Why Regulation Cannot Prevent CyberCrime (TransactionWorld) February 6, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in InfoSec & Privacy, Laws and Leglslation, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, cybercrime, cybersecurity, InfoSec, Maritime Security, risk management, security, transaction world
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As the maritime industry is increasingly focused on protection of data assets, I thought it would be beneficial to include an article on the topic. This article is one I wrote for TransactionWorld in July, 2011. It is titled: “Why Regulation Cannot Prevent CyberCrime” and is a continuation on the discussion of the impact of deterrence on behavior.
“Data security and privacy regulation have increased significantly over the past 10 years. The U.S. now has 46 state breach notification laws and there have been numerous bills introduced in Congress that propose to regulate personally identifiable information and to dictate security of such data. In spite of this increasing regulation, data breaches continue to plague the industry. Some have proposed that more regulation is the answer. Unfortunately, regulation alone is inadequate to prevent data theft and protect data.
At its core, data theft and network intrusions are crimes. At the risk of oversimplifying the work of criminologists, crime prevention can be summarized as using deterrents to affect protection of assets and prevention of theft. Protection applies to the ‘hardening’ of targets by implementing controls that increase the level of difficulty of perpetrating a crime. A vault is a good example of a protective measure. While no vault is completely impenetrable, vaults do provide significant protective value. Data security controls are protective measures. They are designed solely to limit attempts to obtain the target of value. Without a deterrence effect, criminals are free to attack companies at will without fear of retribution. This article will explore the value of deterrence in the prevention of crime.” (read full article here)
Foriegn Security Team to Face Trial in Somalia February 6, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, Piracy & Maritime Security, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, Ransom, security
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SomaliaReport published a story today which said that six men arrested in May, 2010 for bringing $3.6 Million into Somalia as a ransom payment for a hijacked vessel will be in Banadir Court on Thursday to face charges. The six, one American, three Britons, and two Kenyans have been held at the airport since their arrest 9 months ago. According to the story, the money was to be used for the release of two vessels, the MV Suez and MV Yuan Xiang.
Randy Abbott’s Apology & Paralysis February 3, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: 1st Recon, Apology, disability, Fake, Paralyzed, randy abbott, Recon, sniper, Stolen Valor, Surfer
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On August 23, 2014 this blog received comment on the post titled “Randy Abbott – Paralyzed Surfer who was robbed..” from Mr. Randy Abbott. In the apology he says simply:
“Mr. Mark, I personally want to apologize to you for being dishonest and lying about what I did in the military. I apologize for dishonoring you and all other Recon Scout/Snipers with my actions and dishonesty. I do not know how to reach out to all of them, I’m asking if you could please pass on my message of apology for my dishonesty and lying.”
This apology is consistent with other apologies Mr. Abbot has provided to ThisAintHell and the WoundedTimes Blog. After Mr. Abbott’s exposure, numerous people contacted me, and others, with stories related to his “charity” The View from 42 and other items. Investigation into the View from 42 shows demonstrated that it was not an existing not-for profit charity.
While Mr. Abbott has acknowledged he lied about his military service and while it has been discovered that The View from 42 is not a recognized (by either the IRS or state of California) Non Profit charity, I do not dispute that Mr. Abbott is disabled. I have received numerous communications from people very close to Mr. Abbott questioning his disability that have remained unpublished. The reasons are simple. 1) I am not a doctor and cannot speak to any form of paralysis, and 2) as the father of a special needs child, I would not propose to question someone else’ disability.
My objective with the post was simply to question Mr. Abbott’s claims of being a Marine Corps Scout/Sniper, Reconnaissance Marine and Combat Veteran. This, I felt, was a matter of public interest as Mr. Abbott had made statements and allowed numerous articles, news reports and other media to make claims of being a Scout/Sniper as well as other things. As can be seen from the post on ThisAintHell where he was exposed for lying about his service, the statement above, as well as his apology posted here, and here, Mr. Abbott admitted he lied. Given Mr. Abbott’s admitted lies about his military service it is certainly seems understandable to me if people were to question any other claim made by Mr. Abbott.
Chris Mark Speaking at Combating Piracy Week in Hamburg February 2, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, InfoSec & Privacy, Piracy & Maritime Security, Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, combating piracy week, cyberpiracy, hanson wade, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, security
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I will be speaking at the Combating Piracy Week in Hamburg, Germany on the topic of CyberSecurity & CyberEspionage The topic will discuss the topics with a focus on who is trying to steal your data and why. It will also cover the technologies and tactics of how they can steal your corporate data and what the uses of such data. You can get a preview of the topic by reading the Maritime Executive article in which I was interviewed.
If you have not attended one of the Hanson Wade Piracy events, it is worth attending. Hanson Wade’ personnel do a great job of coordinating networking and the speakers are all very professional and very adept. I have had opportunity to speak at nearly 100 events in the past 12 years or so and I would put the Hanson Wade events in the top 5 in terms of value for the money. I highly recommend this event for security companies that want to meet decision makers and speak with the people who influence the industry from a security perspective.
A Rant about Risk- Rock Climbing with a 2 year old January 31, 2012
Posted by Chris Mark in Risk & Risk Management.Tags: Chris Mark, InfoSec, mark consulting group, Piracy & Maritime Security, privacy, risk management
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Today on NBC Sports there was an article about woman rock climbing with her 2 year old strapped to her back. The toddler is not wearing a helmet. When asked she explained: “I can appreciate if you didn’t realize how safe the environment I was in, it could be worrying, but I was top-roping which means if you fall you don’t fall any further than where you came off.” She further opined: “It is the safest form of climbing you can do…Health and safety legislation and the sue and blame culture mean so many people are nervous, so afraid of getting into trouble, and taking small risks. Life is all about risks, whether that’s something as simple as getting in your car every day or climbing up a rock face.” This reminded me of a debate I had several years ago.
I was talking with a company about protecting personally identifiable information (PII) as required by law. The company’s response was: “It is too expensive to comply. I will take the risk.” The problem lies in that the data that they are required to protect is not their information. While the data itself (bits and bytes) may belong to the company the information represented by the bits and bytes is the property of the person to which it refers. In short, it is not the company’s risk to assume as it is not their property. If I want to publish my own personal data on the Internet, I can do so and assume the risk…it is my data. A third party cannot assume risk for me…without my permission. This is why companies are required to protect PII, NPI, PHI, and other forms of personal data.
In much the same way this woman can free climb naked (alone) if she chooses. It is her risk to assume. Whether her style of climbing is the safest does not mean it is without risk. It is a less risky than free climbing but any form of rock climbing is an inherently risky activity. The 2 year old does not have the ability to state whether she wanted to climb or not. Where I have issue with the woman is her attitude of: “life is all about risks…” Granted but some peoples’ lives are about taking more risks than others. As adults we can make the decision to base jump, free climb, skydive, or race motorcycles. When we include others in our risky behavior without their consent, it becomes problematic.
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