Security experts and privacy advocates have recently begun warning about the potential dangers of geotags, which are embedded in photos and videos taken with GPS-equipped smartphones and digital cameras. Because the location data is not visible to the casual viewer, the concern is that many people may not realize it is there; and they could be compromising their privacy, if not their safety, when they post geotagged media online.”

Here is an example of geotag stalking in action.

The latest Internet Crime Complaint Center report is out and I’ll be blogging interesting bits over the next couple of months.

Apparently, one of the newly fashionable scams starts with an email threat to your life:

In 2009, IC3 received several complaints presenting a new spin on the media coined “Hitman Scam,” a type of email extortion scheme. Victims are reportedly being threatened in an attempt to extort money. The victim receives an email from a member of an organization such as the “Ishmael Ghost Islamic Group.” The emailer claims to have been sent to assassinate the victim and the victim’s family members. The emailer asserts that the reason for the impending assassination resulted from an alleged offense, by the victim, against a member of the emailer’s gang. In a bizarre twist however, the emailer reveals that upon obtaining the victim’s information, another member of the gang (purported to know a member of the victim’s extended family) pleaded for the victim’s pardon. The emailer alleges that an agreement was reached with the pleading gang member to allow the victim pardon from assassination, if the victim takes some action such as sending $800 to a receiver in the United Kingdom for the migration of Islamic expatriates from the United States. Victims of this email are typically instructed to send the money via Western Union® or Money Gram® to a receiver in the United Kingdom. The emailer often gives the victim 72 hours to send the money or else pay with his/her life.

Respond as you would to any other extortion attempt or threat to your safety: inform the police.

Saved by their indistinguishable DNA, identical twins suspected in a massive jewelry heist have been set free. Neither could be exclusively linked to the DNA evidence.

Security is not a switch

As always, the decision to use Google Docs or any other cloud service is not made by asking, “Do security dangers exist?” Rather, you should ask, “Is the mix of benefits and security risks for cloud computing more or less attractive than the mix of risks and benefits involved in keeping all of my files on my laptop?”

Keeping all of your files on your own storage media is attractive in several ways. You have complete control over your files, and you can’t lose them or lose control over access rights unless you make a mistake (fail to back-up your files, fail to encrypt your files, fail to prevent someone from stealing your hard disk, etc.).

But some mistakes are pretty tough to prevent. Consider the situation where you are typing on your laptop in a cafe, and someone grabs and dashes with your laptop. Suddenly, you’ve lost all the files you haven’t backed up, and you’ve lost control over everything you haven’t encrypted.

Floating on a cloud

If you had been working on one document among many that is hosted in a cloud, the dasher would probably just get access to whatever he could click on in the time it would take you to change the password to your account. (That seems true as long as the website in question requires the old password to by typed in before a new password can be created.) Not a great position to be in, but cloud computing comes off looking okay, especially if you aren’t the type who encrypts every file stored on his hard drive (and who is?).

The tradeoff is that you have to trust that the cloud computing company is better at backing up your files and preventing unwanted access than you would be. But what happens when their servers get hacked, a disgruntled employee sabotages data, the company gets acquired, or the company goes out of business? Your data in each of those situations is in danger.

It will be interesting to see how cloud computing develops and how popular it becomes. So far, it seems that most people prefer to keep important files on their own computers, but that may change.

The information on this website will always be free, but I’m betting that many of the 7,000 readers of this site will find it more convenient to get all the best tips in a single book rather than having to search through the 70+ posts in the archive.

However you get your security advice, thanks for reading and making this site a success!

(P.s. Want a free taste of the eBook? Check out the first 5 pages.)

Bringing what he sees in the world to ToorCon, infamous security expert Beetle says that the web community — and hackers — are missing the point and mis-estimating the dangers of the web.

The danger lies not in government monitoring, that’s been thoroughly recognized and railed against, Beetle says. It’s what we’re willing to let people do to our stuff so we can get it for free. Google’s autoscrubbing our searches for words to sell us stuff in the future is more dangerous to our privacy and future than pointless government monitoring, he says.

Do people understand the dangers and accept them? Or do they underestimate the dangers, and so never have a chance to work out the costs and benefits?

There are now almost 5,000 of you, which is great. If you are looking for coverage of a specific security topic in 2008, leave a comment – I might just write about it.

Take care,

Ian

Also, check out the free eBook Package, which includes everything you need to set things straight if you’ve had your identity stolen: sample letters to creditors and collection agencies, a step-by-step guide listing everyone you need to contact, a spreadsheet to keep track of your efforts, and an FTC affidavit.

Unfortunately, the photo above is still ranked less highly for fat man searches than this gem (as well as a couple other, less charming photos):

I realize that the fat man term is a highly competitive one, but here’s hoping this site overtakes the current forerunners!

31 October 2007 update: Defending the Kingdom is now #2 on Google searches for “fat man”. I’m very proud.

The book contains all of the best material from this blog (but in shorter, snappier form) as well as a lot of new material.

Download the first 5 pages free to get a taste of what’s inside.

As a bonus, you can download the free eBook Package that will guide you through the difficult (but completely doable) steps required to clear your good name if your identity is stolen. The package contains a list of every organization you need to contact and a worksheet to help you keep track of your efforts as you go. You’ll also find sample letters to creditors, collection agencies, and credit reporting agencies.

The book costs $10, and, in my opinion, it’s worth every dollar. Check out the eBook page to find out more and to buy it. I hope you like it, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for a future edition or update.