Netflix introduced Stethoscope, an open source web app seeking to help users secure their computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Developed by Netflix, Stethoscope is the company’s first project following a User Focused Security approach.
“The notion of “User Focused Security” acknowledges that attacks against corporate users (e.g., phishing, malware) are the primary mechanism leading to security incidents and data breaches, and it’s one of the core principles driving our approach to corporate information security. It’s also reflective of our philosophy that tools are only effective when they consider the true context of people’s work,” the announcement reads.
How does it work?
So what does this app do? It collects information for a user’s device and then gives them clear and specific recommendations for securing their systems. In this way, Netflix believes people will find it easier to protect their devices since all information comes from a single source.
Netflix claims that by providing personalized, actionable information – and not relying on automatic enforcement – Stethoscope respects people’s time, attention, and autonomy.
“It’s important to us that people understand what simple steps they can take to improve the security state of their devices, because personal devices – which we don’t control – may very well be the first target of attack for phishing, malware, and other exploits,” Netflix claims. Of course, they also add that a user falling for a phishing attack can also be a liability for the company itself because it can very well be just the first step in an attack against Netflix’ systems.
Stethoscope looks for several details – disk encryption, firewall, automatic update status, up-to-date OS/software, screen lock, whether the OS is jailbroken or rooted, and whether there’s a security software stack present.
The source code, along with instructions for installation and configuration are available on GitHub.
