Confessions of a cyber spy hunter | Eric Winsborrow | TEDxVancouver

With over 20 years of experience leading high technology companies out of Silicon Valley, Eric has played a part in shaping the industry as an executive at heavyweights like McAfee, Symantec, and Cisco.
Today, he is the CEO of ZanttZ, a company that is developing stealth cyber security technology solutions. Eric and his company are at the forefront of the latest developments in the world of global espionage, and the merging of man and machine. He attests that the Hollywood-created image of the daring secret agent sneaking into a foreign government's laser protected server room to steal top secret information couldn't be further from modern reality. In fact, the "James Bond" of the 21st century doesn't just use a computer, he is the computer.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@AnthonyGorss]

This is a good video to share with those who are oblivious to the real-world threats we face on the digital battleground.

[@delilahtuxedo6993]

That was the most informative TEDx talk I've listened to. Thank you so much.

[@javierescontrias]

This guys "dad jokes" must be epic.

[@AndreasDelleske]

Poor kids :-)

[@curtcoller3632]

His dad jokes are dead jokes.

[@kentwinsborrow]

Oh boy.. just you wait...

[@naomiwinsborrow7407]

You have no idea man…dinner table jokes are something else

[@kar351]

What is sad is that the same technology that does this, could be used to improve life for everyone on the planet. But since we are full of stupidity and greed this is what we have. I am about to hit 50 years old, I saw the internet growing, I saw amazing innovations and was hopefully for the future, and this is what my kids kids, will have.

[@ShatabdaRoy115]

Yup sir!

[@bobbymorelli9763]

17:27 hes sending hackers to the mirror dimension. dr strange would be proud

[@iLaddx]

"the youtube"

[@Nitsujcm2600]

As soon as he said it, I scrolled down looking for this comment.

[@YouSunkMyFishy]

It's like the boobtube, but on the internet.

[@turbocrew8039]

Daryl Ladd as soon as I heard that I was looking for this comment

[@michaelmettie9430]

that moment when you realize your thoughts will already be the top rated comment and just look for the thumbs up on it instead. So yeah, let me save you 20 minutes and save you from becoming dumber..... skip this video. Don't listen to a lecture about technology from a guy that says "the youtube" hint: hes probably from "the iraq"

[@SLACKLINEDUDE]

Daryl _"I don't do the Email"_

[@arshaghazie]

man I recall all those viruses name from my childhood when I was so obsessed with computer magazines

[@soundaddiktion2006]

"Will we ever realise it" made me think of Brave New World in a chilling way

[@jeremybumpermanpub7144]

Sound Addiktion Me too.

[@existencebeyond5398]

He is a very great presenter! Thanks!

[@candaceberry6651]

I really enjoyed this! Such a great balance of humor and information. Sucked me right in! Fascinating!

[@alexgoslar4057]

Thanks Eric, for this enlightenment.

[@rodkneeellil3905]

Thanks, TED 4 sharing.

[@amediarts]

Thanks for the real question at the end.

[@kn0ck496]

new age honeypots is essentially the gist of this talk. The software suite they use is obviously next gen and mind blowing.

[@MrSkyTown]

Unplugging my GameCube from now on, don't want to get hacked

[@eduardoarty1228]

MrSkyTown hahaha wtf

[@finnelhumano6096]

After the vault 7 leak, that doesn't sound so funny anymore does it?

[@LordJackass]

they'll spin that tiny CD so fast it'll break the CD drive.

[@brisclan7813]

Good idea, can't trust those Japanese

[@amead5248]

I already warned you.....do not unplug me.

[@pharcyde110573]

Love this guy, wish I had a boss like this!!

[@sdsfgsty]

Propose to him! 😍

[@gsogso3444]

Wow...thank you Great speaker.🙏✨

[@maverick4220]

I've heard about this secret mission before. I believe there is a full documentary about it.

[@brianmilligan1787]

He never really scratched at the true facts but all he said was very interesting and with humour thumbs up

[@oo-dd3lk]

Fascinating talk....

[@jeanayala5239]

"Imagin the fallout", I see what you did there, and I love it.

[@therealderekchurch]

please explain...

[@jameswhite6152]

@@therealderekchurch if you were to bomb a nuclear reactor there would be "nuclear fallout" in the form of radiation. What he did was a play on words. Because fallout used as a word by itself to explain something means consequences.

[@Calm_Energy]

What a great presenter! These jokes really kept me engaged lol

[@quelorepario]

"shadow networks" > Honeypots

[@ryanschafer9034]

its the same thing on a larger scale. better known as honeynets which are made of honeypots. these are just smart honeypots that are linked together. TrapX makes a neat product thatll even replicate PLC equipment and generate bogus event log things so it looks real enough.

[@marcinnawrocki1437]

Yup, just network of honeypots, nothing neew really. And Stuxnet story has few more very interesting aspects.

[@cyberkidnap6359]

yup except they are programmed to talk to each other☝

[@zyeuh2565]

@@marcinnawrocki1437 such as ?

[@SimplySpace]

"Imagine the fallout" Ahhhh, I see what you did there.

[@recoveringcatholic4130]

What is da meaning ?...

[@shaneksmith1957]

Thank You!

[@pamcota3451]

Excellent Presentation !! Although scary !!!

[@apurwamusic]

This video is 8 years old and still looks next gen today.

[@migsfire5912]

I remember hearing about the "Michaelangelo" virus when I was playing Oregon Trail , in Elementary school

[@tsehampton]

Wow! A great talk, informative and a little scary with a glimpse into the future. Thanks.

[@danielrobinson4795]

Great vid!

[@robertwagner7439]

Thank you

[@jdrissel]

I have for years thought that engine computers at least could alter the spark timing to cause occasional extremely early ignition (and very high cylinder pressure) leading to early mechanical failure. My suspicion dates back to a 1976 Pontiac. At about 6 years of age it began pinging when it had not before. It pinged but with no seeming pattern, and not even 100 octane racing fuel stopped the pinging. We replaced the ignition module, the coil, cap and rotor, all the wires and plugs without any impact. Carbon deposits were the next suspect, but when we pulled the heads it was clean. We did a valve job and installed new springs and vatted the intake manifold. When we put it back together and drove it, the pinging was gone. Then we realized we left the plug that sets the ignition timing to base unplugged, and wouldn't you know it, the pinging came back. We wound up installing a stand-alone MSD system that just used mechanical and vacuum advance. That worked and got better mileage and better acceleration, though both were still awful. It was a 1976 Pontiac 455 (with a pavement-shattering 160hp LoL) after all, but it was still going at about 300k when I lost track of it. Not many '76 engines of any make or model made it much past 100k.

[@Bojan-tg2vk]

More mechanics and less digital technology and people will not be able to hack or spy on it, but the future is unfortunately 0% mechanic and 100% digital technology. That's why I always hated these new mobile phones.

[@hamidnikkhah929]

Good ,informative and true

[@jamessmaby8758]

A great Ted !

[@divyaboy]

Excellent Heads UP Glade Guys Like you are on our side

[@danieljanecka9492]

"our side". Ha. Ha.

[@hop3881]

Anyone know what software he is using towards the end of the talk? Some sort of network visualizer?

[@DaveSuperDaveLyon]

You civilians don't get to have that stuff until the machines allow you to.

[@mst5g826]

Actually, he showed how the confluence of man and machine makes us much more susceptible.

[@spaghetti9845]

i used a securid ... since it changes codes every 30 sec that is tough

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Great video!

[@EXHellfire]

I was hoping this guy would say agent 009 is now agent 1001 but eh... wasted opportunities...

[@ingebrecht]

Nope, he is top secret. Agent 404.

[@EXHellfire]

not found, huh, that one is also good

[@lostspace5811]

Said it near the end 001

[@timmonrf3347]

@@lostspace5811 Thats not what he meant. The number 9 in binary code is 1001. 7 would be 0111

[@bluejay6904]

it was double 001 earlier James Pond. it's cutely in binary.

[@NeedSec]

Nothing new or groundbreaking in this presentation but a great introduction for the layman.

[@CaptainSamie]

The first virus was written on punch cards in 1968. The internet didn't even exist as we know it today, it was a connection between universities and military so that data could be quickly shared. A collage kid wrote it to see what would happen. And he also wrote the first virus protection program.

[@natebeattie8945]

wow excellent presentation

[@melvinmayfield470]

Excellent!

[@rydmerlin]

Interesting how his contention is the subject of Spectre and how boots on the ground defeats "cyber" in the movie.

[@PatchedThePipe]

Ahh I remember the “I love you” hit just as panic died down when it became clear the Y2K bug wasn’t gonna happen

[@mehrdademami149]

Operation "Olympic Games" ??? But DOPED !!!

[@user-gv4bf4zx2s]

The only way to be 100% sure is to have a physically isolated network. I had a customer that insisted on it. They had two computers on each desk: one was connected to the Internet, and the other was connected to the LAN and server with the ERP system. All USB ports were disabled, and of course, end users were not 'Admins', lol. They never had a problem w the isolated system. Imagine that.

[@basicdesign1]

yep. Got that since 2000. 20+ yrs of peace and I'll be dead before they find a way of getting around that 🖕. Meanwhile my son, who grew up with that system, has become a hacker - of course.

[@americaalwayswins9655]

Excellent. I want in.

[@552rehtyls]

What program is being used to show the network here? I am interested in that!

[@shepkohler6399]

PRISM

[@babybirdhome]

Xavier Grogan Microsoft PowerPoint. It's an illustration modeled after the fact based on network packet captures and log analysis.

[@q1w2e3621]

The piece just before the conclusion was a non-sequitur ('Licence to kill'). He didn't go anywhere with it.

[@RajSingh-qc6lq]

He's a bit socially awkward is all.

[@__-cd9ug]

yeah idk, I feel like he uses the "licence to kill" in comparison with the "ally" that james bond has today, which is a fake agent that does the job but doesn't reveal actual information - like he explain right before with shadow networks or whatever

[@slidhg2247]

I guess it’s more his way to say that they are also allowed to engage on the networks which are collecting data from their honeypot/ shadow network. I didn’t do research on this guy, but he seems to have pretty good inside in offensive hacking strategies of the past decade. so why are you thinking his company just uses this defensiv mechanisms he showed during the talk

[@tombraider77777]

"License to murder ".

[@jink6091]

Good speaker.

[@justineb211]

USB not surprising, I remember I love you and everyone at the company being warned BUT STILL opening it. Uggh, pain for the day.

[@sweden5665]

what software was he using at the end?

[@nilsp9426]

What also works instead of espionage? Diplomacy. Sometimes trust is worth more than having a thousand missiles or viruses. But we are taught to defeat the enemy, not befriend him.

[@spacemanjames]

This guy is brilliant, genius and hilarious.

[@yardmasterswealtheducation8424]

Old School Theory (not uploaded to my channel yet...) counters this threat beautifully!

[@alessandrocernuzzi]

Next Halloween I'll just skip the usual horror movies and theme thing and I go to the next level. I watch a lecture by Eric Winsborrow

[@MrKurisu28]

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be a robot.

[@over00lordunknown12]

5:46 DAMN IT! The gyroscope in my phone will burn out and I won't be able to use the compass... XD

[@BOT-vk7wq]

Unplugging my GameCube from now on, don't want to get hacked

[@Larrythebassman]

Impressive

[@adishamzic8504]

Bravo

[@lloydjoseph6484]

this was technology back in2013 ,now after 5 years . we are at a way higher RISK

[@Enonymouse_]

China's i-war end game has advanced considerably since this guy gave the talk. They are constantly targeting cellphone networks and other assets.

[@roderrickgaming9949]

Yeah no way jose

[@johnsabaku2257]

2013? holy moley! I wish I this guy's foresight

[@geoffreylee5199]

Diamonds Are Forever is about computer break in, with an audiocassette ...

[@davidsandford8343]

very interesting

[@badriprajapat]

Great knowledge sharing.. And the voice is very clear and bold like some hacker threatening very seriously 😂

[@Tej517]

@7:12 it's Natanz not Nantaz .

[@greywolf271]

I don't know why he bothered creating a vision of the future when what he's describing is exactly what Cliff Stoll described in The Cuckoo's Egg.

[@francescoquadrio5824]

One of the best Ted talks

[@earthman6700]

As Captain Adama said 'I will not have networked computers on this ship!'. (a lesson from the future).

[@aaronjones2429]

What is this software that hes creating shadow clients and shadow networks?

[@kizombeiro8130]

Do all the Ted talk presenters follow the exact same talk structure ?

[@prasoonpandey1184]

Fantastic... Knowledge along with humour.. great

[@manishahamal950]

It gives me goosebumps whenever i see these kinda videos. But does shadow network relate to dark web??

[@FamesHD]

Manisha Hamal definitely intertwined. 011011010011110101 011000010010111 011 111011100111011100 0100110 0110101001

[@moiquiregardevideo]

This talk reflect the information that is verifiable in most media. The first this or that is actually the first time journalists spread the new to everybody. The experts know many more earlier examples. Just dig at the right place for counter examples. That doesn't diminish the importance of the talk. I just want to remind people to do a little more research before propagating the facts that are said in this video.

[@drrugee]

Someone get this man a glass of water

[@danieljanecka9492]

Mic at fault.

[@crissd8283]

"Has technology made our lives better or worse." I would argue that it has made our lives just slightly better. There is still poverty, depression, wars, and now an online mob. Do we really want this technology even more in our lives?

[@kbto]

A lot of this is incorrect in terms of the Natanz stuxnet attack. The Natanz siemens box was airgapped so it was impossible for stuxnet to phone home, it was programmed to know what to do. Also recently (3 months as of the writing of this comment) it was discovered that stuxnet was delivered via a water pump installed in the facility.

[@Adawg420]

the chinese had access for 10 years, huh...that 1 Trillion dollar annual defense budget is really worth the price tag

[@DouglasMoran]

The speaker gets a lot wrong and the sloppiness makes me doubt much more. For example, the Melissa/ILoveYou worm of May 2000 was not, as he claimed, the first case of SPAM. First, the first case of SPAM was in 1978 although the term wasn't coined until the mid-1990s. Second, although Melissa used email to spread, it wasn't SPAM. Another example, the Code Red worm hit in mid-July 2001, not after 9/11. A quick consultation with Wikipedia would have revealed these errors. And as others have noted below, his "shadow networks" are collections of "honeypots". Honeypots arose in the 1990s, although I don't know when the threshold was crossed of being populated with enough data to warrant that term. In 2000, there was at least one commercial product designed to facilitate creating custom honeypots by providing the underlying capabilities such as hidden monitoring. I didn't hear anything here that would help an executive be more aware of the threat. It was little more than "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

[@glenngammon4215]

BS: it was a game called TETRIS in 1989.

[@WolfofNightMusic]

unplugging my toaster, don't want to get hacked.

[@FrannyWard]

Cyberdyne Systems series T-800 Model 101 is already old news.

[@teddy7746]

Damn that was a good speech.

[@RigorMortisRape]

When he says ‘the agents’, I keep hearing the Asians.

[@blendpinexus1416]

if i found a usb stick i would insert it into my virtual machine to check and wipe it. then use it. (the wiping also wipes and replaces the partition table so ALL data is gone, nearly pemenently)

[@babybirdhome]

scooter800m None of those things you said are true except that you'd plug it into your computer. Your virtual machine can't access that USB stick until your host operating system has connected and talked to it to tell your VM that it exists in the first place. By the time your VM knows it's there, you've already been pwned. Also, if it's actually a rogue device designed to hack your machine, you're only going to be able to wipe the part that it wants you to think you've wiped, not the part that was put there to infect your machine.

[@rickwrites2612]

I don't understand why anyone would even take it. They're cheap.

[@aseeds7785]

18:45 In a nutshell: In a virtual world but full of Player versus player, then booted to a world full of npcs with the sprites of the original players.

[@quintin3871]

Well, I did realise it and went with it just for fun. Now they got my genetics but... who's tricking who?

[@MZITinfo]

I don't think the "I love you" virus was the first one to spread via email, was it?

[@prantorchowdhury1842]

not first; but first major one

[@MathewunnamedWeymouth]

Nice advertisement hidden as a TED talk...

[@sandramattingly5157]

Feel the freedom with Utopia.

[@andrewe3165]

Chuck Norris could swim in a desert.

[@larrytownley2231]

Usta surf sand dunes in N.M. !

[@Calm_Energy]

When Chuck Norris jumps in the ocean he doesn't get wet. The ocean gets Norris.

[@yiagi6126]

Mark rober already did that to one of his cousin 😂 Watch his super mario effect

[@UltimateBargains]

There was a time when Chunks Norris could do that, but he's over the hill now.

[@donbow450]

Chuck Norris would have not sped up the centrifuges, he would have sped down earth.

[@xMasterJuiceX]

"Imagine the fallout"

[@digitalconsciousness]

I liked it. XD He recognizes it's a dad joke and it makes it even funnier.

[@danielescobar7618]

It's already happening. Just this morning I went to microwave some soup and when I got it out the bowl was scalding hot to the touch but the soup was still COLD

[@lifeisgood070]

ooooo man this dude is sick. Interesting.

[@1ntoTheAbyss]

How does one go about getting in this line of work, i am interested.

[@benendo9234]

Charles Cherry CISSP requires 5 years of experience. Maybe start with Security+?

[@fission1110]

CISSP has a very management heavy focus. It goes lightly into the tech, but focuses more on speaking, risk management, the CIA triad, etc. It's very well respected among management types in the industry, so if you want a way in, it's probably a good idea. But depending on what you want to do, it may not be the best option.

[@jamieclarke2694]

+John Huffy Use an operating system called Kali Linux and learn Python and other programming languages all using youtube and google. Then take a networking course and go from there.

[@Webberjo]

I'm okay that his talk went a few minutes over his allotted time.

[@rot10119]

In what universe did the cold war create the computer?

[@chriskaprys]

If you close your eyes you can enjoy Patrick Swayze giving a talk on cyber spy technology.

[@hollyhood666]

Imagine The Fallout