The articles that feature today are on some serious issues. These issues need to be addressed with great care to face the hi-tech environment that we are subjected to. So I am asking some questions to all of you. Read these articles and tell me what you feel.
1. Why all customers of SBI cards need to check their accounts regularly. Read more
2. Do we really require some laws for the Blogosphere. Read more
3. Does India need a National Cyber Security Advisory Board. Read more
With the financial crisis affecting USA severly, it has also affected other countries. This has resulted in a complete turn around in terms of the spendings worldwide. And with such tight situations, online financial fraud has witnessed a soaring growth.
Britan has been the worst affected country after witnessing a soaring cyber crime rate in 2007. A recent report published by an online firm stated that cyber crime in the UK rose by more than 9 percent in 2007. According to Tom Ilube, chief executive, Garlick, majority of the crimes committed online were in relation to fraud and abusive or threatening emails leaving more than two million people prone to online harassment.
The study further revealed that the online crimes were being committed by professionals and one could expect an overall increase owing to the credit crunch that would led many people to perform illegal activities. It’s critical in this time of financial crisis that individuals are vigilant with their personal information, because as long as the credit crunch continues, the growth in online financial fraud is bound to increase.
Cyber crime is up again for 2007. Hardly news, of course; it is no secret that this plague is spreading farther and deeper by the hour. And same as last year Internet Auction Fraud continues to lead the peak of Cyber crimes with a percentage of 35.7%, according to Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
What far too many users fail to realize is that when something is purchased via an Internet auction, it is not bought from the auction house (say eBay or Amazon) but from an individual or company. The auction site - acting as a go-between - merely provides a forum where individuals can trade with one another, and it usually adopts - and prominently displays - a firm policy of washing their hands of legal responsibility for any loss suffered from using their service.
Once the bidding has concluded, the payment for and delivery of the goods bought and sold is negotiated between the purchaser and seller. If the item is not delivered after it is paid for or is not what was represented on the auction site, the auction house will not refund any money. It is up to the buyer to approach the seller to negotiate a fair and proper settlement.
Therefore, keep the following in mind when dealing with on-line auctions, or whenever you buy anything online:
Understand as much as possible about how the auction works.
Find out what actions the web site/company takes if a problem occurs.
Learn as much as possible about the seller apart from an e-mail address. Use Search Engines, ask references, clarify from partners of the seller, etc.
Examine the feedback on the seller. From previous customers or testimonials or from known sources.
Determine what method of payment the seller is asking from you and where he/she is asking to send the payment.
Make sure the online payment system is SSL certified.
Look out for the settlement conditions if a problem occurs with the auction transaction. Carefully read Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice.
Ask the seller about when delivery can be expected and the warranty conditions.
Find out if shipping and delivery are included in the auction price.
Never give out your Social Security Number to the seller.
Did you know that Data loss is now being reported almost on a weekly basis. And our natural assumption is that the cause of these breaches is due to criminal or malicious intent. Of course, this is one of the reasons but have you ever considered that with more flexible and mobile working conditions, employees are putting data at risk too.
With companies facilitating their employees with the ability to work from home can lead to serious threats to sensitive data. Imagine what would happen if:
1. An employee leaves his or her laptop on the reception after a long day out seeing customers?
2. A memory stick falls out of the pocket of an employee while catching the last train.
3. A kid of an employee sends a drafted email to unwanted recipient.
4. Or maybe the kid deletes some important data accidentally?
So the obvious question is: How can technology be adopted to protect the company’s assets but at the same time not impact upon the employee’s productivity? To answer this and many other related questions, Julian Jago, security solutions director, Netstore will be addressing via a webcast today. The time for the same is 14:30 - 15:30 (UK Time).
It seems that DNA has been attracting lot of importance in forensics as the use of such evidence can help solve all types of crime – violent as well as non-violent. It has helped to exonerate the innocent and convict the guilty. Any professional, from crime scene investigator to DNA analyst, who touches a DNA sample to be used as evidence, must be highly trained and follow protocols and processes; ensuring proper collection, analysis, and reporting, all the while, guaranteeing the chain of custody. Considering the same, this week i am presenting links to some important articles on DNA and its use in forensics. And yes, there is an interesting case study as well.
Your DNA could reveal your surname. Researchers are working on a technique that would allow police to determine someone’s surname from their DNA. Read more
Chris Janson (Editor, Forensic Magazine) discusses about the importance of forensic tools to solve crime, bring justice, and make our world a safer place. Read more
Moving our discussion on DNA forensics further, comes a real life example that can also be used as a case study. This example shows how DNA evidence proved the innocence of 2 individuals; but only after they served 19 years in the prison. Read more
The easiest way for identity thieves to steal your identity online is by getting hold of your passwords. In order to safeguard your identity, password protection must be a part of your online security measures. Passwords vary in their degree of security protection, frequency of change, and typically vary in required characteristics from system to system.
When you use the Internet you will be in danger of losing money if a sensitive password such as the one you use for payment processing transactions becomes known to a thief. Needless to say what he will do with that password. But what need to be stressed is that the thief will also try to match the same password for different accounts you might have. For example, the thief might check to see if you have a PayPal account where the same password is used.
Almost crack-proof passwords are challenging to guess and a no-brainer to remember. In other words, a solid password includes a combination of number and letters and should not be too easy to spell or capture. For obvious reasons, the worst password is the one that is non-recallable. To avoid all these hassles, people mostly use simple passwords and create blunders. This is so beause they try to include the following things in their passwords, which can be easily guessed, if the thief is your acquaintance.
Initials
Birth dates
Sequential words or number combinations (e.g., “qwerty,” “asdfg,” “12345″)
Location (city, country)
Middle name, Mother’s maiden name, etc.
Favorite pet name, celebrity or other personal interests
Dual names or words (like smithsmith, googlegoogle)
WinRAR, the company with a goal to establish RAR as the standard compression tool making expert knowledge available for everyday use had recently joined hands with Agape Inc, India’s leading computer forensics and mobile forensics company. WinRAR which works on making RAR known to every computer user and further extending the user base by constantly improving their software according to customer needs and offering quality support to them.
The famous shareware file archiver and data compression utility developed by Eugene Roshal has come up with the latest WinRAR 3.8 version that can be downloaded from the link given below.
Recently the Police Department in Detroit shut down its crime laboratory after an audit uncovered serious errors in numerous cases. The audit reported that sloppy work had probably resulted in wrongful convictions.
The closure of the Forensic laboratory in Detroit means that all the pending and future cases will be sent to the Michigan State Police, which operates seven laboratories. While the officials from the Detroit Police Department, will try to determine whether the errors resulted in guilty verdicts against innocent people.
Such a casual approach from any forensics firm can never be tolerated as it can lead to the conviction of innocent people, thereby defeating the sole purpose of why forensic investigation is used in the trials of a crime. But as in this case, at least the city of Detroit has acknowledged their mistakes and doing what it can to correct them. While there have been cases like: Mississippi does blunder, wherein the investigation went horribly wrong and yet it was allowed to propagate further.
The increase of IT systems in the pharmaceautical companies has not only accelerated their growth, but has also posed new challenges. The biggest challenge for each of such companies is the supply chain fraud threat.
Here is a report that provides more insight on the same.
Every time we hear the word ‘CRIME’, we only think of robberies, murders and detectives examining the crime scene, interrogating witnesses and finally nailing the guilty. But we never think outside these instances because we feel that crime is bound only to these boundaries. But this is not true at all. Today, cyber crime accounts as the most troublesome crime, troubling individuals and corporations alike. All the detailed information on the importance of cyber forensics is provided in the article below.
