Google and Apply have just earned themselves a bad name with the FBI! In the race to provide privacy to their customers, both companies touted their new encryption to boost smartphone privacy, prohibiting the FBI, and even Google and Apple from obtaining the contents of those phones.
It would seem to fit in nicely with the recent Supreme Court's ruling that the police need a warrant to search the cell phones of criminal suspects! The fact is that our smartphones today house a lot of private and sensitive information; information like bank and other online accounting information, and other such information. Police need a warrant to search our homes, and cell phones today contain just the same valuable information that can be found in a home!
As much as the FBI is crying fowl over this technology being used on smartphones, the fact is that people still need a certain degree of privacy, especially in this world of cyber threats! The recent episode with the NSA spying on people's records doesn't help the FBI's case much! The FBI will just have to find other means to locate vital information....and I am sure they will.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/09/26/google-apple-earn-fbis-wrath-over-privacy
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/25/justice/supreme-court-cell-phones/
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
FBI Cyber Crime Stories Week 4
No security plan is ever
100% secure. I believe that as more companies begin to understand this, they
will begin to employ other checkpoints to detect unusual activity, etc. Just
last week my credit card was compromised. I was alerted when I received an
email from Capital One, listing show unusual activity on my credit card.
Thankfully Capital One was able to quickly cancel the credit card to prevent
further fraud, and issue a replacement to me.
Two weeks ago Home Depot launched an investigation after it was alerted that its customers’ credit and debit card information was stolen and was on sale in the cybercrime underground. Possible attackers were a group of Russian and Ukraine hackers. There was a possibility that customers’ data was stolen from almost all the Home Depot stores in the United States. The amazing thing is that even a formal, thorough investigation into a possible data breach often does not reveal conclusive information! We must adopt chip-reading technology and other latest security measures to prevent these breaches. Companies cannot afford to be lax; they stand to lose too much in revenue, brand reputation, etc.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/03/home-depot-customer-data-breach-all-stores-security
Two weeks ago Home Depot launched an investigation after it was alerted that its customers’ credit and debit card information was stolen and was on sale in the cybercrime underground. Possible attackers were a group of Russian and Ukraine hackers. There was a possibility that customers’ data was stolen from almost all the Home Depot stores in the United States. The amazing thing is that even a formal, thorough investigation into a possible data breach often does not reveal conclusive information! We must adopt chip-reading technology and other latest security measures to prevent these breaches. Companies cannot afford to be lax; they stand to lose too much in revenue, brand reputation, etc.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/03/home-depot-customer-data-breach-all-stores-security
Monday, September 8, 2014
FBI Cyber Crime Stories Week 3
Security breaches are a norm in our world. Reports of hacking attacks are accepted with less fuss as expecting rain in the forecast. And the trend will only multiply as companies rush to entice their customer with the latest online and mobile conveniences, and customers sign up without reading privacy notices and disclaimers. I mean, today I was able to deposit a personal check in my Capital One checking account right from my office. I used my iPhone 5S to take a picture (back and front) of the check, and made my deposit right on the phone! I can check my checking and savings account balances, credit card transactions....you name it, on my iPhone.
Every now and then I have to remind myself that convenience comes with a price, and last Friday was a start reminder / wake up call for me. I attempted to use my Capital One credit card but the charge was denied. I didn't think anything of it, until i checked my email later that afternoon. Capital One had sent me a fraud alert; someone was able to obtain my credit card information and make several purchase at delivery.com, buy movie tickets, and order music on iTunes. Thankfully my card was canceled after about a few hundred dollars of suspicious activity, and I once again made a resolution to take even harsher measures to protect myself online.
E Hacking News reported yet another security breach in the past few days; at Bartell Hotels. Over 40,000 customers were affected. The company reported the security breach occurred in February 2014 and May 2014, and have listed a Security Compromise Notice on their homepage. The company took several steps to deal with the matter: they used independent data forensic experts, they notified law enforcement and credit card companies, and are alerting customers who were affected. They have also provided a toll-free information line for customers, and are providing free services by AllClear ID to provide identity monitoring and identity protection services. It's just not good enough to try to 'hide' information when a company has experienced a security breach. Kudos to Bartell Hotels for doing the right thing!
http://www.ehackingnews.com/2014/09/security-breach-at-bartell-hotels.html
Every now and then I have to remind myself that convenience comes with a price, and last Friday was a start reminder / wake up call for me. I attempted to use my Capital One credit card but the charge was denied. I didn't think anything of it, until i checked my email later that afternoon. Capital One had sent me a fraud alert; someone was able to obtain my credit card information and make several purchase at delivery.com, buy movie tickets, and order music on iTunes. Thankfully my card was canceled after about a few hundred dollars of suspicious activity, and I once again made a resolution to take even harsher measures to protect myself online.
E Hacking News reported yet another security breach in the past few days; at Bartell Hotels. Over 40,000 customers were affected. The company reported the security breach occurred in February 2014 and May 2014, and have listed a Security Compromise Notice on their homepage. The company took several steps to deal with the matter: they used independent data forensic experts, they notified law enforcement and credit card companies, and are alerting customers who were affected. They have also provided a toll-free information line for customers, and are providing free services by AllClear ID to provide identity monitoring and identity protection services. It's just not good enough to try to 'hide' information when a company has experienced a security breach. Kudos to Bartell Hotels for doing the right thing!
http://www.ehackingnews.com/2014/09/security-breach-at-bartell-hotels.html
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
FBI Cyber Crime Stories Week 2
The reports
of data breaches continue to occur; faster, it seems, than we can stop them!
NBC news reported that the FBI is investigating an incident where Russian
hackers attacked the U.S financial system earlier this month and stole data
from JPMorgan Chase and at least one other bank. What was even more frightening
was the response from JPMorgan's spokeswoman Trish Wexler, who stated that
companies like JPMorgan experience cyber attacks nearly every day.
In another report by the Inquirer, it seems that particular cyber attack targeted seven of the world's top banks, with hackers altering and deleting customer records at will! We like in an exciting, yet frightening world. Today’s cyber attackers do not have the look of traditional criminals, and the Internet has enabled them to steal across the globe from the convenience of their home!
In another report by the Inquirer, it seems that particular cyber attack targeted seven of the world's top banks, with hackers altering and deleting customer records at will! We like in an exciting, yet frightening world. Today’s cyber attackers do not have the look of traditional criminals, and the Internet has enabled them to steal across the globe from the convenience of their home!
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