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, cities are increasingly relying on smart technologies to foster greater efficiency and sustainable growth. These interventions do not, however, come without their own complications. Just...
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 even multiple countries, and the vast number of people involved in operating and maintaining those widespread systems offer attackers an almost unlimited number of attack...
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 system’ for our smart cities, our industry 4.0, our smart homes, smart transportation, smart healthcare, and much more. To enable this future, we will...
Stuxnet was the first true cyber-kinetic weapon, designed to cripple the Iranian – and perhaps also the North Korean – nuclear weapon programs. It succeeded in slowing the Iranian program, although it was discovered before it could deal the program a fatal blow.
Its significance goes far beyond what it did. It marks a clear turning point in the military history and cybersecurity. Its developers hoped for a weapon that could destroy strategic targets without civilian damage possible in traditional warfare. Instead, it opened the door to cyberattacks that can deliver widespread disruption to the very civilian populations it was...
The attacker stepped out from behind a hedge in the upper-class suburban neighborhood, being careful to stay in the shadows. Across the street, the last lights shining through the windows of the house had just flickered out. She tugged the bottom of her black hoodie into place and pulled the hood up over her head, casting her face deeper in shadow.
Her target sat in the driveway at the front of the house, a bright red and completely decked out SUV. Glancing up and down the street to ensure no one was looking, she slipped across the street into the...
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.
Western publications often picture the People’s Democratic Republic of China (hereafter China) as the world’s chief propagator of cyberattacks. But the picture is much more complex than such broad-brush claims suggest.
Few Westerners realize that China and its neighbours in the Greater China region (Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong) have, over last few years, became the most technologically advanced region in the world – ahead of the West in the adoption, and in many cases even in the development of advanced technologies.
Countries in the region were always close to the top of the list of victims of cyberattacks. Factors, such...
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 person in the U.S. every year. Imagine the chaos if they were disrupted.
These systems have always been challenging to secure. Even urban mass transit systems...
On 14th March 2019, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the launch of his Annual Report for 2018 touched on security and geopolitical concerns of 5G (full transcript here).
Stoltenberg said that allies are "...consulting closely on this issue, including on the security aspects on investments in 5G networks."
The Secretary General acknowledged that “NATO allies have expressed their concerns over Huawei and their role in providing 5G infrastructure” and added “NATO takes these concerns very seriously.”
“We will now assess the issue and find out how NATO, in the best way possible, can address the challenges in terms of investments into...
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.
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.
The open seas have long attracted those who yearned for adventure. The risk of pitting oneself against a vast and unforgiving sea has tested sailors’ mettle for millennia. It’s not surprising that the maritime industry is one that thrives on facing – and overcoming – risks. But, as technology increasingly dominates it, growing risks exist that the industry dare not ignore.
Its growing effort to increase efficiencies through digitization and automation has made it an inviting target for 21st century pirates whose weapons are not cutlasses, but computers. Vulnerabilities in maritime systems and security practices threaten to inflict huge losses...
In one of those strange inversions of reason, The Internet of Things (IoT) arguably began before the Internet itself. In 1980, a thirsty graduate in Carnegie Mellon University’s computer science department, David Nichols, eventually grew tired of hiking to the local Coca Cola vending machine only to find it empty or stocked entirely with warm cola. So, Nichols connected the machine to a network and wrote a program that updated his colleagues and him on cola stock levels. The first IoT device was born.
Things have moved on somewhat. Today, the world is home to 8 billion connected devices or “things”, with...
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 and electronic devices. That is, if devices wouldn’t comply with numerous electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards which ensure correct operation in common electromagnetic environment and resilience...
A growing number of today’s entertainment options show protagonists battling cyber-attacks that target the systems at the heart of our critical infrastructure whose failure would cripple modern society. It’s easy to watch such shows and pass off their plots as something that could never happen. The chilling reality is that those plots are often based on real cyber-kinetic threats that either have already happened, are already possible, or are dangerously close to becoming reality.
Cyberattacks occur daily around the world. Only when one achieves sufficient scope to grab the attention of the news media – such as the WannaCry ransomware...