World’s dumbest Rapist: Tells Victim to call Boyfriend

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What’s sicker than raping a woman? Ordering her to phone her boyfriend so he could listen to the rape. But that was a good thing for a woman who was kidnapped last year. Her abductor drove her to the parking lot of an adult entertainment store in Georgia with the intent of raping her, reports WSB-TV.

1SDBut the abductor, Robert Giles, first ordered her to call her boyfriend so he could listen in. Smart move, dude: The victim called 911 instead. However, she pretended the man on the other end of the call was her boyfriend.

The victim explained the circumstance to her “boyfriend,” who quickly realized what was actually happening. And the 911 operator, Deonte Smith, went along with it, posing as her boyfriend, all the while gathering data to locate Giles.

Soon, the police nabbed Giles on the spot.

What can we learn about this event?

  • If you’re abducted, keep your cool and think hard. Do not be afraid to be strategic.
  • Of course, you want to prevent ending up in such a situation in the first place. A man doesn’t just randomly abduct a woman. He observes them first, to see who seems like they’d put up the least resistance.
  • If you are ever abducted, holler as loud as you can, “Fire! Fire!” People are more likely to come bolting out of the woodwork to help out when they hear “Fire!” rather than hearing just screaming. Even if you yell “Rape!” there’s bound to be a few listeners who will think this is a prank. Yelling “Fire!” is not associated with pranks.
  • If you notice a man following you, throw a curve ball. Predators are easily stunned by curve balls and paralyzed with confusion and trepidation. For example, if he sees you spit on the ground as he’s walking behind you, this will likely make him hesitant to grab you.
  • Always be aware of your surroundings. Never text while walking in public! Take out the earbuds and keep your ears on high alert.
  • Sign up for martial arts/self-defense lessons. Yes, they really work when taught by a highly qualified instructor.

Robert Siciliano CEO of IDTheftSecurity.com, personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft preventionvideo.

How to safely and securely recycles Devices

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Don’t just throw out your old devices; take measures to protect your personal information.

13DBack Up

Before ridding your device, back up everything on it—everything. Use an automated PC service and/or a flash drive. For the iOS and Android, activate Apple’s iCloud or the Google Auto Backup service.

Wipe

Wiping refers to removing all your data. Simply hitting “delete” or reformatting the hard drive won’t do. I purchased 30 used computers off Craigslist, scoured their hard drives with a forensics expert, and discovered that half of the devices—that had been reformatted—still had personal information.

To wipe Windows PCs, you can use Active KillDisk. For Macs, use the OS X Disk Utility or WipeDrive. “A factory reset should be enough to secure most recent smartphones, provided that you remove any SIM cards that could contain personal info. To be super safe, use Blancco Mobile to wipe the iOS or Android.

Destroy

If you can’t wipe the device, destroy it if you don’t plan on donating or reselling. For example, I recently recycled a laptop that was missing its power supply, so there was no way to turn it on and wipe the disc. Instead I removed the hard drive with a screwdriver, and then took a sledgehammer to it. (Aside from protecting my personal data, it was also a lot of fun.)

Recycle
Ask the recycling company just who does the downstream recycling so that your e-waste doesn’t find its way into a foreign landfill. Make sure the company is part of R2 (Responsible Recycling) or e-Stewards certification programs.

Keep Records

Make sure you document donations with a receipt so that the IRS can give you a little return.

Robert Siciliano is an identity theft expert to BestIDTheftCompanys.com discussing  identity theft prevention. For Roberts FREE ebook text- SECURE Your@emailaddress -to 411247. Disclosures.

Evaluating Physical and Information Security Risks

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When it comes to protecting an organization’s information, flaws with this can involve either implementing strong technology to protect too much trivial data, or inadequate protection of important and sensitive data.

7WIn short, not enough attention is cast upon a company’s most important information; there’s a gap between the IT department and the operational units of the business.

A thorough risk assessment is warranted in these cases. Once all the risks are identified, strategies can be created by personnel to prioritize risk minimization. This is risk management.

Risk has several components: assets, threats and weaknesses. Businesses must address (risk-assess) all components—internally, rather than externally by outsourcing.

A risk assessment identifies all potential risks, then analyzes what might happen in the event of a hazard.

A BIA (business impact analysis) is the process by which potential impacts are determined that result from the impediment of critical business activities. With a BIA, the results of disrupted business processes (which can include losses or delayed deliveries, among many others) are predicted; information is collected to come up with recovery strategies.

The objective is to maximize cost/benefit: identify the most relevant risks and reduce them with minimal investment.

The strategy is to determine what risks this company may face in a given year (e.g., digitized information, reputation, paper documents, employee safety).

Next is to formulate a list of possible sources of threats (employees, hackers, customers and competitors, to name some) based on the experiences of many in the organization. There are also risk assessment plan guidelines online.

Then next is a risk assessment chart. A list of assets must be compiled (e.g., employees, machinery/equipment, IT, raw materials, etc.) in a left column. Then opposite each asset, put down its associated hazards that could yield an impact. Each hazard is broken down into high probability-low impact and low probability-high impact.

Review the impacts for vulnerabilities that may make the asset prone to a loss. Here you’ll find opportunities for threat prevention or mitigation. Probability of occurrence can be specified with L for low, M for medium, H for high.

Information from the BIA would go towards rating the impact on “Operations.” Make an “entity” column for estimations of potential impacts (e.g., financial, brand/reputation, contractual). “Overall Hazard Rating” combines “probability of occurrence” and the highest scoring that impacts operations, employees, property, etc.

A worst case scenario? Do nothing. After all, a failure to plan is a planned failure.

Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to AllClearID. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video. Disclosures.

Stop! Do You Really Want to Send That Photo?

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Yes we all use (or at least 96% of us do) our smartphones to take photos. But almost half of us (49%) have sent or received intimate content (photos, texts, etc.). So it’s time to stop and think about what we’re sharing and with whom.

I’ve said this before…the rise of smartphone usage has provided us with tons of convenience, but also brought about different risks we need to consider. Sharing intimate or racy information via mobile devices can set you up for potentially adverse situations.

A study by McAfee shows a number of adults sharing private details about their lives, including those of an intimate nature such as nude photos and sexts—all of this on unsecured digital devices—now, that’s just asking for a social scandal.

27% of us still don’t secure our mobile devices with a basic personal identification number (PIN) or passcode. And 38% of us have shared our PIN or passcode with our significant other. This puts you at risk for cyber stalking, identity theft and leakage of their intimate data.

love-relationship

Come on now people, stop being so reckless. No matter what your age group or gender, a lot of you are engaging in behaviors that will sting you in the end. The time to wake up and get smart is BEFORE something adverse happens that will expose you in ways you never wanted.

Here are some things you’ll want to remember as we head into Valentine’s Day before sending that loving message.

  • Be careful what you share. Don’t share your passwords with anyone, including significant others and family members. If you absolutely need to share it, create a unique code just for that account, and change it immediately if you suspect foul play.
  • Put a PIN on it. Always use a PIN or passcode on your smartphone and other mobile devices. If your phone is lost or stolen, anyone who picks up your device could get access to all your information and publish it online.
  • The delete button is your friend. If you do send personal or intimate messages, take the time to delete the content from your mobile device and personal accounts as soon as possible. It doesn’t take that much time and it could save you years of damage control for your reputation.
  • Once you share, it’s no longer yours. Remember before you hit send, post, tweet, etc. that once you share private information it’s now out of your control and you’re reliant on others to protect your privacy–for better or for worse.

To join the conversation use #SextRegret or follow McAfee on Twitter @McAfeeConsumer or Facebook.

Also, don’t forget to play the Crack the PIN to win game that was launched by Intel and McAfee to encourage people to take simple steps toward privacy everywhere by locking, tracking, and encrypting their devices. Go to www.mcafee.com/PINit to try and crack the pin to learn about why it’s critical to protect your mobile devices with a PIN and try and win a Samsung Galaxy tablet or McAfee LiveSafe™ service if you guess the PIN!

The Futures Company and MSI conducted surveys in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan, Mexico, China, India, Singapore and Brazil among 9,337 men and women, ages 18 to 54. The survey was conducted in December 2013 – January 2014.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  Disclosures.

7 Essentials for a Survival Kit

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If you were out in the middle of nowhere for three days or stuck at home due to man made or natural disaster, what would you need to survive? Here are numerous items that are essential for survival. Keep in mind this is a basic list that might be proactively packed in a “go bag” or in a big plastic tub to keep at work or in your home or car. Each category and item can be significantly expanded upon and researched by Googling the key word.

1MClean water and/or iodine tablets and water access

Your body is mostly water; water is the No. 1. tool for survival. For three days you’d need three liters. To expand your water supply, have with you iodine tablets to purify river or groundwater. Consider an investment on a 55 gallon barrel water storage system.

Food

“Energy” bars are high in sugars and pack nicely. So-called backpack meals are also useful. Canned tuna is high in protein. Costco offers months to years’ worth of survival food.

Clothes

  • Sturdy shoes (hiking footwear is even better)
  • Hooded rain resistant jacket
  • Two shirts and long pants (not cotton; cotton retains moisture)
  • Two pairs of socks (wool if you anticipate cold)
  • Long underwear (polypropylene will keep you warm)
  • Wide brimmed hat
  • Bandana
  • Sunglasses
  • Gloves (not necessarily for cold protection, but what if you have to handle earth and rocks?)
  • Plastic bags (to wear over your socks to keep wetness away)
  • Rubberbands (to secure the plastic bags to your ankles)

Shelter

  • Tent (or tarp and a way to set it up)
  • Ground tarp (or sleeping pad) to insulate against ground wetness
  • Sleeping bag

Medical

It’s best to create a first aid kit rather than purchase one. This way, you’ll know exactly what’s in it and how to use the tools. Make sure it contains:

  • Ankle brace (for sprained ankle)
  • Ace bandage
  • Chemical cold pack
  • Bandages, gauze and an anti-bacterial for lacerations
  • Tourniquet
  • Cotton balls
  • Sunblock
  • Tweezers (for de-ticking)
  • Hand mirror (can also be used to reflect the sun to search-and-rescue aircraft!)
  • Sawyer extractor (for snake bites)
  • Vaseline
  • Anything else that might be needed, or that’s specific to your health needs

Tools for survival

  • At least three different fire starting/building devices.
  • A travel chainsaw
  • Backpacking stove and fuel including propane; and a small pot for boiling water.
  • Two flashlights and backup batteries
  • “Survival” knife
  • Map and compass (first learn how to use these!)
  • Topographical map
  • Cell phone with battery backup
  • Solar powered chargers
  • Survival GPS app

Weapons/safety

  • A firearm of choice. A shotgun with various types of shot is most versatile.
  • Pepper spray (the big cans called “bear spray” are best)
  • Air horn
  • Whistle
  • Blunt instruments such as a baseball bat or golf club.

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