Sharing Your PC with a Teen Leads to Identity Theft - 04/29/09 06:51 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker
Have a teenager? Share a PC with someone who downloads free music and movies? Ever hear of Limewire, Bearshare, or E-Mule? Your teen has, and they probably installed software on your PC that makes it very easy for an identity thief to steal your data.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is responding to reports that peer to peer file sharing allows Internet users to access other P2P users’ most important files, including bank records, tax files, health records, and passwords. This is the same P2P software that allows users to download pirated music, … (0 comments)

Phishing Season in Full Force - 04/28/09 04:54 PM
Identity Theft Expert
It wasn’t long ago that most phishing emails were from a supposed Nigerian General Matumbi Mabumboo Watumboo. And you and I were flattered that we were the chosen ones to help the general transfer 35 million out of the country, because the Nigerian government was a bunch of jerks and wouldn’t let him keep the inheritance his wife had inherited from her deceased uncle Bamboo.
I distinctly remember getting a Nigerian phishing email in 1994-ish, back when I had an AOL account, and actually calling my bank and asking them what their thoughts were and what I … (0 comments)

Socialmedia and the proliferation of hate-speech - 04/24/09 01:21 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
I was on CNN this week and CNN also featured Perez Hilton, who was hired by Donald Trump, to judge a beauty contest and Hilton made hateful remarks about Miss Californias beliefs. Perez is a hateful sardonic celebrity critic, and his actions are parallel to others who rant and hate, spew racist comments and even kill. Perez Hilton posts numerous videos of himself in the media, but he hasn’t posted this video on CNN to his site, because he knows he’s wrong. He is right now downgrading the story on his own site because of the … (0 comments)

Drivers licences, social security card and birth certificates are useless identification - 04/20/09 07:18 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert

Like it or not, you will soon be effectively identified. And by “soon,” I mean within the next 10 years. Big Brother, whatever that means, will have your “number.” Governments across the globe have been gearing up and introducing numerous technologies to identify, verify and authenticate.
Identity is a simple idea that has become a complex problem. It has become complex due to fraud. Fraud, motivated by money, easy credit, and the ease of account takeover. Because identity has yet to be effectively established, anyone can be you. “Identity has yet to be established” is … (17 comments)

Identity Theft Expert; US Government Sanctioned Criminal Hacking Techniques - 04/17/09 07:01 PM
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
This article may be a little political. However bad guys are trying to win a cyberwar against us and it’s important to understand what’s being done to protect us.
The US National Security Agency is probably the most sophisticated group of security hackers in the world. Many will argue this point. The fact is, without NSA, US STRATCOM, which directs the operation and defense of the military’s Global Information Grid, and US CERT, attacks on our critical infrastructures would be successful. We’d be living in the dark, telephones wouldn’t work, food wouldn’t be delivered to your … (0 comments)

Criminal Hackers making $10 million a day - 04/16/09 03:26 PM
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
New reports confirm what we have been seeing in the news; organized criminals have upped the ante. Global web mobs are tearing up financial institutions’ networks.
We’ve known for some time that the long-haired, lowly, pot-smoking, havoc-reeking hacker, sitting alone in his mom’s basement, hacking for fun and fame is no more. He cut his hair and has now graduated into a full time professional criminal hacker, hacking for government secrets and financial gain.
His contacts are global, many from Russia and Eastern Europe, and they include brilliant teens, 20-somethings, all the way up to clinical … (0 comments)

Debit card transactions found to be hackable - 04/15/09 02:51 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Speaker
At an ATM or cash register, most debit card users are blissfully unaware of what occurs when they swipe their cards and enter their pin numbers. A magical mystery takes place and we get to walk away with our new purchase, simply by swiping a card and tapping a few keys. The money magically disappears from our account and we celebrate by eating the Twinkie we just bought.
Whether you’re swiping your debit card at an ATM or in a store or restaurant, the process is similar. The user swipes his or her card and types … (0 comments)

Identity Theft Expert; Sometimes the scammers get scammed - 04/13/09 03:25 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Scammers and even pedophiles are getting hacked by vengeful insidious opportunists.
Who doesn’t love vigilante justice? Some readers may remember Charles Bronson, an American actor who starred in the popular series Death Wish. Bronson played Paul Kersey, a man whose wife is murdered and whose daughter raped. In response, Kersey becomes a crime-fighting vigilante. This was a highly controversial role, as his executions were cheered by crime-weary audiences.
There is a certain amount of satisfaction when the victim becomes victor, exacting justice, and the predator that violates the law is sufficiently punished by the vigilante. Anyone … (1 comments)

Hackers breach electric grid, Conficker is a lame sellout, Obama has a plan - 04/10/09 03:45 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
They say adversity university and the school of hard knocks makes your stronger, faster and streetsmart. And if it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger. Lately, I’ve been killing my readers with lots of deadly data so I bet your security muscles are getting huge!
The security community has bombarded the media with fascinating claims of gloom and doom. (I’m guilty of it, too.) The hype hasn’t entirely met the hyperbole. There have been no major catastrophic issues. The power hasn’t gone out, and data breaches haven’t occurred in the 3-15 million PCs that have … (0 comments)

Identity Theft Expert; Conficker updates, gets ready to strike - 04/09/09 02:47 PM
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
It was just a matter of time. The most publicized virus of its day, Conficker, called home and sent its next set of updates to its global botnet.
Conficker’s botnet, which includes anywhere from 3 to 15 million PCs, has a peer to peer (P2P) feature that allows each PC on the network to talk to one another. Each PC has the ability to become the command server. This characteristic allows Conficker to fluidly update each PC on the network.
The latest variant shows that Conficker is updating via P2P, as opposed to pinging a … (0 comments)

Conficker virus has a copycat - 04/08/09 01:27 PM
Identity Theft Expert Robert Siciliano
Both Microsoft Certified Professional and Computerworld report on a variation of Conficker known as “Neeris.” Neeris is a 4 year old virus that has resurfaced and is now behaving like a Conficker wannabe. It is believed that the criminal hackers who created Conficker and Neeris are either the same person or are working together, double teaming the computer security community.
Neeris began showing up on March 31st into April 1st which, as we know, was supposed to be the launch date for the next set of Conficker updates.
Conficker and Neeris both include auto-run and remote … (0 comments)

Consumers Concerned About Credit Card Fraud - 04/07/09 03:04 PM
Identity theft Expert Robert Siciliano A recent study conducted by the Unisys Corporation shows that identity theft as it pertains to credit card fraud is Americans' number one concern. When people ask me, “How do I protect myself from credit card fraud?” I tell them, “Cancel the card, or never use it.” Because that’s the only way. Personal security (as it pertains to violence) and national security have always been a concern. However, this new study shows that people are more concerned with fraud, and the risk of having their savings depleted by scammers. Not so hard to believe, what with … (0 comments)

Identity Theft Speaker; Cyber crime profits are running into the trillions. - 04/06/09 08:06 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Cyber crime profits are running into the trillions.
Weekly, and often daily, I remind readers of how potentially screwed they are once they boot up their PCs and access the Internet. Identity theft is a real problem that messes up people’s lives. When someone’s PC is hacked and their passwords are compromised, account takeover can be financially devastating. Even though a financial institution may resolve the errors, victims still lose money.
Most are beginning to realize that the only secure PC is one that is powered off.
Many view these rants as selling “FUD”: fear, uncertainty … (0 comments)

Identity Theft Speaker; Conficker still to threaten your PC - 04/03/09 05:18 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
We are not out of the woods with this one.
Conficker’s rise and fall and the passing activity of the worm on April 1st has allowed researchers and anti-virus companies to better understand the virus and its impact. While April Fools was supposed to be the day of reckoning for Conficker, it wasn’t and still isn’t a joke.
Viruses often come with a trigger date, as pointed out by CNET. And while many fail to meet the media hype, they still can and often do cause millions or billions in damage.
The media does what it … (0 comments)

Virus infects 10 million PCs - 04/01/09 10:42 AM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
With the world watching Conficker has reached out but has not delivered any new malware.
Computer World reports “We have observed that Conficker is reaching out, but so far none of the servers they are trying to reach are serving any new malware or any new commands,” said Toralv Dirro, a security strategist at McAfee Avert Labs, in Germany.
The sense is its developers know IT security professionals are watching closely and are waiting for the noise to die down before making its next update.
A virus of this kind has enough juice to wait … (0 comments)

 

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