What does physical security and cybersecurity have in common? Among other things; it’s the simple stuff that will get you.

I decided to stop by the Sylvania Township, Ohio Starbucks on Central Avenue for “Coffee with a cop.” October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and I thought it would be a good idea to check in with our local police first responders. These officers were from the Sylvania, Ohio Police Department.

I had a pleasant surprise because Chief Paul Long and Deputy Chief Ray Carroll were there. Both of these officers have already had long successful and distinguished law enforcement careers.

Upon entering and shaking hands, I asked whether there were any assets or other material that these local heroes needed. I am sure that there must be something local citizens could do to better support the police. However, Chief Carroll said that their message is simple: “Lock your house, garage and car(s).”

And that’s where the convergence of cyber and physical security intersect – it’s the simple stuff. Lock up your possessions to keep them secure. Cyber – “Keep you operating system up-to-date.” Why are they so similar?

Whether we like it or not, the basic design of our computers and networking equipment and operating systems follow the open academic beginnings of computing and internet/networking. Up to the early 1990s personal computers were not networked. A few of us could maybe wrangle internet access from a local college or university and that was it. The World Wide Web did not exist. Fast forward to the cobbled together systems that we now use. If you don’t keep your operating system up-to-date with a firewall and antivirus, then you are doing the same as leaving your house unlocked.

Enough preaching. What I loved about meeting with the several police officers and command officers was how much we all have in common. We all agreed. It does not matter how fancy your security system is – either physical or cyber. It is the mindset and care of the people who are operating or failing to operate them. If you have a lock on your door and you don’t use it, then you have a much better chance of losing your stuff. And it is the same with your personal information that you keep in your computer.

I am looking forward to more conversations with our first responders. Even a geek like me will learn and be motivated by the exchange of ideas.

UPDATE 2: New Evidence found by Bloomberg reporting. “A major U.S. telecommunications company discovered manipulated hardware from Super Micro Computer Inc. in its network and removed it in August, fresh evidence of tampering in China of critical technology components bound for the U.S., according to a security expert working for the telecom company.” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-09/new-evidence-of-hacked-supermicro-hardware-found-in-u-s-telecom

UPDATE: WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? If true, then your electronic devices will spike up in price because more than 90% of them are made in China. That would end. The potential damage to national security would cost the government 100s of billions of dollars and you as a tax payer will see the bill. Apple and Amazon have unequivocally denied that this hack ever took place. Folks, Bloomberg is a top notch publication with almost incomparable reporters and editors. They spent a year researching this story. On the other hand, Apple and Amazon could be just as screwed as Elon Musk, if the SEC or other regulatory agency finds that their statement(s) of denial are false. So far this is first relatively comprehensive discussion that I have found. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/325-chinese-spy-chips-microsoft-announcements-pixel/id430333725?i=1000421160995&mt=2

How many Americans have purchased drones, phones, and computers that are assembled in China? Millions and millions, for sure…

According to a well reported story from Bloomberg, a chip the size of a grain of rice that appears to be a common part of a circuit board was stealthily placed by secret members of China’s Peoples Liberation Army in devices used in some U.S. servers. This chip is not detectable by operating systems nor by any antivirus. Further, it is found on circuit boards made in China and sold to U.S. enterprise-class computer server manufacturers. Companies like Amazon, Apple and even (reportedly) some government agencies.

This is may be the greatest intelligence coup of the decade, as well. See the story HERE.

The Bluetooth that you use to connect your smart watch, speakers or other peripheral is seriously compromised. Please check that you have updated your device to the latest operating system version. This applies to iPhones and Android devices. The devices include Apple, Android smart phones, smart watches like Apple Watch and other devices (perhaps even Chrome laptops).

Failure to update your operating system may expose your confidential information to a nearby hacker who could ruin your finances and/or snoop on your messages and possibly put you in danger.

Forbes published a good explanation headlined, Update Your iPhones And Androids Now If You Don’t Want Your Bluetooth Hacked . Enough said, please just update now.

See below for how to update Android and Apple phones:

Many successful data thefts and attacks relied on vulnerabilities that had patches available

First please heed this: If you are a large or small business leader or associate do not patch before you test that patch with any specialized software – that is any software other than generic office apps, like Microsoft (R) Office apps. Even commercial scheduling software should be tested. At least make sure that you create a Restore Point. before updating. Of course, Windows is supposed to create one for you. Do not bet your operation on that!

Many highly publicized data breaches occurred because firms did not patch or update software. For example Equifax had at least two months to patch/update specific software before 143 million people had their personal information stolen.  And some Equifax personnel were even aware of the need to patch the software in question. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management lost several million security clearance background investigation details because a contractor failed to update his computer.

As mentioned in My take on security, even if an individual believes that their information is not important enough to be stolen or abused, it can and will be collected and used.

Update your software.

First, the news.

(RNN) – Russia’s hackers are busy folks.

The FBI and Cisco warned us this week that they’ve infiltrated 500,000 routers in more than 50 countries across the globe by using a malware system known as VPNFilter.

The compromised routers could be used for lots of things, but the experts believe the malicious software used to hack them are part of a plan for a huge cyber attack on Ukraine.

To torpedo the Russian plot, the FBI got court approval to seize a domain the hacking group was using to coordinate the operation.

The computer code used in the malware program shares code with previous Russian cyber attacks.

“Defending against this threat is extremely difficult due to the nature of the affected devices,” according to Cisco’s cyber intelligence unit, Talos.

“The majority of them are connected directly to the internet, with no security devices or services between them and the potential attackers.”

And most of these routers are older devices that don’t have up-to-date software.

And now from FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center:

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There will be a lot more on this.  There are some lists of routers out there. Some of them may have been installed by your Internet Service Provider. The Boston Globe reports, The FBI is urging Internet service providers Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. and others to check whether their hardware is vulnerable, and work with customers on updating their routers.

This will be continually updated, until this becomes less of an issue.

Of course, your personal information is valuable so the cybercrooks will still come after you. Not the end-all-beat-all…. This will help make your Facebook privacy more robust, however.

From:

How To Change Your Facebook Settings To Opt Out of Platform API Sharing