Growing cyber-kinetic threats to railway systems
My article "Growing cyber-kinetic threats to railway systems" was published on CSO Online. Cybersecuring railway systems from potential attackers must become paramount in the digitization that those systems currently undergo. Their cybersecurity is too closely interlinked with the railway safety to leave the door open to disruption. To make matters worse, they are increasingly being targeted.
Report: IoT Privacy Forum – Clearly Opaque – Privacy Risks of the IoT
The IoT Privacy Forum has launched its newest report, Clearly Opaque: Privacy Risks of the Internet of Things. The result of eighteen months of research comprising workshops and interviews with forty experts, practitioners and scholars, the report is one of the most comprehensive explorations of IoT privacy and governance issues currently available.
Intentional Electromagnetic Interference – the overlooked threat to IoT
As IoT adoption continues to proliferate, manufactures and adopters are increasingly aware of cybersecurity risks to IoT. Yet, even among the IoT security professionals, one significant potential remote attack vector is often overlooked: intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI).
Stuxnet: the father of cyber-kinetic weapons
My article "Stuxnet: the father of cyber-kinetic weapons" was published on CSO Online. As we approach the 10th anniversary of when Stuxnet was (likely) deployed, it is worthwhile to examine the effect it still has on our world. As the world’s first-ever cyberweapon, it opened Pandora’s box. It was the first true cyber-kinetic weapon – and it changed military history and is changing world history, as well. Its impact on the future cannot be overstated.
Why governments must take the lead on IoT security frameworks
In my latest opinion piece on IoT Agenda “Why governments must take the lead on IoT security frameworks” I argue that there needs to be more government involvement when it comes to IoT security. At least until the industry more broadly accepts that IoT security, if done right, can become a competitive advantage and even speed up innovation.
Defeating 21st Century pirates: the maritime industry and cyberattacks
My article "Defeating 21st Century pirates: the maritime industry and cyberattacks" was published on CSO Online. From the article: Digitization in the maritime industry is growing, and cyberattacks are growing along with it. Attackers achieve massive paydays when maritime targets leave vulnerabilities open. If the maritime industry is to enjoy the potential that digitization can bring, it must put cybersecurity in the forefront instead of on the back burner.
The tangible threat of cyber-kinetic attacks
My article "The tangible threat of cyber-kinetic attacks" was published on CSO Online. Connecting physical objects and processes to the cyber world offers us capabilities that exponentially exceed the expectations of science fiction writers and futurists of past generations. But it also introduces disquieting possibilities. Those possibilities reach beyond cyberspace to threaten the physical world in which we live and – potentially – our own physical well-being.
Our smart future and the threat of cyber-kinetic attacks
My article "Our smart future and the threat of cyber-kinetic attacks" is published on HelpNetSecurity. Like most of my writing, the article focuses on cyber-kinetic threats of industrial control systems and how the rapid adoption of IoT keeps exponentially increasing the threat.
Protecting smart technologies and IoT from cyber-kinetic attacks
My article "Protecting smart technologies and IoT from cyber-kinetic attacks" is published on IoT Agenda. The article highlights the cyber-kinetic threats of the IoT. From the article intro: "Making physical objects or systems “smart” is all the rage today. Terms like smart houses, smart cars, smart cities, smart grids, smart refrigerators and even smart hairbrushes pop up everywhere. But there’s something not smart in the way this trend is progressing. Securing smart systems is being often overlooked."
Report: CrowdStrike – 2017 Cyber Intrusion Services Casebook
Crowdstrike published its annual Cyber Intrusion Services Casebook. Drawn from 100 real-life client engagements, the report looks into ever-evolving attacker tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) and reveals emerging trends observed in attack behaviors, including the preferred tactics used by threat actors to gain entry to the targeted environment.
Survey: Honeywell – Putting Industrial Cyber Security at CEO Agenda
Honeywell released a new study "Putting Industrial Cyber Security at the Top of the CEO Agenda" showing industrial companies are not moving quickly to adopt cyber security measures to protect their data and operations, even as attacks have increased around the globe.
Privacy in Smart Cities by Smart City Hub
New article on Smart Cities and Privacy "Privacy in Smart Cities" published on Smart City Hub.
From the article intro:"This morning I told my 15 year old daughter that I was reading about privacy...
Blackberry – 7-pillar Recommendation for Automotive Cybersecurity
BlackBerry has published its recommended framework to protect cars from cybersecurity threats. According to BlackBerry, the real challenge is securing the supply chain manufacturing these smart vehicles. With so many actors in the supply chain space individually contributing hardware or software, there is a higher risk of one of them accidentally introducing something harmful or not fully securing a part, which could result in the entire vehicle being compromised. The whitepaper lays out seven crucial security recommendations to harden automobile electronics from cyber attacks.
White Paper: Key Safety Challenges for the IIoT
Industrial Internet Consortium published a new white paper "Key Safety Challenges for the IIoT". The white paper addresses four key challenges in IIoT security and offers why other current safety frameworks are falling short, and recommends what can be done to further mitigate these challenges.
New Report: Wi-SUN Alliance – The Rise of the Internet of Things
Wi-SUN Alliance just released results of a survey of 350 IT decision makers from firms in the U.S., UK, Sweden and Denmark that are already investing in at least one IoT project. Similarly to other IoT related surveys, this one confirms that the IoT security tops the list of major concerns for IoT adopters. IoT security is holding back nearly six in ten (59%) of the respondents.
New Report: Cities Exposed in Shodan
Trend Micro released the latest in the series of Shodan-based security studies on exposed city cyber asset. Earlier this year they released the report on exposed US cities, and now they looked into Europe, looking not only at Western European capitals, but deeper into three of its largest countries – Germany, France, and the United Kingdom.
Report: Discovering Consumer Attitudes Toward Connected Car Security
Thales conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers across the U.S. and UK. Few interesting findings: Ownership of internet-connected cars is on the rise. 28% in the U.S. (increased from 24% in 2016) and 18% in the UK. Due to the current threat landscape people are very worried about security...
Who will really benefit from the coming smart-city revolution?
Article "Who will really benefit from the coming smart-city revolution?" is published by the New Scientist From the intro: "We need assurances on privacy, security and transparency or smart cities may be seen as thinly disguised...
Smart Cities do not mean the Death of Privacy
"Smart Cities do not mean the Death of Privacy" article argues that the privacy problem regularly being discussed in the context of smart cities is not a smart city problem but rather a current...
Whitepaper: PwC – The Role of the CIO in Integrating IIoT
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) promises to revolutionize industrial and manufacturing activities, and disrupt today's business models. The CIO’s role will touch various parts of their company more than ever, and they will also need to help their businesses operationalize rapid changes in business models, from products to services, cloud-based models, outsourced models, and others.
Smart cities might not be such a bright idea
Financial Times published an opinion piece "Smart cities might not be such a bright idea" "Smart cities are being rolled out across the globe, particularly where populations are rising quickly, in countries such as India,...
New Report: ENISA – Baseline Security Recommendations for IoT
The study which is titled ‘Baseline Security Recommendations for Internet of Things in the context of critical information infrastructures’, aims to set the scene for IoT security in Europe. It serves as a reference point in this field and as a foundation for relevant forthcoming initiatives and developments.
‘Slaughterbots’ Video Depicts a Dystopian Autonomous Killer Drones
Interesting short video depicting a very scary future in which swarms of killer microdrones are dispatched to kill political activists and US lawmakers. Armed with explosive charges, the palm-sized quadcopters use real-time data mining and artificial intelligence to find and kill their targets.
Why the Entire C-Suite Needs to Use the Same Metrics for Cyber Risk
Excellent article from Harvard Business Review. The author recognizes that the members of the C-suite often aren’t speaking the same language around cyber risk and that the reporting lines and silos are impacting the enterprise-wide communication and coordination required to address new cyber risks...
The Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities
Scientific American published an article "The Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities" - Plans for more wired, networked, connected urban areas face challenges if they fail to account for existing, local, non-digital elements such as...
Survey: Adoption of IIoT in manufacturing, oil and gas & transportation
The survey provides an overview of the current state of IIoT adoption and prevailing industry attitudes towards IIoT, solution deployment progress, motivating factors, business objectives, and technology investment projections.
Guide: ACLU – Making Smart Decisions About Smart Cities
ACLU just published a guide on Smart Cities. It looks at how to balance the innovation with privacy risks and features a number of real-life case studies. From the intro: "In some cases, technological solutions to urban issues can reflect or even exacerbate racial or economic inequality rather than allocate city resources and services fairly. Technologies that collect information about residents and visitors can generate and expose deeply personal information or even be repurposed to function as surveillance tools..."
New Report: Cradlepoint State of IoT 2018
New Cradlepoint Business Intelligence Report reveals the current IT practices, perceptions and future plans surrounding global Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. The findings of the underlying study revealed that even though over 69% of organizations have adopted, or plan to adopt, IoT solutions within the next year, 40% of companies have serious concerns around cybersecurity.
Report: Forrester & ForeScout Research: IoT & OT Security Challenges
ForeScout commissioned Forrester Consulting to see if organizations can adequately and accurately secure their networks with the rise of IoT-connected devices. The study sheds additional insight into this issue that may be surprising...
Article: Smart Cities May Be The Death of Privacy As We Know It
Always excellent website Futurism just published an article on Smart Cities and Privacy - "Smart Cities May Be The Death of Privacy As We Know It". The article highlights examples from few most developed...
New research: EasyPark 2017 Smart Cities Index
2017 Smart City Index was published by the Swedish firm EasyPark, which provides smart parking solutions in 10 markets in Europe and Australia. Drawing data from the UN and the European Commission, researchers assessed...
Smart Cities: better for whom? by Privacy International
Privacy International published an article "Smart Cities: better for whom?". From the article: "Technology is often given as an answer when we are not sure what the question is. Cities are no exception to that....
Smart Cities Pose Privacy Risks and Other Problems
"Smart Cities Pose Privacy Risks and Other Problems, But that Doesn't Mean We Shouldn't Build Them" paper was published in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review. Abstract The potential benefits of smart city technologies are...
Attribute-based credentials for privacy-preserving road traffic
An interesting article "Assessment of attribute-based credentials for privacy-preserving road traffic services in smart cities" was published as part of the "Special issue on security and privacy for smart cities" by the "Personal and...
Implementing RSA for sensor nodes in smart cities
“Implementing RSA for sensor nodes in smart cities” was published as part of the “Special issue on security and privacy for smart cities” by the “Personal and Ubiquitous Computing” peer-reviewed journal. Article abstract: In smart...
Special issue on security and privacy for smart cities
Special issue on security and privacy for smart cities was published by the "Personal and Ubiquitous Computing" journal. "A smart city is a cutting-edge concept to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in...
Smart City innovation: should you be willing to trade your privacy for utility?
"Smart Cities are becoming increasingly interconnected environments linking public administrations, service providers, devices, applications, data and citizens, trying to optimise city services responding to the needs for a cleaner, safer, more efficient and more...
Survey: Inmarsat – The Future of IoT in Enterprise
Inmarsat released the results of survey of about 500 respondents. According to the results, IoT has taken a lead over other forms of innovation. 82% of respondents will have adopted some form of IoT within the next two years. Three quarters of respondents in our survey agreed that they needed to improve their processes to protect against malicious attacks...
6 tips to help a ‘smart’ city navigate around privacy issues
From Dubai to Chicago, cities around the world are becoming increasingly “smarter”, using interconnected technologies to improve efficiency and digitize services. Many governments see smart technology, in its various guises, as a way to boost...
The Rise of the Smart City report in WSJ
Wall Street Journal published a report "The Rise of the Smart City" "Cities have a way to go before they can be considered geniuses. But they’re getting smart pretty fast. In just the past few years,...
Guide: Shedding Light on Smart City Privacy by the Future of Privacy Forum
The Future of Privacy Forum released a new tool for municipal and technology leaders: a visual guide “Shedding Light on Smart City Privacy.” This tool will help citizens, companies, and communities understand the technologies at...
Raconteur Smart Cities Special Report 2017
Raconteur Smart Cities Special Report 2017 was published in The Times and unpicks what the future city will look like, as well as the current market for smart solutions. Summary: The phrase “smart city” turns 25...
“Smart Cities” Are Too Smart for Your Privacy
"Smart Cities" Are Too Smart for Your Privacy" is published by The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. From the intro: No one wants to live in a “dumb” city. But I question...
Insecure smart city tech raises public security and privacy fears
"Insecure smart city tech raises public security and privacy fears" Based on research from Broadband Genie, the public view is negative surrounding smart cities and the possible privacy threat they could pose to citizens. Could...
Design of Smart City Systems from a Privacy Perspective
Abstract All around the globe the concept of smart cities is growing at fast pace meaning that an increasingly amount of people are moving to cities, which causes problems for cities with energy supply, waste...
Smart City Privacy – Challenges as Cities Become More Connected
"Smart City Privacy – Potential Challenges as Our Cities Become More Connected" article published on IoT for all. Smart cities will have higher standards of living, increased safety, etc.. But will we trade privacy for...
Cyber Security – A necessary pillar of Smart Cities
EY whitepaper "Cyber Security A necessary pillar of Smart Cities" explores cybersecurity and privacy risks of smart cities; how can both public and private sectors combat these threats and challenges; what are some of...
Smart Cities Require Smart Policy – U.S. News
U.S. News published an opinion article "Smart Cities Require Smart Policy - Cities must weigh privacy concerns when implementing smart technologies" By now, you've probably heard of so-called smart homes, but you may not have...
Smart Cities: A Survey on Security Concerns
"Smart Cities: A Survey on Security Concerns" published in the International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications Abstract A smart city is developed, deployed and maintained with the help of Internet of Things (IoT)....
“Privacy concerns in smart cities” published
Abstract: In this paper a framework is constructed to hypothesize if and how smart city technologies and urban big data produce privacy concerns among the people in these cities (as inhabitants, workers, visitors, and...
Security, Privacy, Governance Concerns About Smart City
Government Technology Magazine published a new article "Security, Privacy, Governance Concerns About Smart City Technologies Grow" From the article intro: As urban centers expand their reliance on automated sensors and algorithms, they increase risks of data...
Smart Cities – Cybersecurity & Privacy Implications of Urban Computing
"Smart Cities – The Cyber Security and Privacy Implications of Ubiquitous Urban Computing" is published by The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School. From the intro: The rapid growth of embedded computing and...
Smarter about smart cities: Improving data privacy and data security
As part of ‘EU Data Protection Day’ a new report – “Getting smarter about smart cities: Improving data privacy and data security” – was published. The report is written by the Irish Government Data...
Privacy, Security & Data Protection in Smart Cities: EU Law Perspective
CREATe Working Paper on Privacy, Security and Data Protection in Smart Cities is published here. From the Introduction: “Smart cities” are a buzzword of the moment. Although legal interest is growing, most academic responses at least...
The Future of Smart Cities: Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Risk – ICS-CERT
The US Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (DHS/OCIA) produced a report on Smart Cities infrastructure "The Future of Smart Cities - Cyber-Physical Infrastructure Risk" The report addresses how the adoption...
ISO/IEC JTC 1 – Smart Cities – Preliminary Report
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published a Preliminary Report on Smart Cities. ISO JTC 1 recognizes the importance of Smart Cities as a trend that will shape many standards in the ICT sector, and notes...
Age of Big Data and Smart Cities: Privacy Trade-Off
"Age of Big Data and Smart Cities: Privacy Trade-Off" published in the International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT) Abstract Data will soon become one of the most precious treasures we have ever had,...
Journal Article: Cyber security challenges in Smart Cities
An article "Cyber security challenges in Smart Cities: Safety, security and privacy" is published in the Journal of Advanced Research. Article abstract: The world is experiencing an evolution of Smart Cities. These emerge from innovations in...
Smart cities: are you willing to trade privacy for efficiency?
An article "Smart cities: are you willing to trade privacy for efficiency?" is published in The Guardian. From the intro: Data science may be helping cities get 'smarter', but questions remain over how long urban populations...