Are You as Secure as a Fourth Grader? (Hint: No)

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Security is the big picture. Security is in the finest details. Security is software and hardware. Security is awareness, intelligence and vigilance. Security is obvious, is obscure and is theater. Security is a journey and not a destination. It’s a path you take, but not a place you ever really arrive at. Security is an illusion; it’s elusive, attainable and impossible.

Ever have dialogue with a nine-year-old? Kids that age are pretty smart. Most can navigate through life with enough awareness to get themselves in and out of trouble and have the understanding of how things work like a 30-year-old might. They also possess a certain innocence and lack the fear of failure or of retribution due to the fact they’ve yet to be burned as much as a typical 30-year-old has.

It’s that carefree outlook and lack of concern with authority that allows mastermind criminals to walk all over those of us who follow the rules—and those who enforce them.

Which brings us to a nine-year-old Minneapolis boy who was able to get through security screening and onto a Vegas-bound plane at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport without a ticket. The only reason he was even caught was because he was…well…a boy. His Delta flight was not full, and the flight crew became suspicious mid-flight because the boy was not on the list of unattended minors. The crew contacted Las Vegas police, who met them upon landing and transferred the boy to child protection services.

That’s not all. Our stowaway rode on the train to the airport (probably snuck on there too), stole a bag from a luggage carousel, and went to an airport restaurant, where he chewed and screwed (dined and dashed) the restaurant out of their money.

I’m not done telling his story. Two weeks prior to the airport incident, he snuck into a water park, stole a truck, smashed it, and was caught driving on a highway and pulled over. And that’s just what was reported when he was caught.

So if you think your government, the TSA, Homeland Security or the police can protect your personal security—or your bank, your credit card company or all the organizations that have your information on file can protect your identity—then you’re no smarter than a fourth grader.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to Hotspot Shield VPN. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him discussing internet and wireless security on Good Morning America. Disclosures. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247.