Weaknesses in Cyber Security are an ever increasing threat to the world as more and more areas of our lives become integrated with technology. For example many "smart cities" which have begun using enterprise software and big data to more effectively manage city life, but the biggest concern in these smart cities is the lack of sufficient security (Allen 1). Many major cities with this technological integration worry about insufficient security, considering the consequences if a hacker or organization was able to access or steal all the necessary data to run a major city. This where Synack's new security model could play a major role in the future of cyber security, assuming their model proves to be effective, however there are still some very prevalent weaknesses to consider with Synack's security program.
The Synack Red Team (SRT) is the name dedicated to Synack's employees as well as the IT experts which they contract their security accounts to. The SRT is incredibly exclusive with only about a ten percent acceptance rate and a gauntlet of various background tests and vetting procedures. Synack must ensure that the people they hire are not a security threat themselves. While this is a strong procedure there are still various flaws when it comes to contracting outside experts. After they have been vetted and are now trusted by Synack they are privy to the security protocols of another company which leaves room for things like corporate espionage, sabotage or just overall neglect of the project based on ulterior motives by the expert. It seems the crowd sourcing aspect of this model can amount to a security risk in itself and from the viewpoint of a company I would not want to pay Synack so they could pay someone else to evaluate my network.
With this being said Synack's model could prove to still be effective and the breakthrough technology behind the Hydra is going to impact the cyber security industry as it will be able to provide up to date information on potential security risks as opposed to the more retrospective approach of current scanning models.
References
Allen, Natalie. "Cybersecurity Weaknesses Threaten to Make Smart Cities More Costly and Dangerous than Their Analog Predecessors." USAPP. N.p., 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2016/02/18/cybersecurity-weaknesses-threaten-to-make-smart-cities-more-costly-and-dangerous-than-their-analog-predecessors/>.
Florentine, Sharon. "How to Crowdsource Your Way to Better Security." ITNews. N.p., 18 Nov. 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://www.itnews.com/article/3006182/security/how-to-crowdsource-your-way-to-better-security.html>.
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