During a recent 60 Minutes interview, I was asked off camera to name the Achilles’ heel of an entire country’s data security perspective; what exactly were the country’s greatest weaknesses. The country happened to be New Zealand, a forward-thinking nation smart enough to take preventative steps to avoid the identity theft problems we face in the States. The question was revealing, as was the metaphor they applied to the discussion.
Achilles, an ancient Greek superhero — half human, half god — was in the business of war. His only human quality (and therefore his only exploitable weakness) was his heel, which when pierced by a Trojan arrow brought Achilles to the ground, defeated. From this Greek myth, the Achilles’ Heel has come to symbolize a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength; a weakness that can potentially lead to downfall. As I formulated my thoughts in regard to New Zealand, I realized that the same weaknesses are almost universal — applying equally well to nations, corporations and individuals.
Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Privacy, Sileo In the News by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: "New Zealand", 60 Minutes, data, Facebook, financial crime, Financial Speaker, Fraud Training, Identity, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Speaker, information, John Sileo, Privacy, Security, Sileo, social engineering, Social Media Privacy, social networking, Theft
60 Minutes’ episode on Cyber War last night was a prime time admission that it’s time for America to start investing in robust information control. I just finished reading an excellent book on this topic by Richard Clarke appropriately labeled Cyber War. If you want further details, I strongly recommend you watch the video to the left and read Mr. Clarke’s eye-opening book on the subject. He speaks from deep experience. Here’s what we already know:
- Cyber attacks have already happened on American military targets, including the Department of Defense.
- Cyber thieves, in a single instance, stole enough top secret information from government sources (D.O.D., State Department) to fill the Library of Congress.
- Cyber forces (military or otherwise) have already taken down power grids (Brazil), radar systems (Middle East) and military functionality (the Republic of Georgia).
What happens against military targets today will be happening against corporate targets tomorrow. There should be no excuses left.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: 60 Minutes, Cyber War, Cyber War Expert, Data War, Speaker
