WHEN HE\u2019S NOT\u00a0obsessing over cybersecurity, giving a keynote speech in The Hague or New Delhi, or working on the next degree of his black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu, Reuben Paul can usually be found doing his homework. After all, he\u2019s only 11 years old.<\/p>\n
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Reserved and humble, the thoughtful lad with quiet eyes would seem like any other Texas pre-teen if behind them wasn\u2019t a serious preoccupation with cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
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Reuben got his start in network security at the age of eight, thanks to his father, Mano, who also works in the field. Years of listening in on dad\u2019s business calls taught him the basics, and when Reuben helped his father out by reminding him of a key security term he\u2019d forgotten, Mano figured the kid might have a knack for the industry. His immersion into computer and network security came faster than anyone could have expected: Within months Reuben had hacked a smartphone, designing a fake app that looked like a game. \u201cIf you tap on it, I immediately have full root access to the device and can turn on the camera,\u201d he says. \u201cI did that when I was nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
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But Reuben found himself in the limelight\u2014and on security conference stages across the world\u2014when he set his mind to hacking his own seemingly innocuous toy: a teddy bear embedded with a voice recording system. The idea of the bear\u2014Reuben calls him \u201cBob\u201d\u2014is that parents can use a smartphone app to record a message for their child, then upload it to the toy. After the child hears the message from the bear\u2019s mouth, he can record his own response and send it back to mom or dad\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n
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Sounds innocuous enough, but in Reuben\u2019s mind it represented a risk in the so-called smart home that could open up families to an unwanted invasion. \u201cWe put a sniffer between the bear and phone and started going through the packets,\u201d he says. \u201cEventually we reverse-engineered them and figured out how to turn the microphone on at will. I can stand outside anyone\u2019s house and connect to the toy bear. I could do the same kind of thing outside a hospital room, or a government building,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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This problem has arisen because of the way security, and more specifically home security, has been treated in the past. As Bitdefender Chief Security Researcher Alex Balan notes, \u201cWhat we need are more and better solutions that cover a family\u2019s needs as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The good news is that none of this is cause for panic, and Reuben wants to keep it that way. So he\u2019s on a mission to educate both kids and adults about the risks of these kinds of devices, all part of the nascent Internet of Things. He\u2019s even started a nonprofit company called CyberShaolin, which leverages Kung Fu symbology to train children in cybersecurity basics. New students in the program begin as a white belt. As they progress through the online lessons, eventually they earn their digital black belt in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
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For us grown-ups, Reuben says that if developers and users were smarter about security, things would be a lot better in the world of the connected home. Failing that, external tools can help fill the gaps. Devices like Bitdefender\u2019s BOX can monitor a home or business for unauthorized traffic. BOX treats all devices\u2014computers, phones, televisions, and even a toy bear\u2014the same way, watching for rogue network traffic and malicious activity and blocking it outright. \u201cA firewall alone can\u2019t protect you,\u201d says Reuben. \u201cWe just need better training\u2026 and more secure products.\u201d Balan adds, \u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t have to care how security works as long as they\u2019re subscribed to a decent service that takes care of it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Today, Reuben\u2019s counsel is in high demand. He travels so much that he\u2019s on his third passport, but the bright young boy has eyes firmly on the future. \u201cI want to use my cybersecurity skills for the good of humanity. I want to be a businessman by day and a cyberspy by night and also an Olympic gymnast,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cBut first I have to pass the sixth grade.\u201d<\/p>\n
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