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Cyber secure with Campus Talks

There is more and more traffic on the information superhighway. But cybercriminals are quick to take advantage of this situation in any way they can. These individuals or groups use phishing, spoofing and ransomware to rob us. Campus Talks – the popular online talk show by UT’s very own philosopher of technology, Peter-Paul Verbeek – dedicated the show on Thursday 29 April to cyber crime and cyber security.

The cyber hack on the Hof van Twente municipality is fresh in everyone’s minds. Campus Talks talked with guest and UT Professor and cyber expert Aiko Pras. He is one of the founders of T.U.C.C.R. (Twente University Centre for Cybersecurity Research) This centre attempts to boost the digital security and sovereignty of our society. Pras explained the likelihood that the internet could get shut down and the possible societal impact of this situation.

Big Five

The show’s permanent columnist, Erik Kemp, used his Show me the data! column to illustrate the extent of the influence of the five major tech companies (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple). They control a large share of the internet infrastructure and much of our data. Pras considered what this means for our digital sovereignty.

Internet of Things

UT Professor Mariëlle Stoelinga specialises in risk management for complex high-tech systems. In her contribution she explained what the Hof van Twente municipality could do to improve its security. She also outlined the safety risks that large data centres run. And what about the Internet of Things, in which more and more devices are connected to the internet? Is opening your front door with an app on your phone risky business?

Black hat and white hat hackers

Three UT cyber security students – Diederik Bakker, Olaf Haalstra and Jasper Boot – talked about ‘white hat’ and ‘black hat’ hackers in a report on the topic. The first category is benign and helps businesses and institutions to get their house in order in terms of security. The second category, however, also known as black hackers, do not care about our interests and are purely in it for their own financial gain. Bakker, Haalstra and Boot are the masterminds behind the What the h#ck? podcast.

Campus Talks wrapped up the show with a sensational performance by UT dance group Chassé.

J.C. Vreeman (Jochem)
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