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The identity theft and corporate data risk problem isn’t limited to iPad users – it affects all Tablets – but iPads are leading the way. With the rapid increase in highly powerful tablet computers, including the Motorola Xoon and Samsung Galaxy, a new survey is urging users to beware of the risks. Harris Interactive just released a study showing that tablet users transmit more sensitive information than they do on smartphones and are considerably less confident of the security protecting those tablets.
The survey shows that 48% of tablet users transfer sensitive data using the device while only 30% of smart phone users transfer sensitive information. The types of sensitive data included credit card, financial, personal and even proprietary business information. Many factors contribute to the increased risk:
- Users initially bought tablets as book readers and web browsers, but have increasingly added to their functionality with new Apps.
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Apple, Apps, Data Breach, galaxy, Identity Theft Prevention, ipad, malware, Security, Sileo, tablet, xoon
With the recent avalanche of digital convenience and mass centralization comes our next greatest privacy threat – the stupid use of Mobile Apps. As a society, we depend on the latest technology and instant connectivity so desperately that we rarely take the time to vet the application software (Apps) we install on our mobile phones (and with the introduction of the Mac App store, on our Macs). But many of the Apps out there have not been time-tested like the software on our computers. As much as we love to bash Microsoft and Adobe, they do have a track record of patching security concerns.
The ability to have all of your information at your fingertips on one device is breathtakingly convenient. My iPhone, for example, is used daily as an email client, web browser, book, radio, iPod, compass, recording device, address book, word processor, blog editor, calculator, camera, high-definition video recorder, to-do list, GPS, map, remote control, contact manager, Facebook client, backup device, digital filing cabinet, travel agent, newsreader and phone… among others (which is why I minimize my stupidity by following the steps I set out in the Smart Phone Survival Guide).
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Android, Applications, Apps, BlackBerry, data security, Droid, Expert, Fraud, Hacking, iPhone, jail break, jail breaking, Jailbreaking, John Sileo, Mobile Phone, safety, Security, Smart Phone, Smartphone, Smartphone Survival Guide
In response to the increasing data theft threat posed by Smartphones, identity theft expert John Sileo has released The Smartphone Survival Guide. Because of their mobility and computing power, smartphones are the next wave of data hijacking. iPhone, BlackBerry and Droid users carry so much sensitive data on their phones, and because they are so easily compromised, it’s disastrous when they fall into the wrong hands.
Denver, CO (PRWEB) March 7, 2011
Smartphones are quickly becoming the fashionable (and simplest) way for thieves to steal private data. Case in point: Google was recently forced to remove 21 popular Android apps from it’s official application website, Android Market, because the applications were built to look like useful software but acted like electronic wiretaps. At first glance, apps like Chess appear to be legitimate, but when installed, turn into a data-hijacking machine that siphons private information back to the developer.
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Android, Android Market, App Store, Applications, Apps, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Security, data security, Droid, Droid Security, Expert, Fraud, Hacking, Hijacking, iPhone, iPhone Security, jail break, jail breaking, Jailbreaking, John Sileo, Lookout, Mobile Phone, safety, Security, Smart Phone, Smartphone, Smartphone Survival Guide
Google removes 20+ Apps from Android Market, signaling that malware distribution has gone mainstream, and not just for Droids.
The Adroid Operating System is open source – meaning that anyone can create applications without Google’s approval. It boosts innovation, and unlike Apple iPhones or Blackberrys, Droid Apps aren’t bound by all of the rules surrounding the Apple App Store. But this leniency can be exploited by hackers, advertisers and malicious apps. And now those apps aren’t just available on some sketchy off-market website, but on the Android Market itself. As smartphones and tablets become one of the primary ways we conduct business, including banking, this development shifts the security conversation into high gear.
A recent discovery forced Google to pull 21 popular and free apps from the Android Market. According to the company, the apps are malware and focused on getting root access to the user’s device (giving them more control over your phone than even you have). Kevin Mahaffey, the CTO of Lookout, a maker of security tools for mobile devices, explained the Android malware discovery in a recent PC World article (emphasis mine):
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Android, Android Market, App Store, Applications, Apps, BlackBerry, BlackBerry Security, data security, Droid, Droid Security, Expert, Fraud, Hacking, Hijacking, iPhone, iPhone Security, jail break, jail breaking, Jailbreaking, John Sileo, Lookout, Mobile Phone, safety, Security, Smart Phone, Smartphone, Smartphone Survival Guide
It’s snowing, non-stop a week ago Tuesday in Denver as I’m trying to catch a standby flight from Denver International Airport to a speech in Sacramento before the afternoon flights get canceled due to weather. I have an hour to spare. I put my bags on the belt and walk through the metal detector without a problem.
Until the TSA screener manning the X-Ray tells me not to move. Literally, he says, “don’t move”. I’ve been standing there for about two minutes when three or four other screeners come over and take a look at whatever is on his screen. I can’t see anything, and he won’t talk to me. When I ask him what the problem is, he won’t even make eye contact with me. But everyone else is looking at me.
Posted in Business Life by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: identity theft expert, Security, Sileo, TSA
Statistics say 1 in 2 Americans will have a smart-phone by December 2011. Many people keep their address, bank account numbers, passwords, PIN numbers and more stored in their phone. The mounds of information kept in smart-phones is more than enough to steal one’s identity with ease.
What most people don’t consider are the applications that they are using on a daily basis. What information is stored there? According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, more than you think.
After examining over 100 popular apps, they found that 56 transmit the phone’s unique device ID to companies without the user’s knowledge. Forty-seven of the applications transmitted the phone’s actual location, while five sent other personal information such as age and gender. This shows how many times your privacy is potentially compromised without your knowledge, just by playing music on Pandora.
Here are a few of the culprits:
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Applications, cell phone, cell phone safety, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Speaker, Information Security, iphone Apps, John Sileo, Security, Smatphones
According to a recent New York Times article, the government may be creating a department solely dedicated to strenghthening privacy policies within the United States and other countries. A recent report details why such a force is necessary. Although this new office would lack enforcement authority, they would work directly with the administration and necessary agencies to attack and solve privacy issues.
“America needs a robust privacy framework that preserves consumer trust in the evolving Internet economy while ensuring the Web remains a platform for innovation, jobs and economic growth,” the Secretary of the Commerce, Gary F. Locke, said in a statement. “Self-regulation without stronger enforcement is not enough. Consumers must trust the Internet in order for businesses to succeed online.”
The policy task force already suggested we make visible exactly what information is collected online through a “Privacy Bill of Rights.” Companies that collect this information will then have increased accountability and limits on what they can do with information collected.
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: "Identity Theft, Expert, Federal Office, FTC, Identity Theft Speaker, John Sileo, New York Times, Online, online privacy, Online Privacy Office, Online Safety, Privacy, Security
The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the biggest shopping time of the year. As we enter the season of giving there is one thing we should be stingy with – protecting our Identities!
Holiday madness, crazed shoppers and packed malls. While we are bustling from store to store and internet site to internet site trying to complete everyone’s holiday list, thieves and scammers are taking our distraction as a signal to strike. According to the author of Privacy Means Profit and identity theft expert John Sileo, “This is the easiest time of year for thieves to steal wallets, break into houses and profit financially from the season of giving without victims detecting it for a long time.”
With just three weeks until Christmas, now is the time to protect yourself and make sure that your Identity is safe from potential thieves. Just last month, Sileo was hired to speak to the Department of Defense and included some of the most important Holiday Safety Prevention Tips:
Posted in Cyber Data Security, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Christmas, CSIdentity, CSidentity Protector, CSIdentity SAFE, holiday, Holiday Scams, Holiday Shopping, holidays, Identity Theft Prevention, Identity Thieves, John Sileo, Risk, Safe Shopping, safety, Security
Some months ago, Google got caught sniffing the wireless connection in our homes as they photographed our houses to post on Google Street View. Although the case may be newsworthy, the settlement is only peanuts. Google has been found guilty of trespassing on Aaron and Christine Boring’s home and will have to pay them the astounding amount of $1 for punitive damages. The search engine giant admitted that they trespassed when they took a picture of the plaintiffs house for Google Street View and ended up settling the case. The couple were hoping to make a point, but also realized that they financially can’t take on the huge corporation.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: Google, John Sileo, Privacy, Security, Sniffing, Spying, Street View, Wireless
