Handwritten Signature is Stupid Authorization - 11/30/09 07:12 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Ever forge your husband’s signature? Wife’s? Parent’s? Client’s? Do you think the clerk behind the counter at Walmart is skilled in handwriting analysis? I’ve always viewed a signature as a totally ridiculous form of authentication and a total waste of my time. Signing my name has always been burden and a frustrating task.
Nobody seems to know when a handwritten signature became a form of authorization. From what I can gather, it seems the modern signature was born when kings signed declarations. Eventually, villagers began signing their names to acknowledge accountability. So the signature was born … (0 comments)

The Twelve Scams of Christmas,” or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt IV of IV - 11/29/09 12:01 PM
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information
As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey, cybercriminals have bilked $8 billion from consumers in the past two years, and McAfee warns consumers not to fall victim to the top scams this year.
Being that I’m on McAfee’s Consumer Advisory Board, … (3 comments)

The Twelve Scams of Christmas,” or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt III of IV - 11/29/09 11:43 AM
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information
As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey, cybercriminals have bilked $8 billion from consumers in the past two years, and McAfee warns consumers not to fall victim to the top scams this year.
Being that I’m on McAfee’s Consumer Advisory Board, I’m … (0 comments)

The Twelve Scams of Christmas,” or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt II of IV - 11/25/09 11:00 PM
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information
As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey, cybercriminals have bilked $8 billion from consumers in the past two years, and McAfee warns consumers not to fall victim to the top scams this year.
Being that I’m on McAfee’s Consumer Advisory Board, … (0 comments)

The Twelve Scams of Christmas,” or Popular Online Attacks This Holiday Season Pt I of IV - 11/24/09 09:45 PM
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert Cybercriminals Take Advantage of the Holiday Season, Aiming to Steal Consumers’ Money, Identities and Financial Information
As cybercriminals begin to take advantage of the holiday season, McAfee, Inc. revealed the “Twelve Scams of Christmas” – the twelve most dangerous online scams that computer users should be cautious of this holiday season. According to Consumer Reports’ 2009 State of the Net Survey, cybercriminals have bilked $8 billion from consumers in the past two years, and McAfee warns consumers not to fall victim to the top scams this year.
“Cybercriminals’ use their best schemes during the holidays to … (1 comments)

SWATting, Using Technology To Hurt - 11/23/09 09:44 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Swatting is making prank calls to emergency services. In the field of information security, swatting is an attempt to trick an emergency service (such as a 911 operator) to dispatch an emergency response team, generally a SWAT team. SWAT is (Special Weapons and Tactics).
Caller ID spoofing technologies are used to send law officers on bogus calls along with, social engineering, and phone phreaking techniques combined. 911 systems (including telephony and human operators) have been tricked by calls placed from cities hundreds of miles away.
Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network … (0 comments)

Hackers Indicted for Jacking Comcast - 11/21/09 07:52 PM
Robert Siciliano identity theft expert
One hacked email address led to the defacement of Comcasts homepage. When the hackers called Comcasts technical contact to let him know all 200 Comcast domain names and Comcast homepage were vulnerable, he hung up on them.
It has not been disclosed how the email was compromised, but there are many ways it could be. Wired/CNN reports as described in the indictment, the hackers got control of the domain with two phone calls, and an e-mail was sent to the company’s domain registrar, Network Solutions, from a hacked Comcast e-mail account.
That gave them entry to … (1 comments)

Money Mules Facilitate Identity Theft and Fraud - 11/19/09 07:44 AM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Mules are relatively unaware people who get hooked into a “small business” or employment that is a function of a criminal enterprise. The mules often respond to “help wanted” ads from online job placement sites. Shipping scams are a common tactic criminals use in which they employ mules to receive goods bought with stolen credit card numbers, who then ship to people who buy them in online auctions. The mules in this process are essentially facilitating selling hot goods and money laundering.
An RSA study revealed laptops, iPods, iPhones, Nokia smartphones, digital cameras, Sony PlayStation 3 … (0 comments)

I Bought an ATM off Craigslist for $750 w/1000 CC#s on it. Yup. - 11/17/09 10:42 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
After the Vegas DEFCON ATM debacle where hackers hacked hackers by setting up a fake ATM in front of the facilities security office, I needed to see how stupid easy it was to buy and ATM and just set it up anywhere. So my search began.
I started looking on e-bay and found plenty of new and used ATMs ranging from $500-2500 but quickly determined I didn’t want to pay $300 for shipping. Next was Craigslist, where anyone can rent out an apartment, buy a boat, get an erotic massage and buy an ATM.
I quickly … (0 comments)

Twitter Phish Identity Theft Scam - 11/15/09 09:34 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
I’ve been getting the same “direct message” from several of my Twitter followers. Apparently, their accounts have been hacked, because it’s a phishing message that says, “ROFL this you?” and contains a shortened URL.

The link leads to a page that resembles Twitter’s log in page. The web address is /videos.twitter.zoltykatalogfirm/. Don’t go there.

Your account will only get hacked if you enter your account information on this spoofed page. Warn your friends. Retweet this.
How to protect yourself:
1. Don’t just click on any link no matter where it’s coming from. Attackers understand … (4 comments)

Why is Child Pornography on Your PC? - 11/14/09 12:01 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Anti-virus protection, critical security patches and a secure wireless connection have always been essential processes on my networks. My main concern has always been to protect my bank account by keeping the bad guy out.
In my presentations, I’ve always stressed the importance of making sure your wireless connection is secured, to prevent skeevy sex offender neighbors or wackos parked in front of your business from surfing for child porn and downloading it to your PC.
Once a predator uses your Internet connection to go to into the bowels of the web, your Internet Protocol address, … (0 comments)

Smarten Up. Increase Your Information Security Vocabulary - 11/12/09 08:17 AM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Years ago (like 20) a friend was graduating from college and moving away and a bunch of friends were throwing a party for this person. Collectively they asked me if I’d write a small speech as a version of “This is your life”. Stymied as to why they would ask me to do it I asked ”Why me?” My girlfriend at the time said, and I quote “Because you gut good words”. Serious. And my writing and speaking began. Inspiration comes in many forms.
People who generally have to much time on their hands read my … (0 comments)

Insider Identity Theft Can Be Most Damaging - 11/09/09 02:27 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Earlier this week, an IT employee was indicted for stealing the identities of 150 of his coworkers at Bank of New York Mellon, to the tune of 1.1 million bucks. He bilked almost $140,000 a year over an eight year period by compromising the online bank accounts of numerous employees and wiring money to fraudulent accounts outside the bank.
This is a classic case of the fox watching the hen house. This guy was an insider terrorist, looking his colleagues straight in the eye and lying to them. I rank him with pedophiles and serial killers.
… (0 comments)

Congress Breached via P2P Filesharing…AGAIN! - 11/05/09 11:01 AM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Congress is still considering the Informed P2P User Act, a law that would supposedly make it safer to use peer-to-peer file sharing software, an effort that is similar to banning mosquitoes from sucking blood. It just isn’t happening. The only foolproof way to prevent accidental data leaks via file sharing programs is for IT administrators to lock down networks and prevent the installation of rogue software.
Congress suffered another embarrassing P2P breach last week, after a confidential memo regarding an ethics investigation into the conduct of thirty House members was leaked, thanks to file sharing software … (15 comments)

10 Ways to Prevent Social Media Scams - 11/03/09 09:26 PM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
For the past year, I’ve been screaming about the trouble with social media as it relates to identity theft, brand hijacking, privacy issues, and the opportunity social media creates for criminals to “friend” their potential victims in order to create a false sense of trust and use that against their victims in phishing or other scams. I predicted long ago that the problem will get a lot worse before it gets better and there’s no question about it, criminal hackers have taken hold and are in full force.
We hear about a new Twitter phishing scam … (3 comments)

Once a Predator Always a Predator - 11/02/09 11:00 PM
Robert Siciliano Personal Security Expert
A necessary diversion from my daily IT security/Identity theft rants.
So what happens when a convicted rapist lures a 21-year-old woman to his bedroom in 1989, then spends 15 years in jail and then gets a free pass in 2005? He does it again. Why? Because that’s normal. It’s not OK, but it’s normal. Its his nature. A psychologist said to me years ago, “You would be amazed at how many levels of normal there are”.
Officers went to this 50 year old guys home to arrest him for assault and rape and emanating from … (1 comments)

 

Find MA real estate agents and Boston real estate on ActiveRain.