Cyber security? There’s more at risk than you might think

Think of cyber attacks and the chances are computer hacking will be the first, and possibly only, example which springs to mind.

However, according to a new book from a security expert from the University of Northampton, cyber security issues are much broader than the media, technologists, cyber security professionals and corporations might believe.

Dr Mils Hills is keen to raise awareness of the different forms cyber attacks can take, in the hope organisations stand a better chance of repelling attempted breaches of security.

“The board member of a corporation or a politician who is compromised by a rival company or state via social media, or perhaps instant messaging, is the victim of a cyber attack,” said Dr Hills.

“Equally, a company might spend an awful amount of money on having the newest security measures on its IT systems – yet this can be rendered irrelevant if the attacker targets human behaviour. For example, they could seed a company car park with USB drives which are infected with malware, knowing it is extremely likely someone will eventually insert one into a terminal that they should not. This is also a cyber-security challenge.”

Why Cyber Security is a Socio-Technical Challenge: New Concepts and Practical Measures to Enhance Detection, draws upon the experience of a wide range of individuals involved in cyber risk and wider security practice.

Dr Hills added: “It’s a book by, and for, practitioners who are united by the realisation, bitterly gained, that cyber security is inevitably a social-technical problem. Industry giants – such as Graham Palmer of Oracle, writing from a deeply technical background and reflecting on a long career in the industry – provide the ultimate proof that this is true.”

Dr Hills is Associate Professor of Risk, Resilience and Corporate Security and Programme Leader for the MBA, at the University. He has previously worked for the Ministry of Defence and advised the Cabinet Office on strategic resilience.