Who's finger is on the button?

Many believe that the next 'Pearl Harbor' is going to be a cyber attack.

One of the UK's leading experts even believes that hackers pose a greater threat to world security than atomic weapons.

Dr Sally Leivesley, a former UK Home Office scientific adviser, said rogue states such as North Korea are already developing technology that can infiltrate defence systems and shut down power grids.  Her warning follows the huge data hack on TalkTalk that recently hit four million customers who face having their bank accounts drained and personal details stolen.

Russian “cyberjihadists” have claimed responsibility for the attack although the true perpetrators remain unknown.  There is a suspicion that the Russian government sponsored the attack on telecoms giant TalkTalk and that the stolen data has been passed on for espionage use.

Of course, this has also happened to large banks (like Chase), large department stores (like Target) and even international corporations, such as Sony.

Dr Leivesley wants to see a team of international observers set up to monitor cyber technology in the same way they monitor nuclear armaments.  She says states that repeatedly allow their hardware, like routers or servers, to be used by hackers or cyber terrorists should also face sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Dr Leivesley told the Sunday Express: “Cyber is now the new nuclear. In international security, cyber is a highly deniable way to attack countries and it’s much less messy than a nuclear attack.

“If we look at critical infrastructure, whether it be our electrical grid or petro-chemical facilities, anything that can cause huge damage or huge loss of productivity becomes a weapon.  Yet we are doing nothing that stops strategic cyber weapons. While we’ve got nuclear non-proliferation and placed strong arrangements against nuclear development, we are doing nothing that stops strategic cyber weapons."

Of course, a catastrophic surprise attack doesn't have to happen on national level in order to destroy your life.  You can be targeted individually by foreign hackers.

This is why you must protect yourself and your business.

Can the government legally invade your privacy?

Absolutely, it can.  Some people think that's a good thing and others don't. 

The problem isn't so much 'the government' as a whole.  Rather, it's rogue agencies and malicious individuals inside the government that are a genuine threat to your privacy and freedom.  That's why (within the limits of the law) you need to protect your personal and business information from prying eyes.

The U.S. Senate has just passed the controversial cybersecurity bill, 'Cisa' - the overall purpose of which is to make it legal for various branches of the government to share mined data between themselves and for large companies (like Sony, for example) to share and receive data from these same agencies.  The data in question would come from private industry, which mines everything from credit card statements to prescription drug-purchase records in order to target advertising and tweak product lines. Indeed, much of it is detailed financial and health information the government has never had access to in any form.

The idea (we're told) is to better protect the government and large corporations from major cyber attacks.  However, some say that the government just granted itself the power to collect sensitive personal data unchecked.  Numerous civil liberties groups and many of the biggest names in the tech sector agree with that assessment.

By the way, Cisa was negotiated and marked up in secret.

Ahead of the Senate vote, a group of university professors specializing in tech law, many from the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy, sent an open letter to the lawmakers, urging them not to pass the bill. The bill, they wrote, would fatally undermine the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  Led by Princeton’s David S. Levine, the group joined a chorus of critics including many of the largest technology companies, such as Apple. 

Not surprisingly, National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden is calling for Cisa to be scrapped.  However,  the American Banking Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) applauded the passage of the bill. “The legislation passed by the Senate today bolsters our cyber defenses by providing the liability protections needed to encourage the voluntary sharing of cyber threat information,” the TIA said in a statement. “We applaud the Senate for moving this important bill and urge Congressional leaders to act quickly to send this bill to the president’s desk.”

When it comes to cybercrooks, is all of this a good thing or a bad thing?  It all depends on how much you trust the government... and the giant corporations it partners with.

MLB and computer hacking

Here in Houston, we're proud of our Astros.

They did a really good this year, despite a lot of setbacks.  The Royals got 'em in that last game of the playoff series, but everybody (on both teams) played their best and played fair.  But for some teams (and players), 'fair' just isn't enough.  They need to cheat, use performance-enhancing drugs, injure other players on purpose... or spy out the other teams.  Which brings us to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Federal investigators have recommended charges be brought against at least one St. Louis Cardinals employee implicated in the probe of an alleged computer intrusion of databases belonging to the Houston Astros.  The investigation centers on whether Cardinals front-office staff broke federal law by accessing the Astros database called Ground Control, which housed information on prospects. Investigators also have an interest in whether or not senior officials at the Cardinals were aware of the spying.

The whole thing has to do with former employees of St. Louis coming to Houston and possibly bringing proprietary information with them.  Some people within the Cardinals organization wanted to know... very badly. 

The Cardinals have already fired one key staffer and his home has been searched by the FBI.  No charges have been filed yet, though the city of Houston is waiting.  Apparently, the whole affair centers on knowledge of passwords to access an online database.  While not 'hacking into' the Astros system, it's still illegal.


Moral of the story:  change your business computer passwords often.

A hacker's tacklebox contains plenty of phishing lures

One of a hungry hacker's favorite tools for feeding his appetite is the phishing scam. 

No, it's not about hooking a fish - but it is about reeling in a big catch.  The goal is to steal your personal information.

Whether it's through email, texts or on social media, sooner or later you will run into messages that try to trick you into clicking on links to malicious websites, advertisements and so on.

But what is a malicious site anyway?  Do you know?

A malicious site is a site that tricks you into giving away information or downloading a virus.  Or it might have code that finds and exploits security holes in your computer.  If the site can find a security hole, then it can download a virus to your computer and install it without any action on your part.

You won't even know it's happened.       

Even a perfectly legitimate site can become malicious if hackers trick the ad network it uses to run infected ads.  If the hackers have done their job right, detecting a malicious site isn't easy.  That's why you need to protect yourself at all times.

Overcoming the fear of selling (because you failed at it)

We're looking for sales partners in this new company, but also entrepreneurs.  That's because when you come on board with us, you'll be using our patented keystroke-encryption product, selling the service and building your own sales force as an independent business.

That scares a lot of people who lack self-confidence.  It shouldn't, but people are naturally afraid of rejection and failure.  If you've failed before, it doesn't mean that you'll fail with us because failure is not the opposite of success.  Failure is an essential part of success.  Once you succeed, no one will remember your failures anyway.

Microsoft wasn't Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's first business venture. Who remembers that their original Traf-o-Data business was a flop? The actor Jim Carey was booed off many a stage while a young comedian. We have electric light bulbs because Thomas Edison refused to give up even after 10,000 failed experiments. If the word "failure" is anathema to you, then re-frame it: You either succeed, or you have a learning experience.

With Cyber Shield Associates, you can try again.  There's nothing to fear.  

The first known case of ID theft

Maliciously stealing someone else's identity is as old as recorded history.

Though it may well have happened earlier, the oldest case we know of is in the Bible's Old Testament. 

Jacob disguised himself with animal skins so that he could fool his blind (and mentally feeble) father into giving him the traditional blessing of the firstborn; which rightfully belonged to his brother, Esau.

Stealing someone else's personal identity is thievery, pure and simple.  It doesn't matter if it's 3000 years ago or the 21st century. 

Theft is theft... and it can be devastating.

You simply have got to take precautions.

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Cyber Shield Alliance

Who broke your computer and stole your money?

I hope that you never have to ask that question.  Unfortunately, too many people do... and it's getting worse. 

93% of all identity theft occurs online. Every time you access the Internet, your entire virtual life is at risk. Changing your password will not stop hackers. Do you really think they guessed your password to get in to your social media account?

They’re stealing your user-name, password, the money in your bank, credit card information, email, text messages and more in other ways.

There are a variety of ID Protection services available for your bank accounts, credit cards, social security number and so on.  There are also numerous anti-virus, anti-hacking and email encryption programs out there.

What we're doing is different. 

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Cyber Shield Alliance