Jeremy Vincent was startled out of his sleep in the middle of the night with the ring of his smartphone. Its screen read, “Mom’s Cell.” But when he answered, he didn’t hear his mom’s voice. Instead, he heard this: “I’m going to let you talk to your mom, your mom’s [Keep reading]
Some people just don’t know when to cut their losses. OK, basically no one does. Sunk cost is not only a powerful concept, it’s a bad habit written into all our subconscious minds. I don’t think you can escape its powerful grip, but you can learn to live with it a [Keep reading]
There will be no avoiding the inflation conversation during the next few months. Prices are going up all around us — lumber (wait, they’re down suddenly), cars, my favorite chicken with mixed vegetables entree from Asia Sushi down the block. As I’ve written before, folks old enough to remember the [Keep reading]
I like a good challenge as a storyteller. And let me tell you, making “third-party code” sound sexy is a challenge. But that recent Apple ad showing an army of people following a cell phone user around, cataloging his every move — well, that’s real. It’s hard to believe, but [Keep reading]
What do you do if you think your friend is bugging you? I don’t mean bothering you. I mean…bugging you…using a device to listen to you, maybe e1ven recording your conversations, when you visit their home. Well, that’s the world most of us live in now. Personal assistants, many modern [Keep reading]
While much attention has been paid lately to the role of cryptocurrency in fraud, gift cards are still the tool of choice for many Internet criminals. In fact, the BBB says gift card fraud reports tripled between 2017 and 2020. And about one in four fraud victims who had money [Keep reading]
INTRODUCTION Computer criminals armed with ransomware were able to hold U.S. drivers hostage earlier this month. The Colonial Pipeline attack had such dramatic real-world results that the simmering ransomware crisis has boiled over. It’s impossible to ignore now. But what does that really mean? Ransomware criminals are raking in the [Keep reading]
INTRODUCTION Computer criminals armed with ransomware were able to hold U.S. drivers hostage earlier this month. The Colonial Pipeline attack had such dramatic real-world results that the simmering ransomware crisis has boiled over. It’s impossible to ignore now. But what does that really mean? Ransomware criminals are raking in the [Keep reading]
The rise of ransomware gangs parallels the rise of cryptocurrency, and that’s not a coincidence. In today’s “Debugger in 10,” I talk with Duke’s David Hoffman, who says it’s time to regulate crypto so it can’t be easily used by crime gangs — even if that means crushing the very [Keep reading]
When a plane crashes, a government agency rushes to the scene looking for answers…and lessons that might prevent the next plane crash. When computers crash — and the economy crashes, as we’ve seen this week — there is no such fact-finding mission. There should be. And now, perhaps, there will [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan