Week 5 - CYBR 650

I was going through my Week 5 Assignments and found this:

 Consider the following: Are these the actual sources you are using this week? Are there any additional sources you've discovered? Any that you decided would not be good to use? Post your findings to your blog

I am so random that I use what I find interesting in all reality. Some of it is based on experience which is usually best when it comes to education. Others are based on something I heard on the radio or a pop-up while harassing people on my local paper's website. I never deem good sources bad. Just because I may not use them does not mean they are not valuable and any additional sources I find only adds to the information arsenal. When doing these blogs, I always find more sources.  The good thing about this blog, is they are all in one place. I merely have to go through my posts and find the one I need. Should the sources I have conflict, it makes it easier to make a better decision as I am able to read the viewpoints from both sides, obtain more data and draw my own conclusions. It is one of the reasons I love this field. The intellectual stimulation is never ending and the opportunity to expand that knowledge is always fresh.

Well, this has been an interesting week regarding fireworks.

On July 3, I had a candid conversation with a good friend. We were talking about the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 and the necessity of security. I was shocked at his response. He leaves the keys in his truck and his password is the same for ALL accounts. He states the rewards of convenience far outweighs the cost of loss. An interesting perspective to say the least. I asked about identity theft. He stated, "The banks cover that. If there is an unauthorized purchase, I tell them and they give me back my money. I lose nothing." I must say that while he is educated in security, he makes his choice freely and accepts the consequences of not living securely.

On the 4th of July, I got a call. My husband's friend called him and asked if I could come over. She bought a used computer from a private person and all of the sudden, things started acting weird. They bought a computer with keyloggers and remote access software. No biggie. Just format the c: and reinstall the OS.

As I was looking at their system at home, I noted that their WiFi router was wide open. I asked them if they were aware of other people using their Internet access. They responded that they did notice a bunch of people on their network and that their Netflix was always bogged down and buffering. Hmmmm...

So, I secured their router for them. There are some disappointed people who are no longer getting free Internet access I am sure.

During this process, I was getting frustrated. I am all for educating people in regards to cybersecurity, but I began to realize that you must be careful what you say and how you say it, otherwise you breed paranoia. In this case, by the time the discussion was done, it was suspected that all their technology was hacked. Is it possibly to be overly secure???

I have realized a long time ago that a majority of the regular population are very uneducated in regards to cybersecurity. They know to use antivirus software, they may know how to program their wireless router, but for the most part, they are oblivious to their other technological tools they use such as cell phones, tablets, and any other device that connects to the World Wide Web. Then, when you try to tell them, they either accept the risks of not securing their tech or they go to the other extreme of complete paranoia.

What is a cybersecurity expert supposed to do!?

As I continued my week, I heard news that the firework show in San Diego, normally called the Big Bay Boom, became the Big Bay Bust. In 15 seconds,  three of the barges where the fireworks were at all went off at once. A computer glitch was blamed for the misfire:

Computer Glitch Blamed In San Diego Fireworks Boom That Went Bust

According to the story though:

"Santore said the problem was not a malfunction of the pyrotechnics and it was not human error."

 An interesting reassurance. Considering the problem is being blamed on a glitch in the computer software used to sync the 5 barges. Since computer software is written by humans, it stands to reason that maybe it was human error. I am also taking a class in XML and I will tell you, one boo-boo will screw up my whole website. And it's not the computer's fault when that happens.

Cybersecurity is more than just keeping hackers out and playing dodgeball with viruses and other malware. It is also avoiding costly mistakes that can hit a company's profit margins. In this case, it cost the pyrotechnic company thousands of dollars in fireworks, cost the audience an hour's worth of a show (it was reduced to 15 seconds), and ruined the reputation of two companies: the one that wrote the software and the one using the software.

I decided to check out this story because my husband told me about it and he stated that from what he understood, the firework show had been hacked. Whether it was or not, we will probably never know. After all, if news that a firework show can be hacked and ignited remotely were to get out, no good can come from it.

In other news, the FBI is warning the public that hundreds of thousands of people may lose Internet in July and Apple promises to fight the Flashback virus.

In the news regarding the FBI, Eric Storm stated:

"This is the future of what we will be doing. Until there is a change in the legal system, both inside and outside the United States, to get up to speed with the cyber problem, we will have to go down these paths, trail-blazing if you will, on these types of investigations...Now, every time the agency gets new the end of a cyber case, we get to the point where we say, how are going to do this, how are going to clean the system without creating a bigger mess than before."

James Madison stated that "Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant."

I agree that there are cybersecurity issues and I agree that we do need to take measures to protect ourselves, our organizations, and our government.  The problem with the above article is that as of 23 April 2012, when the article was written, there were 85,000 victims in America. That is a minuscule percentage compared to the millions that use computers and the Internet and yet, there appears the need to make this bigger than it really is.

Based on this week's experience, I began to realize how easy it is to get the masses to panic over certain things. When it comes to educating the layman, we need to use simple terms, be careful how to answer their questions so as to alleviate their fears, not create them, and help them to protect themselves.

On the other end of cybersecurity, I have found some wireless surveillance camera systems. Yesterday, my husband woke me up at 5 a.m. A brave thing to do considering I am pure evil before the sun comes up and especially when I am woken up. However, it was a serious issue. A total of three tires had been slashed on two cars. Since my husband has a work car, two of his tires were slashed by a knife and one of my van tires were slashed. Interesting technology there is in regards to physical security. When the cameras detect motion, they can be program to begin recording. They can even turn on lights to alert the vandals that they are being watched. Upon activation, an e-mail or text can be sent to alert the homeowner where the homeowner can watch the feed live.

Schnazzy!

Finally, in preparation for DEFCON 20, I bought myself a prepaid phone! BWA HA HA! You think I'm going to take my real phone to a hacker's convention!? What do you think I am? Insane!?  I also have a computer that is completely scrubbed. Let the games begin.