I’ve had dozens of media requests for interviews and countless more email inquiries from people concerned about the Target data breach. At first, everyone just wanted to know details of how it happened, how big the breach was, and what they should do about it if their credit cards were at risk. Now that the initial shock of it is over, we are on to a bigger question:
How do we keep breach from negatively affecting so many Americans?
Breach will always happen. If it’s digital, it’s hackable. It’s coming to light that the Target breach may have been due to the computer access an HVAC WORKER (no, not an entire company, an individual WORKER) had to Target’s systems. While there is no guaranteed way of preventing fraud, there is a pretty reliable answer out there, and it’s been around for decades. That answer is for the US to finally catch up to more than 80 countries around the world and start using chip and PIN enabled credit cards, also known as EMV, smart cards, or microchip cards.
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Just over a year ago I appeared on Fox Business and wrote a blog about a Texas couple who learned their child’s baby monitor had been hacked when the intruder started screaming obscenities through the device. At the time the webcam system itself was found to have some glaring vulnerabilities, which were fixed by a firmware update, but I pointed out that the bottom line is that owners had not taken the necessary steps to secure their device and the onus was ultimately on them.
Now the news has broken about the latest in cyber espionage: a Russian website that is streaming footage from thousands of devices, including baby monitors, bedroom cameras, office surveillance systems and CCTV from gyms, in more than 250 countries, including feeds from 4,591 cameras in the United States. Not only are they streaming the footage, but they are providing the coordinates of where the cameras are located!
Apple has us ooing and ahhing about the iPhone 6, it’s big brother the 6+ and finally the Apple Watch. But the biggest announcement of all didn’t even have to do with gadgets. The most significant announcement was about a new service that will be built into those devices…
It is Apple Pay, Apple’s own version of a “mobile wallet” that will allow Apple users to pay for items with just a tap or wave of their device. That is if those items happen to be in stores that have agreed to install the technology necessary to allow near-field communication (NFC – no not the football conference, the radio-wave technology) to work. Of course, Apple has done the background work to ensure a lot of big names (MC, Visa, AMEX and retailers such as Target, Macy’s and McDonald’s to name a few) are already on board, which is a significant mark in their favor. And with the upcoming mandatory implementation of EMV technology, Apple may have just timed this perfectly.
The so-called “Inheritance Scam” is resurfacing in Colorado, but it has a new look.
No longer do you simply receive an email claiming to be from the representative of a long-lost relative. The new format involves what security experts call the “Accomplice Ploy” in which the thieves attempt to engage you through a long series of queries (one method) reaching out to you as if they know who you might be.
We have developed five questions you should ask about any email or phone call you suspect might be a scam. They are called the 5 indicators of the inheritance scam:
Google is purchasing the artificial intelligence company, DeepMind, which will give it the ability to potentially know more about your surfing habits, friendships, travel patterns and private information than even you know. Fox’s Melissa Francis interviews online privacy expert John Sileo and tech analyst Rob Enderlee to learn more.
John Sileo speaks around the world about online privacy.
Click the Photo to Watch the Video on the Rachael Ray Site
We wanted to share some good news! John will be appearing on CBS’s The Rachael Ray Show this Wednesday, January 29 to talk about the latest identity theft trends and threats. Watch a trailer of the show or find out when and where it airs in your area.
Rachael asked John to go into one of their audience members homes and pick it apart from a privacy standpoint. John took a look at everything, from items hidden under the mattress to filing cabinets, trash cans, computers, mobile devices and more. If you want to learn how to bulletproof your home and self against identity theft, tune in tomorrow morning to The Rachael Ray Show (CBS).
If you are one of the 40 million customers who have used a credit or debit card at Target stores in the United States between November 27 and December 15, you’d better start checking your accounts for fraudulent activity. Target confirmed that the data stored on the magnetic strip of cards (customer names, debit or credit card numbers, and card expiration dates) were taken, along with the three-digit security codes (CVVs) often imprinted on the backs of cards.
The type of data stolen would allow thieves to create counterfeit credit cards and, if pin numbers were intercepted, would also allow thieves to withdraw cash from ATM machines. Only in store purchases are at risk, so online shoppers need not worry.
Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder would not comment on how customers’ data were stored or encrypted prior to the attack, saying that would be part of the ongoing investigation. Target immediately notified law enforcement authorities and financial institutions, and the issue is being investigated by the Secret Service and a third-party forensics firm.
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