UCL Computer Science presents: Peter Kirstein Lecture Series 2022

The Age of the Cybercrime Unicorn with Mikko Hyppönen

We've lived our lives in the middle of a revolution: the internet revolution. Technology around us is changing faster than ever. We've already become dependent on our digital devices, and this is just the beginning. As connected devices open new opportunities for imagination, they also open new opportunities for online criminals. Organised cybercrime gangs are bigger than ever. The wealth being controlled by the biggest groups is staggering, enabling them to invest more in their attacks. What do cybercrime unicorns look like? How do they work? Where do they get their money from? Where do they invest it? How do cybercriminals get caught? And what's going to happen next?

Mikko Hyppönen will offer his insights into these questions based on his diverse career working as a global cybersecurity practitioner.

This is a hybrid event. It takes place at UCL and will also be live streamed.

Friday 29th April 2022:

Lecture location: Cruciform Lecture Theatre 1, Cruciform Building, Gower St. WC1E 6BT

14.00 - 14.10: Introduction: Peter Kirstein Lecture Series with Professor Steve Hailes, Head of Department, UCL Computer Science and Professor Lorenzo Cavallaro

14.10-14:50: Mikko Hyppönen: THE AGE OF THE CYBERCRIME UNICORN

14.50 - 15.00: Break

15.00 - 15.15: Q&A with Mikko, chaired by Professor Cavallaro

15.15 - 16.15: Panel discussion chaired by Professor Madeline Carr

Panel:

Mikko Hyppönen, Security and Privacy expert

Craig Jones, INTERPOL Cybercrime Director

Gordon Corera, BBC Security Correspondent

Gloria Laycock OBE, Professor Emeritus of Crime Science at UCL and founding Director of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at UCL

16.15 - 16.20: Vote of thanks with Professor Mirco Musolesi

16.30 - 18.00: Please join us after the event for a reception in South Cloisters (2 min walk. Cross Gower Street and enter the main UCL building for a reception with light refreshments)

This is a hybrid event. It takes place at UCL and will also be live streamed. Please select the correct ticket for your mode of attendance.

The link to the livestream is included in the registration confirmation email. A reminder will be sent closer to the event.

What is a 'unicorn' in this context?

In this context, a ‘unicorn’ refers to organised cybercrime gangs that are able to generate considerable wealth, similar to those of legitimate unicorns (unlisted private companies valued at over $1billion)

Panelists:

Mikko Hyppönen

Mikko Hyppönen has been working with information security for 30 years. He was selected as the Cybersecurity Person Of The Year in 2020 by CISO Magazine. Mr. Hyppönen has dedicated his career to combatting security threats, tracking online crime and sharing his work with the world - including his creation of Hyppönen law, which states, "If it's smart, it's vulnerable." He is a widely regarded security expert who has written on his research for The New York Times, Wired and Scientific American. His newest book will be published by Wiley in August 2022. Hyppönen's TED Talk has been seen by 1.5 million people and translated to 40 languages. In addition to his ongoing research, Hyppönen also serves as curator for the Malware Museum at the Internet Archive.

Visit Mikko Hyppönen's website

Gordon Corera

Gordon Corera has been a Security Correspondent for BBC News since June 2004. In that role he covers national security issues including cyber security, counter-terrorism and espionage for BBC TV, Radio and Online. He was previously a foreign affairs reporter on the Today programme, BBC Radio 4's flagship news programme. He is the author of a number of books, including Intercept: The Secret History of Computers and Spies and most recently, Russians Among Us: Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories and the Hunt for Putin’s spies.

Craig Jones

With 29 years of law enforcement experience, Craig Jones leads INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate and the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for its Global Cybercrime Programme. Aimed at reducing the global impact of cybercrime and protecting communities for a safer world, the Programme focuses on three core pillars of cybercrime threat response, cybercrime operations, and cyber capabilities development for law enforcement worldwide.

Gloria Laycock BSc, PhD, FRSA, OBE

Gloria Laycock is currently Professor Emeritus of Crime Science at UCL. She has a BSc and PhD in psychology from UCL. She established and headed the Home Office Police Research Group and was founding Director of the UCL Jill Dando Institute and the Community Policing and Police Science Institute in Abu Dhabi.

She has carried out research and development in prisons, policing and crime prevention and has acted as a consultant and trainer on policing matters around the world. She was Director of research supporting the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction from 2013-2016. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2008 for services to crime policy.

About the Peter Kirstein Lecture Series :

The Peter Kirstein lecture is the flagship lecture for the Department of Computer Science at UCL. It was so named to honour the life and work of Peter Kirstein, the founding head of UCL Computer Science and a major figure in the development of the field of Computer Science globally. Peter was a visionary who pushed at the boundaries of what we knew and what we could do, often in the face of disapproval and difficulties from more conservative voices. As a result, he was instrumental in changing the nature of society, not just in the ‘developed’ world, but in countries working to establish themselves following the collapse of the Soviet Union, amongst others.

In discussion with Peter himself, we decided that the ideas for each lecture should be generated in conjunction with new members of staff and the series should be bold in the speakers it seeks to invite, to challenge orthodox thinking and to encourage debate.

In this talk from Mikko Hyppönen, we are invited to think about the reality of cybercrime, past, present and future. Mikko has been credited with Hyppönen’s Law, which states that whenever an appliance is described as being "smart", it is vulnerable. Because there are increasingly many smart devices pervading society, there is increasing opportunity for the exploitation of those devices by, in particular, organised crime. The result is that some organised crime gangs have accumulated vast wealth and power – rivalling that of medium-large tech businesses. Mikko will discuss how these organisations come into being, how they work and what the future may look like.

Technology is having a profound effect on the nature of society, not all of it good. It is therefore contingent on those working at the cutting edge of technology to consider the broader picture; if we aspire to have real-world impact (and we do), we would rather it be impact of which we can rightly be proud, not just when it is shiny and new, but also with hindsight. To understand the situation Mikko will describe, and assess possible mitigations, requiring a broad and forward-looking perspective that has technological, human, societal, legal and organisational facets, amongst others. It is a characteristic of the department, and an important part of Peter’s legacy, that such discussion has a natural home here.

This is the third in the series of lectures in honour of Professor Peter Kirstein and has been organised by a committee led by Lorenzo Cavallaro, Madeline Carr and Mirco Musolesi.

Covid-19 Safety Measures

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UCL will continue to follow UK Government guidance and work closely with our own public health experts. We will keep our plans under review and let you know about any changes. Find out more about the COVID-19 safety measures on campus.

Recording Notice

Please note: There will be photography and filming taking place at the site of the event. This content will be used for publicity and promotional purposes and may appear online and/or in printed material.

If you have any concerns, please contact : computerscience.comms@ucl.ac.uk