2016, destined to add a splendid page in history of information technology, has already impressed us in the first half. Wearable devices went up to the wrist of every tech fans; a company will feel disgrace for launching a flagship without fingerprint identification; everyone could order everything with a few taps on the screen. This, was inconceivable ever before, even in 2015.
This thesis, which is based on my limited knowledge, is written to share some thoughts about the situation of information security in 2016. I'll introduce you to the anatomy of information security events happened recently from my own perspective. Mistakes are highly possible. Please do not hesitate to inform me of them.
Let's come straight to the point. In a word, 2016, information security is of unprecedented importance, and is in unprecedented threat. Let me remind you of a few things.
The ghost events. Some potential risks lurk in the boom of online meal ordering and delivery service. To allay people's concerns, lots of platforms in this industry paste the licences of meal providers directly on the web page. But do these so-called qualified providers, even exist? With a revelation from CCTV, a significant number of ghost restaurants come to our attention. These restaurants are some ineligible meal providers using fake licences. Thanks to the boom of this industry, platforms are too busy to check the qualifications of each restaurant. As a result, the ghost restaurants are fish escaping from the net. The same phenomenon exists in online car-hailing. Recent cyber exposure shows some screenshots of Uber app, indicating the existance of ghost cars. The drivers of these cars only grab orders without showing up, leaving passengers waiting.
The ghost events typically represent the deceptive and unsafe info on the web, which may put every netizen in jeopardy.
The safety loopholes of wearable devices. Short for Internet Data Corporation, IDC predicts that in 2016, wearable devices shipment will jump to 100 million, up nearly 8 times from a year ago. [1] Some first-class wearable devices such as Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Gear and Fitbit health trackers are well-known. But not everyone can afford the uneconomical prices of these smart gadgets. To meet this piece of blue sea, and with the help of the reducing costs of chips and parts, certain manufacturers launched some both economical and multifunctional wearable devices. But how do they cut down the price? The first sacrifice is the safety. These manufacturers are unwilling to employ qualified security experts to tackle potential threats, thus, personal info might be given away. The NOP survey found that the bluetooth signal emitted by most wearable devices, including Xiaomi, Jawbone and Mio, is easy to hack. [2] Again, our info is at risk.
The crisis of mobile payment. Red-envelope war attracted the attention of every Chinese the year before last, while in 2016, mobile payment reaches an even higher level. eMarketer [3] forecasts 210% growth in the total value of mobile payment transactions this year. Most people steep themselves in the flourish of this industry, completely unaware of the danger. However, the risks of mobile payment are not far to seek. On the one hand, the OSes and apps themselves are not strong enough. Xinhua reported that the full disk encryption of Android 5.0 or later is under terrible threat of malevolent brute force attack. [4] Disappointingly, safty is still a perennial problem of Android. On the other hand, worldwide netizens have not attached deserved importance to their network security consciousness. Crimes concerning mobile payment emerge in endless stream.
Nevertheless, there're someone who spare no effort to surmount the cruelty of information security in 2016.
Apple plays a preeminent role throughout years. The iPhone 5s unveiled in 2013 was the first phone feature the technology of reliable fingerprint identification. Several months ago, Apple introduced the second generation Touch ID, which is even safer and faster. With a built-in hardware chip and mass capital investment, Apple made it the best in this industry, safeguarding huge amount of personal data in 2016. Followed by a dozens of companies like HTC and Samsung, Apple is not alone.
Other measures are taken to ensure the safty of information. Secure phone and trusted OS lead the new trend. We take 360 as an example. 360 launched a brand new smartphone two months ago, claiming that it's capable of multi-defense using a 'bank level' hardware security chip. This piece of chip is running outside the entire Android ecosystem. It encrypts independently, stores your passwords independently and identifies your fingerprints independently. There is no way to root your phone, to erase your info, let alone accessing to info without authority.
So in the second half of 2016, what are the rules of thumb (well, in my opinion) to ensure information security? For the governments, it is unlikely to tackle with all attacks, so education play an essential part in thawing the tense atmosphere, teaching the tech guys being loyal to their country. The enterprises and companies must face the survival of the fittest in natural selection. In other words, technology is the hard truth. For us individuals, good network security consciousness is quite enough. In order to achieve this, we need to pay close attention to the media, and always be acquisitive to information security knowledge.
Generally speaking, the importance of information security reaches the peak in 2016, so does the level of information threat. With the boom of several emerging industries including online meal ordering and online car-hailing, and the fashion of wearable devices and mobile payment, building up the Great Wall for information security seems arduous. Yet in 2016, we also witnessed the efforts of several companies, fighting to defend our privacy.
References:
- Data from the official website of IDC: link.
- Information from the non-profit organisation Open Effect: link.
- eMarketer is a reliable and professional provider of data and research on digital.
- The link for the news is following: link.
在我博客上面的链接：传送门
