Computer Security in 2016: Where are we and what to expect

<!--HTML--><p style="text-align:justify;"> Attacks against computer systems, belonging both to individuals and organisations, are an everyday reality. How many times have we heard about supposedly well protected companies and online services at the mercy of cyber criminals, or governments accusing other nation states of cyber espionage. Only the most serious breaches and biggest data leaks continue to make the headlines. But really, how secure is our data, computers and networks? What is happening behind the scenes? Is it actually possible to avoid the vulnerabilities, or detect the resulting exploits? <p style="text-align:justify;"> This talk will address these questions and provide a high-level overview of security trends in the last year or two. It will include information on emerging types of vulnerabilities and recent attack vectors, as well as providing an insight into the cyber-security world and the underground economy of 2015. The talk with finish with a discussion on how the HEP community and in particular CERN are affected by the general situation: what could be the motivation behind attacks against fundamental research scientific institutes? <h4>About the speaker</h4> <p style="text-align:justify;"> Sebastian Lopienski is CERN’s deputy Computer Security Officer. He works on security strategy and policies; offers internal consultancy and audit services; develops and maintains security tools for vulnerability assessment and intrusion detection; provides training and awareness raising; and does incident investigation and response. During his work at CERN since 2001, Sebastian has had various assignments, including designing and developing software to manage and support services hosted in the CERN Computer Centre; providing Central CVS Service for software projects at CERN; and development of applications for accelerator controls in Java. He graduated from the University of Warsaw (MSc in Computer Science) in 2002, and earned an MBA degree at the Enterprise Administration Institute in Aix-en-Provence in 2010. His professional interests include software and network security, distributed systems, and Web and mobile technologies.