Entries by Robert Siciliano

Marketers (and Criminals) Buzz About Mobile Tuesday

Fresh off the most successful Cyber Monday, which turned into a Cyber Week or even a Cyber Month, spanning from mid-November into December, marketers and advertisers are now positioning themselves for a 2012 Mobile Tuesday. Forbes reports, “Consumers are going mobile in large numbers, and the 2011 holiday season proved it. IBM Coremetrics recently reported that consumers…

How Much Fraud On Record-Breaking Cyber Monday?

The Washington Post reports that this holiday season, Cyber Monday expanded into an entire week of record-breaking online shopping. From Sunday, November 27 through Saturday, December 3, consumers spent nearly $6 billion over the Internet, a 15% increase over the same week in 2010. During the first 32 days of the November-December holiday season, online…

4 Tips to Prevent Auction Holiday Fraud

Auction fraud refers to fraudulent transactions that take place through auction and classifieds websites.  Either a product advertised may be misrepresented by the seller or the items sold are never delivered at all. This holiday season, as you seek out hard-to-find gifts and look for the best prices, keep in mind that not everyone out…

Beware of Charity Scams This Holiday Season

Hackers, scammers, cons and thieves take advantage of citizens’ generosity by sending e-mails, making phone calls or even setting up shop on a street corner and try to appear to be legitimate charitable organizations.  Do not donate cash: Anyone asking to come to your home or office and pick up cash is a scammer. Any…

Boosting Healthcare Security with Smart Cards

The Smart Card Alliance has put together a list of frequently asked questions about how smart cards work in a healthcare environment, and provided excellent answers. A smart card resembles a typical credit card, but is embedded with a small microprocessor chip, which makes it “smart.” That chip is a powerful minicomputer that can be…

How the “National Strategy For Trusted Identities in Cyberspace” Benefits Consumers

In May 2009, the President’s Cyberspace Policy Review called for the development of “a cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests, leveraging privacy-enhancing technologies for the Nation.” That “vision and strategy” came to fruition in the form of the “National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace” (NSTIC), which calls…

Keeping Tabs On Your Home When Away

You may have a single family home, second home, or apartment. And no matter what your abode sitchy is, there is no place like home. Whenever I leave, I miss my family, house, and stuff.  When we go on vacation, we are always happy to go home. I hope your sitchy feels the same. And…

Securing New Digital Devices

Laptops, desktops, Macs, mobiles, and tablets are on many people’s wish lists this holiday season. Once these shiny new devices are connected to the Internet, they will be under siege by malware created by criminals in order to steal identities. According to a recent McAfee survey, 60% of consumers now own at least three digital devices,…