As Scientific Project Manager at armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T), Dr. Alain Mermoud is responsible for Technology Monitoring and Forecasting. Together with Dr. Mathias Humbert, responsible for Privacy and Machine Learning at armasuisse S+T, he is organising the Cyber-Defence Campus Conference from November 3 – 4 in Lausanne.

Is it common practice in the cyber world to align yourself to the «bad guys» processes?

Of course, the police does the same. A good policeman also thinks: «What would the thief do?» Or if you want to make your house safe from burglars, you also have to consider whether they will come in through the window, or through the roof, etc. In addition to my job at armasuisse, I’m also active as an intelligence officer in the Swiss armed forces. The principle is exactly the same there – you have to think like «red» in order to decide what you can do best as «blue». As a defender, it definitely helps to think like an attacker.

So the best cyber specialists are former hackers?

One can say that many cyber-security specialists come from a hacking background. This doesn’t mean that they have a criminal past, as there is such a thing as ethical hacking. The decisive factor is how the knowledge and motivation are used. That’s the difference between «white hat» hackers – the «good guys» and «black hat» hackers, the «bad guys», if you like.

You talk about threat intelligence and open source platforms. Can you explain more about these?

There are various platforms – such as MISP or Open Threat Exchange – on which ethical hackers, as well as companies, can exchange information on potential dangers. One example is MELANI-NET, on which an exchange of information on critical infrastructures, such as hospitals, the SBB or banks, takes place every day.

Source and full article : armasuisse S+T