Contextual Authentication - Who is Behind the Keyboard?

Have you ever asked yourself this question before? The MTV TV show Catfish asks this question in every single episode. They work with people all over the United States that have fallen in love with someone they have never met in person, or even talked to on the phone before. On the show, the two hosts work together to find the person who is behind the other keyboard in order to play matchmaker. Nine times out of ten, the person on the other end of the line is not who they say they are. They might not even look remotely close to who they are pretending to be online.

This got me thinking a couple of things… Why do people do this? And how can user fraud be stopped online?

War is Changing: Digital Authentication and Security Solutions

War is changing.  We’ve talked about this before, but the state of war between nations is evolving every day. What once was a sequence of battles between armies, marching in line towards each other, has now become a digital minefield of secrecy, deception, and cyber attacks.  It’s one of the age-old ideas for inventors and other entrepreneurs: give me something that will make life easier, and I’ll show you the next great weapon.  Recently, the White House (you know, the place where all of the people that run things tend to go) was victim of a long-standing, brutal cyber attack.  Sure, the various sources say that nothing ‘Top Secret’ was made available to the public or the attackers, but that doesn’t do much to make me feel better.  I don’t know about you, but I’m left wondering: what did they get? I guess, in a way, the next leap my mind makes is towards digital authentication and security solutions. 

Gallimaufry Grey Hats - For the Greater Good

Recently I wrote about a couple of very notable White Hat hackers who have literally changed the world as we know it. Those savants of technology took a concept and made it staple in the world we live in. Today we turn the tables though and look at a couple of adventurous grey hat hackers that used their considerable skills to make a statement.

Cyber Attack Defense: Are you a potential target?

The simple answer is yes. It seems that everyone is a potential target these days. Recently, even a major health insurance provider announced that they had been breached. Clearly, they lacked appropriate cyber attack protection. I would know, I am one of the 78.8 million people who got the letters in the mail. What were they saying? That they are doing everything they possibly can to ensure that my information is being protected. Great, now I get to join the countless people who suffer a successful cyber attack!

You may ask yourself: why me?

Defending against the Man in the Middle

I remember as a child trying to eavesdrop on conversations I would hear in school. They usually were centered around who kissed whom or who had a crush on someone. As an adult, like most others, I still listen in on other people’s conversations from time-to-time. Usually this happens when you’re standing in line somewhere, and it is hard to not listen in on the people next to you. After talking with a colleague over the weekend about man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, I found some similarities to the more typical activity of eavesdropping on others conversations.

TedTalk - A Future Without Secrets

When you think of social media being used to find out information about you, you may be thinking that you have nothing to hide, and your Internet identity is looking pretty good. In fact, you have spent a lot of time creating an image of yourself that is pretty close to perfect in your eyes. But do you believe that the data on Facebook alone can be used to guess your Social Security Number, compromise a job opportunity, and manipulate advertisement?

Any information can become sensitive information. By using algorithms, technology, your friends on Facebook, and face recognition, you can be manipulated both knowingly and unknowingly. Protecting this information is important to your future, and it is time to take action!