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| Image from bol.com |
Fatbikes.
Even the word gives me the creeps. I'll stay away from the broad discussion
about this young phenomenon on the road (see here
why this is a problem in the Netherlands). But I do want to talk about
something that I see associated with riding one of these things: braking à la
Fred Flintstone.
You
know how Fred slows down his car, don’t you. Literally by digging his heels in.
And lately I see more and more young fatbikers trying to stop their two-wheeler
just like Fred by putting both feet on the ground. Often they swing back and
forth dangerously. Eventually they come to a stop just in time.
Is
there anyone in the audience who has experience riding one of these things? Are
the brakes really so bad that you have to do like Fred to stop in time? Or are
we talking about tuned-up models, where the brakes, which barely meet the
regulations, fall short as soon as the bike goes faster than intended and
allowed?
Something
else now; you'll soon understand why I'm bringing this up. Earlier this week I
was passing through Gouda by train. At the station my eye was caught by the
open-air bike parking place. On either side of the place – which is only two
bike lengths plus an aisle wide – there were security cameras set up about
every ten meters (roughly 30 ft). I didn't count them, but there were an absurd
number of them. You'd almost think the cameras were myopic.
Here
are two examples of security measures that are taken in situations where the
actual measures – brakes and locks – have proven insufficient in practice. We
also have measures like these in information security. Usually, this involves
technology that does not fully deliver what you hope for. For example, a virus
scanner that still lets that very latest virus through, or that mail scanner
that does not recognize a particular phishing mail. In these situations, the
problem becomes an end user thing.
And
that is why we need your commitment, dear reader. You are the brake shoe that
can intervene at the last moment, when all else has failed. You are our last
line of defense. And that is exactly why I put so much energy into keeping your
knowledge of my field up to date. You don’t have to know all the ins and outs,
but you do need to know the things that can be – literally – of vital
importance to the organization, such as recognizing phishing email.
I
know, it can be difficult. I can't ask more of you than alertness. Help us to
bring our fatbike to a stop in time.
There
will be no Security (b)log for the next two weeks.
And in the big bad world…
- Not
all awareness campaigns are equally effective.
[DUTCH]
- Now your Android phone will also reboot if you don't touch it for three days.
- Ahold Delhaize suffered a major data leak last year due to a cyber attack.
- Google blocked over five billion ads last year, many of which were AI-generated.
- The end of CVEs was near.
- a facial scan will determine if you are old enough for Discord.
- the Dutch police did a bad redacting job for fourteen years. [DUTCH]
- It is better not to download cracked computer programs.
- the CISO Mindmap 2025 has been published.
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