Articles
Browse every published article connected to Robert Siciliano, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
Articles
Browse every published article connected to Robert Siciliano, or search within this exact expert archive.
Handwriting analysts really have their work cut out from them now, thanks to the development of new software that can forge—better than a human can—a person's handwriting. So if you are worried about identity theft, add one more element to the kettle: a crook getting ahold of this software (developed at the University College London) and perfectly duplicating your signature.
Who needs psychics to reveal future lottery numbers when you can hack into the state lottery association and tamper with it? That apparently was the reasoning of Eddie Raymond Tipton, 51. Prosecutors believe Tipton inserted a thumb drive into a computer—the one that spits out random numbers for the lottery, says an article in the Des Moines Register, according to a report at arstechnica.com.
Wired internet or wireless WiFi, the warnings are out there: Don't visit any websites that you have important accounts with when using a public computer (hotel, airport, café, etc.).
Does your Lenovo computer have Superfish VisualDiscovery adware (a.k.a. spyware) installed? It's possible if you purchased a Lenovo PC any time in September of 2014 and thereafter.
You take your car to the mechanic; it's been making a funny grinding noise when you press on the gas pedal. The mechanic tells you what's wrong and what needs to be fixed, then socks you with the estimate.
There are many reasons someone might right-click on your image and "Save image as…" Porn, Sex and Dating Sites
Maybe you believe that kids should not have smartphones because the devices can tell a pedophile where a child is located. But there's other reasons that perhaps you haven't thought of: cyberbullying, violent porn, online drug purchases, you name it.
If your deadbolt has begun to malfunction, and you haven't been using it because you fear the key will get jammed in it—perhaps it's time to call a locksmith and have him fix it. Well, not so fast. This is not the way to go if you want to upgrade your door's security—its ability to withstand forceful kicking by a burglar. Kicking in doors is a common way for intruders to gain entry.
Are you making a big home security mistake? If you are leaving your doors unlocked, or if you are using low quality lock systems, you are putting yourself…and your home…at risk.
Though you cannot totally protect your home from getting burgled, you would probably be surprised to know that there are no burglars that are as sophisticated as someone like Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible movies. However, when you have the right plan in place, you can almost make your home burglar-proof.
What's going on this September? National Preparedness Month. This will be the time to increase your awareness of the safety of your business, family, pets and community. During disasters, communication is key. National Preparedness Month concludes on September 30 with the National PrepareAthon! Day.
Perhaps someone has told you that you need to "clear your cache," but what does this mean and why should you do it? A cache is a folder of recently visited webpages, which is stored on your computer's hard drive, and maintained by your Internet browser.
Your account passwords should be as unique as your fingerprint—to make them less hackable by crooks using password-guessing software that can run through millions of possible combinations in just minutes. And if you have an easy password, there may be a hit within 10 seconds.
Back in August, 2016, Kala Brown and Charles Carver arrived to a 100-acre property in South Carolina for a cleaning job. Charles Carver never made it off the property, and Kala Brown spent more than two months in a metal shipping container, allegedly held captive by Todd Christopher Kohlhepp.
WTH Facebook? Generally, I don't have a problem giving out my SSN. That might seem contrary to the advice I give, but frankly, our SSNs are everywhere and if my insurance company needs it, I'll generally just question them on it, maybe resist a bit, and if they insist, and I need that insurance policy, I'll cough it up.
You don't always have to outmuscle a assailant to beat him at his game. This is what a New Zealand woman learned after Vipul Romik Sharma abducted her. At first, things seemed fine; she exited a bar in Otahuhu with the 22-year-old and another man. Then they kidnapped and raped her.
Privacy used to mean changing clothes behind a partition. Nowadays, say "privacy" and people are likely to think in terms of cyberspace. Stay connected, and you risk losing your privacy.
You've heard the term "consumer report." Many times, I'm sure. But do you really know what one is? If you're nodding your head, would you be able to explain it to a Martian? If not, then you probably do not have a solid understanding of what one is.
Looks like there's some worms in Apple. Not too long ago, dozens and dozens of iPhones were stolen from two Apple stores. How could this happen, what with Apple's security? Simple: The thieves wore clothes similar to Apple store employees and obviously knew the innards of the stores.
If you are like me, you have several online accounts, each with a user name and password. Though it is tempting to use one password for every account, this can be troublesome as it is a huge security risk. So, what is your only option? To use a password manager.
Sexting is the act of sending images of a sexual nature via cell phone, often naked pictures. Because texting technology is so readily available and easy to understand, parents should be quite leery of telling themselves, "Oh, MY kid would never do that!" Studies showy your kid already did it. 12-17 year olds sext. And studies show 50-75 year olds do it as much as 18-25 year olds. Picture that!
How safe do you really think your home is?
If you've heard this once, you need to hear it again—and again: Never use the same password and use ame for more than one account! If this got Mark Zuckerberg's (Facebook's chief executive). Twitter account hacked, it can get just about anybody hacked.
A new study was just released by the National Association for Information Destruction. What did it find? Astonishingly, about 40% of all digital devices that are found on the second-hand market had personal information left on them. These include tablets, mobile phones, and hard drives.
"Survivor." What comes to mind when you see or hear this word? A victim of a disease or of a perverted crime? A TV show? We're all survivors in that every day, we do something to stay alive—life-saving things we don't even think about as life-saving, such as eating healthy and exercising. People die every day from killing themselves with food.
If you are like most of us, you have undoubtedly received an email that has asked you to click on a link. Did you click it? If you did, you are like 99% of internet users because clicking links in normal. But in some situations you may have found that the link took you to a new or maybe spoofed website where you might be asked to log in. If you ever did this, you may have been the victim of a likely phishing attack, and these attacks are getting fishier all of the time.
Have a small business? Great. Have two-factor authentication for your accounts? If you're not sure of the answer to that question, you could be in trouble. October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the perfect time to learn more about cyber security. As a small business owner, you certainly have thought about data breaches. They don't just happen to giants like Target and Sony. The common thread in many data breaches is that the hackers got the password.
Just what kind of punishment should a 17-year-old get for making fraudulent 911 calls (a crime known as swatting)? This happens more than you think. What's outright astounding is how these teens could think they won't be discovered. Have they been living in a cave all their lives, using a torch for light? A 17-year-old boy in Ottawa, Canada, has made several fake 911 calls, including several in the U.S.
It seems like there have been a number of natural disasters hitting the US over the past couple of years…hurricanes, wild fires, floods…the list goes on. If you are caught in the face of a survival emergency, do you have supplies? Consider a bugout bag. These are sacks that you can take with you in the outdoors to help you survive. Here's what you need for a three-day bugout bag:
I recently had the opportunity to join a panel discussion on FOX Nation. We talked about the grid, and how cyber threats could be the next medium for global warfare. I was able to share opinions with fellow experts on privacy, information security and cybersecurity. Please watch and learn why it is so important to take control of your own security, and ultimately your life.
Frankly, naked babies shouldn't be a big deal. If you don't have naked baby pictures of your kids in the kitchen sink then you aren't human. BUT….the world has changed. If you compare posting your children's photos online with whipping out a wallet photo of your toddler daughter in the bathtub to your dinner party guests, I will have a bird.
A group of people who are actively collaborating to commit identity fraud is known as an identity fraud ring. These rings are generally made up of two or more career criminals, often including family members or close friends. These rings work by members either stealing a victim's identity or sharing personal information such as a date-of-birth or Social Security number. Though many fraud rings occur in large cities, there are a surprisingly high number of rings found in rural areas.
Quest Diagnostics is a US-based company that provides medical testing services, and announced that it used third-party billing collection companies that were hit by a severe data breach. In fact, about 11.9 millio Quest customers were affected.
Those were the days when all parents had to worry about was the creepy guy lurking near the playground. Now parents have to worry about creeps all over the world reaching their kids via computer. And there's more to worry about. Here's what to teach your kids:
Many Americans, says a recent survey by Gallup, worry about a data breach connected to the use of their credit cards. Interestingly, many people use a credit card for everything under the sun: even just a soda and bag of chips from the convenience mart. The more you use a credit card, the more likely it will be compromised by cyber thieves.
Tax ID Theft Three things in life are guaranteed: death, taxes and tax-related identity theft. Michael Kasper would agree. Someone registered Kasper's IRS.gov account, requested the document for his 2013 tax return, then filed a 2014 tax return.
One difference between a credit card and a debit card is that if there's an unauthorized charge on your credit card, you just get a little sting. It's a hassle to straighten out. But no money is taken from you.
Yes, identity fraud is SO common that someone becomes a victim every two seconds. The 2014 Identity Fraud Study, as reported on javelinstrategy.com, turned up some alarming results. Though the dollar amount stolen had decreased over the year preceding the study, the number of victims had increased. People at highest risk were ages 35 to 44.
Everyone's heard of spam as it pertains to emails. Spam isn't necessarily a malicious message designed to trick you into revealing your credit card number or PayPal login information.
Twitter recently announced its new tool to help with management and monitoring of its users' accounts: the Twitter data dashboard.
I see a ton of articles that say identity theft protection is not something you really need. These articles have titles like "ID Theft Protection Does Not Work," or "The Poor Man's Guide to ID Theft Protection." Though some of these articles have a bit of merit, they totally miss the point.
Most experts in cybersecurity suggest that computer users utilize a password manager, and I think they have a great point. These managers ensure that you can use a unique, strong password for all online account. On the flip side, there are naysayers that state a password manager isn't as safe as you might think, as if the master password is discovered, it could give someone access to all of your information. So, who is right?
There's always a perfect time to assess your home's safety and security. Do you employ all of the following practices?
Did you know that the original meaning of hacker, as far as computers, was that of a person who built codes into computers? In fact, the bad guy was called a "cracker." Somehow, "cracker" didn't catch on. But the mainstream folk out there hears "hacker," and right away, they think of a digital thief, often someone who breaks into governmental computer systems or Russian "hacking rings" that steal credit card numbers.
If you're going to drone on and on about how you got hacked by a cyber thief, maybe it's because you played with your new drone—you know, those rad little flying devices that hover via remote control over your street? Yes, they are hackable. If you don't have a drone, don't be surprised if you get one as a gift this season, as Americans are spending tens and tens of millions of dollars on them.
Do these bank robbers have bricks for brains? They actually posted photos of themselves with wads of the stolen cash on Facebook, says a story on thesmokinggun.com. The alleged bank robers are John Mogan, 28 and Ashley Duboe, 24, and they've been charged with robbing a bank in Ohio. Mogan has already served time for a previous bank robbery conviction and was out on parole.
You should definitely pay attention to your mobile phone security. Most of us don't, which makes it easy for hackers and ID thieves to target us. Here are some tips to protect yourself from becoming a target for thieves. Use a Passcode
Most people don't like that "fall back" time change every November, but you know who does? Burglars. Burglars love to "fall back" because it gives them more time to practice their criminal activities thanks to the earlier veil of darkness. This is also a convenient time for them as the holiday season is upon us and most people have a lot of newly purchased gifts in our homes. Perfect bait for burglars.
Jeannette Tamayo was nine when she was abducted in June 2003, and exhibited a presence of mind that few adults would have in a similar circumstance.
If it unsettles you to see your home displayed on Google Maps, there's something you can do about this. Why might this be a conce ? Information is "intelligence". Information to some is power. The logistics of your home may empower certain people, like burglars. Example; if you're in a residentially cluttered area vs. a remote area with nearby woods, these details can mean something to a would-be intruder.