Hackers’ opinions toward cyber security issue

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The 5th China Internet Security Conference (ISC) concluded in Beijing on Wednesday. The two-day event was a major event for people who are interested in cyber security, and also a leading platform for experts to share industry insights and technologies.

Two famous white-hat hackers attended the conference to give people a sense of cyber security from their perspectives.

The 2017 China Internet Security Conference /CGTN Photo

Technology is developing rapidly nowadays. People have smart phones, smart cars, and even a smart home. However, all of these are objects, behind which is a system run by software, and no system is safe, said Benjamin Kunz Mejri, an IT security specialist and penetration tester.

Many people haven’t realized the importance of cyber or information security, said Mejri. That’s why he has been working for years on teaching people what security problems can occur and how to solve them.

Benjamin Kunz Mejri, an IT security specialist and penetration tester, giving a speech at the ISC /CGTN Photo

Security is not just an important issue in currently, but will inevitably be a main topic in the future.

Patrick Paumen is a biological hacker. He never carries keys – he can simply wave his hands or arms to unlock his car, front door, computer and even share his personal information to people’s phone. It sounds like something that only exists in sci-fi movies but the secret is to implant a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag under his skin.

So how does RFID work?

His RFID tag can be activated and scanned by readers fitted with RFID. Those include ordinary smartphones and readers installed in buildings that allow entrance to anyone with a common ID card.

Patrick Paumen, a biological hacker, shows how to unlock the car with his RFID tag. /CGTN Photo

It’s getting popular for people in Europe to get a RFID implant, which makes their lives much easier, said Paumen.

Paumen shows a possibility of what people’s lifestyle will be like in the future. However, this also indicates the possibility for criminals to read and copy personally-linked information from RFID cards or keyfobs secretly.

The serious privacy concerns are what worry Paumen too, so he got a new VivoKey implanted, which allows him to run security software and perform cryptographic tasks. But how to futureproof information safety is still a problem that bio-hackers like Paumen have to deal with.

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