The Fool Gets Beaten Even in Internet (Week 10)

 

In this week's blog, I am going to analyze the "Mitnick Formula" and try to objectively evaluate the cyber security level in Azerbaijan.

Kevin David Mitnick:

Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is an American computer security specialist, author, and sentenced hacker. He now owns a cyber security company Mitnick Security LLC, and is now a white hat programmer that gives security training and counseling.

Mitnick Formula:

Mitnick formula describes every system as unsafe to some extent and propose an argument that "It is not about that if a system gets hacked or not, the question is when". He states that security mainly comes from three different aspects:

• Technology: networks, firewalls, antiviruses... 
• Training: awareness of different attacks 
• Policy: set procedures and requirements

Aspect 1 (Technology) : 

The fact that technology that has been unimaginable for even to the industry-leading companies and government organizations a decade ago, is available to even the most simplest, non tech-savvy person nowadays, is fascinating. But as the technology develops further, and becomes more widely available than ever before, the security risks become more and more common and while ordinary people get increasingly susceptible, so do the hackers ,that try to steal/hijack or destroy systems.

Situation in my country, Azerbaijan, is no less different from the majority of the world. The outdated tech used in schools, hospitals, private companies, and other organizations get upgraded to modern, cutting-edge systems that are advanced in not only on hardware side, but also software wise. The old operating systems and antivirus software that are no longer supported and updated is one of the biggest risks that an organization can take if they want to stay safe from intruders lurking online. Thankfully the obsolete tech devices that are a thing of the past are hardly used in any major institutions and organizations in Azerbaijan. The computer networks are equipped with the latest tech, and advanced firewalls are installed in not only key government organizations, but also educational properties ranging from schools to universities and gymnasiums.

Aspect 2 (Training) : 

In my opinion, awareness is the biggest and most compromised security flaw of all time. Even if the systems are secure and protected, they are ruled by human beings after all. And as we all know humans trust too easily and they can be manipulated to do things and can give access to any system that otherwise is really hard to penetrate.

When it comes to the cyber training in my nation, I think that it is the biggest gap in our cyber-security systems to this day. However, the situation is a little bit different than what you may expect. It is not that there are insufficient number of cyber-security specialists, or people that work in departments with technology involved are not educated enough about the threats and countermeasures, it is mainly the general public which are not as tech-savvy and use things as if it was an impenetrable, invincible pieces of  technology. To my mind, even if cyber security professionals and tech enthusiasts receive the best education, if the general 70% of population that are susceptible to cyber crime and scams, you cannot assure a countries security to the highest extent. Apart from teaching the top members of security departments of every company, I think it is more important to educate the general nation about the threats that can be proposed and give trainings about how to be more secure while browsing the web.

Aspect 3 (Policy) : 

Policies and government regulations are really important because it can limit some "simple-minded" peoples' actions on the web.

Coming to internet regulations and measures taken by government in Azerbaijan, there aren't many. Because of morality that regulating peoples' actions can be against freedom, the government itself does not limit any actions on social media or the internet. Although in some work-oriented systems like business computers or servers and networks in educational organizations, the access to certain type of content is limited, we can not say the same about personal devices like smartphones, tablets and computers that people own. Although it may seem rude or limiting in terms of freedom, I think most people should be obliged to follow certain guidelines and restrictions because it can put the whole country's security system at a risk and can propose unwanted harm to network infrastructure even if the educated part of the audience know how to protect themselves.

Conclusion:

Altogether there is no shortcomings in terms of technological advancements in Azerbaijan, but the major problem is a portion of people that do not know how to properly utilize them. Even though cyber-security oriented education is good and the networks are getting more secure each year, I think some limitations are needed for the majority of people to stay safe in the internet era, because it can put not only themselves, but also people who are careful about the steps they take in the WWW. As one saying goes in Azerbaijan "Qurunun oduna yaş da yanar. (A healthy twig will burn from the fire of the dry ones)"