Expect Privacy Leaks through Stolen Laptops, PDAs and Smartphones

A few years ago, every time we’d hear of another stolen laptop or lost mobile, it was cause for consternation. “I wonder what privacy data was on it,” or “Oh no, this possible security compromise notice will sully our reputation and no one will want to do business with us anymore”. Nowadays it turns out, it’s the device user that should probably worry the most. A full 68 percent of users in a recent InfoWatch survey reported storing private personal information on their mobile devices.

Now, private personal data may be a little loose in definition. Don’t tell my wife, but [...]

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Password hacking with chocolate: Are women more susceptible to social engineering?

The Mitnick attack. The 10 attack. Social Engineering. Each of these emphasize how readily people part with valuable information to someone posing as an IT staffer, a very attractive member of the opposite sex, or someone friendly. You may now add candy bars and women…

No matter how you slice it, the weakest point in any security program ends up being the end user. User training seems to work with frequency of message, but without hearing the importance of security it seems quickly forgotten.

That is of course, unless the message starts at the top with a strong corporate policy, well understood [...]

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