making us dumber – was first put forward by Professor Betsy Sparrow of the University of Columbia, Professor Daniel Wegner of Harvard University and Jenny Liu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011. Psychologists posited that our increased use of the web to discover […]
Ransomware – Would Your Organisation Feel Compelled To Negotiate With The Data Hostage Takers?
I’ve just finished reading an interesting mini-report from ESET that was compiled during InfoSec earlier this month. Based on the responses of 200 security professionals, the security vendor has deduced that a whopping 84% of them believe their company would be screwed if its systems became infected with ransomware (bogus claims of illegal activity on […]
Downing Street – The Place Where Information Security Goes A Little Too Far?
There was an interesting piece in the Financial Times yesterday (registration/payment required, unfortunately) about the topic of information security/data protection within the heart of the UK government. It seems as though politicians and civil servants got a little bit tetchy back in 2004, just before the then Labour government introduced the Freedom of Information Act. […]
Charity Says A Lack Of Digital Skills Is A Problem For Older People, But Surely It's A Problem For Everyone?
If you hang around security professionals on Twitter, LinkedIn or at conferences for any length of time then you’ll almost certainly see or hear a conversation about “the skills gap” and how school and university leavers either lack ability, formal qualifications or the inclination to join an industry we hear, time and again, is crying […]
Insecure Employees And Their Brainwaves
Here at BH Consulting we often talk about how all the security in the world could be for nought if your employees themselves are not cyber aware and sufficiently well trained to avoid the generalised and socially engineered threats that come their way. The solution, we think, is to tackle the lack of security knowledge head […]
What Can A Dope Dealer Teach Your Organisation About Information Security?
Irrespective of the type of business your organisation conducts, the protection of its assets is vitally important. That’s why traditional brick and mortar stores employ physical controls such as alarms, restricted access and guards, and why companies looking to protect information employ technical measures and security professionals. But all of the above may be for […]
Clickety Click: Everyone Is A Potential Security Weakspot
If you work in the infosec profession you most likely know that humans are the widely accepted weak point in any security setup, but a new report from Proofpoint has reiterated how attackers employ psychology to improve the chances of their attacks succeeding. The company’s Human Factor Report (sign-up required) provides in-depth analysis of how […]