With an influx of security bulletins for Android-based devices, I decided to install antivirus software on my Android phone as a precautionary measure.  However, the experience was anything but ideal — poor performance and high battery consumption. While security has a price on any platform, battery powered devices suffer far more because they can only store […]

Despite billions being spent on security, many organizations continue to fail miserably in preventing information leakage through their corporate proxy servers and web gateways.  In most cases, the reason is that people are unaware of how the underlying technology and protocols operate nor which features should be enabled or disabled. Below you will find guidance on […]

It’s not every day that you get to play the role of the chief information officer (CIO) of a Fortune 100 company.  However, in light of recent high-profile cybersecurity breaches, let’s imagine for a moment that you are a CIO who is busy preparing to deliver a rather sobering cybersecurity briefing. This is the first of […]

So which is it: Cyber Security, Cyber-Security or Cybersecurity? Is this the next reincarnation of datacentre vs. data center or ciphertext vs. cipher text? The security industry still hasn’t made any concerted effort to close on the cyber?security anomaly.  And with about 15 million search results each, not even Google is able to raise a leg […]

For many people within the corporate security community, Google’s January 2010 disclosure that it had been targeted by a sophisticated attack, marked the beginning of the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) era.  Although Google’s disclosure put APT into the spotlight, law enforcement, intelligence and counterintelligence communities had already been using the term for a number of years. […]

Another year, another country — Ireland this time.  Don’t panic, I’m still freelancing with Huawei’s European Research Center, but I’ve decided to take on a new project straddling Cyber Security projects in Dublin and Shenzhen.  To be sure, landing in a place without any prior exposure brought with it a flood of new experiences and excitement.  And unlike in […]

Last year I updated my PGP public encryption key to 4096 bits since it now looks as though it may be possible to crack a 1024 bit key within my lifetime.  Not that I have many secretes, but those that I do, I intend to keep out of prying eyes.  And unless quantum computers start to enter […]

Modern organizations have tried to increase the collaborative effort by creating centers of expertise, regional hubs and invested heavily in collaborative technologies. However, despite all the investment, invariably they fall short of the mark because open-plan office design has shown that it is negatively related to workers’ satisfaction with their physical environment and perceived productivity […]

After many years of work with clients across Africa and the Middle East I decided to join a large research organization, more specifically, Huawei’s European Research Center (ERC) headquartered in Munich. I figured that researching security and digging deeper into the cloud would not only give me a chance to put my field experience to […]

This is a collection of the lessons I’ve learnt as a result of being in various relationships throughout my life. The original list was released as a daily installment on social media some time back, but I’ve decided to include them here in bulk for general consumption. I’ve learnt I’m patient beyond what I previously […]