Three Quarters of a Billion Records breached

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Last year, says the security firm Gemalto, over 700 million records were breached. Or, to put it another way, this translates to two million stolen or lost records every day.

3D2015 Breach Level Report

  • 1,673 hacking incidents
  • 398 were triggered from the inside of the attacked company: employees and even IT staff who were tricked (social engineering) by hackers into clicking on malicious links or attachments
  • Government agencies suffered the greatest data leaks.
  • Following that were nation states and healthcare enterprises (remember the big Anthem breach?)

Gemalto also says that the U.S. is the leading target of cyber attacks, with the UK, Canada and Australia following behind in that order. But don’t let Australia’s fourth place standing fool you. It reports only 42 publically reported incidents, while the U.S. has reportedly had 1,222.

How can you tell your computer has been compromised by an attack?

  • Your computer is running slowly; you’re not simply being impatient—the device really is moving at a crawl. This is a possible sign the computer is infected.
  • Another possible sign of infection: Programs open up without you making them, as though they have a mind of their own.

Protecting Your Computer

  • First and foremost, businesses need to rigorously put their employees through training. This includes staged phishing attacks to see if any employees can be tricked into revealing sensitive company information. Training for workers must be ongoing, not just some annual seminar. A company could have the best security software and smartest IT staff, but all it takes is one less-than-mindful employee to let in the Trojan horse.
  • If you receive an e-mail with a link or attachment, never rush to open them. Pause. Take a few breaths. Count to 10. No matter what the subject line says, there is always plenty of time to make sure an e-mail is from a legitimate sender before opening any attachments or clicking any links.
  • Use firewall and anti-virus software and keep them updated.
  • Use a virtual private network to scramble your online activities when you’re using public Wi-Fi so that cyber snoopers see only scrambling.
  • Use the most recent version of your OS and browser.
  • Regularly back up your data.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

Security Appreciation lacking

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What’s it gonna take for companies to crack down on their cybersecurity? What’s holding them back? Why do we keep hearing about one company data breach after another?

1SWell, there’s just not enough IT talent going around. The irony is that most company higher-ups admit that cybersecurity is very important and can even name specific situations that could compromise security, such as

having multiple vendors vs. only a single vendor; not having quality-level encryption in place; allowing employees to bring their own mobile devices to work and use them there for business; and having employees use cloud services for business.

Many even admit that they lack confidence in preventing a sophisticated malware onslaught and are worried about spear phishing attacks.

So as you can see, the understanding is out there, but then it kind of fizzles after that point: Businesses are not investing enough in beefing up their cybersecurity structure.

Let’s first begin with signs that a computer has been infected with malware:

  • It runs ridiculously slow.
  • Messages being sent from your e-mail—behind your back by some unknown entity.
  • Programs opening and closing on their own.

What can businesses (and people at home or traveling) do to enhance cybersecurity?

  • Regularly back up all data.
  • All devices should have security software and a firewall, and these should be regularly updated.
  • Got an e-mail from your boss or company SEO with instructions to open an attachment or click a link? Check with that person first—by phone—to verify they sent you the attachment or link. Otherwise, this may be a spear phishing attempt: The hacker is posing as someone you normally defer to, to get you to reveal sensitive information.
  • Mandate ongoing security training for employees. Include staged phishing e-mails to see who bites the bait. Find out why they bit and retrain them.
  • Never open e-mails with subject lines telling you an account has been suspended; that you won a prize; inherited money; your shipment failed; you owe the IRS; etc. Scammers use dramatic subject lines to get people to open these e-mails and then click on malicious links or open attachments that download viruses.
  • Install a virtual private network before you use public Wi-Fi.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

Protect Yourself from Online Dating Scams

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$200 million: The amount people were ripped off by online dating scams in a year.

1FDUI: dating while under the influence…of the quest for love…is costly to countless people.

A nytimes.com article notes that this quest impairs judgment, making it easy for con artists to bilk lonely people. Or are some people just plain stupid? But many victims are highly educated.

It all begins with a phony profile that grabs the victim’s attention. The nytimes.com report points out that the scamster uses attractive photos stolen off of other sites.

INTERRUPTION: If he/she is too gorgeous to be true, right-click the image to see where else it appears online! Is “Emilene McKenna” whom she says she is?

These scammers come from anywhere on the globe.

  • They prey upon loneliness, greed and desire.
  • Overseas scam rings
  • Solitary scammers working at home late at night
  • Women, not just men
  • They almost always profess to be in a glamorous or exciting line of work, though occasionally, they’ll pose as a more common person (perhaps to appear less suspicious).
  • People of all ages and walks of life, plus sexual orientations, are targeted.
  • The common denominator is a request for money.
  • Reasons for money requests run the gamut but usually focus on medical bills, legal fees or fees relating to a planned trip to meet the victim (which never occurs).

The nytimes.com article quotes victim specialist Debbie Deem that these con artists are skilled at mirroring the victim’s needs and creating “a sense of intimacy very quickly.” The victim soon becomes convinced that this is their soulmate—and thinks nothing of sending them the requested money.

However, the scammer may reveal their true colors after luring the victim into posing for raunchy photos or videos: The crook threatens to expose these unless the victim sends them money.

Other Facts

  • Being offered a spouse is a growing ruse.
  • Some victims have lost over $400,000.
  • Significant contact from the scammer lauding the victim.

How to Protect Yourself

  • If you haven’t already figured that out after reading this article…I’m very worried.
  • In addition to right-clicking the photo, copy and paste the profile’s narrative into a search engine and see if it shows up anywhere else like on an unrelated person’s blog or another dating profile under a different name.
  • NEVER SEND MONEY! Think: They’ve gotten this far in life without your financial help; they’ll survive without it.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Beware of Amazon’s scary Customer Service Hack

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Do you shop at Amazon.com? Are you aware they have a back door through which hackers can slip in?

11DLet’s look at Eric’s experience with hackers and Amazon, as he recounts at medium.com/@espringe.

He received an e-mail from Amazon and contacted them to see what it was about. Amazon informed him that he had had a text-chat and sent him the transcript—which he had never been part of.

Eric explains that the hacker gave Eric’s whois.com data to Amazon. However, the whois.com data was partially false because Eric wanted to remain private.

So Eric’s “fake” whois.com information wasn’t 100 percent in left field; some of it was true enough for the customer service hack to occur, because in exchange for the “fake” information, Amazon supplied Eric’s real address and phone number to the hacker.

The hacker got Eric’s bank to get him a new copy of his credit card. Amazon’s customer service had been duped.

Eric informed Amazon Retail to flag his account as being at “extremely high risk” of getting socially engineered. Amazon assured him that a “specialist” would be in contact (who never was).

Over the next few months, Eric assumed the problem disintegrated; he gave Amazon a new credit card and new address. Then he got another strange e-mail.

He told Amazon that someone was impersonating him, and Amazon told him to change his password. He insisted they keep his account secure. He was told the “specialist” would contact him (who never did). This time, Eric deleted his address from Amazon.

Eric became fed up because the hacker then contacted Amazon by phone and apparently got the last digits of his credit card. He decided to close his Amazon account, unable to trust the giant online retailer.

  • Frequently log into your account to check on orders. See if there are transactions you are unaware of. Look for “ship to” addresses you didn’t authorize.
  • Amazon’s customer support reps should be able to see the IP address of the user who’s connecting. They should be on alert for anything suspicious, such as whether or not the IP address is the one that the user normally connects with.
  • Users should create aliases with their e-mail services, to throw off hacking attempts. In other words, having the same email address for all your online accounts will make it easy for them to be compromised.
  • If you own domain names, check out the “whois” info associated with the account. It may be worth making it private.

Be very careful when sharing information about yourself. Do not assume that just because a company is a mega giant (like Amazon), it will keep your account protected from the bad guys.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

Can the cloud be trusted?

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Most people have heard of storing information in “the cloud,” but do you know what this means, and if it is even safe?

4HA cloud is basically a network of servers that offer different functions. Some of these servers allow you to store data while others provide various services. The cloud is made of millions of servers across the globe and most are owned by private or public corporations. Many of those corporations are diligent about security, and you are likely using the cloud whether you know it or not.

Most customers using cloud services have faith that their information will remain safe. But there are some precautions you need to take. Here are some questions to ask any cloud service provider before relying on them to store your business data:

  • How often do you clean out dormant accounts?
  • What type of authentication is used?
  • Who can access and see my data?
  • Where is the data physically kept?
  • What level of encryption is in place?
  • How is the data backed up?
  • What’s in place for physical security?
  • Are private keys shared between others if data encryption is being used?

Keeping your company data safe

Over time, a company surely will accumulate data that seems irrelevant, but you shouldn’t be so quick to dispose of this data, especially if it is sensitive. This might include data such as customer or client information, employee information, product information or even old employee records.

The truth is, you just never know when you may or may not need this information, so it is best that you keep it. Digital data should be backed up in the cloud. If it’s paper, convert it to digital and store it offsite. Here are some things to remember when doing this:

  • All data, even if old or irrelevant, should be backed up.
  • Data retention policies should always include an “expiration date” for when this data is no longer useful to you.
  • Companies that want to delete old data should understand that deleting files and emptying the recycle bin, or reformatting a drive may not enough to get files off of your computer. Hackers may still be able to access this data.

If you actually want to remove all of the data on a disk, literally break or smash it. To truly delete a file, you must physically destroy the hard drive.

Consultant Robert Siciliano is an expert in personal privacy, security and identity theft prevention. Learn more about Carbonite’s cloud and hybrid backup solutions for small and midsize businesses. Disclosures.

Why Are Cyber Hucksters so successful?

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Often, hucksters prey on the consumer’s desperation, which is why it’s no surprise that the No. 1 rip-off (at least between 2011 and 2012)) was bogus products promising weight loss.

6DVICE (vice.com) interviewed psychologist Maria Konnikova about how cyber cons are so successful—even with the most ridiculous sounding bait (Nigerian prince, anyone?).

The bait becomes more attractive when the target is receiving an influx of cyber attention. Sad to say, this trips up a person’s rationale, making them susceptible to the huckster’s plan.

Konnikova is quoted as stating, “Few things throw us off our game as much as so-called cognitive load: how taxed our mental capacities are at any given moment.” She explains that people are vulnerable when the con artist hits them up with their scheme while the victim is distracted with Twitter, texting, etc. In short, it’s cognitive overload.

Konnikova is the author of the book, “The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For It, Every Time.” In the book, she mentions that victims such as the U.S. Navy were too humiliated to prosecute the crooks who conned them. She tells vice.com: “Because admitting it [getting rooked] would mean admitting you’re a sap.”

And in this day of rapidly evolving cyber technology, the huckster’s job is becoming easier, what with all sorts of pathways he can snag a victim, such as dating sites and pop-up ads warning your computer has been infected. But something else is on the crook’s side: the false sense of security that all this techy mumbo jumbo gives the common user—who hence lets down their guard.

And despite all the parodies and mockeries surrounding the so-called Nigerian prince scam (aka 419 scam), it’s still out there in full force and effect. Look how technology has made it swell. And it will continue evolving as long as people want something for nothing. Why else would the Powerball swell to over 1.3 billon. “The basic contours of the story won’t change,” Konnikova tells vice.com.

Another factor is that some people equate online with credibility: “It’s online so it must be legitimate,” is the mindset. According to this mindset, the Loch Ness Monster must really exist, since there are many stories about it online. Despite how irrational this mindset is, scammers know that many people think this way and will design their ploys to look even more legitimate (with creative layouts, slogans, links, etc.).

Though it takes skill to be a successful huckster, they can’t get the job done without the victim being “vulnerablized” by cognitive overload.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention.

2016 Information Security Predictions

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No bones about it, 2016 is sure to see some spectacular, news-chomping data breaches, predicts many in infosec. If you thought 2015 was interesting, get your seatbelt and helmet on and prepare for lift off…

4WWearable Devices

Cyber crooks don’t care what kind of data is in that little device strapped around your upper arm while you exercise, but they’ll want to target it as a passageway to your smartphone. Think of wearables as conduits to your personal life.

Firmware/Hardware

No doubt, assaults on firmware and hardware are sure to happen.

Ransomware

Not only will this kind of attack continue, but an offshoot of it—“I will infect someone’s device with ransomware for you for a reasonable price”—will likely expand.

The Cloud

Let’s not forget about cloud services, which are protected by security structures that cyber thieves will want to attack. The result could mean wide-scale disruption for a business.

The Weak Links

A company’s weakest links are often their employees when it comes to cybersecurity. Companies will try harder than ever to put in place the best security systems and hire the best security personnel in their never-ending quest for fending off attacks—but the weak links will remain, and cyber crooks know this. You can bet that many attacks will be driven towards employees’ home systems as portals to the company’s network.

Linked Stolen Data

The black market for stolen data will be even more inviting to crooks because the data will be in sets linked together.

Cars, et al

Let’s hope that 2016 (or any year, actually) won’t be the year that a cyber punk deliberately crashes an Internet connected van carrying a junior high school’s soccer team. Security experts, working with automakers, will crack down on protection strategies to keep cyber attacks at bay.

Threat Intelligence Sharing

Businesses and security vendors will do more sharing of threat intelligence. In time, it may be feasible for the government to get involved with sharing this intelligence. Best practices will need hardcore revisions.

Transaction Interception

It’s possible: Your paycheck, that’s been directly deposited into your bank for years, suddenly starts getting deposited into a different account—that belonging to a cyber thief. Snatching control of a transaction (“integrity attack”) means that the thief will be able to steal your money or a big business’s money.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.

11 Ways to Mitigate Insider Security Threats

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Companies are constantly attacked by hackers, but what if those attacks come from the inside? More companies than ever before are dealing with insider security threats.Here are 11 steps that all organizations should take to mitigate these threats and protect important company data:11D

  1. Always encrypt your data If you want to minimize the impact of an insider threat, always encrypt data. Not all employees need access to all data and encryption adds another layer of protection.
  2. Know the different types of insider threatsThere are different types of insider threats. Some are malicious, and some are simply due to negligence. Malicious threats may be identified by employee behavior, such as attempting to hoard data. In this case, additional security controls can be an effective solution.
  3. Do background checks before hiringBefore you hire a new employee, make sure you are doing background checks. Not only will this show any suspicious history, it can stop you from hiring any criminals or those associated with your competitors. Personality tests can also red flag the propensity for malicious behavior.
  4. Educate your staffEducating your staff on best practices for network security is imperative. It is much easier for employees to use this information if they are aware of the consequences of negligent behavior.
  5. Use monitoring solutionsThere are monitoring solutions that you can use, such as application, identity and device data, which can be an invaluable resource for tracking down the source of any insider attack.
  6. Use proper termination practicesJust as you want to be careful when hiring new employees, when terminating employees, you also must use proper practices. This includes revoking access to networks and paying attention to employee actions on the network in the days before they leave.
  7. Go beyond the IT departmentThough your IT department is a valuable resource, it cannot be your only defense against insider threats. Make sure you are using a number of programs and several departments to form a team against the possibility of threats.
  8. Consider access controlsAccess controls may help to deter both malicious and negligent threats. This also makes it more difficult to access data.
  9. Have checks and balances for all staff and systemsIt is also important to ensure there are checks and balances in place, i.e. having more than one person with access to a system, tracking that usage and banning shared usernames and passwords.
  10. Analyze network logsYou should collect, store and regularly analyze all of your network logs, and make sure it’s known that you do this. This will show the staff that you are watching what they are doing, making them less likely to attempt an insider attack.
  11. Back up your data Employees may be malicious or more likely they make big mistakes. And when they do, you’d sleep better at night knowing you have redundant, secure cloud based backup to keep your business up and running.

Robert Siciliano is an expert in personal privacy, security and identity theft. Learn more about Carbonite’s cloud and hybrid backup solutions for small and midsize businesses. See him discussing identity theft prevention.Disclosures.

How to recycle Old Devices

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When it comes to tossing into the rubbish your old computer device, out of sight means out of mind, right? Well yeah, maybe to the user. But let’s tack something onto that well-known mantra: Out of site, out of mind, into criminal’s hands.

7WYour discarded smartphone, laptop or what-have-you contains a goldmine for thieves—because the device’s memory card and hard drive contain valuable information about you.

Maybe your Social Security number is in there somewhere, along with credit card information, checking account numbers, passwords…the whole kit and caboodle. And thieves know how to extract this sensitive data.

Even if you sell your device, don’t assume that the information stored on it will get wiped. The buyer may use it for fraudulent purposes, or, he may resell to a fraudster.

Only 25 states have e-waste recycling laws. And only some e-waste recyclers protect customer data. And this gets cut down further when you consider that the device goes to a recycling plant at all vs. a trash can. Thieves pan for gold in dumpsters, seeking out that discarded device.

Few people, including those who are very aware of phishing scams and other online tricks by hackers, actually realize the gravity of discarding or reselling devices without wiping them of their data. The delete key and in some cases the “factory reset” setting is worthless.

To verify this widespread lack of insight, I collected 30 used devices like smartphones, laptops and desktops, getting them off of Craigslist and eBay. They came with assurance they were cleared of the previous user’s data.

I then gave them to a friend who’s skilled in data forensics, and he uncovered a boatload of personal data from the previous users of 17 of these devices. It was enough data to create identity theft. I’m talking Social Security numbers, passwords, usernames, home addresses, the works. People don’t know what “clear data” really means.

The delete button makes a file disappear and go into the recycle bin, where you can delete it again. Out of sight, out of mind…but not out of existence.

What to Do

  • If you want to resell, then wipe the data off the hard drive—and make sure you know how to do this right. There are a few ways of accomplishing this:

Search the name of your device and terms such as “factory reset”, “completely wipe data”, reinstall operating system” etc and look for various device specific tutorials and in some cases 3rd party software to accomplish this.

  • If you want to junk it, then you must physically destroy it. Remove the drive, thate are numerous online tutorials here too. Get some safety glasses, put a hammer to it or find an industrial shredder.
  • Or send it to a reputable recycling service for purging.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing identity theft prevention

How to unsend or cancel an E-mail

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If the person you are sending an e-mail to pretty much instantaneously receives it, how on earth can you unsend or cancel it? Well, you have several options.

emailCriptext

  • This is a browser plug-in that works for Chrome and Safari.
  • Your message including attachments will be encrypted.
  • You will know when it’s been opened.
  • You can recall messages and assign them expiration times. The recall, of course, comes after the recipient has possibly opened the message, but if they’re, for instance, away from their computer when it comes in, and you recall the e-mail, they will never know it was there. Or maybe they will have seen it and decided to open it later, and when that time comes, they see that it has vanished and think they’re going crazy.

UnSend.it

  • Like Criptext, this plug-in will let you know when messages have been opened. In addition, it allows you to recall them and also set expiration times.
  • Missing, however, is the encryption feature.
  • It’s compatible with more browsers than is Criptext.

What about Gmail users?

  • Enable the “Undo Send” feature as follows.
  • In the upper right is a gear icon; click on it.
  • Select Settings to bring up the “General” tab.
  • Scroll to Undo Send.
  • Click checkbox for Enable Undo Send.
  • You can choose a cancellation time of five, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. A grace period of only five or 10 seconds doesn’t make much sense, so you may as well choose 30 seconds unless you routinely need recipients to receive your messages less than 30 seconds after you send them.
  • Hit Save Changes.

Virtru

  • This plug-in is compatible with Chrome and Firefox.
  • Those with Yahoo, Gmail or Outlook accounts can use it.
  • For $2/month, you can have message recall and self-destruction, along with message forwarding.
  • The free version does not offer any kind of recall or cancellation features, only secure messaging.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to TheBestCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention.