blog of the week: security watch
my blog of the week from last friday's irish times:
The minds of Irish internet users have been firmly focused on the issue of security this week with the revelation that 250,000 Eircom broadband routers have a major security flaw. What better time then to look at a local blog devoted to all things security related.
Security Watch is brought to you by BH Consulting, a Dublin-based IT consulting firm that is heavily focused on the security space.
Although officially the company blog for BH Consulting, in reality the blog is almost entirely the work of its director, Brian Honan. He's highly regarded at home and abroad as an expert in all things security-related. In addition to his day job, he is European editor for The Sans Institute's NewsBites newsletter, contributes to a range of journals including Infosecurity Today, organised the Irish leg of the recent global security week and is in the process of establishing a computer emergency response team (Cert) for Ireland which will warn internet users about emerging security threats.
This week Honan gave his take on the Eircom controversy. While accepting that Eircom acted with good intentions, he believes the key to this and other wi-fi security problems is education of the end user.
He suggests it should be made clear to consumers that security issues can impact their wallet and suggests wireless routers come with a "wealth" warning: "Improper use of this router may seriously damage your wealth!!"
He also links to a previous post where he rounded up links that provide practical advice on securing wireless hotspots.
Although Honan can sometimes veer into the kind of topics that could only really appeal to the hardened security professional (who, as an aside, are often reformed hackers), the average computer user should also find plenty of food for thought here.
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