What vulnarability cause most computer problems? 08142012
I am not going to try to condemn the human race because we all know to error is to be human” or something like that? But once again a great article pointing out how public policy or corporate policy in hind sight especially looks a little silly.
Amazon was recently hacked! Not really a surprise with the size of the giants exposure. However, the details are. In an article from the Gadget Lab, “Amazon Quietly Closes Security Hole After Journalist’s Devastating Hack“, by Nathen Olivarez-Giles. If you are expecting this to be a great technical snafu it was not, however its potential is huge. Amazon has a policy where a user can change some of the info on their account by phone as long as they can identify themselves with 3 pieces of information, 1. Name, 2. eMail address, and 3. Mailing address which for many of us is available on line.
As you can see how silly this looks now, and you still may not see the hack issue but we will spell it out in a minute. Amazon changed their policy to no longer allow users to call in to change information like associated credit cards or email addresses.
So where was the hack, the security risks are apparent. The article explains that hackers allowed the access to the Amazon users account. Once in they got the Amazon users last 4 digits of the credit card on file. They used those 4 digits to trick Apple customer service into dealing with the Hacker as though they were the actual individual. The hackers then wiped the actual Amazon account owners iPhone, iPad, and MacBook and gained access to email and Twitter accounts.
Human error yes. technical snafu no just goes to show how security even at its best can snowball in directions we are not expecting.
- So another question to ponder is it good to integrate your password/login though a service like FaceBook or LinkedIn?
- Are you skeptical about using the Cloud for personal and valuable content?
Hope you have some thoughts and let us know.
Techie news and security information presented by the techies at www.end2endsupport.com and E2 Computers of Tarpon Springs.
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