5 Quick Tips on How to Prevent the Next Data Breach

/in /by

You may be aware of the uber techie bad boy hackers of Anonymous/Lulz/Anti-sec/Wikileaks/ScriptKiddies and the organized web mobs of the world.  Did you know they have wreaked havoc to the degree that almost a billion records have been compromised?  A recent study “gathered 3,765 publicly disclosed data breach incidents occurring in 33 countries during 2005-2010. The incidents included over 806.2 million known records being disclosed– averaging more than 388,000 records per day/15,000 records per hour every single day for the past six years.”

#1 Not all data is hacked. Exercise basic to advanced premise/physical security such as access control, security cameras and alarms.

#2 Limit the amount of data required from customers. If you don’t really need a Social Security number then don’t store it. If credit card information doesn’t need to be stored then don’t store it.

#3 Recognize that knowledge based authentication questions as password resets can bring down the house. Many of the answers can be found in social media sites.

#4 Laptops are one of the biggest data breach points. Laptop data should be encrypted. Laptops should never be left in a car overnight or left in a hotel room or office alone or on a coffee table in a café unattended. Laptop tracking software that locates and wipes data is essential.

#5 Train, train, train, train. Training on data security and what to do, and what not to do is priority number one.  Clicking links in emails, downloading anything from the web or email, opening attachments in emails, have all been recent successful ways to infect a network.

Robert Siciliano personal and small business security specialist toADT Small Business Security discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Protect Your Home This Holiday Season

/in /by

Burglars are opportunists looking for a score. They case a neighborhood looking for homes that look unoccupied, mailboxes stuffed, news papers piled up, lights off, shades up with a Christmas tree in the window inside with lots of gifts under the tree.

They prefer homes with no signage outside says “This House Is Alarmed” or “Protected By ADT”. Once they determine a valuable target they begin jiggling doorknobs to see which homes aren’t locked.

It’s not uncommon for burglars to walk around the house in broad daylight looking like a contractor, holding a clipboard and in some kind of a uniform. Their goal is to look like they belong there.

The chances of your home getting burglarized are reduced significantly when you put layers of protection in place.

Protect yourself:

Install a home security system and keep it on during the day when you are home or away and especially at night while you are sleeping.

Lock your doors and install good door locks that can’t be easily “bumped”. This generally means spending a little more money and getting advice from a locksmith.

Keep shades down so the bad guy can’t see what you have going on inside.

Put your light on timers to give your home that lived in look.

If you have a garage, pull in the garage when unloading gifts and large purchases

If you travel make sure to have someone collect mail, newspapers and even shovel while you are gone.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams. Disclosures

A Sherriff Issues Holiday Crime Prevention Tips

/in /by

A Florida County Sheriff via The Recorder issued the following tips to prevent holiday crime. I’m going to break them down and shorten them up to keep it concise.

“We are coming up on one of the most festive times of the year for families with the celebration of several holidays. However, joy and fun can quickly turn to disappointment and sorrow when someone becomes a victim of a scam, burglary or online fraudulent holiday shopping scheme.”
Scams: Holiday cyber-crimes including fraudulent auction sites.  

Protect: Do business with known sites. Look for high ratings and user approvals.

Scam: Resale of stolen or counterfeit gift cards

Protect: Only buy gift cards from well established retail environments and immediately check the card balance.

Scam: Reshipping merchandise purchased with stolen credit cards.

Protect: Generally reshipped stolen merchandise is much cheaper when sold online. If it’s too good to be true it’s hot!

Scam: Using an auction site or classified pages to advertise an item at a bargain price and the crook will charge your legitimate credit card for the order then use a separate stolen credit card to purchase the product and have it shipped.

Protect: Pay with PayPal so your credit card number and personal information is not shared with the seller.

Scam: Thieves break into cars in mall parking lots.

Protect: Lock your purchases in the trunk or out-of-site.

Scam: Purse snatchers are looking for easy money.

Protect: Carry purses with the strap going over one shoulder under your coat.

The holidays are a time to enjoy and get together with loved ones. An ounce of prevention can prevent holiday heartache.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussing Home Security on NBC Boston. Disclosures.

Protect From Holiday Phishing Shipping Scams

/in /by

A common holiday shipping phishing scam is a phony notice from UPS, saying you have a package and need to fill out an attached form to get it delivered. The form may ask for personal or financial details that will go straight into the hands of the cyberscammer. Often the email asks to download a label and the risk there may be downloading a virus.

Scammers are sending emails that look like they are coming from the United States Postal Office, Fed Ex, UPS, DHL, you name it. The email may state in the subject line there is a problem with delivery and reference a code.

In these emails the scammers are trying various ruses to get you to either download a virus or cough up names, addresses, credit card, bank info and even usernames and passwords.

The scams work because at this time of the year millions of people are getting stuff in the mail and expecting it. Scammers know there is a better chance that you will open an email, click a link, or even make a phone call in response to an official looking communication from a phish email.

It’s pretty simple not to get scammed here. Realize right now that none of these organizations will send you an email requesting more information from you or for you to download something.  And if you are currently engaged in shipping or receiving packages, go through the normal channels you usually do to make contact. Log into your accounts or go to the existing emails you may have to communicate.

Ultimately just hit delete.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

Beware of Charity Scams This Holiday Season

/in /by

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 phone calls or emails received requesting cash or to wire money transfers is a scam.

Be suspect of all emails requesting donations: I would never click on a link in an email, especially short URL’s. Always manually enter the domain name into the address bar. The best thing is to go directly to the organization’s website.

Check with the Better business Bureau: The first thing you should always do prior to making a donation to any charity is to check their credibility with the BBB. Go online to http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Reviews/ and search out the charity.

Give only to charities, not individuals: Any communication from someone requesting money because of their hardship is an obvious scam. But some people are saps for an emotional sob story. While you may be savvy enough not to fall for these scams, someone in your life who may be naïve could.

Consider giving to the Red Cross: The American Red Cross is the most known and credible organization on the planet for helping out those in despair. Give now and give as much as you can.

Never give out credit card numbers via an unsolicited email.

Never give out PIN or account numbers to anyone for any reason

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing scammers and thieves on The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch. Disclosures.

Keeping Tabs On Your Home When Away

/in /by

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 whenever I leave there is always a discomfort that when I’m not there to guard the castle, I’m concerned that something can go wrong. Mother Nature can make a mess of things with inclement weather, Father Time wears things down and they may break while you are gone, brazen burglars ransack your stuff, tempted teens use your vacated home as a party palace and worse than it all, freaky follies occur like a busted water pipe on the second or third floor completely ruining your home.  Water is big time destructive.

I’ve remedied most of these issues by installed a surveillance system by ADT Pulse on my property. Mine is a little over the top, however it serves as a good guide.

I have 16 surveillance cameras including 8 on the inside and 8 on the outside. Each camera is strategically placed to give me a remote view of each critical access point on the perimeter and on the inside.  There are also cameras in the garage and mechanical room. Each camera is set up to record video whenever there is motion. Each “event” is then sent via text message to alert me to the activity.

In the event that a water pipe lets loose I have water sensors tied directly to the Internet. If the water heater or any water dependant appliance gets all freaky In the kitchen I’ll be alerted via text to the issue.

When I’m home my touchpad’s or PC are alarm central. And when I’m out or away it becomes laptop, iPad or mobile. No matter where I am, I have full access to the goings on of my property.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

How to Prevent Gift Card Scams

/in /by

Sleazy Grinchy scammy conmen are also in the process of providing holiday gifts for their families. But the way they do it is by taking hard earned money from good people.

Scammers know that almost 100 billion dollars is spent annually on gift cards and studies show that almost 2/3rds of consumers prefer to receive gift cards. The math of all this equals opportunity for criminals.

Scamming gift cards is surprisingly easy. It works like this: gift cards have identifying numbers just like a credit card those numbers may be displayed on the card or embedded in the magnetic strip.  Thieves will go into a retailer that has gift card displays and take a picture of the card itself or skim the card to get the data off it.

Most gift cards can be tracked at an associated website or telephone number that has the remaining card balance. Scammers will continually track that number waiting for it to be activated. Once activated they clone the card and use its full balance at a retailer. Sometimes store clerks will take a newly activated card and pass off a blank one.

Protect yourself:

Rack displays of gift cards are shaky. If the store has them behind a counter get them there. Like in a mall kiosk. Otherwise the card could have been skimmed.

Beware of cards that have been messed with. If the packaging has been removed or the numbers have been exposed that could spell trouble. Look for activation stickers that look like they’ve been peeled off and put back on.

Don’t buy gift-cards from auction sites. There are just too many risks associated with auctioning money.

Cash it in. Whenever receiving a gift card, spend it ASAP.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing home security and identity theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

How to Save Money With a Home Security System

/in /by

The best thing about a recession is it smartens people up. It makes us tighten our belts and shed excess. I’m definitely guilty of piling on the debt circa 2004-8 in the irrational exuberance years.  But as soon as the ball dropped I made significant change.  Immediately I looked at all the monthly recurring fees and bills and cut down on about 80% of them.

I also have a monthly bill for home security alarm monitoring. But not once did I contemplate eliminating that. Actually I upgraded my system to one that’s more efficient that has more options too. My ADT Pulse system has an internet based dashboard that allows me to set schedules for lights, heat and cooling so I sat down and looked at how I could make this system pay for itself.

First thing I did was set schedules for the heat. I have a gas fired hot air system and gas isn’t cheap, nor is the electric to run it. It’s common knowledge that home heating should be set to 68 degrees, so I set my heat to run at 68 starting at the hour of 6 am, which is generally when everyone’s up and about. The 68 degrees runs all the way until 10pm because there is always someone home. Then I set the heat to drop to 64 degrees on the first floor and 66 in the bedrooms on the second floor.  Nobody but the dog is on the first floor and she’s got a fur coat. And everyone in the bedrooms is under blankets and has enough body heat to handle the 2 degree drop.

Over the past year it has become evident that this simple tweak in my heat scheduling has saved me money in excess of what my home security system costs. Nice!

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News. Disclosures

Best Secret Hiding Places: Dead Space

/in /by

Burglars know where you hide stuff. That key under the mat or in the flower pot or the jewelry in the dresser draw or the cash in the cookie jar. But there are better ways to do things. A heavy fire retardant safe bolted to the floor is best. And there are other options too.

We have dead space all over our homes. If you are handy, this dead space can become handy.

  1. Walls: There is a 16 inch center to center void in most of your homes walls made up of 2x4s and sheetrock. Newer homes built in the last 30-40 years have sheetrock opposed to horse hair plaster. Sheetrock is much easier to cut out and make a faux access panel.  This is a great hiding place for anything including long items like rifles and shotguns.
  2. Stairs: Underneath stairs there is often a big void as big as the tread itself. This isn’t always the case so consider drilling a hole before you go ripping up a tread.
  3. Staircases: Underneath many staircases is a closet of some kind meant to fill the big void the staircase creates. But there is always an additional void that gets boarded up because it’s too low to the ground to be effective space for a closet.
  4. Kitchen cabinets: In many homes the tops of kitchen cabinets are exposed giving plenty of space up top to lay things flat. In other cases the tops of the cabinets meet sheetrock that meets the ceiling. This can be a big void. Cut a hole in the top of a cabinet and put stuff up there, then seal the hole with a panel. The very bottom of cabinets have a similar void.
  5. Electrical outlets: Because your walls are hollow making a small hiding place out of a fake electrical outlet is easy. Hardware stores have all you need to cut a hole, put in a deep outlet box and put a non useable outlet or switch in.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist toHome Security Source discussingADT Pulse on Fox News Live. Disclosures

Home Invader/Killer Says He’s Done It Before

/in /by

There’s no need to live in fear. And there is a need to take responsibility for your family’s security by investing in a home security system and take some control over your personal security.

Convicted killer and home invader on death row Steven Hayes apparently wrote letters confessing to up to 17 murders of women over the course of his miserable life.

The New Haven register reports he noted “Yes, I’ve killed before,” Hayes bragged. “I have 17 kills throughout the Northeast United States. Perfect victims and well executed, controlled endeavors.”

Hayes partnered with Joshua Komisarjevsky in the “Petit home invasion” which has become known as one of the most brutal highly publicized home invasions ever, where a mom and her two daughters were killed as the Dr. dad lay beaten and bloody in the basement.

Hayes purportedly wrote in a letter “I’ve searched my whole life for someone who could embrace and had the capacity for evil as I possess, I thought I finally found it in Josh.”

Apparently Hayes played the father figure role and Komisarjevsky served as his evil apprentice. But in the letters Hayes wrote “But events show Josh, while (he) had the proper evil intent, lacked in the most serious aspects, commitment and control.”

He further wrote “the Petit home invasion was a dry run in the partnership between Josh and myself. I do now realize that had we gotten away, I would have killed Josh. He was not even close to being worthy of my partnership.”

The letters go on to describe in painful detail how Hayes selected his victims one by one in a process that allowed him to avoid detection for almost 20 years.
Creepy.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing Home Invasions on Montel Williams. Disclosures