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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.
Have you ever seen a house and thought…I wish I could afford that? Some people actually try it, but let this story be a lesson learned: if you can't afford the cost of a house, you probably shouldn't try to buy it.
You might be surprised to know that more than 3.4 billion fake emails are sent around the globe each day. What does this mean? It means that almost every company out there is vulnerable to cybercrimes in the form of "spoofing" and "phishing." On top of this, most companies out there have not protected themselves from this type of cyber attack. What's even more interesting is that the vast majority of these emails are not coming from some foreign land, but they are coming from sources based in the US.
Criminals use six basic principles to influence and steal. In the first post we discussed:
Choosing a home security system may be dizzying, what with all the possibilities, but the good news is that there's a system for every budget and personality. Gone are the days in which the only security systems available were the ones with all the clunky wires that had to be put throughout the house. Systems are now offered by Internet providers and cable companies. But choose carefully. Wireless
Social media is an excellent tool for small businesses, yet, the use of social media by small business staff can definitely put the company in danger. Many small business owners and managers don't realize this.
For the most part, the local police department does not prevent most assaults or burglaries. That would require a cop to be everywhere all at once. Not happening. However, they do their best to capture and arrest those who commit these crimes. And, preventing crimes goes way beyond getting a home security system or making sure your doors are locked and your lights are on timers. But this is a start. The truth is, your personal security and preventing crimes starts with you. It begins with taking responsibility for your property and your personal safety.
Even three men in a house aren't immune to a home invasion, as was the case in Bedford, Massachusetts recently, says a report at boston.cbslocal.com.
Eddie Leal, 23, was an up-and-coming professional boxer who gave free boxing lessons in his garage to down-and-out neighborhood teens. He was a good guy. And like most young men, was looking for a girlfriend. One day he saw that a young woman, Rebecca Santhiago, was asking for a friend request on his Facebook page. The brunette bombshell with fashion model looks said she was 21, liked to party and was attending college.
Most of us have no idea when a disaster is about to strike, and even if we do have a little warning, it's very possible that things can go very wrong. This is where you can put a business continuity plan to good use. What does this do? It gives your business the best odds of success during any disaster. What Exactly is Business Continuity?
As recent data breaches have shown, cyber attacks are particularly threatening to government entities handling sensitive data like Social Security numbers. Unfortunately, state agencies struggle to hire cybersecurity professionals. The cause of this staffing shortage? There simply aren't enough qualified people for the job[i]. Thankfully, change is in the air.
Beware. This is tough to read. An expectant woman had spotted an ad on Craigslist asking for baby clothes, so she contacted the ad placer—a woman—then went to her Longmont, Colorado house alone. The woman stabbed the would-be seller and removed the seven-month-old fetus. The baby died but the victim survived.
Guess who may be compromising the security of your Social Security Number. The Social Security Administration! Yep, that's right. Did you know that 66 percent of the mail the SSA sends out contains someone's Social Security number? This is what the inspector general of the SSA, Kimberly Byrd, says, and I believe it. How many pieces of mail is this? Over 230,000,000. This situation is problematic.
It's good to have a stash of cash for emergencies. If the grid goes down and the power goes out, an ATM or bank does you no good. But there are security issues too. Where do you put it? A safe is certainly a smart idea. You can get creative too.
An impostor posed as Lorrie Cranor at a mobile phone store (in Ohio, nowhere near Cranor's home) and obtained her number. She is the Federal Trade Commission's chief technologist. Her impostor's con netted two new iPhones (the priciest models—and the charges went to Cranor) with her number.
How prepared are you for a disaster? Most of us are not prepared, at all, yet two-thirds of us live in an area where we are at a moderate to very high risk of experiencing a natural disaster. Here are a few things you should do, today, to start preparing for a "just in case" situation: Be Aware
DoorDash has admitted that it has been the victim of a data breach, which has affected about 4.9 million merchants and people.
Just as important as taking down the decorations, throwing out all the debris from opened gifts and getting the house back in order after the holiday activities, is that of scrutinizing your credit card statements. Why? To make sure that all the purchases on there were made by you and only you. The holiday season means more credit card use = more identity theft. In this case, it's "account takeover."
Cyber criminals are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the good guys, and there is now another scam out there that you should know about: synthetic identity theft. Basically, the criminals take information from someone, and then make up the rest. They also often use fake Social Security numbers, called CPNs, or "credit profile numbers," or names.
With Cyber Monday, you don't have to camp outside in the cold ove ight so you can be the first person busting through the doors like on Black Friday. But you still may get trampled to a pulpby cyber scammers waiting for their prey. How can you avoid these predators?
No bones about it, 2016 is sure to see some spectacular, news-chomping data breaches, predicts many in infosec. If you thought 2015 was interesting, get your seatbelt and helmet on and prepare for lift off… Wearable Devices
Years ago, having "the talk" with your kids meant telling them where babies come from. Nowadays, "the talk" has a whole new meaning. Your kids may be able to explain in detail how a baby is created, but may be clueless (because so many adults are) about something called "data permanence."
An alarming new study is out, and if you are a parent, you should take note…children as young as 8-years old are being sexually exploited via social media. This is a definite downtu from past research, and it seems like one thing is to blame: live streaming.
With all the apps out there that individualize communication preferences among teens, such as limiting "sharing," parents should still hold their breath. Face it, parents: times have changed. It's your duty to discuss these applications with your kids. And parents should also familiarize themselves with the so-called temporary apps.
Many crimes against women are categorized as "crimes of opportunity." The attacker doesn't seem to care if the chance to attack comes in a large, busy city or in a small, sleepy town. If he sees a woman and he has intentions of attacking, he's going to strike…assuming he can get away with it.
Haste certainly doesn’t make waste if you’ve suffered from an entity getting hacked resulting in a data breach. Don’t waste a single minute delaying notifying affected accounts! In the case of a credit card company, they will investigate; you won’t have to pay the fraudulent charges. The breached card will be closed, and you’ll get a new one. And there is more.
Is it Bank of America's fault that a hospital was hacked and lost over a million dollars? Chelan County Hospital No. 1 certainly thinks so, reports an article on krebsonsecurity.com. In 2013, the payroll accounts of the Washington hospital were broken into via cyberspace.
Have you ever had the chicken pox? This common childhood illness has another name—the varicella zoster virus. Like all viruses, varicella replicates itself, spreading though the body, and eventually appearing as itchy red blisters all over the body. But the virus doesn't stop there; it can spread to other people through physical contact and through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It's not a very fun illness to have.
What do you really know about water storage? Below you'll find information that you probably never even thought of before, or information that contradicts what you've always believed to be correct.
If your computer password contains the name of your dog, your favorite vacation spot, and an easy-to-remember numerical sequence, then you are breaking some basic rules of password safety. Even though "BusterBermuda789" might seem impenetrable to you, this is a password security experts say is vulnerable. Here are five things to know about passwords:
You probably think you know what a "hacker" is, but the images portrayed in the media can be misleading. You may be thinking of a geeky-looking guy who causes peoples' computers to get infected with viruses or cracks passwords to raid the accounts of big business. This is one kind of hacker, but in a broader sense a hacker is a person (male or female) who uses their programming skills and technical knowledge to create and modify computer software and hardware by finding their weaknesses and exploiting them.
With all the increased news coverage of kids running off with adults they met online, and kids dying by suicide supposedly due to online bullying, many parents are wondering if their worries about their kids being online are justified.
Be honest. Do you have a key to your house under your doormat or a flowerpot? If you do, you might as well put a sign out that says "Come rob me." This isn't to say you shouldn't have a key somewhere, though. After all, you might need it one of these days. However, there are better places to hide your house key:
If you want to be a pro at privacy, here's a tip: When it's time to go online, whether it's at an airport lounge, coffee house, hotel, or any other public Wi-Fi spot, don't log into any of your accounts unless you use a virtual private network (VPN).
You have probably heard that it's important to be prepared for a disaster. You might have a first aid kit set aside, food and water, or a battery-operated radio. But, are you financially prepared? Creating an Emergency Fund
Hackers with big skills and a big ego will be drawn to Facebook and Twitter as their targets. But they'll also target dozens of other companies, reports an article on arstechnica.com.
How would you like a home security system that's also your personal assistant? Angee Inc., a new company out of San Francisco, knows you'd like one. Features of the Angee Device
It's all about code—the building blocks of the Internet. Software code is full of unintentional defects. Governments are paying heavy prices to skilled hackers who can unearth these vulnerabilities, says an article at nytimes.com. In fact, the FBI director, James B. Comey, recommended that the FBI pay hackers a whopping $1.3 million to figure out how to circumvent Apple's iPhone security.
Bottom line: If you have a data security policy in place, you need to make sure that it's up to date and contains all of the necessary elements to make it effective. Here are 10 essential items that should be incorporated into all security policies: 1. Manage employee email
Meet Angee. Angee (pronounced like Angie) will revolutionize home security in more ways than one. One of the features that sets Angee apart from other home security systems is that this system can learn about you and your family members, and then operate accordingly. Angee is the future, but this future is now here. Check out what Angee offers:
There's a name for the survival sack that you take with you outdoors in the event of survival emergency: bugout bag. Let's start with the key components to net a three-day survival:
Yes, many thieves don't have anything better to do than to follow delivery trucks around town to see what kind of bountiful packages they'll be leaving at the doorsteps of homes. This means even more crooks simply drive around residential areas looking for boxes sitting outside of doors. These crooks will walk off with the packages.
If you've decided to avoid getting a home security system, I'm banking that the reason is at least one of the myths described below. Check them out:
Ever see those public bulletin boards with all the business cards on them? Don't be surprised if you spot one that says "Hacker • for • Hire." These are hackers who will, for a nice juicy fee, hack into your wife's Facebook account to see if she's cheating on you.
When you think of a cybercriminal, you probably picture someone in a black hoodie in a dark room on the dark web, but most cybercriminals are out there in plain sight, including on Facebook.
The definition of criminal identity theft is a crime where the criminal impersonates the victim in order to protect their innocence. This can lead to victims getting fines or even getting arrested and charged for crimes they did not commit. How Does This Happen?
Who needs guns, threatening notes to rob a bank when you can do it with just your fingertips inside your home? A hacking ring in the eastern portion of Europe may be the most successful team of bank robbers to date, having purportedly robbed $1 billion from multiple banks. This can only be done by infecting computers with malicious software (malware) and sucking out all the money.
Companies have been struggling for years to keep cyber-attacks at bay. Cyberthieves are working faster than ever before to send out their malicious attacks, and it's become increasingly difficult for companies to keep up.
There is no such thing as a home that is fully burglar-proof, but there is also no such thing as burglars who have the skills of Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible. With the right security in place, you can get your home almost burglar-proof.
So you think it's really a far-out left-field idea: a burglar studying Facebook and other social media to select homes to rob. Well think again. A survey, conducted by home security expert Friedland, found:
We all get scam phone calls, but the newest one is meant to scare. When you pick up the phone, you get a message that your Social Security number is suspended due to suspicious activity, and then prompts the victim to speak with an agent to get help.