AdvertisementFeatureEsotericLtd January2017_riskuk_mar15 10/01/2017 11:28 Page 39
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Innovation Brings Risks… Are You Prepared? t the outset, it’s important to remember that information comes in many forms: paper, conversational as well as digital. It’s therefore imperative that any information security regime incorporates more than just the standard network system tests and considers the risks to information from other traditional and innovative corporate espionage threats. Technological advancements are now so fastpaced – and readily adopted – that it appears we no longer question the next innovation presented to us. Most organisations look upon innovation as a positive influence to aid business processes, communication platforms and cost-reductions. However, innovation isn’t solely resting in the hands of the innocent. Devices used to gain intelligence from an organisation are also constantly evolving, and at a tremendous pace. More recent technological advancements have seen us having to counter frequency hopping, spread spectrum, adaptive power and high throughput devices, at the same time as we watch camera technology reduce in size to less than 1 mm.
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High-speed to light-speed For years, we’ve heard security providers warn of the dangers posed by public Wi-Fi. Even so, employees have become complacent and overly confident in their device security. The false sense of security a network password affords actually allows access with no real authentication and provides a simple and attractive opportunity for the hacker to gain free entry to unsecured devices on the network. Not only do aggressors piggyback on other networks, but as seen during the Rio Olympic Games, hackers are setting up fake/malicious Wi-Fi ‘hotspots’ designed to capture personal information. There are now more avenues than ever that threat actors can and will exploit. In a survey conducted by Osterman, almost half (43%) of those employees questioned admitted to accessing sensitive corporate data on unsecured public networks, such as those in airports, coffee shops, hotels and offsite meeting rooms. This in itself represents a huge challenge for the security manager to rectify as the solution relates to human behaviour. Organisations need to ensure that adequate security restrictions are in place to prevent open Wi-Fi use and restrict file access on BYOD while also conducting awareness programmes to address the behavioural issues. Looking ahead, we also need to consider the impact of the next generations of data transfer.
The latest Wi-Fi to evolve uses the 5 GHz frequency range which is far less congested than the 2.4 GHz range we currently see. It’s capable of a throughput of up to 500 Mbps and will soon be upgraded to Wi-Gig with speeds of up to 7 Gbps. It’s the speed of service that’s of greatest concern: the damage that can be done, the volume of data that can be intercepted and extracted and the malware that can be downloaded all in such a limited time, without the usual warning signs seen in current networks (such as reduced speeds and increased processor activity). Without these ‘flags’, the mindful user is no longer a line of defence and strict control measures by security managers will be an absolute must to prevent interception.
Consideration of Li-Fi Evolution doesn’t stop with speed. The future threat in this arena is Li-Fi. The visible light spectrum is 10,000 times larger than the entire RF spectrum and provides huge potential for data transfer. Researchers have reached data rates of over 10 Gbps (which is more than 250 times faster than superfast broadband). Li-Fi is also expected to be ten times cheaper than WiFi, although it’s not capable of passing through solid structures like walls, for example. These enhancements in technology will certainly require skilled specialists to detect – and ensure protection from – aggressors. Let’s take a look at 4G and 5G. Most devices now operate with 4G capability and the
As a business, we spend most of our working day gathering, processing and disseminating information. Today, information is probably the most valuable asset of any organisation. Now, there must be a heightened degree of awareness in terms of how this myriad detail is managed and secured. Emma Shaw notes the main points to be observed