Is Your Event Data Secure?

If you are attending an event and you see Michael Robinson, cyber threat analyst and forensic investigator, walking toward you, it’s likely not going to end well for you.

Cyber security was the topic of Michelle Bruno’s interview with Michael Robinson on the TSNN Webinar, “Securing Your Event’s Digital Data.”

What does Robinson think about the safety of our event data and what do we have to worry about? “Events, just by their very setup because they are so open and they have so many people attending, they are not very secure,” Robinson said.

He added that data security doesn’t happen by accident. It has to be planned for when we start planning our events.

Up for discussion during the webinar were common risks to events such as pineapple routers, fake cell phone towers, open Wi-Fi networks, unsecured registration kiosks and how even organizers can best protect themselves.

Robinson went on to discuss vulnerabilities around event mobile apps. Many of our apps have sensitive information. Hackers can break into that app and steal people’s contact information and target your attendees with Phishing emails. If the app is connected to backend systems such as registration, there is a potential to steal credit card information as well.

Basic questions event organizers should be asking developers at the start are, is the database you are storing on the phone encrypted? Do people have to log in with a name and password or just an email address? Does the app automatically encrypt traffic being sent back and forth?