Latest opinions that Robert Siciliano has shared on Finextra

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Robert Siciliano

Security Analyst

Safr.me

Member since

04 Feb 2009

Location

Boston

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Robert's opinions

Why American's Identities Are Easily Stolen

We can fix this thing, but we won’t because we don’t want to be inconvenienced. I’m introduced to amazing technologies every week that will stop this. All they need is government support and system wide adoption. Meanwhile, Chuck Schumer and Ed Markey and the rest of the grand standing politicians scream about privacy and security issues when the...

07 May 2010 /security /regulation

Personal Knowledge or Qualifying Questions as Authenticators

How many times have you forgotten a password? Fortunately the website you were on only needed your username or an email address and they would respond with a few questions for you to answer. Once you responded with what was in the system you then re-set your password and you’re in. Easy peazy. What’s your favorite food? Where did you honeymoon? Y...

04 May 2010 /security /regulation

A Great Way to Ruin an Online Reputation

I’m all about transparency. But that’s just me. Not everyone is so forthright. Most people prefer to fly a click or more below the radar and never have a light shine on them. I prefer to make sure what’s being said, is said by me and not some troll. My brother used to say “the worst thing that can happen to a person is to end up on one of those st...

01 May 2010 /security /regulation

9 Year Old Kid Hacks Schools Computers

Hacking has gone from “phreaking”- hacking phone systems to “cracking”-breaking into networks for fun and fame and over the past 5 years criminal hackers from all over the world are targeting huge databases full of credit card numbers. But hacking is also becoming part of popular culture. The “scriptkiddie” from back in the day is the 9 year old t...

30 April 2010 /security /regulation

Google Hack Whacks Passwords

Code named Gaia after “Greek Goddess of Earth” a Google single sign on password system was hacked in December. The NY Times reports “the intruders do not appear to have stolen passwords of Gmail users, and the company quickly started making significant changes to the security of its networks after the intrusions. But the theft leaves open the poss...

30 April 2010 /security /regulation

Parents Navigating the Social Media Mess

Children say and do things that make them vulnerable to dangers in the outside world. A parent can parent all day long and do everything possible to protect their kids from themselves, but a child’s persistence to have their way can wear a parent down. It’s a constant fight that makes a parent adopt a philosophy where they “pick their battles.” Gr...

26 April 2010 /security /regulation

Caller ID Spoofing Becoming Illegal

AP reports using false caller ID with the intent of tricking people into revealing personal information or otherwise causing harm would become illegal under legislation that passed the House Wednesday. The legislation would only outlaw the use of spoofing technology when the intent is to deceive and harm the recipient of the call. Legitimate uses...

23 April 2010 /security /regulation

Do You Spy on Your Spouse?

Generally in a trusting relationship spying isn’t necessary. I’m sure Sandra Bullock, Kate Gosselin or Tiger Wood’s wife didn’t think they needed to spy on their husbands, until they did. Reckless behavior like that can bring home a very itchy or very deadly disease. One that victimizes the innocent. The fact is humans have a tendency to lie.

15 April 2010 /security /regulation

Need Finextra Community Assistance

I know this is an unorthodox request but I envision it can turn into a cool post in the comments, then a great article. I'm doing a report on international issues of "new account fraud" as it pertains to identity theft. In the US we use a Social Security number as the primary identifier that is used on all applications to obtain new cre

09 April 2010 /security /regulation

Hacking Humans Naivete

Naiveté: A lack of sophistication or worldliness. That sums up a lot of people I know. “There’s a sucker born every minute” is a phrase often credited to P.T. Barnum (1810 – 1891), an American showman. It is generally taken to mean that there are (and always will be) a lot of gullible people in the world. Predator: A predator is an organism that fe...