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  • Author Author: spannerspencer
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Computer Security Day - How to Secure Your Devices

spannerspencer

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It's November 30th, which means it's A) Just under one month until New Year's Eve, and B) It's World Computer Security Day (CSD)!

 

You can find out a little more about the origins of the day itself over here, and tell us about your best practices when it comes to securing your digital life.

 

Beyond Computer Security

This is a long-lived awareness campaign already, but it's changing as fast as the computers it's based around.

 

CSD is a concept that increases in magnitude somewhere like the element14 Community. Here, we're interested in lots of different types of computers, microprocessors, systems and platforms; and most all of them involve some manner of digital security measures. A campaign that originally looked at encouraging people to change one, or maybe two passwords now involves something of an epic security endeavour for engineers, makers and tech-heads who are into all the available prototyping platforms out there now.

 

So is it also time to change the password on your Raspberry Pi root? Should your Internet of Things devices get a new login? Are there any concerns around your connected Arduino projects?

 

Updating a Windows password is easy, but updating a headless single board computer or homemade connected thermostat or wi-fi operated light fitting is something else entirely. Even those of us who take an active interest in these things might struggle to keep up to speed on every item we've built into a maker project.

 

So I'd like to encourage those of you in the know to pick a platform or process of your choice, and write a blog detailing how to change or update its passwords, logins or security features.

 

Tag it with "Computer Security Day" (and put a link to it in the comments here, if you like) and we'll compile all your cyber security instructions into a cyber security bible that will help keep our corner of the internet just a little bit safer. If we can enough blog posts together on the subject of cyber security, we could potentially edit these into an e-book that'll become a valuable reference for all of us.

 

 

Don't forget! Now that you've secured your digital self, come and tell us how you can make yourself and others safe and sound in the physical world, in our brand new Safe and Sound Design Challenge.

 

You could win a nice, safe quadcopter with which to "enhance" your neighbour's security and privacy!

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  • in reply to DAB

    I kindly don't agree, DAB.

    A device is only safe when safety is part of the design.

     

    Your solution puts the burden on the user.

    A user can be anyone, skilled or not.

    It should be on the hardware+software providers, and on the sellers and designers.

    Security can't be off-loaded in my (very not humble) opinion....

  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    True, but I am lazy and it has worked for about 40 years of computer use.

     

    If you want true computer security, then it needs to be automatic and transparent to the user.

     

    The biggest weakness in the ENIGMA machine in WWII was operators not following procedures.

     

    To quote Henry Ford "It is impossible to make anything idiot proof, because idiots are too ingenious!"

     

    That sentiment holds true for security.  Only the people responsible can keep a secret.  Controlling access is the only way to limit unwanted disclosure.

     

    Most security breaks have always been inside jobs.

     

    DAB

  • in reply to DAB

    Not so true since quite a few are human engineering from the outside. See http://www.paramecium.org/~leendert/publications/nluug1992.pdf

    Clem

  • in reply to clem57

    No one is innocent (my punk history may shine trough in this reply image ) in this area, Clem.

    I like to put the burden on anyone who supplies, more than on the consumers.

     

    <soapbox>

    Suppliers Have To Know.

    </soapbox>

  • in reply to DAB

    ... and I accept that, DAB.

     

    In the world of IoT, a big (I don't want to vote for the biggest) weakness is that the experts give the non-experts unsafe examples to start with - as if that's the normal way of working.

    They assume that those beginners know how to make these things safe. But that's not easy (the vendors happily wave responsibility for that)

     

     

    I'm speaking from my own experience here. I have a natural tendency to search for safe examples, but it's *damn* hard to find them.

    Unsafe examples are plenty  in the suppliers documents though ...

     

     

    You'll learn to make an unsafe internet project in hours..

    Let's try to convert that into making safe projects in hours?