Everything must be done in moderation including the use of social media.
Ivo De Carvalho Peixinho, head of Cybercrime Intelligence Unit, International Police (INTERPOL), in a panel discussion at the recently held DECODE cybersecurity forum in Mandaluyong City, urged the public “not to get hooked on social media because it might bring adverse effects on privacy and security.”
“So this is a very difficult thing. But I think the rule now is don’t try not to expose your life too much. For example, if you have kids, don’t take pictures of the school. Don’t take pictures of the front of your house,” Peixinho said.
“For example, even social media, like running, applications like Strava, you will usually run in the same places. So over time, people can see where you live. If you don’t get into your car to go run from your house. So if you have enough data, it will be virtually impossible to hide yourself.”
The power of social media
Although social media is arguably one of the most powerful things that humans have ever invented in terms of bringing communities across the world together, Peixinho pointed out it is also one of the most dangerous things we’ve ever invented.
He said it’s absolutely perfect as a tool for things like disinformation, misinformation, putting people in pockets of what they believe, and so on.
But in terms of lawsuit, actually, “it’s something we rely on quite quickly.”
“So some of the criminals we’ve been able to attribute in a lot of cases was open source intelligence we used right they would find something earlier in their career where they made a mistake, and social media profile somewhere that tipped us off, or quite often, they might have a very strong kind of operational security, as we would call it, but their partner doesn’t, or their kids don’t, or somebody else doesn’t, and that lets you attract who these individuals are. So it’s just a fact of modern life that so much of our data personas are available half on the internet and half the real world,” the INTERPOL official said.
Private sector’s role
Robert McArdle, director of Forward-Looking Threat Research, Trend Micro, said that the private sector plays a key role in the fight against cybercriminals. He said a private organization such as Trend Micro can collabiorate with law enforcement organizations to just basically catch the wider net in terms of potentially catching bad guys and beating them at their own game. More importantly, McArdle pointed out that private entities have limitations because they cannot perform law enforcement functions. Nevertheless, he said private companies such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook can help the law enforcement by providing the data regarding certain individuals or profiles that are doing reviews right or posting material or using a platform for scans and other related matters.
As far as security companies like Trend Micro are concerned, he said they can provide law enforcement agencies with data that is beyond the coverage of the government as usually it is hampered by a dearth of equipment resources and skilled manpower.
Although the Philippine police might not have data outside their turf, Trend Micro can provide that perspective, and that squared partnership between law enforcement and private companies can be very, very difficult, according to McArdle.
DECODE 2024
Local IT and cybersecurity professionals came together for a full day of networking, talks, panel discussions, and hands-on activities that highlighted how fusing technologies will aid in pushing forward toward a more resilient and secure future.
“We are beyond grateful for all the support DECODE has received throughout the years. From 500 attendees when we first launched in 2017 to over a thousand this year, we are confident in the future of cybersecurity in the Philippines and will continue to support local professionals in their cybersecurity journeys,” shared Alma Saturnino-Alvarez, Trend Micro’s Director for Threat Research and founder of DECODE.
With 24 track sessions covering topics ranging from AI-assisted cybercrime to automotive security, DECODE 2024 focused on the intersection between various technologies—most notably artificial intelligence, in strengthening one’s security against all kinds of threat actors.
Flores wrapped up the event with the message, “AI can accelerate all kinds of things, but learning, understanding, and being creative are the things that differentiate you from AI,” He then implored attendees to take all that they learned throughout the day and use it to “help improve the systems of their respective companies and build things that are secure, ethical, and for the common good.”
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