WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

KrebsOnSecurity has long warned readers to plant your own flag at the my Social Security online portal of the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) — even if you are not yet drawing benefits from the agency — because identity thieves have been registering accounts in peoples’ names and siphoning retirement and/or disability funds.

In What’s In a Boarding Pass Barcode? A Lot, KrebsOnSecurity told the story of a reader whose friend posted a picture of a boarding pass on Facebook. The reader was able to use the airline’s Web site combined with data printed on the boarding pass to discover additional information about his friend. That data included details of future travel, the ability to alter or cancel upcoming flights, and a key component need to access the traveler’s frequent flyer account. 

More recently, security researcher Michal Špaček gave a talk at a conference in the Czech Republic in which he explained how a few details gleaned from a picture of a friend’s boarding pass posted online give him the ability to view passport information on his friend via the airline’s Web site, and to change the password for another friend’s United Airlines frequent flyer account.

Web merchants routinely leak data about purchases. And that can make it straightforward to link individuals with their Bitcoin purchases, say cybersecurity researchers. You can preserve your privacy as long as the pseudonym is not linked to you. But as soon as somebody makes the link to one of your anonymous books, the ruse is revealed. Your entire writing history under your pseudonym becomes public. Similarly, as soon as your personal details are linked to your Bitcoin address, your purchase history is revealed too.

Anonymity, like security, has many layers. Observers have developed methods of piercing anonymity which involve differing levels of technology.

These are the steps you can take and the tools you'll need to remain anonymous and hidden online. Tor, VPN, burner emails, encryption, bitcoin, etc.

On today’s web it’s hard to set a (digital) foot online without it attracting dozens of trackers and log entries, as companies look to learn everything about you and sell that data on to advertisers. To hide you’ve got a few tools at your disposal, many of which we’ve talked about in the past, and all of which add up to a largely anonymous browsing experience. What we can’t do is promise 100 percent that you won’t be tracked—we’re not privy to the inner workings of the FBI or your employer’s IT system—but this is as much as you can do.

With the Supreme Court slated to rule next term on whether cellphone location data requires a search warrant, a new poll shows that a majority of U.S. adults support law enforcement accessing certain personal data for someone under investigation, but only if it's authorized by a warrant. Polling was conducted June 8 through June 12 among 2,200 U.S. adults. Morning Consult is the official polling partner of POLITICO, Vox, Fortune, and Bloomberg News.

Instead of Google, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn owning your data, imagine a world in which you control the data about yourself and reveal only what is minimally necessary when required. It would be the web equivalent of proving to a bouncer only that you're older than 21, instead of also handing over your birthdate, address and whether you've elected to be an organ donor.

100 million rides and runs, 220 billion data points visualizing the best roads and trails worldwide.

The US Department of Homeland Security used software to scan social media accounts of people visiting America, but it didn't work properly.

Under President Obama, the government considered asking people to voluntarily submit social media profiles, but since the election of President Trump the scheme may become mandatory and more invasive.

The new boss of the US Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly, has said that such checks should be mandatory and travelers should also be forced to provide passwords and banking records. This may take weeks or months, he said, but people will just have to wait before visiting this shining city on the hill.

Andy Grove was a Hungarian refugee who escaped communism, studied engineering, and ultimately led the personal computer revolution as the CEO of Intel. He died earlier this year in Silicon Valley after a long fight with Parkinson's disease. When one of the most powerful people in the world encourages us to be paranoid, maybe we should listen.

This survey finds that a majority of Americans have directly experienced some form of data theft or fraud, that a sizeable share of the public thinks that their personal data have become less secure in recent years, and that many lack confidence in various institutions to keep their personal data safe from misuse. In addition, many Americans are failing to follow digital security best practices in their own personal lives, and a substantial majority expects that major cyberattacks will be a fact of life in the future.

The majority of adults in a new survey by the Pew Research Center feel that their privacy is being challenged along such core dimensions as the security of their personal information and their ability to retain confidentiality.

When Americans are asked what comes to mind when they hear the word “privacy,” there are patterns to their answers. When responses are grouped into themes, the largest block of answers ties to concepts of security, safety, and protection. For many others, notions of secrecy and keeping things “hidden” are top of mind when thinking about privacy.

These third party login tools promise more traffic, more subscribers, more members, more customers and more sales — and those promises have come true: as some have noted, up to 80% of web users choose Facebook Connect or another social authentication option when it’s available (as opposed to signing up for a site with their email address), and Facebook itself has claimed that social authentication increases registration by 30-200%. (...) But is that promise worth the price of losing direct access to your customers’ contact information and profiling information — or for that matter, direct access to customers themselves?

Mozilla’s new open source initiative to document and explain what’s happening to the health of the Internet. Combining research from multiple sources, we collect data on five key topics and offer a brief overview of each.

You have a twin – a “digital” twin. It does everything you do.

The same way you exercise your body to stay fit, or brush your teeth to prevent long-term decay and problems, your digital twin needs care so that it does not become a problem in the future. Get to know this twin and you can manage it, secure it and protect it. Here is how to do this.

The Wall Street Journal did an interesting piece looking at Google, privacy and the extent of their knowledge (as well as other entities like Facebook). I suggest you read it for the details. The following image gives some insight into just how much Google has on one WSJ reporter.

Data Privacy Day Reminds Organizations That Protecting Customers’ Privacy is Critical to Their Business

The practical appeal of an RFID implant, in theory, is quick authentication that’s faster, cheaper and more reliable than other biometrics like thumbprints or facial scans. When the chip is hit with a radio frequency signal, it emits a unique identifier number that functions like a long, unguessable password. Implantees like Andrew imagine the ability to unclutter their pockets of keys and keycards and instead access their cars, computers, and homes with with a mere wave of the hand.

Onfido delivers next-generation background checks, helping the world’s most innovative businesses verify anyone, anywhere.

I’m sure you’ll have noticed in the last few years of using smart phones that every time you add a new app, no matter what that app is for, it asks if it can “use your location”.  Sure, you get a chance to allow or not, but how many of us just click that allow button without thinking what information that simple choice conveys?

The internet can be horrible, and it isn't weird to sometimes feel like you want to leave. But there's wasn't an easy way out, until now.