Security Made Simple
Updates This is just another term for patches, and is pretty much used interchangably. So these are fixes for parts of code which are found to have vulnerabilities in them, and are generally released on a regular basis by software vendors. UPS An Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) is basically just a large battery which allows a device … Continue reading U is for …
Tailgating Tailgating is very easy to spot. It’s when you follow someone through a barrier without swiping your entry card, adding your pin number etc. You might have seen someone do this in a car park or elsewhere, following another vehicle in without paying: it’s the same principle. Trojan Taking its name from the Trojan … Continue reading T is for …
Just as my recent post focussed on a selection of books related social engineering and the psychology behind cyber crime, this post will look at a range of films, documentaries and TV shows which offer insight into the industry. They’re not intended to be a definitive list, and there are many great examples which aren’t … Continue reading Cyber viewing
I’m often asked, particularly by new entrants into cyber, what books they should read, and what podcasts they should listen to. The list of both is endless, but I thought I’d share some titles with you. Before we start though, a word about my relationship with books… I’m a passionate reader, and a compulsive purchaser … Continue reading Social Engineering and Human Nature
It was reported on the BBC today that flight departure screens had failed at Gatwick airport for much of the day. The airport authorities implemented their contingency plans – whiteboards – and apparently no flights were delayed or cancelled. Some passengers have complained about a lack of information, but I think that the fact no … Continue reading Gatwick Continuity Planning
Quantum computing You probably know by now that typical computers function by using 1s and 0s, using binary maths. The transistors in them are either off (0) or on (1), with data being held as binary digits (bits). In quantum computing, quantum mechanics form the basis of the machine. Rather than bits and bytes, quantum … Continue reading Q is for …
This story appeared recently on the BBC website. Three members of a notorious hacking group, variously called Fin7, Carbanak and JokerStash, have been arrested and named. The three individuals were arrested in Germany, Poland and Spain: one has already been extradited to the US and extradition proceedings have begun against the other two. The hacking … Continue reading US names arrested Fin7 cyber-gang suspects
This story appeared on the BBC website the other day. Basically the town’s borough council was hit with ransomware and their systems were brought to their knees. It’s not unusual for one or two devices in an organisation to be infected with Ransomware. Typically those devices are isolated from the network and all other machines … Continue reading Town dusts off typewriters after cyber-attack
Password There has been much written about passwords, but for this entry I thought it worth defining what a password actually is. It’s a code, phrase or sequence of letters and numbers which is used to validate that you are who you say you are. It’s often used in conjunction with a username or when … Continue reading P is for …
On-premise This term is used to describe equipment which is physically located in your offices. The alternative would be a third party hosted service such as those offered by cloud hosting providers. Open Source Intelligence The internet is full of many sources of information, many of which are free. This is known as Open Source … Continue reading O is for …
Easy Cyber 