CTO Insights: Light Can Keep the Dark at Bay

We are all afraid of the unknown. Why? Because we all want to be in control of our lives: what career path to take, how to deal with our finances, where to go for a vacation. We like certainty. We love to know what’s ahead of us. We are hard wired like this.

As far as technology is concerned, we don’t know what the next innovation would be like—how a product or service would affect our lives and the way we do things. Technology keeps surprising us. Yes, we have an idea of what could be the next trend because it is us consumers who dictate it, but that’s as far as we can go.

Unfortunately, most vendors make their products with security at the bottom of their priority lists. The public is generally kept in the dark as to what goes inside a product. Nobody holds any guarantee. If only everyone would change their mind-sets about security, then there won’t be a constant worry on vulnerabilities and exploits all the time.

We are seeing more and more reports on vulnerability exposures lately. Some aren’t quite comfortable with it. It’s understandable. However, we should see exposing of vulnerabilities as something positive because it is. When vulnerabilities are reported, product or service providers would be able to patch them up and provide solutions at the soonest possible time. Also, security vendors could create rules to block threats that could cause us problems. For businesses, those problems can range from network disruptions to stolen information—information that can ruin your reputation, lose customer trust, or, worse, drive your company out of business.

You might ask, “Won’t bringing vulnerabilities to light also alert cybercriminals? Won’t it be the same as giving them an opportunity to exploit those vulnerabilities?” Yes and no. Yes, because cybercriminals would know about them. No, because they would know about those vulnerabilities through other means, anyway. Cybercriminals are a very creative lot. They are highly resourceful, too. Reporting vulnerabilities is more for public safety than an alert for cybercriminals.

As are most things in life, let’s try to make the best of whatever situation we are in. With the ever-growing technology, cybercrime has become a fact of life. Therefore, we should be vigilant against cyber threats. Let security researchers help you understand the latest threats out there. Let vendors take care of you by keeping their products and services bug-free. Let’s use information as a weapon against those who seek to intrude our privacy and pull down our businesses.

Post from: Trendlabs Security Intelligence Blog – by Trend Micro

CTO Insights: Light Can Keep the Dark at Bay