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Browse every published article connected to Robert Siciliano, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to Robert Siciliano, or search within this exact expert archive.
Lesson learned: If you run a fast-food restaurant or any company for that matter, you'd better treat your employees right. After all, they have a legal right to tweet all they want about you. A Chipotle Mexican Grill in Havertown, PA, had a ban in place: Employees are prohibited from using social media to spread "inaccurate information" or "disparaging, false or misleading statements."
You might think it's crazy to actually hire a hacker, but if you don't have an ethical hacker on your security team, you could be playing a dangerous game.
Whoever said that fighting back at a rapist will probably create more problems for the victim might want to rethink this idea. How disabling can a bite to the rapist's neck be when the biter is a human?
One reason to go wireless is obvious: Who wants all sorts of wires built under their house, which requires more than just the abilities of a recreational DIY enthusiast, like the old fashioned home security systems required? Not only is this a hairy, time consuming installation project, but a crook could clip the wires (if he gets into your house). Benefits of Wireless
Trick e-mail = fraudulent wire transfer = hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars stolen. That's what's happening with business executives in select industries (e.g., chemical operations, manufacturing), says a report at threatpost.com, citing a finding from Dell SecureWorks. The phishing e-mails are part of those Nigerian scams you've heard so much about, a business e-mail compromise scheme.
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm, even though it is nothing more than a silly little game that people play on their mobile device. And it is not just child's play, either. Plenty of adults are hooked on Pokémon Go—including college degreed professionals who conduct business on company owned devices as well as mobile devices of their own that they bring to work.
A study published in Nature shows us that both evolution and genetics have made a big impact on the behavior of humans…including in the case of murder. However, as we have become more civilized, these instincts have been muted.
If the super big wigs could get their social media accounts hacked, you can too. If you can believe it, the Twitter accounts of the following were recently hacked:
There are a number of misconceptions about cybercrime and those who engage in it. To a cybercriminal, there is no target that is special unless they have a grudge or beef with a particular entity, and as a rule, they will often cast their net wide and then move to attack the easiest prey they find.
Do you think you know all there is to know about water storage? Most people think they have a good grasp on it, but they are in for a bit surprise. Below, there is a lot of information about storing water that might contradict what you think you know:
Who'd ever think those silly little yellow circular faces and other such cyber symbols would become such a worldwide smash? I'm talking about emoticons, also known as emojis. Five years ago Apple put an emoji keyboard on its mobile devices. Six billion of these doggone things are sent every day.
Let's cut to the chase: - Regularly back up the phone's data! If this is done every day, you won't have to worry much about losing important information if something happens to the phone—such as a ransomware attack. - Keep the phone's software and applications updated. - Delete apps you no longer use, as these can reveal your GPS coordinates and garner data about you. - Never post about your vacation while you're on vacation. But there's more:
Recently, says a report at wired.com, it's been unveiled that the obscure Israel-based NSO Group has been selling spyware delivered to smartphones through vulnerabilities in Apple's iOS operating system.
For more than four years, malware has been posing as legitimate software and infecting industrial equipment across the globe.
If you use Gmail, pay attention! Security experts have announced that there is a very effective phishing scam out there, and you are a target. This scam, which has only been growing over the past couple of months, is also hitting other email providers, too. However, it's quite difficult to detect.
Imagine that you are in the middle of nowhere for a few days, or that you are stuck in your home after a disaster, like a hurricane. What do you need to survive? Here are several things that you should have available. Remember, this is only a basic list; things that you might pack in a "go bag" that you can grab in a hurry. If you aren't sure what something is, Google the keyword to learn more.
How many times have you read, or at least caught a headline, of the latest high profile missing child case? How many stories have we heard about the kid who got lost on a hike? His body was found several miles from where he'd been last seen, concluding a several-day search.
In June, 2015, it was revealed by an anonymous source that the Office of Personnel Management was hacked. This office, which administers civil service, is believed to have been the target of the Chinese government. This is one of the largest hacks in history involving a federal organization.
If you have an iOS device, you may be leaking personal information about yourself—without even knowing it—because you're not familiar with the privacy settings.
One bitcoin = $590. If you're sucked into a ransomware scam, you'll likely be charged at least one bitcoin for the cyber key to unlock your computer's files—that are being held hostage by hackers.
As you might know, at the end of July, all types of hackers came to Las Vegas to attend Blackhat 2017. During the conference, some pretty scary hacks were exposed, and we can all take this as a lesson on what we are up against in this technology-heavy world. Here are some of the scariest hacks we learned about during Blackhat 2017: Carwash Hijacking
A ransomware attack is when your computer gets locked down or your files become inaccessible, and you are informed that in order to regain use of your computer or to receive a cyber key to unlock your files, you must pay a ransom. Typically, cybercriminals request you pay them in bitcoins.
Even if you don't realize it, your identity is all over the internet. Whether you posted to an internet forum in 1996 or you ever had a MySpace page, this information is still out there, and you have to protect it. Here are some simple and easy ways that you can protect your digital life:
If you have a home, you should be worried about burglars. Here are 44 home security tips that you can use to keep the burglars away:
You might have heard about all of the scams out there, and think that you are pretty scam savvy. But, the truth is, most of us aren't, and even a simple phone call could get you caught up in a big scam.
Burglars love doors, because that's their No. 1 way of gaining entry to a house. When thinking of ways to make your home safer, you should really home in on your doors. - Solid wood door without a window (ideally with solid wood core) - Top flight deadbolt (ideally two) - Reinforced frame and doorjamb
Over the past two years, the media has tended to sensationalize jihadists' rapid adoption and strategic use of social media. Despite perpetual news coverage on the issue, the public, by and large, continues to be relatively in the dark about the intricate ways in which many jihadists maintain robust yet secretive online presences.
You shouldn't leave any digital trace of yourself after you leave a job. Hopefully, you'll be leaving voluntarily and thus have the time to first make backups before you delete anything. This may seem easy, but you need to take inventory to make sure you get EVERYTHING. Note: make sure that every suggestion below is allowed via a company's internal policies.
Believe it or not, you just can't shred too much. If you aren't destroying your sensitive data, my best advice is for you to start now. There are people out there who make a living diving into dumpsters in search of credit card info, bank account number, mortgage statements, and medical bills; all things they can use to steal your identity. Here are 12 tips that you can use to help you destroy your sensitive data:
What's sicker than raping a woman? Ordering her to phone her boyfriend so he could listen to the rape. But that was a good thing for a woman who was kidnapped last year. Her abductor drove her to the parking lot of an adult entertainment store in Georgia with the intent of raping her, reports WSB-TV.
The October anniversary of the liability shift has passed, and anniversaries are an excellent time to look back on progress…this is no exception. The U.S. EMV migration plan was set four years ago as a way to fight card fraud and to protect both consumers and merchants.
You're sitting on your front porch. You see a stranger walking towards your property. You have no idea whom he is. But he's nicely dressed. He asks to come inside your house and look through your bank account records, view your checkbook routing number and account number, and jot down the 16-digit numbers of your credit cards. Hey, he also wants to write down all your passwords. You say, "Sure! Come on in!"
Spring is here (at least in some parts of the world in the northern hemisphere)! The bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming, and the accountants are working late because for those in the U.S., it's tax season! Scammers love tax season—there is a lot of money moving around as people pay taxes and receive tax refunds. And they have developed many ways to take advantage of that and steal your hard-ea ed money.
Just because something is legal, does that mean you should do it? In the case of spying on your kids' phone activities, some say yes. Though the very same mode of operation is illegal in most states when the eavesdropper is your boss or anyone else and you're the "eavesdropee," this same mechanism is legal and encouraged for parents to their kids.
You've probably heard of the gofundme.com site, where all sorts of stories are posted of people seeking donations. Some are tragic, others are trite. You may be touched by a particular story, perhaps one in which an entire family is killed in a house fire. You click the "Donate Now" button and donate $50. So just how do you know that family who died in the fire really existed?
You don't have to be wealthy or live in a big house to need a home security safe. If you don't think you need one, ask yourself why. Ask yourself if you don't have any valuables—not necessarily something that would be valuable to a burglar, but something very dear and special to you, such as a vintage photo of your great-grandfather.
There are so many things to consider when it's time to purchase antivirus software, but don't let all the options overwhelm you. Take your time and don't get too fixated on every little detail. Some systems will definitely conform more to your needs than others. But many people simply go with what seems to be the most popular or reputable antivirus company.
What if you knew there existed a possibility that some company, without your knowledge, grabbed a photo of your child and put it on their product and then put their product online for sale?
Who has time to think about identity protection when planning a wedding? And why, for that matter? Well, there's good reason: Marriage begets a change in identities. The months preceding the big day should be when the couple starts taking action to avoid identity theft.
"Anonymous" is an activist hacking group that has recently boasted that it will engage in 30 days of cyber assaults against "all central banks," reports an article on cnbc.com. And their bite is as big as their bark, as this announcement came soon after several major banks around the world were struck—and Anonymous proudly claimed credit. The banks that were apparently breached by Anonymous include:
There are enough tips on how to protect your home to make a professional burglar dizzy. In no particular order, check them out:
Consider a keychain for a moment. For most of us, a keychain holds all of our necessities such as home keys, car keys, work keys and even forgotten keys, that we aren't quite sure what to do with. Now, think about this. What if your keychain had keys that look identical, but each key only opens one door.
As a parent, you may not be crazy about your child spending a lot of time "gaming." Chances are good that your feelings are fueled by the fact that kids should play outside, be more social, and are getting addicted to tech or maybe the correlation between childhood obesity and excess computer time. It's not pretty.
Zeus is no longer a god of malware; he's been taken down by law enforcement agencies spanning six European nations. Five people were recently arrested—believed to have infected tens of thousands of computers across the globe. There have been 60 total arrests pertaining to this cybergang.
Catfishing is when someone creates a phony online account—and not necessarily to scam someone for financial gain. An article on vice.com tells all about a person who's been catfishing for eight years. She started in middle school by creating "Joey" on MySpace. She then commented, as "Joey," on her real MySpace page to make herself appear that some cool kid named Joey thought she was pretty.
You have a master password, from your password manager, for 28 accounts. Life has been so easy since! But then you lose this master password. First off, you can't fix this like you would if you forgot your password for PayPal or your credit card's site. Plus, each password manager service has a different solution.
You've bee "Googled." No matter how small a speck you think you are in this universe, you have without a doubt created an online footprint that is attached to your name. Chances are high that someone out there has followed this footprint of yours via a Google search.
Angee, the new Kickstarter campaign that raised over $250,000 already, will revolutionize home security in more ways than one. Meanwhile, get going on these 20 home security tips:
The computers in your household should have controls on them for security—even if you don't have children living with you. Chrome OS
What a disgrace: A private investigator, Eric Saldarriaga, 41, got nailed for hacking into peoples' e-mails. He may get six months in the can. Is six months reasonable for this, though?