Archive for the ‘Identity theft’ Category

Got secure messaging? Part 2

Posted: February 28, 2015 by IntentionalPrivacy in Cell phone, First Steps, free speech, Historical and future use of technology, Identity theft, Privacy, Security or Privacy Initiatives, Tips
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Part 1 explains why you might decide to use secure messaging.

If you decide you want to use a secure messaging app, here are some factors you might consider:

  • How secure is the program? Does it send your messages in plaintext or does it encrypt your communications?
  • How user friendly is it?
  • How many people overall use it? A good rule for security and privacy: do not be an early adapter! Let somebody else work the bugs out. The number of users should be at least several thousand.
  • What do users say about using it? Make sure you read both positive and negative comments. Test drive it before you trust it.
  • How many people do you know who use it? Could you persuade your family and friends to use it?
  • How much does it cost?
  • What happens to the message if the receiver is not using the same program as the sender?
    • Does it notify you first and offer other message delivery options or does the message encryption fail?
    • For those cases where the encryption fails, does the message not get sent or is it sent and stored unencrypted on the other end?
  • Will it work on other platforms besides yours? Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows, etc.
  • Does the app include an anonymizer, such as Tor?
  • While the app itself may not cost, consider whether the messages will be sent using data or SMS? Will it cost you money from that standpoint?

The Electronic Freedom Foundation recently published an article called “The Secure Messaging Scorecard” that might help you find an app that meets your needs. Here are a few of the protocols used by the applications listed in the article:

I picked out a few apps that met all of their parameters, and put together some notes on cost, protocols, and platforms. While I have not used any of them, I am looking forward to testing them, and will let you know how it goes.

 

App Name Cost Platforms Protocol Notes
ChatSecure + Orbot Free; open source; GitHub iOS, Android OTR, XMPP, Tor, SQLCipher
CryptoCat Free; open source; GitHub Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, OS X, iPhone; Facebook Messsenger OTR – single conversations; XMPP – group conversations Group chat, file sharing; not anonymous
Off-The-Record Messaging for Windows (Pidgin) Free Windows, GNOME2, KDE 3, KDE 4 OTR, XMPP, file transfer protocols
Off-The-Record Messaging for Mac (Adium) Free Adium 1.5 or later runs on Mac OS X 10.6.8 or newer OTR, XMPP, file transfer protocols No recent code audit
Signal (iPhone) / RedPhone (Android) Free iPhone, Android, and the browser ZTRP
Silent Phone / Silent Text https://silentcircle.com/pricing Desktop: Windows ZRTP, SCIMP Used for calling, texting, video chatting, or sending files
Telegram (secret chats) Free Android, iPhone / iPad, Windows Phone, Web- version, OS X (10.7 up), Windows/Mac/Linux Mproto Cloud-based; runs a cracking contest periodically
TextSecure Free Android Curve25519, AES-256, HMAC-SHA256.

Sources
http://en.flossmanuals.net/basic-internet-security/ch048_tools-secure-textmessaging/
http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/11493/how-hard-is-it-to-intercept-sms-two-factor-authentication
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16812064
http://www.practiceunite.com/notifications-the-3-factor-in-choosing-a-secure-texting-solution/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/iphone-jailbreak-risks,news-18850.html

Got Secure Messaging? Part 1 …

Posted: February 25, 2015 by IntentionalPrivacy in Cell phone, First Steps, free speech, Identity theft, Personal safety, Privacy, Security or Privacy Initiatives, Tips
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When you send a message, who controls your messages? You write them and you get them, but what happens in the middle? Where are they stored? Who can read them? Email, texts, instant messaging and Internet relay chat (IRC), videos, photos, and (of course) phone calls all require software. Those programs are loaded on your phone or your tablet by the device manufacturer and the service provider. However, you can choose to use other – more secure – programs.

In the old days of the 20th century, a landline telephone call (or a fax) was an example of point-to-point service. Except for wiretaps or party lines, or situations where you might be overheard or the fax intercepted, that type of messaging was reasonably secure. Today, messaging does not usually go from your device—whether it is a cell phone, laptop, computer, or tablet—directly to the receiver’s device. Landlines are becoming scarcer, as digital phones using Voice over IP (VoIP) are becoming more prevalent. Messages are just like any other Internet activities: something (or someone) is in the middle.

It’s a lot like the days when an operator was necessary to connect your call. You are never really sure if someone is listening to your message.

What that means is that a digital message is not be secure without taking extra precautions. It may go directly from your device to your provider’s network or it may be forwarded from another network; it often depends on where you are located in relation to a cell phone tower and how busy it is. Once the message has reached your provider’s network, it may bounce to a couple of locations on their network, and then—depending on whether your friend is a subscriber of the same provider—the message may stay on the same network or it may hop to another provider’s network, where it will be stored on their servers, and then finally be delivered to the recipient.

Understand that data has different states and how the data is treated may be different depending on the state. Data can be encrypted when it is transmitted and it can be encrypted when it is stored, or it can remain unencrypted in either state.

Everywhere it stops on the path from your device to the destination, the message is stored. The length of time it is kept in storage depends on the provider’s procedures, and it could be kept for weeks or even years. It gets backed up and it may be sent to offsite storage. At any time along its travels, it can be lost, stolen, intercepted or subpoenaed. If the message itself is encrypted, it cannot be read without access to the key. If the application is your provider’s, they may have access to the message even if it is encrypted if they have access to the key.

Is the message sent over an encrypted channel or is it sent in plain text? If you are sending pictures of LOLZ cats, who cares? But if you are discussing, say, a work-related topic, or a medical or any other confidential issue, you might not want your messages available on the open air. In fact, it’s better for you and your employer if you keep your work and personal information separated on your devices. This can happen by carrying a device strictly for work or maybe through a Mobile Device Management application your employer installed that is a container for your employer’s information. If you do not keep your information separate and your job suddenly comes to an end, they may have the right to wipe your personal device or you may not be able to retrieve any personal information stored on a work phone. Those policies you barely glanced at before you signed them when you started working at XYZ Corporation? It is a good idea to review them at least once a year and have a contingency plan! I have heard horror stories about baby pictures and novels that were lost forever after a job change.

Are you paranoid yet? If not, I have not explained this very well!

A messaging app that uses encryption can protect your communications with the following disclaimers. These apps cannot protect you against a key logger or malware designed to intercept your communications. They cannot protect you if someone has physical or root access to your phone. That is one of the reasons that jail-breaking your phone is such a bad idea—you are breaking your phone’s built-in security protections.

An app also cannot protect you against leaks by someone you trusted with your information. Remember: If you do not want the files or the texts you send to be leaked by someone else, do not send the information.

If you decide that you want to try one or more messaging applications, it is really important to read the documentation thoroughly so you understand what the app does and what it does not do and how to use it correctly. And, finally: Do not forget your passphrase!! Using a password manager such as KeePass or LastPass is a necessity today. Also back up your passwords regularly and put a copy—digital and/or paper—of any passwords you cannot afford to lose in a safe deposit box or cloud storage. If you decide to use cloud storage, make sure you encrypt the file before you upload it. Cloud storage is a term that means you are storing your stuff on someone else’s computer.

Part 2

Sony …. holding out for a hero!

Posted: December 19, 2014 by IntentionalPrivacy in Financial vulnerabilities, Identity theft, Intellectual Property, Security Breach, Uncategorized
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On 11/24/2014, the Guardians of Peace (#GOP) announced on Reddit that they had hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment’s network, alleging that #GOP had stolen 100 terabytes of data. The stolen data laid out for public consumption in various data dumps around the Internet included both employee information—social security numbers, dates of birth, medical records, salary information—and corporate information—spreadsheets containing Sony layoff information, business plans, their network architecture, movie scripts, and even actual movies—and other confidential information. Then the attackers destroyed data to emphasize that their demands were serious.

While Sony has not commented much publicly except to yank The Interview (formerly scheduled to be released on Christmas Day), there has been considerable speculation on the person or groups responsible. The story—as we know it at this moment—sounds like a movie plot. (Are you listening Sony? When ya gonna make this movie?) There are spies, hacking, extortion … all the elements of a great plot … except a hero/heroine.

Sony, you get to play the whimpering coward sniveling in the corner. Who is going to step up to be the hero or heroine? That is the real question. Bonnie Tyler says it best, I am holding out for a hero/heroine.

As I see it there are four possible hacker group combinations:

  • The North Koreans hacked Sony because of the movie Sony produced called The Interview. It’s a comedy, and probably not a very good one.
  • One or more disgruntled Sony employees took the data. To look for possible disgruntled employees, let’s count: How many people has Sony laid-off?
  • The North Koreans and the disgruntled employees (and possibly other groups) separately hacked Sony.
  • The North Koreans managed to get someone inside Sony.

In my opinion, stealing 100 terabytes of data took some time and someone inside Sony had to help. How did they get the data out? USB drives? According to Numion.com, to download 100 terabytes at 10 Gbps with 50% overhead would take over 33 hours! Also, the data sounds like it’s very organized. Whoever stole it knew where to look and what to take and what to post first to make it hurt. It has a personal feel to it. No, it’s more than the North Koreans.

For a more in-depth analysis of the hackers, read Why the Sony hack is unlikely to be the work of North Korea.

North Korea: if you’re reading this, it’s just a movie. Get a sense of humor! Americans have made several movies about US presidents getting assassinated; here’s a few examples:

And of course, Wag the Dog cannot be left out of any movie list that discusses the death of a president’s political life.

I agree with President Obama that pulling the movie was a mistake. This is not a movie that I would have wanted to see, much less paid for. If you’d let it run, it would have been a brief news article, a week or two in the theaters and then … consigned to the $5 bin in Walmart. Now I want to see it!

However, there are some lessons we can all learn here:

  • Email is not private. Before you send any email, decide how you would feel if it ended up on the front page of the New York Times.
  • This is not the first time Sony has been publicly hacked. Remember the PlayStation Network debacle in April 2011, which affected 77 million customer accounts? This was followed by an attack May 2, 2011, on 24.5 million accounts at Sony Online Entertainment. Did Sony learn anything from those two incidents? Apparently not.
  • Compliance is not security! Doing the minimum necessary to comply with a law or laws is not enough to keep your corporate or personal information safe.
  • Just because you have a security breach doesn’t mean you have to lose a 100 terabytes of data. What were Sony’s security people doing?
  • If the company you work for does not take information security and privacy seriously, find someplace else to work. According to Forbes.com, Sony has had 195 security breaches from September 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, according to leaked emails. However, it’s hard to determine the seriousness of the incidents from the information presented in the article. Were any of these breaches about tons of data spewing from Sony?

How can you tell if your employer is taking information security and privacy seriously? Do they say “information security is important” but cut the budget? Do they train employees on information security and privacy? Do they patch their systems and keep their software updated? Have they had a breach? What did they do?

  • If the company that you buy goods or services from does not protect your information, take your business elsewhere.

Vote with your feet and your money! Protect your information; there’s no one that it matters more to than you.

My bottom line? I’m outraged—both at Sony’s sloppy information security practices and their cowardice.

Information Leakage …

Posted: September 29, 2014 by IntentionalPrivacy in Identity theft, Tips, Vulnerabilities
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Information leakage: what is it? It’s the unauthorized flow of information from a source to a recipient. Although unauthorized, it is not necessarily malicious, but it can still be detrimental.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

Our credit union is, in most cases, very accommodating. However, when it comes to paying bills online either through Bill Pay or the creditor’s site, I argued with them about printing my social security number on my account statement when I paid my Sally Mae loan.When I paid my credit card online, they printed my entire credit card number on my account statement. I called and talked to a  credit union customer service rep and could not convince her how bad using these numbers was. I wrote a letter to the credit union, the credit card company, and Sallie Mae, and Sallie Mae changed my account number (which they should have done in the first place). However, I could not convince the credit union to only print the last four digits of the card number.

Think about how many people could possibly see those numbers: database analysts, print and fold operators, customer service reps, postal clerks if the envelope rips … and if the credit union gets hacked, well, who knows?

I finally wrote letters to each member of the credit union board of directors, and voilà! The number displayed on my account statement is now only the last four digits.

Be persistent when this type of thing happens! It’s your information, and nobody else will care as much as you when your identity gets stolen. And other people’s information will be safer also.

Next up: our insurance company, who thinks it’s safe to use my social security number as our account number, as long as they add a three-digit number to it. Now my number is available to doctors, nurses, receptionists, technicians, customer service reps … the list goes on and on. Nobody will guess. Yup. The thinly-disguised-number-is-secure trick.

Jimmy Johns isn’t the only breach … Signature Systems PDQ point-of-sale systems

Posted: September 28, 2014 by IntentionalPrivacy in Financial vulnerabilities, Identity theft, Security Breach
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According to KrebsOnSecurity.com, Jimmy Johns aren’t the only restaurants to get caught in this breach, which lasted from June 16 through mid-September (dates vary at some locations). Many small restaurants use Signature Systems PDQPOS point-of-sale systems. A total of 216 Jimmy Johns and 108 other restaurants are affected because “an authorized person gained access to a user name and password that Signature Systems used to remotely access POS systems.” This access allowed the attacker to install malware to steal payment card data, containing the cardholder’s name, card number, expiration date, and verification code from the magnetic stripe of the card.

I wonder if Signature Systems changed their passwords on a regular basis? Probably not. Did they use two-factor authentication? Long and strong passwords? Did they conduct employee training on anti-phishing techniques?

Unfortunately, as of October 28, 2013, PDQPOS was only acceptable for pre-existing deployments. So it’s possible that some of these restaurants may receive fines if the system was installed after that date.

What do the Goodwill, DQ, Jimmy Johns and Home Depot have in common?

Posted: September 13, 2014 by IntentionalPrivacy in Financial vulnerabilities, Identity theft, Security Breach
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They’ve all had recent breaches.

How many well-known and large breaches have we had in the past year? A bazillion! Please see the page I’ve posted that shows a list of recent breaches.

What should you do if you’ve used a payment card–debit or credit–at a store with a recent breach?

  1. Check your financial statement to confirm that you used the card within the time period breached.
  2. If you have unauthorized charges, notify your financial institution immediately.
  3. Even if you don’t have unauthorized charges, ask your bank or credit union to replace your card.
  4. If the breached company is offering identity protection, sign up for it.
  5. If your identity has been stolen, this FTC site–Create an Identity Theft Report–will help you create documents for the various places you will need to contact.
  6. Don’t shop with a debit card online.
  7. Use the credit card option when shopping with a debit card.

KrebsOnSecurity stated last week that banks are seeing fraudulent ATM withdrawals from debit cards stolen in the Home Depot breach. Be vigilant!

The last thing to think about, if a company has a breach and only has a news release. Two recent examples include Dairy Queen and Jimmy John’s. There’s no additional information on their website, not even an apology! Should you continue to visit their establishment?  How do you know they’ve even cleaned up their payment systems?

I’m voting with my feet and I will never buy anything from either Jimmy Johns or Dairy Queen again.

What to know about the Target breach …

Posted: December 27, 2013 by IntentionalPrivacy in Financial vulnerabilities, Identity theft, Security Breach, Tips, Vulnerabilities
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I shop at Target about once a week. Last Saturday, I was dismayed to discover that an estimated 40 million debit and credit cards used at Target had been stolen. This isn’t the first time my card number has been stolen, and it probably won’t be the last, unfortunately.

Many of those cards will be duplicate numbers, so the total number of cards stolen will probably be fewer than 40 million. Still, it is a very large breach, the second largest to date. The biggest breach—90 million credit/debit account numbers!—in the US occurred at TJX over a period of 18 months and was discovered on December 18, 2006 (TJX data theft).

First, let’s look at what happened:

  • On December 15, 2013, malware was discovered on Target’s point-of-sale systems at US stores. Target eliminated the malware, and notified card processors and payment card networks.
  • According to some sources (a Reuters story posted on Yahoo!), Target did not find the breach; it was discovered by a security researcher. That is worrisome.
  • According to Target, the issue only affected US stores; purchases made online at Target.com or in Canada were not part of the breach.
  • In their statement, Target explains the breach occurred between 11/27/2013 and 12/15/2013.
  • PIN data was stolen (Reuters – Target says PINs stolen, but confident data secure), but not the key, which according to Target’s statement, resides at the external card processing center. They are not giving out the name of their processing center. The PIN data is encrypted with Triple DES encryption.  To decrypt the PIN data, the thieves need the key.
  • There are 2 types of security codes used with credit/debit cards. Each card issuer calls the security codes by different names.
    • The first code is embedded in the magnetic stripe of the card and is used when you present the card to a merchant; it’s often called the CVV code. This one was included in the stolen data.
    • The second number, often called the CVV2 code, is not included in the magnetic stripe data and therefore was not stolen. This is the number used when you make card-not-present transactions, such as online or over the phone. American Express prints the four-digit number they use on the front side of the card, while most other issuers use a three-digit code printed on the back of the card next to the signature area.
  • The US Secret Service is investigating, as well as an unnamed outside investigator.
  • Stay tuned for more details. I don’t think investigators have a good handle on this theft yet, so the details are likely to change.

Note: PINs are not the safest way to protect your financial information; there are only 10,000 combinations (0000 to 9999). Europe uses electronic chips in their cards; another method is a dynamic pin generated through a text message or some other media, such as an RSA token. The problem with dynamic pins is that they’re slow and expensive.

According to Krebs on Security, stolen Target credit/debit card numbers are already being sold in underground black markets in batches of one million cards.

What to do?

  1. Monitor any account(s) used at Target at least daily for evidence of tampering.
  2. Check out the Target breach details.
  3. Get a copy of your credit report. You get 1 free credit report from each credit agency per year. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
  4. Target says they will pay for credit reporting; they will have more details later.
  5. Replace your card:
    • If you use a Target REDcard, contact Target for a replacement card.
    • Ask your bank or credit union to replace each card used at Target during the dates the breach occurred.
  6. If you choose not to replace your card, at least change your PIN number.
  7. When you choose a PIN, do not use your birth date or consecutive digits, such as “1234.”
  8. Some cards allow you to add an alert when it’s used; check with your card issuer to find out if they have this feature. The Target REDcard does give you this ability.
  9. Do not respond to any scam emails, texts, or phone calls asking for your PIN or your social security number or your credit card number.
  10. Some people suggest buying a prepaid credit card or using cash instead of using credit/debit cards. I’ve never used one, so I don’t know anything about costs, but I’m going to look into it.

If you notice fraudulent activity in your account:

  1. Notify your card issuer immediately at the number on the back of your card and cancel your card. This greatly limits the payment portion of fraud you’re responsible for.
  2. Put a block on your credit report at one of the three credit reporting agencies:
  3. Read the FTC’s tips for “Lost or Stolen Credit, ATM, and Debit Cards.”

Who pays the costs?

While it’s true that the banks and the merchant eat the losses initially; ultimately, we all pay the price of such theft through higher costs.

Child Identity Theft

Posted: June 21, 2013 by IntentionalPrivacy in First Steps, Identity theft
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Do you check your child’s credit reports?

It’s really important that you check your child’s credit report while he or she is a child because a child whose identity is stolen can have problems finding a job, getting credit, or renting a place to live after they become an adult. The older the records, the more difficult they are to clean up. How can someone get credit in the name of a juvenile? Credit reporting agencies do not have a foolproof way to check age when financial information is posted, so it is difficult for them to know that the victim is a child.

And what if your school has a data breach? Yes, that happens. You can check different types of breaches that have been made public at http://www.privacyrights.org/data-breach

Also think about what information you allow to be public about your children … on Facebook, at schools or school events, through Twitter.

For more information about protecting your child’s identity, consult the Identity Theft Resource Center article on “Identity Theft and Children.” http://www.idtheftcenter.org/artman2/publish/v_fact_sheets/Fact_Sheet_120.shtml The FTC also has a very good article on child identity theft at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0040-child-identity-theft

Electronic car fobs hacked by car thieves

Posted: June 6, 2013 by IntentionalPrivacy in Identity theft, Issues, Personal safety, Vulnerabilities
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Electronic car fobs broken by car thieves

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Do not leave valuables in sight in your car. TODAY goes on to recommend that you don’t leave your garage door opener or your car registration in your car either. You’re leaving yourself open to a home invasion and identity theft as well.

How Authentication Can Save Your Information

Posted: May 26, 2013 by IntentionalPrivacy in Identity theft, Privacy, Social media, Tips, Vulnerabilities
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Twitter recently added a new security feature that allows you to have your phone send a security code that you use as your passcode when you log in. While it’s true that using more than one type of account verification can make your account safer, does Twitter’s new two-factor authentication really make your account safer? Maybe not. Watch Josh Alexander explain it in this YouTube video and decide for yourself: Personally, I agree with Josh Alexander that Twitter’s SMS-based two-factor as presented in the video doesn’t go far enough to protect your information.

What makes a safer log-in? Well, believe it or not, when your bank makes you enter your user name on one screen [hopefully using HTTPS; there should be a lock somewhere on the page] and then the next screen has a picture that you chose and/or asks a challenge question or might even save information about your computer like the IP address. If the picture is wrong or you expected challenge questions that didn’t appear, don’t log in! If you log in from a different computer, you may get one or more challenge questions that you must answer before you’re authorized to enter your account. Adding SMS onto one or more of these authentication methods might make your log-in safer.

Yes, it’s painful, but it’s safer.

Why is what the bank does safer than what Twitter’s doing?

Because if you’re not really at the bank’s site, the hackers won’t  know which picture you chose or the correct challenge questions to ask you. Hackers can’t (yet) make a bank website using your picture or the correct challenge questions, so it won’t be your account log-in.

What else makes online banking safer? According to this article http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upgrade-your-life/banking-online-not-hacked-182159934.html, use WPA2 on your home wireless router, make sure your computer is virus free (OS patched, use an up-to-date antivirus program), and don’t use public Wi-Fi nor public computers. Another tip: Don’t choose challenge questions that anyone could easily find out about you, such as your mother’s maiden name. Under some circumstances, you can use your phone for online banking. Make sure you use a password screen lock on your phone. They also recommended that you have a remote wipe program installed on the phone; if your phone is lost or stolen you can remotely delete all the data off your phone. (Yes, remote wipe actually works. I tried it and bricked my iPhone, but the Apple Geniuses came through like champs!)

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