-
5G Security
5G Security & Privacy Challenges
Don’t let the “5G” in the title confuse you. This post is not only about the telcos’ core networks, but about the 5G security and privacy issues in our (very) near, and very different future that 5G will enable. In the 5G-enabled massive Internet of Things (mIoT) world we’re about to find ourselves in, we are expected to have 1000 devices connected for every person… These devices will be the components of the ‘5G operating…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Cyber-Kinetic Security and Privacy Threats in Smart Cities
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities. The UN estimates that by 2050 that proportion will be 68% – more than 6 billion people living in high-density conditions. This raises significant challenges. What is the best way to ensure that human needs are met in a fair and equitable way? How will we face challenges like resource strain, waste and pollution management, traffic congestion and connectivity? In response to these wicked problems,…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Cyber-Kinetic Risk – Unintended Consequence of IoT in a 5G World
Getting smart about security in smart systems Smart used to be something we called people or pets. It wasn’t a term one would use to describe one’s hairbrush. That is changing, of course, in an era of accelerating digital transformation. Now we have smart homes, smart cities, smart grids, smart refrigerators and, yes, even smart hairbrushes. What’s not so smart, though, is the way the cybersecurity and cyber-kinetic security risks of these systems are often…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Growing Cyber-Kinetic Threats to Railway Systems
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. Railway systems have long been critical. Mass transit systems move hundreds of thousands of people throughout urban areas each work day. Freight systems move an estimated 40 tons of freight for every…
Read More » -
5G Security
5G Making It More Important for Governments to Lead IoT Security
The human brain is programmed to keep us safe and secure. Yes, we are separated from the rest of the animal kingdom by our advanced capacities of sense-making and decision-making, but at the core of our grey matter remains some primitive but powerful tech tasked with keeping us alive. If your amygdala senses danger, it makes a split second decision and triggers the fight-or-flight response, flooding your body with hormones like adrenaline that prepare you…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI) IoT Threat
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). Electromagnetic interference (EMI) surrounds us – natural causes, such as solar flares and lightning; and man-made sources such as radio and TV broadcasting, radars, microwaves and many others all emit electromagnetic waves that could disrupt operation of electrical…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Canadian Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection
Targeted cyberattacks against critical infrastructure (CI) are increasing on a global scale. Critical systems are rapidly being connected to the internet, affording attackers opportunities to target virtual systems that operate and monitor physical structures and physical processes through various modes of cyberattack. When people think of cyberattacks, their minds often go first to the financial sector. After all, that’s the type of attack people hear about most frequently; it’s where the money is and it’s…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Stuxnet: The Father of Cyber-Kinetic Weapons
While Stuxnet is gone, the world now knows what can be accomplished through cyber-kinetic attacks. 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…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
Growing Cyber-Kinetic Vulnerabilities of Railway Systems
In their growing efforts to increase efficiencies through digitization and automation, railways are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber-kinetic attacks as they move away from strictly mechanical systems and bespoke standalone systems to digital, open-platform, standardized equipment built using Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) components. In addition, the increasing use of networked control and automation systems enable remote access of public and private networks. Finally, the large geographical spread of railway systems, involving multiple providers and…
Read More » -
Cyber-Kinetic Security
IEMI – Threat of Intentional Electromagnetic Interference
As our cities, our transportation, our energy and manufacturing – our everything – increasingly embrace Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Controls Systems (ICS), securing its underlying cyber-physical systems (CPS) grows ever more crucial. Yet, even among engineers and cybersecurity specialists, one potential attack trajectory is often overlooked: Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI). ICS and IoT – digital systems that run today’s modern society – rely on changes in electrical charges flowing through physical equipment. Creating…
Read More »
