Netflix has introduced the Stethoscope which is an open source web app that seeks to help the users to secure their smartphones, computers, and tablets.
Developed by the Netflix, Stethoscope is the company’s first project towards helping the users to have a better secure online presence.
“The notion of this ‘User Focused Security’ acknowledges that the attacks against corporate users (like phishing, malware) is the primary mechanism leading to security incidents and also data breaches, and it is one of the core principles driving this approach to corporate information security. It is also reflective of our philosophy that these tools are only effective when they are considered the true context of people’s work,” their announcement reads.
What does it do?
This app collects information form a user’s device and then it gives them some clear and specific recommendations for the users to secure their systems. By this way, Netflix trusts that people will find it very easier to protect their devices since they have all information comes from the source.
Netflix claims that by providing the personalised, actionable information – and not relying on an automatic enforcement – Stethoscope respects people’s attention, time, 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 – firewall, disk encryption, up-to-date OS/software, automatic update status, whether the OS is jailbroken or rooted, screen lock, and whether there’s a security software stack present.
The source code, along with instructions for installation and configuration are available on GitHub.