Professor John Walker

There is a shortage of skill in the disciplines of Cybersecurity – but at the same time, such skills are in high demand, driven by the high levels of Cyber-Attacks, Cyber Criminality, and regular breaches and compromises of big name organizations. Thus, companies are seeking out skills from qualified and competent professionals to assist with securing systems, data, and their extended perimeters. However, the requirements for skills does not stop there – and extend out to sub-cyber specializations, such as Digital Forensics, SOC (Secure Operations Centre) Analyst’s, and CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response) specialists to provision support for post attack conditions, and investigations. According…

As an Expert Witness, Digital Forensics First Responder Investigator, and a provider of specialist training in the disciplines of in-depth Cyber Security Management, and Digital Forensics and Investigations, to underpin both operational engagements, and my academic teaching, and training commitments in Dubai for Meirc, I need to selected a trusted tool-sets and utilities to support my various missions – and these I call ‘My Favourite Things’. So, what qualifies entry into my selection criteria of ‘Favourite Things’? Well in no particular order, please see below: They must add value to the activity Stability of the tool is paramount. They must…

Multiples of past and present crime surveys have confirmed the ongoing impact of Cyber Crime against business was, and is high, and were measured to have increased by an average of up to 25% on previous years of reporting, and were seeing financial losses increase by 18%+ and rising. However, these statistics only represent the known knowns of cyber impact, and do not include those unknown unknown factors of the non-report, and non-detected successful cyber incursions. The advent of Malware, and Ransomware variants, and their associated strains of payload have particularly focused attention on the end-game of Project Planned hack-attacks impacting multiples of business, and public authorities. Such as…

The Global Economy is in the grip of a digital fraud epidemic running at a current estimated $400 billion per year, with expectation that it will hit $2 Trillion by the year 1919. To date this has not only impacted unaware end users, but also big name brands such as Talk Talk, Yahoo, Tesco Bank, eBay, Facebook, PayPal and even Government Department’s all falling victim to what is perceived to be a new Landscape of Cyber Threats. However, this driven by corporate failings, and what looks to be a lacklustre approach to delivering a robust cyber security model, organization’s must…

I have been listening to, and reading the debate relating to the safety of children when they are on-line, and the associated privacy/dangers which are ever-present when such young person’s engage with the World Wide Web – and I have become increasingly irritated, and frustrated by the comments made by those who call themselves professionals, or ‘experts’ within the field of Social Media. Add to this pot of my moodiness, the conversation which is taking place about creating/appointing yet another commissioner post at some inflated salary, and I am afraid, my hands were forced toward the keyboard – with the…

The Internet is a wonderful thing, and since its conception it has brought joy to millions of people in the form of extended communication networks, education, on-line shopping, employment and opportunities. Reaching out to far-flung corners of the global community which once would have been neglected by their domicile locality. In fact, one may conclude, it has been the remote locations, hidden deep within the sub continents of our planet which have benefited most from the tentacles of the Internet reaching out to such remote locations. But sadly, these tentacles are also leveraging the opportunity of adversity and dark-trading, seeking…

The interesting thing about Incident Response, and the Discipline of Digital Forensics is the need to attempt to backtrack on 1) How a security breach occurred? 2) What Actors were in play? And 3) Where any vulnerabilities or points of exposure present which supported the breach to play? – or more the point, do they still exist? In the case of the recent Tesco Bank Breach, I am expectant that a Major Incident Review [MIR] was put in full swing post incident to work out just what exposure(s) allowed such an expansive on-mass breach of multiplications of customer accounts, manifesting…

For some time now I [and most Security Professionals] have been very much aware that the State of Cyber Security is parked in a very dangerous layby. With far too regular reports hitting the press of data breaches and successful hacks against both the private and public sectors. These ranging across a set of targets from the Financial Services, to Oil and Gas, Industrials, and Government assets alike – and this is on a global scale generating trillions in illicit revenue, increasing year-on-year! In November 2016 I was very much encouraged to see a refreshing Cyber Security event being hosted…

I must admit to suffering some confusion when it comes to the comments coming out of the top flight security industry providers. With a past statements made by McAfee, firmly confirming that the battle against the cyber criminals was being won by the good guys – but now set that opinion against the backdrop of statements post Black Hat where three CEOs cybersecurity companies that bring in roughly $2 billion a year suggested that “Cybersecurity is a broken industry.” So just who is right? In my opinion, the statement made by McAfee was not only born out of arrogance, but…

In a world of technological dependence, I like most other professionals suffer from increasing degrees of paranoia, and fear that my person, presence, and logical footprint may be subject to some form of compromise, interception, or manipulation from any one of many exposures – a Paranoid State which has driven my acquisition and use of multiples of security defences with which I reduce my surface of attack from State-Sponsored invaders of all colours be they Chinese driven by Titan Rain type events, American under the banner of Prism; or any other manifesting out of the criminal-ventures which could have impact…