„Cyber Cyber Cyber“ revisited – Information Warfare

René Pfeiffer/ July 5, 2013/ Discussion, Security

So far we haven’t commented on the ongoing season of the Game of Spooks miniseries. We wait for the break after the last episode – provided there is one. However we have written about information warfare and espionage in this blog. Enter secrets.

During DeepSec 2012 the concept of „cyber war“ was heavily explored. Eventually it led to the phrase „cyber cyber cyber“ due to the sheer popularity of this very word. „Cyber“ and „war“ hide the fact that information is the prime good that is being accessed or copied and put to a fresh use¹. Take a look at the published articles in the past weeks to see misplaced information at work. A couple of misplaced presentation slides can cause more uproar than a data leak of  medical records of a nation – wide data- base. Data clearly is not equal.

Apart from the political row there is also an impact on information security. We have to re-evaluate the role of infrastructure. Avoiding data leaks (or „digital theft“) requires to know about the whereabouts of all your data including all the transportation routes. If you lose sight of your data, well, then it evaporates. This is why data loss prevention (DLP) is very hard. When companies buy DLP solutions and implement their shiny new Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies² something is going to fail sooner or later. On top of all that a part of the Internet is being audited by third parties (read the headlines for more information and rumours). Enter failures.

Beware and  be aware: Modern digital defence is an agile concept. Get rid of thinking in circles. Enter visions. You already know about the DeepSec CfP where we ask you for your ideas. The DeepINTEL conference tackles the importance of information at a higher level. If you understand how the current news impacts your IT security problems, then DeepINTEL is for you. It focuses on security intelligence – a rare combination these days. It takes place on 9 and 10 September 2013. See you there!

¹ Of course, old school military types who can spell the word reconnaissance know that information is often the key.

² Your BYOD policy will turn WTF on your DLP!