Author: Maikel Mardjan

Security relies on understanding the present and past vulnerabilities within your hardware and software stack. Responsible software and hardware companies publish detailed information about known vulnerabilities. However, remember that the number of reported vulnerabilities for a product does never ever reflect its quality.

In fact, a lack of openly published vulnerabilities should raise suspicion, as transparency is a hallmark of trustworthy and secure products. The amount of vulnerabilities you can find for a product is not related to the quality. Distrust products that have no open published vulnerabilities.

Security is complicated. This is why open development is a key factor and a precondition for creating secure solutions. Security is getting more important every day. Also due to the development of machine learning applications many data driven solutions are poisoned with privacy related data. Transparency and openness increase security protection levels. A good security product should never ever introduce extra vulnerabilities. However many low quality security products increase your cyber risk profile instead of lowering.

We all deserve protection from abusive data practices like mass surveillance, browser tracking, demographic profiling, and data discrimination. Protecting privacy means preserving your and our digital autonomy, our freedom, and core democratic values. Technology will continue to enrich our lives and enable new possibilities for the future.

There should be no tension between digital innovations and maintaining your digital privacy. Good security is vital for good privacy. Using open, transparent and simple solutions is key to prevent unneeded data collections that impact our privacy and fundamental human rights.

Cyber solutions can be often simpler and far more effective. Most cyber security solutions are not future-proof and not maintainable in the long term. Most cyber security improvements programs end with more paperwork, more new fancy software tools without increased security resilience.

Good cyber security is and will be hard work. Almost every security professional uses the CVE system. But be cautious: The CVE system is broken and the database of existing CVEs is full of questionable content and plenty of downright lies. Cyber solutions can be often simpler and the best solution is rethinking if the solutions you use are really solutions. Frequently, numerous security solutions end up exacerbating security risks rather than mitigating them, sometimes making avoiding the solution altogether a more prudent choice. Why is good cyber security still so hard to accomplish?

Machine Learning (AI) is one of the most powerful technologies of our time. But machine learning is a complex technology that brings a lot of new cyber security and privacy risks. Cyber security is a field where commercial vendors of security solutions proclaim breakthrough innovations every week. But don’t fall for it: there is no magical new tool for old and new threats. Good cyber security is and will be hard work. Now and in times to come.

Reducing cyber security risks is complex. The most simple solutions are the best. Finding simple IT solutions is hard. We need to stop reinventing the wheel. Creating software that meets trivial security and privacy design rules has proven to be very difficult. So improve existing solutions instead of creating new solutions that will fail again. Use of proven open solutions (FOSS). We need to use solutions that are transparent, and we can trust. Cyber security is vital for privacy protection.