Is the internet becoming less secure?

There’s been no shortage of scandals surrounding internet security within recent months. A seemingly endless stream of websites appear to be hacked, with companies such as vTech, Ashley Madison and TalkTalk, to give a few high-profile examples, having their databases compromised.

These security breaches have been detrimental to the image of these companies. TalkTalk was perhaps hit the hardest, with 101,000 customers leaving on the back of the hacking scandal.

Call to improve Internet security

SHANGHAI needs to improve information security in an increasingly digitized world by establishing a comprehensive online identification recognition and protection system, a lawmaker said yesterday during the annual session of the Shanghai People’s Congress.

“It will be much safer and convenient,” said Hu Chuanping, chief of the Third Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security, which is responsible for online security.

As BYOD becomes common, the importance of Internet Security

Today's workforce is reliant on computers, laptops and smartphones as the infrastructural extensions of an organization. These devices, endowed with the power of the internet, carry important documents and passwords that form a virtual identity for organizations, especially with BYOD policies becoming a trend. Therefore, it is essential organizations ensure that they have the best of internet security to guarantee that their identity is not compromised or important data lost.

The advent of the internet opened up yet another platform for fraudsters, who not only hack computers, steal private passwords, documents and files, but are also identity thieves. Despite this, some SMEs and big enterprises are still very complacent in terms of internet security and seem to believe that their computers are invisible. They have still not realized that the moment their job requires them to log on to the internet, they can easily fall prey to such online thugs.

In order to ensure this security, not only the CIOs, but the employees of a company should understand a few simple things about being on the internet and act accordingly. The foremost thing to know is where online data is stored, along with understanding the encryption of that data. With the growing popularity of big data and intellectual property amongst the corporates, these elements are constantly under the risk of loss, theft or exposure to unwanted entities. Similarly, personal data such as credit card information and corporate confidential data and information are under the same threat. There are many laws and regulations mandating data loss prevention with the objective of privacy protection and cross border data transfer. Today with BYOD policies, it is very difficult to control the flow and storage of the data, especially with the plethora of social media and other file sharing applications.

Read More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/security/as-byod-becomes-common-the-importance-of-internet-security/articleshow/50167658.cms

The security risks of IoT devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t a new concept, but it has gained momentum especially within the last year, as more and more connected devices have come to market. While connecting everything brings added convenience to our everyday lives, it’s crucial to understand what we may be compromising from a security perspective, and importantly, which devices could pose a threat either now or in the future.

With so many connected devices we decided to take a look at those that have made the headlines so far this year. Cars, for instance, have only recently become connected, although they have long been computerized. However, with poor Internet security expertise some manufacturers are being caught out.

In April, Cyber security experts Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek revealed a software flaw that allowed them to take control of a Jeep Cherokee on the move -- all from a laptop computer at home. Hacking into the Jeep’s electronics through the entertainment system, they were able to change the vehicle’s speed, alter its braking capability, and manipulate the radio and windscreen wipers. The two described the hack as "fairly easy" and "a weekend project".

A few months later, news broke that researchers had hacked a Tesla Model S, once again via the car’s entertainment system. Although it took closer to a year to pull this hack off, the researchers were able to apply the hand brake, lock and unlock the car, and control the touch screen displays. Tesla quickly developed a fix, which has been sent to all of the affected vehicles.

Hacked vehicles are an obvious cause for concern, but the hazards presented by apparently innocuous devices such as the "smart fridge" or "connected toaster" also warrant equal consideration. The thought of a hacker gaining control of your refrigerator may be less daunting than them taking control of your steering wheel on the motorway, but these products can act as a gateway to much more sensitive information.

Read More: http://betanews.com/2015/11/30/the-security-risks-of-iot-devices/

Britain has declared war on Internet security

For the past two and a half years, many have hoped that the mass surveillance programs revealed by U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden would inspire serious reform of Western intelligence agencies, nudging the post-9/11 national security pendulum back in the direction of privacy and civil liberties. Unfortunately, the opposite is occurring.

With few exceptions, the past year has seen governments around the world double down on intrusive mass surveillance. Unprecedented and draconian new laws crafted in the name of fighting crime and terrorism have emerged in France, Australia and many other countries. Last month the U.S. Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, a deceptively named bill that has nothing to do with security and everything to do with having companies give more of their customers’ data to U.S. government agencies. And last week, U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May presented a long-awaited draft of the new Investigatory Powers Bill, a collection of sweeping reforms that would give more powers to British police and spy agencies, including the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the NSA’s close ally and longtime collaborator.

The U.K. draft law is a nightmarish cocktail of bad ideas from both sides of the pond — an authoritarian wish list that goes beyond even the NSA’s powers. Rather than roll back its most indefensible abuses, the text makes clear that the British government intends to retroactively legitimize the most invasive and legally dubious surveillance activities that Snowden exposed. As Snowden put it, the bill is an attempt “to fit the law around the spying, rather than making spying fit the law.” If successful, it will have dire consequences in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.

Read More: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/11/britain-has-declared-war-on-internet-security.html