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Burglar Hits County Sheriff’s Home

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In these posts I often point out what people do wrong and reverse engineer the scenario so we can learn from 20/20 hindsight what to do right next time. I’m happy to say, this post is about what was done right the first time.

There are many reasons why homes are broken into. Money is generally the primary motivation. Sometimes kids may be looking for a place to party or someone may be seeking out drugs or alcohol. But when someone breaks into the Sheriffs home, one has to wonder why.

Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen is used to investigating break-ins, but this time it was his own home. The sheriff is offering a $1,000 reward from his own pocket for information leading to an arrest. Nothing was taken in the break-in on Sunday at the sheriff’s home on Wacker Drive, which makes the incident even more mysterious, Phalen said. “I would almost feel better if something had been taken,” he said. The burglar came between 5 and 6 p.m., while Phalen and his wife were out for a walk. Phalen said that the alarm system triggered and the burglar apparently tried to disable it. The alarm was beeping when Phalen and his wife returned.

The motivation here may simply be for money, but if they knew it was the Sheriff’s house, then more than likely someone was after information or they simply wanted to have bragging rights to say “I broke into the Sheriff’s house.”

What pleases me about this story is the home security alarm that was triggered in the break in. Any one who reads this will see that the Sheriff, knowing that crime happens when someone least expects it, locked his doors and set his home alarm system while he and his wife were out for a quick walk.

Even though he was only gone for a short time he took full responsibility for his families security and enabled the home security system. One thing missing is why wasn’t their any data about the alarm being monitored by a service and a call made to the “Sheriff’s Department.” Seems there is a lesson to be learned here.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Please Hack Me. My Password is 123456

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert


Is this you? Are you a hacker’s delight? Are you a lazy lima bean begging to be hacked? Recently, there were 32 million passwords stolen last month from a social media site. Upon observation, researchers determined 1 percent of the 32 million people it studied had used “123456” as a password. The second-most-popular password was “12345.” Others in the top 20 included “qwerty,” “abc123” and “princess.”

In another breach thousands of email addresses and their passwords were phished by identity thieves and posted in an online forum. Researchers parsed the hacked passwords and broke them down into categories based on their level of security. For example some of the passwords were very weak “111111” “123456” “1234567” “12345678” “123456789” made the top list. Many of the stolen passwords were people’s first names which of course could be kids, spouses, etc. Obviously, anyone who uses an insecure password like this is more likely to get hacked due to their laziness and less than sophisticated approach to security. 60% of the passwords contained either all numbers or all lowercase letters.

Beefing up passwords using a password manager is much easier. Combine uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and characters. Don’t use consecutive letters or numbers, and never use names of pets, family members, or close friends. Instead use the first letters of phrases: Full moons on Saturday bring out whackos @12am!: is FmoSbow@12am! That’s a strong password that no sane person will enter manually. But a password manager makes it possible.

I’ve tried every possible password manager on the planet. There is only one that I have found to be incredibly efficient and secure. Roboform. This thing works great. I have it on 5 PCs and the iPhone and they all sync automatically.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing Hacked email on Fox News

Personal Security: Scareware Scares You In To Paying

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Makers of fake anti-virus software force people to buy ‘scareware’. If one could have a favorite scam, for me, it would be “scareware.” My reasoning is it’s one of the few scams that actually gets through to me. My computer’s defenses are pretty good, but I still see scareware. They’ve even taken my blog posts and used my name to launch scareware in Google News Alerts. I have some criminal hacker’s attention and he created scareware in honor of lil’ ole me!

Web pages may be infected or built to distribute scareware. The goal is to trick you into clicking on links. After landing on a page, pop-ups bombard you and warn you that your PC is infected with an Ebola- like virus and your PC will die a horrible death with fluids running from all ports if you don’t fix it immediately for $49.95.

Shutting off this pop-up is often difficult and any buttons you press within this pop-up could mean downloading the exact virus they warned you of. BRILLIANT!

Studies show that organized criminals are earning $10,000.00 a day from scareware! That’s approximately 200 people a day getting nabbed. Some “distributors” have been estimated to make as much as $5 million a year.

What makes the scam so believable is there is actual follow through of the purchasing of software that is supposed to protect you. There is a shopping cart, an order form, credit card processing and a download, just like any online software purchase.

The software is sometimes known as “AntiVirus2009” “WinFixer,” “WinAntivirus,” “DriveCleaner,” “WinAntispyware,” “AntivirusXP” and “XP Antivirus 2008.” These are actually viruses or spyyware that infect your PC, or just junk software that does nothing of value.

Scareware programs are a threat to your personal security and online safety. Luckily, this is an easy fix. The best way to prevent seeing a pop-up for scareware is using the latest Firefox browser. Firefox lets few, if any pop-ups through. No pop-ups, no scareware. If you are using another browser and a pop-up –pops-up, shut down your browser. If the pop-up won’t let you shut it down, do a Ctrl-Alt-Delete and shut down the browser that way.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing ransomware, a form of scareware on Fox Boston. Disclosures

Apartment Security 101

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

According to the National Crime Prevention Council, apartments have an 85 percent more chance of being burglarized. Homeowner or renter, everyone has the same cares and concerns regarding their personal security.

As a landlord, or, as I request they refer to me, a Landdude, I make apartment security a priority for my tenants. We have home security systems, surveillance cameras, 400 watt sodium lighting on the exterior and a process in place where we watch out for each other. If I’m traveling, my tenants pay extra attention to my family and vice versa.

We have a schedule that involves locking exterior doors and making sure the property is secured. If a stranger is in the area or paying unwanted attention to us or the property, we call each other to decide what we may do in response. There’s always strength in numbers.

If you are looking to make a move and an apartment is in your future, make sure you do your homework.

While the landlord may interview you, you should interview the landlord. Find out what his/her processes are for security. What is their annual investment? What is their philosophy regarding apartment security? Do they even have one?

Does the landlord do anything in regards to background checks? What is the existing security at the property? Ask about lighting, cameras, locks on doors and windows and has he even changed the keys since the last tenant. What is the immediate neighborhood like? Are their local drug houses, etc?

Contact the local law enforcement and ask for a record of recent crimes committed. Get some statistics. Some law enforcement agencies will be more or less cooperative. You want to know about the prevalence of violent crimes, sex offenders and theft.

One of the most effective ways to get the pulse of the community is by buying the local newspaper. The police blotter over a one month period is telling.

Ask if you have permission to install an in-apartment home security system with motion detectors. This should not be negotiable. Wireless home security systems are non-invasive and not expensive.

Require a peep hole on your door.

If the doors are glass paned opposed to solid core doors, then your potential landlord isn’t concerned about your security.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures

Police Initiative Targets Home Invasions

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Detroit Police Department cracks down on home invasions across Detroit. There are few crimes as horrific as a home invasion. When a bad guy forces their way into your home and uses violence on your and your family to get what they want, all sense of security is gone. Apparently this is a significant issue in Detroit, but it is happening all over the country, and the world for that matter.

“More than 20 people have been arrested in the Detroit Police Department’s targeting of home invaders. The initiative, called “Home Sweet Home,” is aimed at cracking down on home invaders. DPD said 25 people have been arrested in the first four days of the five-day initiative. “These guys have made a number of arrests, not only for perps caught committing the crimes themselves but also people who we’ve targeted that had warrants for home invasions,” said Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans. But, DPD said, there are some who have been arrested on warrants for failing to appear in court, probation violations and even one suspect who had a murder warrant.”

In a recent post, “Home Safety: Operation Storm Targets Burglars” discussed that Police in the UK have launched a very proactive new blitz on burglars to bring down crime. I boasted how great the UK’s strategy is and asked, “Why don’t we do that here?” Well…we do!! Nice job Detroit PD!

The last thing you ever want happening to you or your family is a home invasion. This is a crime that can be combated with common sense and a home security plan. First things first, often the home invaders have some type of knowledge of, or relationship with, the victims. Your first line of defense is to only socialize with good, healthy people. Sounds like common sense, but unfortunately too many people associate with bad people and don’t recognize this in their own lives, as I discussed on the Sally Jesse Show.

1. Never talk to strangers via an open or screen door. Always talk to them through a locked door.

2. NEVER let children open the doors. Always require and adult to do it.

3. Install a home burglar alarm and keep it on 24/7/365. With a home alarm system on, when someone knocks on the door, a conscious decision has to be made to turn off the alarm. Most people will keep it on.

4. Not all home invaders knock, some break in without warning.  Just another reason to have that alarm on.

5. Install a 24-hour camera surveillance system. Cameras are a great deterrent.  Have them pointed to every door and access point.


Robert Siciliano personal security expert, to Home Security Source discussing personal security on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures

Security Breach Threatens Soldiers’ & Civilians’ Personal Information

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Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Burglars tend to go after high ticket items that can be immediately turned into cash. They may include electronics such as TVs, computers, game consoles or various kinds of stereo equipment. Jewelry has always been the favorite of the thief, and they know most women keep their jewelry box on their dresser or in the top or bottom drawer.

What many are beginning to realize is that the information on the computers or laptops that are stolen is worth much more than the hardware itself. The money today is in the data that is stolen that can be used to commit identity theft.

In the past few years, numerous data breaches have occurred simply because a laptop or PC was stolen from someone’s home. A Veterans Administration employee’s home was broken into and his work PC was stolen which had almost 26.5 million Social Security numbers of veterans and their families. That’s almost 10% of the US population on one computer! That PC cost the VA maybe $1000.00 to purchase, but the data loss cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to mitigate.


“CNN reports The personal records of thousands of soldiers, employees and their families were potentially exposed after a laptop computer containing the information was stolen over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the military says.

The security breach happened where the rental apartment of an employee was. The computer contained “names and personally identifiable information for slightly more than 42,000 records including names, Social Security number, home address, date of birth, encrypted credit card information, personal e-mail address, personal telephone numbers, and family member information.”


A theft of this kind in your own home, whether it is your company’s computer or your own can have a devastating effect. The key is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

1. Always lock your doors and windows no matter what time of the year it is.

2. Make sure all exterior ladders are locked up to prevent someone from accessing an upper level window.

3. Install a home security system that calls you and the local police when tripped.

4. Make sure your computers are locked down too.  For desktops, it is a good idea to cable them to a desk or wall. For laptops they should be put in a safe.

5. Install encryption software on all PCs that makes the data unreadable and useless to the thief.


Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing stolen laptops on the Today Show. Disclosure