“Your package couldn’t be delivered.”
“Put tape over your webcam.”
“Click here to pay your ticket.”
“Your geek squad protection renewal is due”

You’ve heard all of these. Which are real/scams? Which matter? Which are valid security tips vs urban legends? As with most things in life, it’s complicated.

In this talk, two security specialists will discuss a number of the security questions that come up in everyday life to help you understand why they happen, how to respond to them, and maybe, when you can just ignore them.

We’ll start by discussing threat modelling. What’s at risk? How much effort are you willing to expend for prevention or response? How is that different from person to person? This context will help us explore concerns including hardware security (why can’t I unlock my late relative’s iPhone?), national security (why were Netgear routers banned?), and personal security (why is having a good credit score a liability?).

We’ll leave you with some tips for how to improve your overall security posture, as well as a few ideas to help you think about security as you encounter everything from sensational reporting and SMS scams, all the way to nation-state attackers knocking on your company’s door.

Joe FitzPatrick (@securelyfitz) is a trainer and researcher at SecuringHardware.com with a personal mission to make all hardware devices at least a bit more secure. He builds tools like Tigard and Erebus, and teaches Applied Hardware Attacks trainings to help people break – and secure – their hardware devices. His actual superpower is the ability to instantly end awkward conversational pauses if you ask him about BSides Portland, the CTRL-H Hackerspace, or drone taco delivery at ToorCamp.

Eric is a Business Information Security Officer at Thoughtworks, a software consulting company. His background is in computer security, systems administration, and detection engineering and threathunting. His current work focuses on exciting things like risk management, device security, developer education, and building reliable security platforms and programs. In his spare time he rides motorcycles in the beautiful PNW outdoors.