Only the paranoid survive

I have made a personal resolution – avoid watching shows like Homeland and 24. I find myself paranoid after watching them.

Not sure, though, I can avoid conversations like below:

a) I hear the term “paparazzi drones” from an exec. iPhone controlled Quadracopters were a hot holiday toy. They are now being deployed to eavesdrop on Hollywood stars. This exec has a bigger interest in drones to monitor wide expanses of remote real estate, but the FAA has been cautious about allowing commercial uses of drones. I point to a case study in my last book about a drone with a expansive dictionary to hack into most networks and a 4G card to eavesdrop on mobile calls from above.

b) He tells me about the infrared and other cameras they currently use on small planes to do their monitoring. The conversation drifts to next-gen surveillance and the 1.8 gigapixel Argus super-camera, and the analytics around the massive amount of video data that generates.  

c) I talk to another exec about security software and how it is evolving beyond blacklists and known virus signatures to assuming everything is suspect. And I read about 7 years of sleuth work done by Mandiant in looking at suspected Chinese cyber-crime.

d) Breaking into IT and bank vaults is one thing. Even more terrifying is vulnerability of SCADA and industrial control systems in our utilities and strategic plants. Closer to home even common criminals are learning to hack into home security, automobiles, healthcare equipment.

And it hits  me. In real life, we need to be more paranoid than the characters in Homeland. How depressing  is that?