In the days before cloud was an enterprise thing, back when systems, networks and perimeters were much more clearly defined, information security teams of course still had concerns to address and data to secure. One of the emerging risks in the mid-nineties earned the name of “Shadow IT.” And it’s still with us today. Shadow…
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Rik Ferguson
VP, Security Research
- Rik is actively engaged in research into online threats and the underground economy. He also researches the wider implications of new developments in the Information Technology arena and their impact on security both for consumers and in the enterprise, contributing to product development and marketing plans. Recognized as an industry thought leader and analyst, Rik is regularly quoted by the press on issues surrounding information security, cybercrime and technology futures by trade, national and international media. Follow Rik on Twitter.
The Internet is a living thing; initially conceived upon an architecture able to withstand and rebuild following significant outages, it has taken on a life of its own, giving rise to “The Web,” to Web 2.0, globe-spanning social networks connecting and inspiring people in ways unimagined even 10 years ago. “The Internet” has already become…
Read MoreIt is certainly a truism to say that an organisation’s weakest point is its own employees. It could be argued that because this has been said many times by many people, because it offers no new insight then it is of little value to state it again. Such is the nature of a truism. However,…
Read MoreSince Friday 30th May an almost unprecedented example of global cooperation between law enforcement agencies in 11 countries, led by Europol and the FBI along with the private sector, has been in effect. Law enforcement, Internet Service Providers and the Information Security industry have been working together to counter the threat posed by two specific…
Read MoreThe Dark Web has been very firmly colonised by criminals looking for a safer marketplace to ply their various trades. Are the vendors and buyers in these forums the same or different to those that work in the older and more established underground forums on the open Internet? Online criminals have long operated in unadvertised…
Read MoreMany words have been shared about the availability of questionable or outright illegal content through websites and forums hosted on the Dark Web. Many blogs have been written about the bust of the Dark Web site that has become a poster child for all that is bad about hidden services, “Silk Road.” We know that…
Read MoreWith all the media and security research attention in 2013 being focused on the targeted attack phenomenon and the growth in the numbers and type of organisations falling victim to these attacks, you could be thinking that traditional end-user level attack campaigns are on the wane. You’d be wrong, very wrong. Cybercriminals are still following…
Read MoreMany of you will have hopefully already had a chance to read the Project 2020 white paper “Scenarios for the Future of Cybercrime” prepared by Europol EC3, ICSPA and Trend Micro and watch the associated fictionalised web series 2020. If not, both the document and all 9 episodes are available at 2020.trendmicro.com. We will be…
Read MoreThis year marks another one of those anniversaries that we would rather not be celebrating; mobile malware is ten years old. In 2004 a proof of concept, known as Cabir, was delivered by a coder known as Vallez, a member of the 29A group of virus writers. It didn’t take long for this original proof…
Read MoreThere is another Internet out there, one that everyday users never get involved with. It is used for any number of reasons, some of them legal, some of them distinctly not. A citizen of a repressive regime may wish to find a way to communicate free from state interference, or a national security agent may…
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