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Robert Siciliano

Security Analyst

Safr.me

Member since

04 Feb 2009

Location

Boston

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Robert's opinions

Happy Holidays and Thank You From Robert Siciliano

25 years ago I was in a situation where I needed some help. A man appeared out of nowhere and seemed to have sensed my desperation and offered assistance. I accepted. Up until that day “It was all about me”. When I asked why he stopped to offer assistance and go out of his way as he did, he simply said, “Sometimes people just need help” That simp...

31 December 2010 /security /regulation

Hacking Wireless for Identity Theft

The ability to connect wirelessly has a lot to do with the indispensability of the Internet in our daily lives. Wireless Internet is available in our homes, offices, cafes, restaurants, parks, hotels, airports, cars, and even airplanes. The mobility factor allows us to work anytime, anywhere, on numerous devices. “Being connected” is at an all-tim...

28 December 2010 /security /regulation

Online Shoppers Concerned About Identity Theft

Shopping online is unquestionably more convenient and efficient than traditional commerce. But is it safer? We face risk everywhere we go. We risk car accidents on the way to the mall. Muggers and thieves present a risk. Heck, you risk catching a cold from a sniffling salesclerk! Similarly, shopping online creates another set of pitfalls, most of w...

13 December 2010 /security /regulation

Twitter Crime on the Rise

Twitter is now beginning to see a substantial rise in active users. A recent report found that the percentage of Twitter users who have tweeted ten or more times, have more than ten followers, and follow more than ten people rose from 21% to 29% in the first half of 2010. Spammers, scammers, and thieves are paying attention. In the physical world,...

09 December 2010 /security /regulation

Top 5 Vishing Techniques

“Vishing” occurs when criminals call victims on the phone and attempt to lure them into divulging personal information that can be used to commit identity theft. The name comes from “voice,” and “phishing,” which is, of course, the use of spoofed emails designed to trick targets into clicking malicious links. Instead of email, vishing generally rel...

07 December 2010 /security /regulation

How Much Longer Does the Magstripe Have?

Every U.S.-based credit card has a magnetic stripe on the back. This stripe can be read and rewritten like a rewritable burnable CD, using card burners that are easily available online. The simplicity of the magstripe’s design, coupled with the availability of card reading and writing technology, results in billions of dollars in theft and fraud. E...

06 December 2010 /security /regulation

Supercookies: What Websites Know About You

Most major websites now install cookies on your computer, which track what you do online. Over time, these cookies develop a profile, which becomes your digital fingerprint, to a certain extent. You may have noticed after searching for a specific product, advertisements for that particular product or brand appearing on various other websites you v...

01 December 2010 /security /regulation

What Security Issues Should You Worry About?

First thing I tell my seminar attendees is “The chances of anything bad ever happening to you is very slim. So don’t worry about. However you should still put these systems in place.” Are you a helicopter parent? An “alarmist”? Or Chicken Little: The sky is falling, the sky is falling! I heard somewhere along the line that 90% of what we worry abou...

22 November 2010 /security /regulation

CO. Supreme Court Using a Stolen SS Number is Not ID Theft

I feel like my head is going to explode. The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled “that using someone else’s Social Security number is not identity theft as long as you use your own name with it.” The defendant in this particular case had admitted to using a false Social Security number on an application for a car loan, and to find employment. The cour...

16 November 2010 /security /regulation

Using Video To Catch a Nasty Neighbor

Living in the Northeast has its pros and cons. We have the four seasons, great food, entertainment, sports, everything is at your fingertips, and for me it’s where business gets done. Drawbacks include lots of congestions, crime, traffic, bad attitudes and nasty neighbors. Most people I know have a neighbor they are in some kind of entanglement wit...

15 November 2010 /security /regulation

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