Deterring state actors from attacks that do not reach the level of force is difficult. If we look at the cyber realm, the effectiveness of deterrence depends on who (state or non-state) one tries to deter and which of their behaviors. Ironically, deterring major states like China from acts of force may be easier than…
Category: Cyber-Crime
Cyber-Security Alert: Wendy’s Burger Joints Hacked
As we continue to make advancements in this technological age, vulnerabilities in our cybersecurity have become glaringly obvious. Over the past few years there have been numerous embarrassing and potentially dangerous hacks of high-profile private businesses and government agencies, exposing the identities and financial assets of millions of American citizens to fraud and theft. Now…
Sharpen your Cyber-Skills: How to Make Your Own NSA Bulk Surveillance System
OF ALL THE NSA surveillance documents Edward Snowden leaked, some of the most important exposed the spy agency’s so-called XKEYSCORE program, a massive system for vacuuming up and sifting through emails, chats, images, online search activity, usernames and passwords, and other private digital data from core fiber optics cables around the world. XKEYSCORE, which the…
Sharpen Your Cyber-Skills: NSA Hacker Chief Explains How to Keep Him OUT of Your System
IT WAS THE talk most anticipated at this year’s inaugural Usenix Enigma security conference in San Francisco and one that even the other speakers were eager to hear. Rob Joyce, the nation’s hacker-in-chief, took up the ironic task of telling a roomful of computer security professionals and academics how to keep people like him and his…
Device OPSEC: If You Use an LG Device, Read This!
Millions of LG phones at risk, Israeli team discovers For the second time in a month, researchers at cyber-security firms BugSec and CyNet have discovered a major security problem that leaves tens of millions of users at risk For the second time in a month, an Israeli team has uncovered a major security breach built…
Chinese Military Revamps Cyber and Intelligence Capabilities
This story reminds me of Paul Newman’s famous line in the scene from Cool Hand Luke where the “Road Boss” with the Mirror sun glasses Shoots a bird flying with a rifle with one shot: “That man don’t say much, but I think he just said something right there….” The Chinese are continuously making statements…
The Encryption Debate: Is Privacy More Important Than National Security?
The title to this article IMHO, aims to make the reader CHOOSE SIDES as to what is more important, Privacy or National Security. I propose to you that the expectation of Privacy, which is clearly defined in the 4th Amendment, and the DEFENSE of that Right, is what makes the United States unique as a…
An Easy Way for Hackers to Burn Industrial Motors
HACKS THAT CAUSE physical destruction are so rare they can be counted on one hand. The infamous Stuxnet worm was the first, causing physical destruction of nuclear centrifuges in Iran in 2009. In 2014, Germany reported the second known case of physical destruction involving a furnace at a steel mill. Both of these attacks required…
Calculating your “Threat Score”
As technology advances in our society, those sci-fi movies that everybody thought were outlandish and far-fetched will start being seen as harbingers. After reading this article, watch a few minutes of the movie “Minority Report”. “Psychic Technology” is nothing more now than an advanced algorithm. -SF FRESNO, Calif. — While officers raced to a recent…
Surveillance is the Business Model of the Internet
The Internet of Things That Talk About You Behind Your Back SilverPush is an Indian startup that’s trying to figure out all the different computing devices you own. It embeds inaudible sounds into the webpages you read and the television commercials you watch. Software secretly embedded in your computers, tablets, and smartphones pick up the…