Strava Global Heatmap is only one example – No wonder what’s coming next

Image credit: pixabay.com

Recently Strava [A social network of athletes, a fitness app] released their long awaited Global Heat Map showing the activities of their fitness app users.  The map consisted cycling activity, runs, water and winter activities being carried out across the globe by the users.  One can find any place and the related activities on the map https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#13.00/-98.61707/29.39043/hot/ride.  If we really see the utility of a fitness app, we can safely say that such apps are not required for tracking and maintaining our fitness activities.  I am not using any fitness app yet, however, the information about this global heat map from Strava did drew my attention towards a big question about data security of the users and the economy as a whole.  In future if other fitness apps come up with such heat maps or live GPS tracking, it will be of a great concern for every individual and not only for defense.  This map could be exploited by bad guys in every possible way and so one of the important steps that US Defense Secretary took was to review the fitness app use policies following the news this weekend that an app used by troops revealed sensitive military information, [https://www.c4isrnet.com/intel-geoint/2018/01/28/how-a-popular-running-app-could-jeopardize-military-secrets/].  Go to the links given here for the detail information.  They are worth visiting.

If you are using Strava or any other fitness app on your smart phone or smart watch, consider the above information and decide whether to continue to use it or not.  Remember, the data disclosed by those apps publicly is merely a fraction of the entire data set that they have about you.  You don’t know how your data is being used.  Your sensitive data is your responsibility, only yours.

Thoughts on the above post are welcomed.

Thanks

Love

Gargi

 

3 Important points worth considering for cyber security

Hey guys,

I was reading a blog on cyber security where I saw the 3 important considerations worth taking note of, for protecting our PCs from cyber threats.  Prevention is always better than cure.   I agree to what the author has mentioned here.  Check out the three rules that the author has emphasized here, they are really important.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/05/krebss-3-basic-rules-for-online-safety/

Thanks

Love

Gargi

Protect your browsing with WOT

When you search for any information by putting your search query into the search engine, you get hundreds of results strings that include trusted as well as untrusted sites. Now, how do you know if any website showed in the search result comes from a trusted source. If you are familiar with the website then you would know that its genuine and reliable, however, what if the website is unknown. If you have a specific application installed on your PC to check the website’s reliability, then you might have the answer to my question. Mostly, people do not go for any such solution and keep browsing in an unsafe environment. It is vital to know which websites are genuine and comes from trusted sources because the security of your data should be the number one priority for you and your information assets at anytime.

I have been using a security application named ‘WOT’ https://www.mywot.com/en/download for protecting my web surfing and accessing websites for past more than 6 months and I would say it is amazing. I am really happy with the way it works and I am more confident now in clicking the search result links. I would like to clarify here that I am not endorsing this app but truly desire to share something that would help you protect your web browsing and make your online search experience more enjoyable.

‘WOT’ is an abbreviation for ‘Web of Trust’. WOT shows website reputation icons next to links in most search engines, social media, and many popular websites. These reputation icons appear besides each of the links in the search result in different colors based on the four kind of ratings. Green color for Safe, Yellow color for Suspicious, Red for Unsafe and White for not rated websites. These ratings are arrived at based on user ratings. It is based on crowdsourcing approach that collects ratings and reviews from a global communiy of millions of users who rate and comment on websites based on their personal experiences, as mentioned in app introduction. This application supports 4 kind of browsers; Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari. I am using it on Mozilla Firefox.

Download this application on your PC for your browser https://www.mywot.com/en/download. Once installed you will see reputation icons besides websites in the search results. Also, you will see the same color icon on the top right corner in your tool bar in your browser window. As a wise person, I know you will click only on safe links indicated by green icon once you install this app. If you click on the icon, you will see the ratings and reviews about that website for your information. This app is also available for Android phones.

If you desire safe browsing, do look into using this application. If you know any other good app for this purpose, do share here in the comment box below.

Have a happy & safe surfing.

Love
Gargi. 

Cyber Security – Breaking Bio-metrics

When there are rules, there are rule breakers.  This is the fact in today’s world and will always remain no matter what the area of life.  No one like rules however rules are important and required to some extent to create a healthy and disciplined atmosphere.  Same applies to cyber security.  In order to prevent our crucial data, we are working in and out to find new ways to come up with products and services that would ensure mitigation of cyber risks to some extent.  ‘Bio-metrics’ is one of the solutions that is used in today’s world for identity authentication.

Since, the innovation is done by humans for protecting the data from other humans, these humans with malicious intent also works in and out to break those prevention techniques and are successful in most of the instances.  However, bio-metrics are one of the strong authentication techniques and cannot be under estimated.  Many international banks are now using advanced bio-metric systems for user authentications.  However, there are many ways to break into those systems and get unauthorized access though with negligible chances of success as confirmed by the service providers.

The video below will show you how these strong authentication systems are tested for its accuracy in preventing an unauthorized access to the user accounts and also the word of caution that a user of IOT must take into account when using the devices.  This is a very informative video.  Do watch till the end and share your views on this topic.  I would be glad to hear from you.

PS:  Every user of the device must be vigilant while buying, using and selling the devices.

 

Thanks

Love

Gargi

The Leading cause of Cyber Attacks in a Business

As a cyber security professional and as a responsible person for my data and the organization’s information systems, I have always felt that though there are millions of expert IT Engineers in the field, the data breaches and other cyber crimes are on the rise.  And the leading cause for this increase in cyber crime is not the lack of talented and qualified cyber security professionals but the lack of awareness or I can clearly say negligence on the part of the users of the devices or the owner of the personal information.  Yes! You are right, I am talking about a layman who uses the electronic devices and offers his or her personal details like bank account numbers, passwords, etc. on the web while making online transactions.  People are not serious enough to consider even basic prevention steps when dealing with confidential information.

Sharing of passwords, using personal pen drives at work, downloading games or unreliable software, clicking on the pop up advertisements without confirming if they are from a trusted website, clicking on phishing links in emails, etc. are some of the negligent actions that a user indulges in when dealing with crucial information.  The hackers always look for such actions that help them to succeed in their malicious intents.  Even if an organization has all the security measures in place and all the required IDS and IPS, the data would be at risk if the human elements involved are not vigilant about their actions when dealing with information system.  This applies to every single person on this earth.  Every layman needs to have basic knowledge about cyber security and must be vigilant when dealing with the information systems.

Recently I came across a video on YouTube when I was looking for some good cyber security related information.  This video showed how the human element is responsible for data breaches because of their lack of awareness and sometimes negligent behavior.

Watch this video and see how our behavior can affect our information system causing loss to the economy.  This is a dramatized video and really helpful to understand the scenario leading to most of the data breaches now a days.  I am sure, this video will help you to gain more understanding on the basic security measures and more vigil behavior when dealing with the information systems.

 

Thanks

Love

Gargi