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Hi SecTor Good to Meet You, I’m Keri

Oct 14 2014

I publish here daily Monday – Friday: Cars, Security and a Peek into my Life.

I’m also a full-time auto journalist with Sun Media Newspapers; news, reviews, and a weekly column called, ‘Keri On Driving’: 300 words weekly about whatever I want.

I’ve combined the cars & security worlds a few times, columns that may interest you include:

– Let’s go War Driving – here
– Securing your Car in the City – here
– Computers in Cars – here
– Your Car can be Hacked, but Not Really – here
– Stick Families are a Terrible Idea – here
– and maybe this post – Went Armoured Car Shopping

And over at the paper, I own the security section, here.

If we’ve met before, I’ve probably said the same thing that I’ll say again now:

I am way beneath you in skills; a script kiddie at best.

The Security category of my blog is best suited not to you but like, your relatives.

– How to change your Router Password – here
– Don’t Name your Phone your Name – here
– Most Common iPhone Passwords – here
– My blog being spidered looks like this – here
– You’re responsible for Hotspot users – here
– Ransomware is terrifying – here
– Buy this type of shredder – here
– Your screen can be seen 20 feet Away – here
– It’s a good idea to monitor connections – here

There’s a hole in the internet for end-user security stuff, so that’s the goal here.

Plus fun videos:

Smarten Up, Internet – for the housewives of Iowa

Blackberry security is why you buy (original post)

Please don’t hack me. It wouldn’t be a challenge even, like picking on the kid at recess wearing a helmet, really.

Look forward next week to seeing some old faces and meeting new ones, and am always up for car talk – Jag’s F-TYPE‘s engine note is my favourite, Audi is my interior benchmark because minimal, I love minivans, I own a ’99 Jetta that’s a lunch box, I just competed in Targa Newfoundland 2014; tracking a Porsche this summer was a highlight, and if you’d like to talk about hacking a car, I would too.

Blog tag = auto security

Twitter – @KeriBlog
Email – Keri AT KB dot com

A Rare Chance to Hear a Car Hacking Expert

Oct 13 2014

Chris Valasek is the Keynote speaker on October 21, 12pm at SecTor Security Conference.

While hacking a car almost always requires physical access,
it won’t be long before it doesn’t.

Consider this scenario: a virus is accidentally downloaded onto a driver’s phone, who unknowingly pairs it to his car, now the infection is inside the vehicle, where the Bluetooth and brakes run on the same network… what’s the defence?

How do you mass-update the software in tens of thousands of cars? It can costs millions just for an automaker to mail a “come in and get updated” letter to its customers.

As vehicles become more computers-on-wheels than cars, the act of securing them should be a priority for automakers, yet there’s an absence of information on this topic.

Here’s a rare opportunity to hear from a bleeding-edge expert at this year’s SecTor, Canada’s premier IT security conference.

Christopher Valasek is a pioneer in automotive security. He serves as Director of Vehicle Security Research at IOActive, one of the first companies to specialize in automotive security.

He’s not just a theory guy, Chris is an actual practitioner. Remember last year when the headlines screamed “a Prius and Ford have been hacked!’ – that was him. If you’ve read anything in the news about car hacking, it probably contains a quote or citation to his work.

He’s not out to do bad and hack your product, or show up individual OEMs, this is a rare chance to hear from one of the good guys, plus – the added advantage of having a mind like this assessing your product, for free.

On October 21 at noon, Chris’ keynote presentation, ‘The Connected Car: Security Throwback’ , will demonstrate how present-day automotive security is like a hard shell with a gooey inner layer – protect the outside, but once inside, it’s a field day.

(photo via Forbes)

He’ll draw comparisons between today’s auto landscape and the early 2000s of the internet, when protection mechanisms were an afterthought. He feels automotive security is stuck in a hole in time, and that the same solutions used to secure the networks of 10 years ago, can be applied to today’s automotive security issues.

Because the more computers and code that go in to cars, the greater the odds of a mistake being made and someone like Chris finding it. Moreover, with the automotive production cycle being so long (2018 model years are now being finalized), a problem found today is going to be prevalent for some time.

Automotive industry types – is your product resistant against a cyber-attack? If you’re not securing the vehicles you’re producing, then they can be weaponized, and yes that sentence is intended to give you chills.

His keynote will include the opportunity to ask questions. Catch it at SecTor on Tuesday, October 21 at 12:00 – 1:10pm. Ticket information here

Blog tag = auto security

Meet me in this post

Had to Go Into the City Today, Twice

Oct 9 2014

Since I moved July 25, bet I’ve been downtown maybe 5 times in total.

So today was a lot. Don’t miss it. This helped.

So fun to drive, the Mazda MX-5.

It’s just my size too, a rarity. Together we can fit anywhere.

Dentist. Again.

Still have never had a cavity, ever.

It took me almost 3 hours to get out of the city. That’s not sitting on the DVP either, that’s using creativity, back ways, and still.

Not happy; being trapped in a car, that’s trapped on a road surrounded by cars, is one of my least favourite feelings.

Have a post about Toronto traffic building in my mind. I think about traffic a lot actually.

Least when I returned this evening, I didn’t have to drive.

Let’s pose.

kk I’m done.

Today’s weak blog update courtesy of the traffic that sucked it all out of me.

Back to enjoying the best night of the week #ThursdayNight

Hope yours is good too TTYT

Powered by a Stock Honda Fit Engine

Oct 8 2014

It’s an F2000, like a starter Indy Car.

And it’s powered by the same engine as Honda’s Fit.

Not modified either, total stock. Really!

It’s a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine outputting 130 hp and 114 lbs.ft.

(my review for the above 2014 Honda Fit, and a few Fit animated gifs)

Got to go around the DDT track at Mosport 3 times.

Arrow – went off, twice. Too aggressive into the corners + queen of the late-brakers here.

So they kindly let me go around one more time. Got it.

Screaming through Newfoundland’s Suburbs

Oct 8 2014

That time I was a factory driver for Nissan in the week-long
2014 Targa Newfoundland Rally.

I blogged everyday while competing, here’s the blog tag – Targa

Read it online at Autonet.

Favourite line:

Imagine a historic town is shut down and roped off into a complex driving course. You drive through it as fast as you can, the police don’t care, and you do this 10 times a day. That’s Targa Newfoundland.