In Germany (as well as Austria), there is a type of company referred to as the “Mittelstand”. Generally speaking, these are small- to medium-sized companies, non-public and typically family-owned, providing technical expertise (if not excellence) in a specific niche, usually manufacturing or engineering oriented. Although small, such organizations have outsized Read more
A common statement heard in information security circles these days is “the perimeter is dead.” The concept behind the statement is simple and seemingly obvious. Historically, security professionals only dealt with two networks: the “home” network (which was managed, safe, and trusted) and the “outside” or “external” network (regarded as Read more
The concept of praise and blame – or moral responsibility more generally – is a central concept in ethics that features many responses. Of note in evaluating various approaches to the problem is the concept of human fallibility in the face of ethical decision-making. For Aristotle, humanity is intrinsically flawed Read more
When reporting on cyber-attacks, articles and media frequently (if not exclusively) focus on the damage or immediate result: how many machines were impacted, how much data was compromised, or what (if any) physical consequences emerged from the event. The latter is especially the case with ICS-focused attacks, from Stuxnet to Read more
Recently I engaged in conversation with Dale Peterson dealing with the gas explosion events in Massachusetts. For background, following the event in question there were multiple unfounded claims of a “cyber” cause behind these events followed by significant pushback from various ICS security experts. Where Dale and I enter the Read more
Black Hat/DEF CON week is upon us again. While many poke fun at RSAC (an issue I addressed earlier this year), the annual “Hacker Summer Camp” in Las Vegas is rapidly approaching (or eclipsing) the size of RSA while also becoming more “commercial” and “marketing-oriented” with each passing year. While Read more
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a powerful – and incredibly detailed – indictment of 12 named individuals working for the Russian GRU. While many will see this as similar to the indictment of several Chinese nationals for spying in 2014, the cases seem far different in my Read more
I had the pleasure to engage some really smart people on the subject of threat attribution and naming conventions via Twitter recently. I think the linked thread is useful as an example not only of some of the issues the cyber security community still has around terminology and definitions, but Read more
Nate Beach-Westmoreland wrote a Tweet recently that piqued my interest, as it aligned very closely to one of my major concerns in a former IR position: how does one ensure that sensitive data isn’t manipulated? Typically, cyber defense focuses on two key impacts: the loss or theft of sensitive (or Read more
Rather significant news broke out on 13 June with the EU taking initial steps toward a potential ban on Kaspersky software on EU-controlled networks. The specific language used, as translated by The Register: Calls on the EU to perform a comprehensive review of software, IT and communications equipment and infrastructure Read more