Students Steal Laptops for Class Credit?

This recent story by Charlie Osborne at ZDNet highlights a research project where students at the University of Twente were told to steal 30 laptops from faculty and staff on campus. The "thefts" were part of a PhD thesis titled "Alignment of Organizational Security Policies, Theory and Practice" that explored the ways in which human behavior and habits can thwart good security practices.

During the project, the laptops had been "loaned" to random individuals by the researcher, Trajce Dimkov, and the recipients were asked to safeguard the laptops by either chaining them to their desk, locking them up, or securing them witha password. Students then used various creative methods of "stealing" the laptops. In over half the attempts that were made, students were successful in stealing the laptops.

What's the lesson? 

•  Pay attention to where your computers are and whether or not they are secure from theft. 
• Unlocked offices are great targets for theft.
• Don't get too comfortable in your habits or think "it will never happen to me."

Mozilla Fixes Critical Bug in Firefox 10

Just one week after Firefox version 10 was released, Mozilla has pushed out a fix for a critical flaw that could be exploited to crash the browser.  Students and home users are encouraged to download and apply the fix immediately.  The security patch will be pushed automatically to all University and UKP-owned workstations.

For more information, read the Mozille Security Advisory.

How Do I Secure My Mobile Apps?

iPad, Xoom, Evo, GalaxyTab....whatever your mobile device is, you've probably thought about or even downloaded apps onto it.  Everybody wants to play Angry Birds, right? 

But you need to be aware of the risks that come with downloading apps as well.  In this SANS Securing The Human newsletter, you'll learn what the risks are and great tips on how to make sure your apps are useful and not harmful.

Apple Issues First Mac Security Update for 2012

Apple has released its first 2012 security update to address more than 50 vulnerabilities for Mac OS X.
Updates are available for Mac IS X 10.7 (Lion), and for 10.6 (Snow Leopard).  OS X users should apply the appropriate update as soon as possible.

NOTE:  There have been reports of issues with version 10.7.3 including rendering the system unbootable, so users with that version should be careful applying the patches.  More info on the issues can be found at Apple: OS X Lion 10.7.3 and Security Update 2012-001

For more information:

EWeek:  Apples Fixes 52 Bugs in OS X
Cnet: OS X 10.7.3 Update Causing Issues
ComputerWorld: Apple Update Patches 51 bugs in Mac OS X

Symntec Releases pcAnywhere patch

Symantec has released hotfixes for its pcAnywhere software. The updates address all known  security issues in versions 12.0, 12.1 and 12.5 (including SP2, SP2, and SP3). Concerns still abound because the source code has been stolen by hackers, giving them unlimited access to find other security issues within the software.

We are already seeing someone scanning for open pcAnywhere installations on the Internet on port 5631.  Users of pcAnywhere software should apply the patch immediately.

For more information:

Symantec Vulnerability Advisor
Information Week:  Symantec Patches pcAnywhere, but should you delete?

lol...OMG! Managing Your Online Reputation

As part of the celebration for Data Privacy Month, check out this archived presentation by esteemed author Matt Ivester titled "lol...OMG!:  What Everyone Needs to Know About Online Reputation Management".

Brief Summary:  The ease with which digital content can be shared online, in addition to its many benefits, has created a host of problems for today’s high school and college students. All too often, students are uploading, updating, posting and publishing without giving a second thought to who might see their content or how it might be perceived. Ivester will provide a cautionary look at the many ways that today’s students are experiencing the unanticipated negative consequences of their digital decisions – from lost job opportunities and denied college and graduate school admissions to full-blown national scandals. He will be using real-life case studies and offering actionable strategies and best practices that empower students to clean up and maintain a positive online presence.

Today is Data Privacy Day

Have you thought about how your personal information is collected, shared, and stored online as your surf the Internet? Here are some tips on how to keep your information secure:

Smartphones and Mobile Devices

•  Your smartphone contains a host of personal information about you. Secure your phone with a strong passcode or other privacy feature.
• Think before you text. Keep in mind how the message might be read before you send it. Be aware that texts can be forwarded.
• Only give your mobile number out to people you know and trust and never give anyone else's number out without their permission. When in doubt, don’t respond. Text and call only the people and businesses you know in real life.
• Make sure you know how to block others from calling your phone. Using caller ID, you can block all incoming calls or block individual names and numbers.
• Make sure you have someone’s permission before taking pictures or videos of them with your phone. Likewise, make sure you’re comfortable before allowing someone to take pictures or videos of you.
• Learn how to disable the geotagging feature on your phone at icanstalku.com.
• Smartphones store and transmit a wide range of personal data which third parties can obtain access to – often without the user’s awareness or consent ‐‐ including contact lists, pictures, browsing history, certain identifying information and stored location data.
• Research apps before you download them. Apps on smartphones can transfer unique IDs (essentially supercookies), phone numbers, demographic information and location data to ad companies without users’ consent. Your unique ID, together with your location, age and sex, are valuable information to marketers. Most apps do not have privacy policies. Consumers who download apps often don't know what information they are revealing about themselves, to whom and for what purpose.
• If your phone is lost or stolen, report it to your local police station and your network operator immediately.
• Learn about Privacy in the Age of the Smartphone offered by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn, etc.)

•  STOP. THINK CONNECT. Think carefully about the kinds of information, comments, photos and videos you share online.
• Know your audience: Consider who may have access to your profile: family, friends, friends of friends, your school, college admissions officers, potential employers. Use available privacy settings to manage your audience.
• Own your online presence: When available, set the privacy and security settings on websites to your personal comfort level for information sharing. Do not rely on “recommended” settings or default settings. Make your own decisions. It's okay to limit who you share information with. It is okay to not accept a friend request.
• Your online reputation can be a good thing: Recruiters often respond to a strong, positive personal brand online. So show your smarts, thoughtfulness, and mastery of the digital environment.
• Your privacy is only as protected as your least reliable friend allows it to be: Keep in mind that privacy settings protect information from people you choose to exclude from your personal networks. When you choose to share information with friends, those friends can make their own decisions about forwarding your content. Avoid sharing compromising photos and information. Think carefully before sharing.
• Make passwords long and strong: Combine capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols to create a more secure password. To protect your privacy, don’t share your passwords with others.
• As a general rule, do not share the following information on a profile page: your phone numbers, home address, full date of birth, travel plans, social security number, passwords, family financial information, bank or credit card numbers.

Want more?  Visit http://bit.ly/A8dHCK for more details on how to keep your information secure.