Officials are reporting a wave of credit and debit card attacks targeting point of sale swapping, skimming of card data, and hacking into payment processors. Reports say the U.S. Secret Service, among others, are in the process of investigating a multistate crime spree. The Oklahoma Bankers Association commented, “It is beyond apparent our bankers are…
We often hear people (including myself) drone on at how the system is broken and how good guys end up in jail and bad guys are released on good behavior. The criminal justice system is far from fair. Too often bad people are let out only to re-offend and sometimes do worse the second or…
In the early days of the web, cybersquatting was a concern among corporations who were late to the game in getting their domain names. I had a little battle with LedZeppelin.com that I regret, but that’s another story. Today that same battle is being played out in social media. Anyone can register any brand or…
Nationwide, “burglars made off with $4.6 billion in electronics, jewelry, cash and other items in 2008, according to the FBI. In more than 30 percent of those burglaries, the thief got inside without forcing open a door or window. Many occurred during the day.” As you pack your car for your next road trip, realize…
This year’s Defcon convention of hackers in August brought to light a fact that many in the security industry have known: mobile phones are becoming a bigger target for criminals. Recent news of applications on the iPhone and Android that are vulnerable to attack and possibly designed to send your data offshore have reinforced the…
The only difference between a so-called celebrity and you and I is exposure. Their lives are subjected to much more attention than most people and for that they pay a price. Ours is a celebrity obsessed culture that has multiple TV programs every day of the week that focus solely on the lives of the…
Social media has evolved into the fifth major form of media: print, radio, television, Internet, social. While social media functions on the Internet, there’s no denying that it is its own platform. It encompasses most forms of media in one tight and neat package. Some social networking sites have more users than number of residents…
There has been a bit of buzz lately regarding an Internet “kill switch” and a handful of trusted individuals given the responsibility of rebooting the Internet, should it go down from cyber attack or be shut down for whatever reason. The operation is born of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICAAN). ICANN…
Child identity theft is a growing problem. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that there are 500,000 new victims every year. The culprits are often parents or others who have direct access to the child’s Social Security number. (In my own experience, I’ve had to give out my children’s Social Security numbers to hospitals, insurers, and…
In a recent post (Hackers Play “Social Engineering Capture The Flag” At Defcon) I pointed to a game in which contestants used the telephone to convince company employees to voluntarily cough up information they probably shouldn’t have. At the recent Defcon event, social engineers proved that it doesn’t take much more than asking to get…
