Entries by Robert Siciliano

10 Ways our Privacy is invaded

Once you become active online…and especially once you become “connected” with a smartphone…your privacy will be in sizzling hot demand—and in fact, you can bet that as you read this, it is already being invaded in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine. Here are some of those ways, provided by wired.com: Someone could be collecting…

Auto Hacking is a real Thing

You’ll probably be shocked to learn that last year, thousands of cars with keyless entry technology were stolen in London, says a report from wired.com. But fact is, the more connected a vehicle is to the cyber world, the more hackable the vehicle is—and the hack could be to steal the vehicle or hurt the…

Catfishing Scammer tells all

Catfishing is when someone creates a phony online account—and not necessarily to scam someone for financial gain. An article on vice.com tells all about a person who’s been catfishing for eight years. She started in middle school by creating “Joey” on MySpace. She then commented, as “Joey,” on her real MySpace page to make herself…

Summer of Home Invasions

Even three men in a house aren’t immune to a home invasion, as was the case in Bedford, Massachusetts recently, says a report at boston.cbslocal.com. Three men broke into the apartment’s second floor at 2 a.m. and attacked the three male occupants. Three men, especially when one has a gun, really don’t care what gender…

Work from Home isn’t the Scam It used to be

Many, including me, have reported for years about all the “work at home” scams. And frankly, there are still plenty out there, unless you know where to look. There has never been more opportunity to legitimately earn a living working at home, and NOT get scammed. Mothers with young kids aren’t the only ones working…

Opportunities in Government for Skilled Security Personnel

As recent data breaches have shown, cyber attacks are particularly threatening to government entities handling sensitive data like Social Security numbers. Unfortunately, state agencies struggle to hire cybersecurity professionals. The cause of this staffing shortage? There simply aren’t enough qualified people for the job[i]. Thankfully, change is in the air. To attract skilled cybersecurity experts,…

Ransomware Scammers get the Big Bucks

It sounds almost like science fiction, even in this cyber age: A thief hacks into your computer and encrypts your files, meaning, scrambles the information so you can’t make sense of any of it. He demands you pay him a big fat payment to “unlock” the encryption or to give you the “key,” which is…

Big Bad Hackers taken down

Darkode anyone? Not anymore. This underground bad hackers’ forum was recently demolished by the FBI, says a report on www.justice.gov. The dozen hackers associated with Darkode are facing criminal charges. Though there are about 800 of such forums, Darkode was among the worst (or shall I say “best”?), presenting a serious threat to worldwide computers.…