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

Digital Security

Desperately seeking cybersecurity skills

Desperately seeking cybersecurity skills

Digital Security

Desperately seeking cybersecurity skills

Cybercrime is victimizing US companies and consumers, but a gap in cybersecurity skills presents a problem for the federal government. ESET's Stephen Cobb investigates.

Stephen Cobb26 Jan 20175 min. read


Ransomware

RoT: Ransomware of Things

RoT: Ransomware of Things

Ransomware

RoT: Ransomware of Things

Could the Internet of Things spark the Ransomware of Things? ESET's Stephen Cobb examines how ransomware and jackware are evolving.

Stephen Cobb25 Jan 20176 min. read


Privacy

Amazon Echo and the Alexa dollhouses: Security tips and takeaways

Amazon Echo and the Alexa dollhouses: Security tips and takeaways

Privacy

Amazon Echo and the Alexa dollhouses: Security tips and takeaways

Tips on securing the Alexa service on Amazon Echo devices, notably voice purchasing, a topic brought into focus by the recent "San Diego dollhouse TV story".

Stephen Cobb10 Jan 20178 min. read


Digital Security

FTC IoT privacy and security push points out D-Link router and webcam flaws

FTC IoT privacy and security push points out D-Link router and webcam flaws

Digital Security

FTC IoT privacy and security push points out D-Link router and webcam flaws

The US Federal Trade Commission has again acted on its serious concerns about data privacy and security in the Internet of Things (IoT). This time D-Link webcams and routers are the focus. Stephen Cobb puts this latest FTC move in context.

Stephen Cobb06 Jan 201710 min. read


Cybercrime

Year-end cybercrime update 2016: an avalanche of good news?

Year-end cybercrime update 2016: an avalanche of good news?

Cybercrime

Year-end cybercrime update 2016: an avalanche of good news?

Highlighting 20 success stories in the struggle against cybercrime, from indictments to arrests, extraditions to sentencing. Law enforcement efforts in cyberspace may have borne more fruit in 2016 than in any other year.

Stephen Cobb20 Dec 20165 min. read


Digital Security

Cybersecurity skills gap: It's big and it's bad for security

Cybersecurity skills gap: It's big and it's bad for security

Digital Security

Cybersecurity skills gap: It's big and it's bad for security

The cybersecurity skills gap is a big problem for organizations struggling to protect rapidly expanding systems from a growing range of threats. We look at how big and what to do about it.

Stephen Cobb16 Dec 20166 min. read


Critical Infrastructure

Election hacking FAQ: 2016 US presidential election edition

Election hacking FAQ: 2016 US presidential election edition

Critical Infrastructure

Election hacking FAQ: 2016 US presidential election edition

Stephen Cobb, senior security researcher at ESET answers the 10 most frequently asked questions on election hacking.

Stephen Cobb26 Oct 201615 min. read


Internet of Things

10 things to know about the October 21 IoT DDoS attacks

10 things to know about the October 21 IoT DDoS attacks

Internet of Things

10 things to know about the October 21 IoT DDoS attacks

On Friday October 21st, a series of IoT DDoS attacks caused widespread disruption of legitimate internet activity in the US. Stephen Cobb investigates.

Stephen Cobb24 Oct 20164 min. read


Cybercrime

Cybercrime in Canada: The impact on SMBs

Cybercrime in Canada: The impact on SMBs

Cybercrime

Cybercrime in Canada: The impact on SMBs

A new survey, conducted by Ipsos and sponsored by ESET, finds that one in four Canadian SMBs with yearly revenues of $10 million or more have been hit by a cyberattack.

Stephen Cobb10 Oct 20163 min. read