Stephen Cobb

Stephen Cobb

Senior Security Researcher


Education: Master of Science in Security and Risk Management, University of Leicester, UK

Highlights of your career? The Stephen Cobb Guide to PC and LAN Security (1992); The first anti-spam router (2001); Privacy for Business (2002); TEDx talk (2015)

Position and history at ESET? Joined ESET: 2011. Current title: Senior Security Researcher

What malware do you hate the most? State sponsored.

Favorite activities? Reading and writing, and some arithmetic.

What is your golden rule for cyberspace? Don’t put anything on the internet you wouldn’t want your mother to see.

When did you get your first computer and what kind was it? 1982 KayPro II portable computer with dual floppy drives, weighing 26 lbs or 12 Kg.

Favorite computer game/activity? Reading Wikipedia.


224 articles by Stephen Cobb

Less Technical

Business continuity management: key to securing your digital future

Business continuity management: key to securing your digital future

Less Technical

Business continuity management: key to securing your digital future

Business continuity management is the key to securing your company's digital future despite disruptive incidents, from power outages and IT errors to fires, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Stephen Cobb01 May 20147 min. read


Less Technical

Taxing Times: Dealing with tax identity fraud in America

Taxing Times: Dealing with tax identity fraud in America

Less Technical

Taxing Times: Dealing with tax identity fraud in America

Filing your taxes on April 15? What if someone has already filed “your” income tax return? Sadly, this can happen, and it does happen, all too often. Here's why, and what you can do about it.

Stephen Cobb14 Apr 20149 min. read


Less Technical

NSA revelations shake faith in U.S. tech firms as Harris poll shows public conflicted

NSA revelations shake faith in U.S. tech firms as Harris poll shows public conflicted

Less Technical

NSA revelations shake faith in U.S. tech firms as Harris poll shows public conflicted

Stephen Cobb09 Apr 20146 min. read


Less Technical

New Harris poll shows NSA revelations impact online shopping, banking, and more

New Harris poll shows NSA revelations impact online shopping, banking, and more

Less Technical

New Harris poll shows NSA revelations impact online shopping, banking, and more

A new Harris poll shows that revelations about the National Security Agency’s digital surveillance activities are changing online behavior for many Americans and some say they are doing less online banking and less online shopping because of what they have learned about the NSA.

Stephen Cobb02 Apr 20144 min. read


Welcome to We Live Security!

Welcome to We Live Security!

Welcome to We Live Security!

Stephen Cobb10 Mar 20142 min. read


STEM education, the Target data breach, and the Apple SSL vulnerability

STEM education, the Target data breach, and the Apple SSL vulnerability

STEM education, the Target data breach, and the Apple SSL vulnerability

Could holes in security code and major information systems in America be due, at least in part, to the dire state of education in subjects like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)?

Stephen Cobb03 Mar 20147 min. read


Less Technical

Urgent iPhone and iPad security update, Mac OS X as well

Urgent iPhone and iPad security update, Mac OS X as well

Less Technical

Urgent iPhone and iPad security update, Mac OS X as well

Users of Apple iPhone and/or iPad need to install iOS 7.0.6 right away to patch a vulnerability in the SSL code that protects connections with websites and other computers. Users of Mac OS X should be on alert for a similar fix, due shortly.

Stephen Cobb22 Feb 20143 min. read


Less Technical

Hacktivists try tampering with facebook.com domain

Hacktivists try tampering with facebook.com domain

Less Technical

Hacktivists try tampering with facebook.com domain

The group of hackers that calls itself the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) briefly claimed control of the facebook.com domain via an attack on MarkMonitor. It appears normal Facebook service has been resumed, but here's what you need to know.

Stephen Cobb06 Feb 20142 min. read


Less Technical

January 28 is Data Privacy Day 2014

January 28 is Data Privacy Day 2014

Less Technical

January 28 is Data Privacy Day 2014

We want to make sure everyone takes note of Data Privacy Day 2014 (Twitter hashtag #DPD14). It is the perfect time to take a moment to consider the challenges and rewards of data privacy.

Stephen Cobb28 Jan 20143 min. read