Academic Marginalia

I was recently invited by Heimdal Security to take part in an expert roundup, with the theme of "Is Internet Security a Losing Battle?".   The main thrust of my answer was to question our use of analogies of conflict in the context of Internet Security or cyber security.  As I said in my response: "... in this context the metaphors of conflict, such as ‘war’ and ‘battle’ are unhelpful because they suggest that internet security is the responsibility of the technologists who act our defensive force against attackers.   Instead, as has been argued by technology activists like Cory Doctorow  and others we might have more success by thinking of cyber security using the analogy of public health and communicable diseases.   By using this analogy, we make cyber security issues more relevant to people and spur them to gain a better understanding that, like diseases, any of us can be afflicted by a cyber security attack.  We can also adopt an analogous ap...

Over the past year, I have been working the colleagues at Qatar University's KINDI Centre for Computing Research to adapt the Introduction to Cyber Security course for the Arabic-speaking world. After an initial workshop with a variety of stakeholders across the region, we designed two versions of the course - one aimed at improving workplace cyber security awareness and the other provides a broader overview that aims to help raise awareness among the general public.  Both courses will be made available in Arabic and English, the latter in recognition of the fact that there is a large cadre of expatriates in the Gulf region. The courses are already open for registration, hosted on the Canvas platform, but will be formally launched at Qatar University today.  The video above is one of the publicity trailers produced to promote this project.  For more information, see the KINDI Centre for Computing Research website .

Introduction to Cyber Security MOOC A few years ago, the US Department for Homeland Security started an initiative to raise awareness of cyber security issues by promoting  October as "National Cyber Security Awareness Month".  Therefore, it is appropriate that the latest presentation of the Open University's MOOC " Introduction to Cyber Security " is due to start next week.  Since we launched the course in October 2014, we've had over 50,000 learners participate and almost 11,000 fully engage with the content. By giving people the basic knowledge and skills to better protect their computer systems, both at home and work, we hope to have made a useful contribution to raising cyber security awareness across the globe.  Of course, there is still a long way to go, as highlighted by Kevin Beaver in a recent blog post on IBM's Security Intelligence site.  Weak passwords, unpatched systems, and improper malware protection are all examples of common sec...

Ready to start my first Twitter discussion for #FutureLearnAsks As we kick off the next presentation of the Introduction to Cyber Security MOOC , I took part in an online discussion on the topic with Cory Doctorow and Andrew Smith on Twitter.  This was my first time leading one of these "Ask Me Anything" sessions, which was hosted by FutureLearn as part of a new initiative called #FutureLearnAsks.  Although at times I struggled to keep up with the speed of the conversation, it was a lot of fun to engage with a diverse group of people to talk about this important topic. The discussion was seeded by a number of questions, ranging from "Is the state justified to monitor personal digital and telecommunications in the name of security?" to "What one tip would you give to people to better protect their cyber security?"  One key lesson learned about asking open ended questions like this was that if the answer is always going to start with "It depends ...

I am working on wrapping up the first presentation of Introduction to Cyber Security and preparing for the next presentation, which is now open for registration and will start on 26 January 2015 .   The popularity of the first presentation demonstrates a recognition of the importance of cyber security.  Hopefully some of the 15,000+ learners who engaged with the course will be inspired to study further and perhaps even pursue a career in the field.  This is an important and exciting discipline to work in, with a variety of career paths depending on people's interests and aptitude. The Open University provides a range of modules and qualifications that can support this journey, and I recently wrote a short article about some of the career options in cyber security which has now been published on OpenLearn.